I said I'd never have a blog but I changed my mind

Unity Stamps FWF Friday

2012-02-03T08:39:00.000-05:00

Good morning! For today's card I'm sharing an elegant and monochrome design I created using an older Unity Stamp Co. Kit of the Month (December 2009) and lot of Viva decor pearl paint.

I took an embossing folder and added a drop of pearl paint to the center of each design. The Viva pens are totally amazing and they look exactly like the half pearls when dried --- and you don't get that pointy top like with other similar products. The image panel was created by stamping the script stamp in light blue ink onto the panel and then I stamped the flower image on top. I added more pearl paint to the flower centers.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to stop by the Unity blog for more projects from Unity fans and the design team and as always, you have the chance to win some free stamps if you leave comments along the way :)

Supplies:
Stamps: December 2009 Kit of the Month (script background and flower) from Unity Stamp Co.
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink (Tumbled Glass, Vintage Photo)
Accessories: Viva Decor liquid pearls (bronze), Copic Markers, Offray ribbon, Prima Pearl, Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz embossing folder

Sending you Snow Kisses....with One Crazy Stamper

2012-02-01T07:00:00.032-05:00

Hello! I can't believe it's February 1st already....where does the time go???

This month I'm thrilled to be the Guest Designer for one of my local stamping stores --- One Crazy Stamper (OCS). OCS was an online retailer until last summer when Lora opened a bricks and mortar store in Bolton Ontario (and she continues to operate the online store too of course). They have an awesome selection of products, great customer service and a price match guarantee. Definitely one of my favourite places to shop locally!

This month's challenge on the OCS blog is to create something love themed. For my project I used the "Snow Angel" stamp from My Favorite Things. Even though the stamp is winter themed it had a cute snow kisses sentiment so I made it into a Valentine's card. Pop on over to the blog to check out the challenge and of course play along for your chance to win a great prize.

See you later this month with some more creations for OCS.

Supplies:
Stamp: Pure Innocence Snow Angel from My Favorite Things
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Joann Essentials white pigment ink
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, K and Company patterned paper, Copic XPress It cardstock
Accessories: twine from The Twinery, Quickutz heart die, Sizzix embossing folder, ruffled ribbon, Fiskars border punch, Copic markers, button

January Sketch For You To Try -- Pure Innocence style

2012-01-31T07:00:00.005-05:00

Wow, talk about squeezing in a card just before the deadline for January's Sketch for You To Try (SFYTT). I stayed pretty true to the sketch for this one and used one of my all time favourite Pure Innocence stamps with some Crate Papers. I've been on a bit of a sewing kick lately so I added some stitching around the outside edges ---- I didn't realize until photographing that they're a tad uneven on the left side.....*sigh*.

Supplies:
Stamps: Pure Innocence "Being Cute is What I Do" from My Favorite Things, Pure Innocence Apple for You (sentiment) from My Favorite Things
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Jenni Bowlin textured cardstock, Crate Paper
Accessories: Copic markers, Prima flower, Fiskars tag punch, Fiskars border punch, twill ribbon, Spellbinders die
Sketch: January 2012 SFYTT

There is always something for which to be thankful....

2012-01-30T07:00:00.030-05:00

Good morning! I managed to squeeze in a tiny bit of crafting time this weekend and decided to get my new Unity Stamp Co. Kit of the Month (KOTM) stamps inky and at the same time dig in to some of my new 6 x 6" pads (this one is from My Mind's Eye). I *LOVE* this house image and it seemed like a perfect image to use for the January sketch on the Unity Blog. (I did shift my image a tad to the right so that my "sun" part of the paper showed).

I thought this sentiment from the September 2011 KOTM was perfect with the image--especially if you read all the little words in the house. I added a little heart to my house to match the one in the chimney. I added a bit of texture to the card by popping the house image with foam tape, a small strip of embossed paper and then stitched around the whole outside of the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: January 2012 Kit of the Month (House image) from Unity Stamp Co., September 2011 Kit of the Month (Sentiment) from Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Palette Noir
Papers: My Mind's Eye Kraft Funday papers, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Baker's twine, Prima rhinestone, Fiskars border punch, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Celebrate with WOW!

2012-01-29T07:00:00.004-05:00

Hello! It's CHA time again, and that means that WOW! Embossing is making it's big debut. If you happen to be one of the lucky ones attending, be sure to stop by booth 2700 and check out all the projects using these awesome new products.

In honour of WOW's CHA debut, I'd love to share a card I made using only a piece of white cardstock, Distress Inks, die cuts and WOW embossing powders.

To create the card base I took a piece of plain white 110 lb cardstock, stamped the image twice with Versamark ink and heat embossed with some gold WOW! Embossing powder. Then I took a Ranger Ink applicator sponge and applied two tones of blue Distress Ink all over the image leaving some of the white to show through. I also added a bit of brown distress ink around the edges to give it a vintage look.

In this close up shot you can see how much shine and dimension the embossing powder adds to the card and frame. I used the regular gold powder on the background of the card and the ultra high on the frame to give it more dimension and lustre.

To create the postage stamp panel, I die cut the frame (from Sizzix) and then heat embossed with more gold powder. The center of the frame was created the same way as the background but I applied more blue ink to the outside edges to make it stand out.

Supplies:

Stamps: Call me set from WOW Embossing Powders (available after CHA)
WOW Embossing Powders: Rich gold (pale), Rich gold (Ultra High)
Ink: Versamark for embossing, Ranger Distress Ink for background (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Vintage Photo)
Papers: Georgia Pacific white cardstock
Accessories: Dienamics postal edge border (from MFT), Offray ribbon, Sizzix postage edge frame, SRM Sticker sentiment

Time for another YNS Fun Friday!

2012-01-27T07:00:00.029-05:00

Hello and Happy Fun Friday!! Be sure to stop on over to the Your Next Stamp blog for some more inspiration and Friday tips from the design team. For my card today I used Yippee Fhiona to create a spring inspired card.

My tip for the day is to try stamping your image in a lighter coloured ink. For my card I used Memento Desert Sand (beige). When you colour the image it gives it the appearance that you hand painted it. I've been wanting to try this technique for a while and I'm quite happy with the way it turned out. Because I was cutting out my image to add some dimension, I added some grey shadow around the outside.

Just for stopping by my blog today, I also have not one but TWO bonus tips for you:

Tip 1: Think outside the box when it comes to using ribbons and trims. For my card, I used some green ruffled ribbon to create "grass". I've done the same in the past with white ribbon for snow. It's a great way to use up your ribbon stash for something other than a bow.

Tip 2: Let your patterned paper do the work for you. As you can see the main panel (green) of my card is only one layer. I chose a part of the paper with a floral scroll and used it in my design.

Well, that's all for today, thanks as aways for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamp: Yippee Fhiona from Your Next Stamp

Ink: Memento Desert Sand

Papers: K and Company, Copic XPress It cardstock

Accessories: twine from The Twinery, Copic Markers, Prima rhinestone and flower, ruffled ribbon, Dienamics scalloped edged die, Making Memories letter stickers

Stamp giveaway on the Purple Onion Blog!

2012-01-24T18:42:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note to let you know that Michele has a stamp giveaway going on over at the POD blog. So pop on over and leave a comment for your chance to win some stamps. See you soon with a new card.

A pencil and a dream....

2012-01-23T07:00:00.001-05:00

Good morning! Here's a school themed card that I created for last week's MFT Wednesday sketch challenge (MFTWSC54).

And I'm on a role for finishing the insides of my cards. For this one I stamped the image in navy ink and then the sentiment over top in red with a few scraps of paper across the bottom.

Supplies:
Stamps: A la Mode “Talk Nerdy to me” Set from My Favorite Things
Papers: October Afternoon patterned paper, Neenah cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Ruffled ribbon (Etsy), wood button, Martha Stewart baker’s twine, Copic markers, Fiskars border punch
Sketch: MFTWSC54

Eat cake!

2012-01-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hello and Happy Friday! I finally got around to inking up one of my new Stephanie Ackerman neighbourhood stamps. The bakery stamp, with it's cute striped awning, is just perfect for a birthday card. I used a red and brown theme for my design and added a strip of cupcake paper across the bottom to add to the birthday theme.

I even finished the inside by stamping the bakery in brown ink and then the remaining two sentiments from the set in red ink. I'm definitely going to try to finish my cards inside and out more often as it's very easy when you already have the scraps and stamps on your desk!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stephanie Ackerman's Bakery set from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Ranger Distress Ink (Festive Berries)
Papers: My Mind's Eye, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, Martha Stewart baker's twine, Copic Markers, button, Spellbinder's Dies, Dienamics scalloped die

WOW Wednesday

2012-01-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

Today I’d like to share with you a heat embossed card that I created using a gradient technique and four different colours of WOW Earthtone embossing powders.

To create the embossed panel I stamped the floral background in Versamark ink onto some white cardstock. Then I applied the embossing powders one colour at a time to the stamped image before heat embossing (I applied all the powder and then heated at the end).

To apply the powder for the gradient look, I tried two different techniques. First I tried masked the image with scrap paper and applied each powder one at a time. This technique worked fine but I found that the paper mask caused some of the embossing ink to be removed from the paper resulting in uneven coating. Then I tried just holding the stamped image at an angle over some scrap paper and pouring the powder onto the image one colour at a time (dumping the colour back into the container after each colour). This method ended up being much more efficient with minimal mixing of the colours.

I applied some distress ink to the outside of the embossed image to add some definition to the panel and then I simply matted onto a piece of scalloped cardstock, added some ribbon and a button, and adhered embossed cardstock base

Supplies:
Stamps: Flowers backgrounder from WOW! (available after winter CHA)
Wow! Embossing Powders: Suzy West Earthtones: Paprika, Honey, Olive and Nutmeg
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo), Versamark
Papers: DCVW cardstock, Georgia Pacific white cardstock, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Basic Grey button, SRM Sentiment Sticker, Spellbinder's Nestabilities die, Cuttlebug embossing powder, gold ribbon bow (recycled from a Christmas gift basket)

It's YNS Fun Friday!

2012-01-13T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hello and Happy Friday! Today I have a fun Valentine's Day card to share with you. And speaking of fun, did you know that there is a new feature for 2012 over on the Your Next Stamp blog? It's call Fun Fridays---Karen will be sharing some design team creations, tips and tutorials. So be sure to stop by each Friday to learn something new.

Also, just a reminder that you have until Monday to participate in the YNS release blog hop for your chance to win one of the new Jenny Suchin stamp sets like the one featured in this card (click on release blog hop link to go to my post).

And now for my card. I used the new Basket Animals set and put two little bears in the basket. The background was embossed with a Sizzix heart themed embossing folder and lightly sanded. To play along with this week's Lily Pad card challenge, I added chipboard frame around my image as well as a chipboard heart. I combined challenges with this week's Simon Says challenge and added some striped gathered ribbon and the dots around the chipboard frame.
Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Stamps: Basket Animals from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress Ink (Festive Berries)
Papers: Kelly Panacci K and Co. Valentine's paper, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Kelly Panacci Kelly Panacci K and Co. Valentine's chipboard accents and die cuts, twine from The Twinery, Sizzix embossing folder, ruffled ribbon (Etsy), Fiskars border punch
Challenges: Lily Pad chipboard challenge, Simon Says spots and stripes

Hop, hop, hopping with Jenny Suchin's new YNS stamps!!

2012-01-11T03:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning and welcome to the Your Next Stamp's January release blog hop!! You should have arrived from Maylee's blog. (If not, there is a full list of today's posters at the bottom of my post.)

As I mentioned earlier this week, the talented Jenny Suchin has created some super cute new stamps for YNS. Today I'm showing you an Easter tag that I created using the bunny image from the Basket Animals set. I wanted to show you how you can cut out the little critters to use with other images or even add to embellishments (for example you could add to the center of a button or other die cuts).

For my tag I stamped out the Easter sentiment and Fancy Frame tag onto some patterned paper and then cut it out. To add an element of cute, I stamped and cut out three bunny images to attach to the top of the frame. The rest of the tag was just layers of scrap paper strips and I added some twine, pom pom trim and a nice big bow at the top.

So how you like a chance to win YOUR CHOICE of one of Jenny's new stamp sets? Well it's easy---all you need to do is leave a comment on the design team blogs along the way. One of today's posters is the secret blogger and one lucky person who comments on their blog will win!! So the more you comment, the greater your chance to win.

Oh and what's a hop without a sale? To receive 15% off your entire YNS order, just enter YNSJAN2012 at checkout!

Thanks for stopping by! Now it's time to hop on over to Dana's blog.

Supplies:
Stamps: Jenny Suchin's Basket Animals (bunnies) from Your Next Stamp, Fancy Frame Stamp (frame and sentiment) and Die Combo from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Palette Fuchsia, Palette Noir, Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: The Girls Paperie, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: button, twine from the Twinery, Offray ribbon, Copic Markers, Stickles, Maya Road trim, Avery mailing tag

In case you got lost along the way, here's a list of all today's posters:
Jenny S. – http://suchins.blogspot.com
Peggy- http://cardcrazy.wordpress.com
Kerri – http://cardsbykerri.blogspot.com
Maylee – http://mayleescreativecorner.blogspot.com {YNS Guest}
Jen R. – http://www.tennisgirl27.blogspot.com
Dana – http://gotjoycreations.blogspot.com
Carole – http://motherslittlehelper.typepad.com
Jenny P. – http://mylittlestampinspot.blogspot.com
Amy – http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com
Jen D. – http://iheart2stamp.com
Diana – http://doodledeedesigns.blogspot.com
Maureen – http://mycasestudies.blogspot.com
Veronica – http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.com {YNS Guest}
Karen – http://yournextstamp.blogspot.com

One dino-mite birthday card

2012-01-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning! One of my crafty goals this year is to take out all of the stamps in my "to use" pile (and trust me, it's a BIG pile LOL!) and actually use them AND to participate in more stamping challenges around the web. So this card is a 2 for 1.....I finally inked up my unloved "Little Loveosaurus" from My Favorite Things and I used this week's MFT sketch for inspiration.

The two circles on the sketch threw me off at first and I struggled a tiny bit to get the patterns to work together, but all in all I do like the clean lines and uncluttered look that I ended up with. AND, you can actually mail this card in a regular envelope (unlike ~~some~~ most of my other creations hee hee). By the way, I just realized AFTER I took the photo that the button needs to move a bit to the left (which I did) but I was too lazy to take another picture :)

Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Claire Keay Little Loveosaurus set from My Favorite Things
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: My Mind's Eye, Neenah cardstock, Basic Grey
Accessories: twine from the Twinery, button, Copic Markers
Sketch: MFTWSC53

Pssssttt.....make Your Next Stamp a set from Jenny Suchin

2012-01-08T07:00:00.001-05:00

I have a really cool little sneak peek to share with you today!

Next week at Your Next Stamp, there is going to be an awesome new release of stamps designed by the talented Jenny Suchin. Today I'm sharing a card I made using the new basket animals set---the set comes with an empty balloon basket, a number of cute little animals that you can add to the basket and a few sentiments----super CUTE.

For my card I used some papers from the Simple Stories birthday line and as you can see in the second photo, I added some glossy accents to the balloons to make them look realistic.

Please pop by on January 11th, 2012 for the release blog hop where you can see all the new sets and of course you can win one of the great new sets.

Supplies:
Stamps: Jenny Suchin Basket Animals from Your Next Stamp (Available January 11th, 2012)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Simple Stories, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Copic markers, twine from the Twinery, twill ribbon, glossy accents, Basic Grey button, Fiskars border punch

WOW, I actually SCRAPPED!!

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!! Today I'm sharing a layout (yes shocking I know....an actual LAYOUT hee hee!!) that I created for my first assignment using WOW embossing powders (debuting at CHA later this month). The wood grain background was created using Suzy West Earthtone Pepper powder, Versamark ink and a Crafter's Workshop 12 x 12 template. I also added some gold accents to my chipboard letters and accents by embossing.

You can see more close ups of my layout and the details on how I created it on the WOW blog today. Oh, and don't forget to check out the WOW Facebook page for your chance to win some free product :)

Supplies:
Papers: The Paper Company (kraft) cardstock, Bazzill scalloped edge cardstock, My Mind's Eye (woodgrain) patterned paper
WOW Embossing Powders: Suzy West Earthtone Pepper, Metallic Rich Gold
Ink: Versamark, Ranger Distress Ink (Vintage Photo), Maya Road Espresso brown mist spray (Maya Mist)
Accessories: The Crafter's Workshop Woodgrain 12 x 12 stencil, silver metal star shaped brads, Pink Paislee letter stickers, Heidi Swapp chipboard letters, Colorbok chipboard star and journalling block, grosgrain ribbon, Making Memories brads

My favourite projects from 2011

2012-01-04T09:25:00.000-05:00

The past week, I've been inspired by everyone's "best of 2011" posts in blogland and I've decided to do my own. I've picked one of my favourite project from each month of 2011 to share with you.
January 2011- A simple paper pieced creation using Unity Stamps and white stamping on kraft paper:

February - A cute little valentine card using a Penny Black stamp:

March - An Irish Princess card for St. Patrick's Day using stamps from My Cute Stamps:

April - A woody-themed card using stamps from Paper Smooches:

May - One of a set of three strawberry themed cards I made using stamps from Unity Stamp Co. and papers from Jillibean Soup:

June - A clean and simple card using stamps from Lawn Fawn:

July - July was not a very productive month as I moved in June but I did like this card I created using stamps and dies from My Favorite Things

August - For August it was hard to pick just one card so I'm going to cheat and show you two (both using Purple Onion Designs stamps). The second beach card is probably one of my favourite cards I've EVER made (even though it took me a long time to come up with the finished design)

September - A holiday card using stamps from Paper Smooches:

October - A shaped card using my favourite Your Next Stamp stamp from 2011:

November - A Christmas card using a digital poinsettia stamp from the newly launched Cornish Heritage Farms:

December - Wow, this was a tough month to pick a favourite, as I posted a LOT of projects. I picked this snowman Christmas tree ornament that I made using a wood shape from the craft store and stamps from Purple Onion Designs:

I hope you enjoyed my look back at 2011 and I hope to continue to inspire you this year --- here's to 2012!!

Warm Winter Wishes

2012-01-03T08:46:00.000-05:00

Brrrrrr!!! It's a c-c-c-c-cold one out there in Ontario today, so I'm going to send you some warm winter wishes.

I created the kraft background for the card base by embossing with a snowflake themed Cuttlebug folder and then added some white pigment ink and white paint to the top surface. For the rose coloured panel, I took a piece of white cardstock, embossed it and then sponged some Ranger Distress Inks around the outside. After the ink dried I also added some white paint to make the snowflakes stand out.

The image is from the recent release of Stephanie Ackerman's Winter Kids collection. I coloured the "Ginger" image with my Copics and then created a little flag for her using a sentiment from the snowman framed doodle set. To finish off the card I added some ribbon and baker's twine and a few snowflake buttons.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stephanie Ackerman's "Ginger" stamp from Purple Onion Designs, Snowman Framed Doodle (Sentiment) from Purple Onion Designs)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Joann Essentials white pigment ink, Ranger Distress Ink (Victorian Velvet)

Papers: Neenah cardstock, kraft cardstock

Accessories: Making Memories white paint, Cuttlebug embossing folder, ruffled ribbon, snowflake button, Offray ribbon, Copic Markers, Prima pearls, twine from the Twinery

And the Growing in Unity Winner is.....

2012-01-02T14:18:00.000-05:00

And the winner of the free Unity Stamp set from my GIU week is........

joetterer who said...

Looks great in black & white!

28 December, 2011 10:51 PM

Please e-mail me so I can let you know the details regarding your prize :)

Welcoming in 2012 with a WOW announcement....

2012-01-01T14:18:00.000-05:00

Hello and Happy New Year!! To start off 2012, I have some exciting news to share. I've joined the design team of a brand new (to the U.S.) company that specializes in embossing powders....it's called WOW! Embossing Powders. They will be making their U.S. debut at the upcoming winter CHA show.

This photo is a little sneak peek of some of the products and let me tell you they are AWESOME!!

We'd love for you to stop by the WOW (U.S) blog here and join us on the WOW (U.S) Facebook page here. You just never know when you might have a chance to win some of these new goodies *wink wink ---- click on link*.

Stop on over to meet the entire design team on the WOW blog and I can't wait to show you some of my creations :)

Hello and You Rock

2011-12-30T07:00:00.044-05:00

Wow, that week sure did fly by! I'm here today to share the last two cards that I created for my week as the Growing in Unity girl. For my last two cards used the December KOTM sketch again as my starting point and opted for the clean/simple and graphic look. Just a reminder to leave a comment on all my posts this week for your chance to win a Unity Stamp set. I'll leave the comments open until 11:59 pm on Sunday (January 1, 2012) and pick a random winner early next week.

My first card is masculine and simple with just a touch of fun (love those moustaches!!). I'm thinking it would be great for either a man's birthday or father's day. I used stamps from the July 2011 Kit of the Month. In order to make the "You Rock" sentiment work with my card I stamped it and then cut it into strips before adhering across the card. I really had to resist the urge to add some baker's twine to this card but I did it LOL!

I like to call the style of this second card "Paper Crafts (magazine) style". It's a simple graphic card with a hint of bling. I stamped the chevron stamp from the December KOTM with a rainbow ink pad and pieced two of them together to form the image panel. Then I matted it onto black cardstock before adding it to a white card base. I added some black glitter letters and a scallop die cut glitter strip (created by adding Stickles to some plain black cardstock) and a piece of black ribbon.

Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Supplies (You Rock):
Stamps: July 2011 Kit of the Month (chair and sentiment) from Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Basic Grey, Echo Park, Making Memories
Accessories: Dienamics postage edge die from MFT

Supplies: (Hello):
Stamps: December 2011 Kit of the Month (chevrons) from Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Kaleidacolor by Tsukineko (Spectrum)
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Accessories: Spellbinder's Nestabilities die, Stickles (Gun Metal), Thickers letters from American Crafts, May Arts ribbon

Sorry for your loss.....

2011-12-29T07:00:00.025-05:00

For today's Growing In Unity card I used the December 2011 Kit of the Month sketch for my design and stamps from the July 2011 KOTM. I usually struggle with sympathy cards but I'm happy with the way this one turned out as it has a touch of colour that seems to sort of "brighten" it up.

To create this card I cut a piece of blue and white wood grain paper, stamped the flower image in grey and then black and then mounted the strip onto a die cut scallop. I added a strip of ribbon to the card base before adhering the panel and stamped the sentiment in the bottom corner. I added a nice big double bow (that was created using my Bow Easy) and a black button and voila...all done.

Thanks so much for your kind words this week and don't forget to comment on all my posts this week for your chance to win a free Unity set. I'll post the winner early next week to give everyone a chance to finish up with their New Year's plans (including myself LOL!). See you tomorrow with my last two cards.

Supplies:
Stamps: July 2011 Kit of the Month (flowers and sentiment) from Unity Stamp Co.
Papers: Lily Bee Designs, Gina K cardstock, Recollections brand card base
Ink: Ranger Iced Spruce Distress Ink (actually is a nice grey tone), Palette Noir
Accessories: button, Offray ribbon, Spellbinder's Nestabilities die

Thank you Unity style

2011-12-28T07:00:00.024-05:00

It's mid way through my week in the "Growing In Unity" spotlight and today I'm sharing an elegant black and white card I made using one of the My Little Shoebox co-brand stamp sets (Audrey). It's a bit difficult to tell but I used a black glitter pen to add a few highlights to my stamped image. I kept the design pretty simple and added a pop of pink with a paper flower.

I forgot to mention but for all my cards posted this week, I challenged myself to ONLY use Unity Stamp sets that I hadn't used yet. I actually will admit that I totally forgot I had this beautiful set sitting in my box of "still to use" stamps (insert embarrassed look here!!). So glad I flipped through the box as I just *heart* this set.

Don't forget to leave a comment on all my posts this week to increase your chances of winning a free Unity Stamp set AND you can also see my bio today over on the Unity Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: My Little Shoebox "Audrey" set from Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Palette Noir
Paper: Making Memories, Gina K Designs cardstock
Accessories: Spellbinders die, Offray ribbon, Recollections flower, Gelly Roller glitter pen (black), SRM sentiment sticker

i had a fun time

2011-12-27T07:00:00.007-05:00

Today is day two of my week in the Unity spotlight and I'm sharing a card I made with the November 2011 Kit of the Month and some paper scraps form the card I showed you yesterday.

The design is pretty simple. I just stamped the lady image three times across the card and added some ribbon and twine. Easy peasy....five minutes or less :)

See you tomorrow with some more Unity inspiration. And don't forget to leave comments all week for your chance to win a fabulous Unity Stamps set!

Supplies:
Stamps: November 2011 Kit of the Month (images and sentiment) from Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette Fuchsia ink
Papers: My Mind's Eye patterned papers, Core'dinations cardstock, Basic Grey
Accessories: Offray ribbon, Prima Pearl, Copic marker (to colour pearl), twine from the Twinery

Filled with Unity love

2011-12-26T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hello! Happy Boxing Day. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

This week I'm excited to be the "Growing in Unity" girl. All week from Monday to Friday I'll be sharing a creation using Unity Stamps AND at the end of the week I'll be picking a name from all the comments to win a free stamp kit!

So since Christmas is over it's time to get in the mood for Valentine's Day LOL!! Just kidding. I happened to have the new December Kit of the Month sitting on my desk and decided to make something with it right away. I'm in LOVE with that jar stamp. I added some hearts to my jar to fill it with love. Then I also use the LOVE stamp from the kit, cut out the letters and added some Stickles to make them all bling-y.

Hope you liked my first creation. I'll be back tomorrow and all week with another Unity creation :)

Supplies:
Stamps: December 2011 Kit of the Month (love words and jar stamps) from Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Palette Fuschia, distress ink
Papers: My Mind's Eye patterned paper, Georgia Pacific, Basic Grey, Coredinations cardstock
Accessories: twine from The Twinery, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Prima pearl, Stickles, Spellbinder's Nestabilities die

It's Christmas time in the city....

2011-12-24T08:34:00.002-05:00

Hello and Merry Christmas Eve! I have one final Christmas card to share with you today and I think it's my favourite of the season. I used the awesome new Stephanie Ackerman Trim a Tree stamp set (from Purple Onion Designs). I do have to apologize in advance for the awful photo but once again winter lighting got the best of me --- I actually asked Santa for a light box so we just might see some better photos in the new year LOL!

The card measures about 4 1/2" x 7" so you can appreciate the size of the image. I created my stamped panel by creating a little snowy scene. I stamped some light blue snowflakes all over the image and then stamped the sentiment in two different ink colours. I accented the entire image with Stickles to make the Christmas light twinkle.

Before attaching the panel, I added some scraps of frilled ribbon to the top and bottom and of course some baker's twine (I just cannot get enough of it these days LOL!)

I'd like to wish you and your family Happy Holidays and thank you so much for all the wonderful comments and support you have shared with me this year :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Trim a Tree Shop (Stephanie Ackerman) from Purple Onion Designs, Merriness set (snowflakes) from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink ((Festive Berries, Evergreen Bough, Tumbled Glass)
Papers: Provocraft, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Devine Twine (Whisker Graphics), ruffled ribbon, Offray red ribbon, Making Memories button and rhinestone, Stickles, Copic markers

A Warm Wintery Christmas card

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! Happy Friday and Christmas Eve-Eve. Today I'd like to share with you a nice wintery looking kraft Christmas card that I created using an image from Your Next Stamp.

The image was stamped onto some Copic-friendly kraft cardstock (from Gina K Designs). I coloured the white snow with a pencil crayon and added some highlights with a white gel pen. The background papers were embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then I ran white pigment ink over the surface to add some white snow. The twill ribbon was dyed with spray inks and then distressed them a bit before adding a wood button and my sentiment tag.

See you tomorrow for the last of my Christmas cards. Merry Christmas!

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Home from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Joann Essentials white pigment ink, brown distress ink
Papers: Basic Grey, Gina K kraft cardstock, Georgia Pacific white
Accessories: Tattered Angels spray, twill ribbon, wood button, beige baker's twine, Making Memories tag, Spellbinder's die, Cuttlebug embossing folder
Copic Colours/colouring media: R29, YG67, E35, B02, C5, white Koh-i-noor pencil, Inkessentials white pen, Sakura glitter pen

A set of Christmas pillow boxes

2011-12-22T07:00:00.044-05:00

Good morning! I hope your holiday preparations are going well---I still have some shopping to do and some gifts to put together but I'm finally feeling like I'm making progress.

Today I'd like to share with you a set of pillow boxes that I created using the Sizzix pillow box die and some stamps from Purple Onion Designs. You could fill the boxes with some candy or a small tree ornament or a gift certificate. I was able to cram a gift card into them too but you lose a bit of the 3D-ness of them.

The design of all three boxes is very similar: I die cut the pillow box, stamped on the cardstock (before assembling) to create the background and then added some embellishments. Scroll down for close ups of each box with a few more directions :)

For this box I stamped some Christmas sentiments in two different colours using the limited edition holiday Distress Inks from Ranger. Then I simply added a ribbon bow and a piece of a Christmas beaded pick from my junk box.

For this box, I stamped a music backgrounder onto the dark cardstock in white pigment ink. Then I created this medallion type embellishment using a journalling scalloped circle stamp and a premade accordion sticker embellishment from K and Co. I added a little baker's twine bow and voila....number two done.

Finally for this box I stamped some white snowflakes onto kraft cardstock. I die cut a small white scalloped shaped and stamped the snowman image onto it (coloured with Copics). I then added some baker's twine and a felt snowflake embellishment.

Supplies (Snow man kraft box):
Stamps: Merriness Set from Purple Onion Designs
Papers: The Paper Company cardstock, Neenah cardstock
Ink: Joann Essentials white pigment ink, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Devine Twine from Whisker Graphics, Darice felt snowflake, Copic markers, Spellbinder's Nestabilities die, Sizzix Pillow Box Die

Supplies (Dark box with accordian flower):
Stamps: Early 1900s Music Backgrounder from Purple Onion Designs, Circle Scallop label from Purple Onion Designs
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Ink: Joann Essentials white pigment ink, Ranger Distress Ink (Evergreen Bough) Limited Edition Inks
Accessories: Making Memories button and rhinestone, K and Company accordion embellishment, Martha Stewart Baker's twine, Sizzix Pillow Box Die

Supplies (Green and Red box with beads):
Stamps: Holiday Ticket set from Purple Onion Designs
Papers: Georgia Pacific cardstock
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink (Festive Berries, Evergreen Bough) Limited Edition Inks
Accessories: Christmas bead pick (craft store), American Crafts ribbon, Sizzix Pillow Box Die

A Happy Holidays ornament

2011-12-21T07:00:00.005-05:00

For today's last minute Christmas project, I'm sharing a ornament for the tree. You could also write on the back and use it as a gift tag that can be kept as a decoration for next year.

Again this was a pretty quick project to create. I covered a wood circle (purchased in the wood shape aisle at Michaels) and covered it in paper. Then I added some ruffled ribbon trim and pom pom trim around the outside before attaching the stamped images. The images were paper pieced and coloured with my Copics. I punched a hole in the top with my Cropadile and then added a ribbon bow and some twine to hang it with.

I hope you're enjoying all my last minute projects! Up tomorrow I a set of pillow boxes that you can make to fill with candy or a gift card or other small item.

Supplies:
Stamps: Snowman Framed Doodle from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: K and Company, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Wood circle (ornament base), Maya Road trim, white gathered trim (fabric store), Copic markers, Offray ribbon, baker's twine (the Twinery)

Tuesday's Tag and a Treat Bag

2011-12-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

Hello and Happy Tuesday! Today I have two projects to share with you---a tag and a bag.

First up is a Christmas tag that I created using a mailing tag. I covered the tag with some patterned paper scraps and then added my stamped images on top. The tree image was paper pieced and coloured with my Copic markers before adding some glitter accents with Stickles. I added a bit of baker's twine and pom pom trim to the bottom and a nice big double bow (thank you Bow Easy!!) to the top.

Secondly, I created this stamped bag. You could use it for baked treats or even as a gift wrapping for a smaller gift. To create the bag I took a white paper bag and stamped all over with the gingerbread man stamp (and added a bit of colour with my Copic markers). Then I created a little accent for the center of the bag using a die cut gingerbread man (from Sizzix) and some more stamped images. The top of the bag was finished off with a stamped sentiment strip, some scalloped paper and some baker's twine.

Supplies (Christmas Tag):

Stamps: Christmas Trees Framed Doodle from Purple Onion Designs

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Papers: Provo Craft, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: twine from the Twinery, Copic markers, Offray ribbon, Maya Road trim, Stickles, Avery mailing tag

Supplies (treat bag):
Stamps: Gingerbread man stamp from Purple Onion Designs, Holiday Border Tape Set from Purple Onion Designs, Season's Greetings Logo from Purple Onion Designs, Circle Scallop Label from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink, Memento Rich Cocoa
Papers: Provo Craft, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Whisker Graphics baker's twine, Dienamics scalloped die, Sizzix gingerbread man die, Copic markers

A quick Christmas gift card holder

2011-12-19T09:21:00.000-05:00

Well, it's the last full week before Christmas and the chaos has begun LOL!! For the next couple of days I'll be sharing a few quick Christmas projects with you, just in case you need to whip up some last minute items.

Let's start things off with a gift card holder. I like to jazz up my gift cards a little so I created this holder in less than 10 minutes (minus the glitter glue drying time) and here's how:

Stamp the Noteblock stamp (from Purple Onion Designs) in red ink and heat emboss with clear glitter powder. Cover front and back of die cut gift card holder (you could also easily make your own in a few minutes using a strip of 4" x 12" paper) with patterned paper. Adhere ribbon tie around middle of holder. Trim and mat Noteblock onto die cut scalloped rectangle (edges were covered in Stickles) and adhere to front of holder. Add a large ribbon bow at edge of stamped block, add snowflake accent and add stamping to the inside as desired.

See you tomorrow with a tag and treat bag......

Supplies:

Stamps: Happy Holidays Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs, Merriness Set from Purple Onion Designs

Ink: Adirondack Red Pepper, Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Crate Paper

Accessories: Michael's Celebration Ribbon, Darice felt snowflake, glitter embossing powder, Making memories button, die cut gift card holder (I'm not sure where these are available for sale anymore as the place I got them is no longer in business---sorry!!), Spellbinder's Nestabilities die, Stickles

Another Monday with Market Street.....

2011-12-12T13:16:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post for today....I'm trying to get caught up on things from a little birthday/anniversary get away last week/weekend.

Here's a card I made using the "Comfort Food" set from Market Street Stamps. (I just love how you get a little smiley face that you can add to any of the stamps in the set!!). The papers are from an older Cosmo Cricket collection from my scrap bin. It's difficult to see but I added some Crystal Lacquer on the pot to make it look shiny. A nice quick and easy card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Comfort Food set from Market Street Stamps
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Cosmo Cricket, Neenah cardstock, Basic Grey
Accessories: Twill ribbon, Copic markers, Crystal Lacquer, Fiskars border punch

It's a YNS holiday challenge and a blog hop

2011-12-07T03:00:00.007-05:00

Good morning! It’s time for another Your Next Stamp challenge (YNSC57) and this week’s theme is winter/holiday. Today’s challenge post is a special one: we’re showing off some of the new December release stamps and celebrating with a little blog hop.

No blog hop is complete without some prizes, so Karen is giving away 3 gift certificates to the YNS store. The prizes are randomly hidden amongst the design team blogs (see link list at bottom of post) so all you need to do is comment along the way for your chance to win. AND of course if you participate in the winter/holiday challenge you also have the chance to win a Merry Mouse Wreath stamp AND a $10 gift certification (a YNS stamp or digi image is required to qualify).

Now onto my card. I used the new holiday snow globe set to create this winter themed card. I had a pad of some older Cosmo Cricket paper sitting on my desk so I pulled a few sheets out of it for my starting point. I went a bit nuts on the stitching on this one (I figured I’d give my sewing machine a work out after not using it in at least 6 months) and even decided to live dangerously and sew in a circle around my image panel. The sentiments in the set are the perfect size to use with a small tag punch so I made my sentiment into a tag and attached it to the center of my felt snowflake.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Be sure to stop by the YNS Store to see all the wonderful new releases (including some new stamp and die sets!!), bundle packs, the awesome variety of stamps in the Bargain Bin and the YNS Deal of the week. Your next stop on the hop is Dana.

In case you get lost along the way, here’s the full list of today’s participants:

Kerri – http://cardsbykerri.blogspot.com

Veronica – http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.com {YNS December Guest}

Jen R. – http://www.tennisgirl27.blogspot.com

Dana - http://gotjoycreations.blogspot.com

Jenny S. - http://suchins.blogspot.com

Maureen – http://mycasestudies.blogspot.com

Jenny P. – http://mylittlestampinspot.blogspot.com

Carole – http://motherslittlehelper.typepad.com

Jen D. http://iheart2stamp.com

Amy – http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com

Wendy – http://sugarpea-designs.blogspot.com

Diana – http://doodledeedesigns.blogspot.com

Peggy - http://cardcrazy.wordpress.com

Karen – http://yournextstamp.blogspot.com

Supplies:

Stamps: Holiday Snow globe set from Your Next Stamp

Ink: Memento Tuxedo black, Ranger Distress Ink (Evergreen bough)

Papers: Cosmo Cricket, Neenah cardstock

Accessories: Sewing machine, Spellbinder’s die, Copic markers, Stickles, Darice felt snowflake embellishment, The Twinery baker’s twine

Merry Monday with Distress Stains and Market Street

2011-12-05T08:25:00.000-05:00

It's another Monday closer to Christmas and I still haven't even thought about anything Christmas related. However, I have at least been in Christmas craft mode for the past month so at least *something* will be done LOL!!

Here's a vintage Christmas card I created using some heat embossing and some Ranger Distress Stains. I took a piece of watercolour paper and heat embossed the argyle background with clear embossing powder. Then I took some red and green Distress Stains, dabbed them onto my craft mat and then put the watercolour paper on top to create the background. My colours did get a bit muddled together (which I think might be because of the type of paper I used) so if you want more defined colours then I would recommend spacing the inks further apart and maybe adding a few spritzes of water. Then the card was finished off with some dyed binding and Authenique papers.

Supplies:
Stamps: Argyle backgrounder from Market Street Stamps
Ink: Versamark ink (for embossing), Distress Stain (Fired Brick and Forest Moss)
Papers: Watercolour paper, Authenique Christmas papers
Accessories: Darice snowflake, button, twine, Making Memories tag, Fiskars border punch, seam binding (dyed with spray ink)

Here's to Christmas and a sale!

2011-12-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

First the important news....it's time for a holiday sale at Purple Onion Designs! All stamps are 25% off (now through 12/11). Use code HOL2011 during checkout to receive your 25% discount. Michele has even added some new Stephanie Ackerman "neighbourhood stamps" to the web site that you are not going to want to miss!!

And there is some even more exciting news at POD......Heidi Grace is launching a new line of products under the name Heidi Grace Kress. Purple Onion Designs will be offering her adorable designs in stamps! The first collection is for the holiday season. You can see them here: Heidi Grace Kress Stamps

Wow, I can't wait to get my hands on some of those new designs :) And finally onto my holly themed card. You can see all the product details below. Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Christmas Toast sentiment from Purple Onion Designs, Merriness set (Holly border) from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Adirondack green ink, brown distress ink
Papers: Authenique Wonder collection

Accessories: Dienamics rolled rose die, Quickutz/Lifestyle Crafts holly die, craft felt, ruffled ribbon (from Etsy), Spellbinder's dies

Skating by to say thank you.

2011-11-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

Well, we're experiencing our first true snowfall of the season today so what better time to share a winter-y thank you card that I made using Skating Fun Fhiona from Your Next Stamp.

I used a pretty simple design on this card. I just used the pink background paper as my "canvas", cut out my coloured image and added some trims, twine and a felt snowflake. The sentiment on the bottom is an SRM Sticker. Enjoy!

Supplies:
Stamps: Skating Fun Fhiona from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Neenah cardstock, K and Company
Accessories: felt snowflake, button, pink baker's twine (The Twinery), Offray ribbon, Stickles, SRM Sticker sentiment, Fiskars scalloped border punch

Copic colours:
Skin: E00, E01, RV21
Hair: E27, E23
Dress: R85, R83, R81, B04
Other: B000, B01, YG61, C03 (accented with Sakura glitter pen and Stickles)

Happy Holidays!

2011-11-28T08:14:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Today I'd like to share a kraft and white based Christmas card I created for the Scrapscene Christmas card a day feature.

The Snowman Framed Doodle Image was stamped onto kraft cardstock and coloured with white Koh-i-noor pencil crayon and Copics. The background was embossed with a Basic Grey embossing folder and white pigment ink swiped across the surface to make the snowflakes pop out. I added some red and green papers as accent colours and some pom pom trim to add my own snowballs :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Tip: when colouring with white pencil crayon on kraft cardstock, I find that using a smooth cardstock really helps to achieve overall coverage (I used Gina K cardstock which is also Copic friendly). The Koh-i-noor pencils are nice and soft and give a wonderful coverage without having to using anything to blend. I purchased my pencils at a local art store (my local DeSerres sells them individually and in sets) and you can get them in sets at Michaels.

Supplies:
Stamps: Snowman Framed Doodle from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Joann Essentials white pigment ink, Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Provo Craft, Gina K Designs, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Maya Road pom pom trim, Sizzix Basic Grey embossing folder, Offray ribbon, Making Memories tag, Fiskars edge punch

Market Street Stamps Sunday

2011-11-27T09:00:00.008-05:00

Hi! Not too long ago I learned about a relatively new stamp company called Market Street Stamps and instantly knew I had to get a few of their backgrounders. Well, I was selected to be the guest designer for November and today on the Market Street blog you can see the projects I made!

Today I'm sharing a wedding card I made using the Celebrate Cake set. What I love about this set is that you can totally customize it for any occasion. I used it to create a wedding cake. I added some Liquid pearls to the image and made my own topper with some Prima flowers and pearls. I was cleaning out my scrap paper bin and found these beautiful SEI papers that were the starting point for my colour palette.

Thank you so much to Market Street Stamps for chosing me to be the Guest Designer this month!

Supplies:
Stamps: Celebrate cake set from Market Street Stamps
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa
Papers: SEI, Prism Simply Smooth cardstock
Accessories: Michaels ribbon, Fiskars border punches, Prima pearls and flowers, Liquid Pearls, Copic markers

FWF Holiday Friday!

2011-11-25T08:17:00.000-05:00

Well today marks *MY* official kick off to the holiday season and I still have a ton of cards to make for everyone on my list. So today I'm sharing a quick and easy card I made in some non-traditional colours using a Basic Grey embossing folder (by Sizzix) and a stamp from the Unity Stamps November 2010 Kit of the Month.

I simple embossed some dark pink (white cored) cardstock, sanded the surface and added my stamped sentiment and some trim. One card in less than 5 minutes!

As always on Friday, stop by the Unity blog to see everyone else's fabulous creations and comment along the way for your chance to win some free stamps. Happy Holidays to all my Unity friends!

Supplies:

Stamps: November 2010 Kit of the Month (sentiment and frame) Unity Stamp Co.

Ink: Palette Claret (pink), Palette Noir (black)

Papers: Core'dinations cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock

Accessories: Sizzix Basic Grey (Dearly and Frosty set) embossing folder, Sizzix snowflake die, Prima pearl, trims from Etsy, twine from The Twinery

Time for another YNS Challenge!

2011-11-23T03:00:00.020-05:00

Hello! It's time for another Your Next Stamp challenge ---this week's theme is DIE CUTS. Of course I decided to use my Happy Holidays stamp and die set to create this card (which originally started off as a tag but I just kept going LOL!).

As you can see I paper pieced the tree images and then added a bit of shading with some Copic markers. I also used the sentiment block from the set to create a band across the card.

We would LOVE to see your die cut creations this week (note that any die cuts will do on your project as long as you use a YNS rubber or digi stamp). As always there is a great prize up for grabs. Stop by the YNS challenge blog for all the details and lots more die cut inspiration from the design team.

Supplies:
Stamp and Die set: Happy Holidays stamp and die set from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink (Pine Needles), Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Basic Grey, Georgia Pacific
Accessories: Twill ribbon, Maya Road pom pom trim, baker's twine, Making Memories tags, Avery mailing tag, Fiskars scalloped border punch
Copic Markers (for shading tree and tree trunk): YG17, E47

CHF Blog Hop Winner

2011-11-22T09:35:00.000-05:00

Thank you so much for all the kind comments you left on my CHF blog hop post. Like most of you, I'm thrilled to see CHF back :)

And the winner is......

Shelly Schmidt who said...
Beautiful card- wonderful background for your pretty poinsettia. Love the ribbon and tag too!

Shelly, I have e-mailed you for more information on how to claim your gift certificate.

Did you hear the news??? CHF is back and celebrating with a Blog Hop

2011-11-19T21:00:00.005-05:00

Well, it's official! Cornish Heritage Farms images are back and today marks the grand opening of the digital image store!! (and yes, the new owner is intending to produce rubber as well).

Today we're celebrating with a blog hop to showcase some of the new digital images. I used a beautiful poinsettia image. The image was coloured with my Copic Markers and then accented with a Sakura glitter pen (for the bells) and some Stickles. I cut out the image and mounted it onto some embossed kraft cardstock.

And what's a blog hop without PRIZES?? Visit and comment on each of the blogs on the hop (links below). Each poster will randomly draw a name from the comments left in the first 24 hours to win a gift certificate! That means you have 8 different chances of winning! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Here is a list of all of the designers participating in today's blog hop:

Cornish Heritage Farms Blog http://cornishheritagefarms.blogspot.com/
Frances Byrne – http://stampowl.blogspot.com/
Holly Brown - http://www.glitterstampsandink.blogspot.com/
Lisa Silver – http://silverstamping.blogspot.com/
Jean Franks Beck - http://www.bluebirdpaperie.blogspot.com/
Dawn Lusk - http://dawnanewday.blogspot.com/
Laura O’Donnell - http://itsallrosie.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Roach – http://tennisgirl27.blogspot.com/

Supplies:
Digital Stamp: Poinsettia Digital Stamp from Cornish Heritage Farms
Paper: Neenah cardstock, The Paper Company, Bazzill Cardstock
Ink: Joann Essentials white pigment ink (for distressing)
Accessories: Sakura Star Dust pen (for colouring the bells), Stickles, Copic Markers, Offray Ribbon, Making Memories tag, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Say cheese and cheers!

2011-11-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

Here are two quick, clean and simple cards I created last week using some of my new POD stamps. If you follow my blog regularly, you know that my cards are usually pretty detailed with lots of layers, but I've been trying to produce some simpler cards to become more comfortable with them and to appeal to people who like simpler designs. I will admit that coming up with ideas for the plainer (CAS) cards takes me a lot longer but then if I had to reproduce the design it would be quick. Both of the cards in this post could be made in less than 10 minutes.

For the first card I used some Marvy Liquid applique paint to make foam for the beer (just heat it up after it dries with your heat gun and it puffs up). To keep with the bubble theme, I used an embossing folder and swiped some white pigment ink across the top to make the bubbles stand out. I think this would be a perfect masculine birthday or congratulations card.

For this second card I simply stamped and coloured the image onto a die cut piece of white cardstock. To make my background look like swiss cheese I embossed a piece of yellow cardstock but then adhered it with the embossed surface down so that my "holes" are going into the paper.

Supplies (Say Cheese):

Stamps: Michelle Clement The Wine Shop set from Purple Onion Designs,

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black

Papers: Neenah cardstock, Bazzill cardstock, The Paper Company cardstock

Accessories: Twine from the Twinery, button, Copic Markers, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Supplies (Cheers):

Stamps: Michelle Clement Mixed Drinks set from Purple Onion Designs

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black

Papers: Gina K cardstock, Neenah cardstock, Basic Grey paper

Accessories: Marvy Liquid Applique (white), Copic Markers, Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz embossing folder

Like fine wine.....you get better with age

2011-11-14T08:50:00.000-05:00

Good morning! To start the week off, I'd like to share with you a very vintage looking card that I made using the cracked glass technique. I started off by stamping the wine barrel image and colouring it with light shades of Copic markers to give it a sort of watermark look and then stamped my sentiment over top in black ink. I distressed the edges with both purple and brown inks and then did a cracked glass treatment on top (see below for instructions). After cracking the "glass" I rubbed some brown distress inks into the cracks to add more age.

I wanted to keep the card design simple to showcase the technique so I just adhered the image panel to a mailing tag and added some vintage dyed seam binding, a wood button and some twine.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Crackled Glass Technique: Apply embossing ink (Versamark or similar) to cover entire surface of stamped image. Dip image into Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (that has been poured into a shallow dish) and fully cover. Using heat gun, melt the UTEE and allow to cool. Repeat this process several times until desired thickness of clear coat is achieved (for this card I used approximately 5 to 6 layers of UTEE). Allow to cool and crack image by randomly bending.

Note that for the first application of UTEE, the image will likely not have an even coating of melted embossing powder (will appear bumpy). Subsequent applications of UTEE will even out the clear layer.

Alternate method: Melt Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (Melt Art/Ranger) in melting pot and dip images into molten enamel to form a uniform layer. Repeat several times until desired thickness of clear coat is achieved. Allow to cool and crack image by bending.

Tips: Cooling images in the freezer before final cracking speeds up the process.
Supplies:
Stamps: Michelle Clement's The Wine Shop from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Versamark (for embossing), Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress Ink (purple, brown)
Papers: Prima Marketing, K and Company, Neenah Cardstock
Accessories: Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel UTEE, Avery Mailing tag, twine, wood button, seam binding (dyed with Tattered Angels mist)

Wow, where to begin.....lots and lots of new stamps!

2011-11-10T08:49:00.003-05:00

Michele at Purple Onion Designs has been one BUSY woman the last few weeks and has put together an AMAZING set of new release stamps. The design team has also been busy putting together some awesome projects with them---check out the POD blog! All of the new release stamps are in the store in the What's New section.

So let's start with some of the new Stephanie Ackerman designs. I haven’t been able to put down the new doodle frame stamps since they showed up in my mailbox J. In addition to these cuties there is a new set of "kids" stamps and some soon to be released "village" stamps (see the POD blog for a little sneak peek). I also noticed on Stephanie's blog that she's giving away some of the new stamps....so check it out.

Today I’d like to show you a simple one layer card (a pretty rare type of creation for me LOL!) using the new snowman stamp. Scroll down below the photos for the full instructions and supply list. Thanks for stopping by and see you soon with lots more projects using the new stamps.

Instructions:

1. Stamp the snowman onto a piece of kraft Copic friendly cardstock and colour the image with Copics and a white Koh-i-noor pencil crayon (this brand of white pencil crayon works awesome on darker papers! You can use Gamesol or baby oil to blend if needed but I found on this brand of cardstock that it’s not required).

2. Mask the image and stamp the sentiment all over card base in brown/kraft toned ink.

3. Die cut two strips of scallops out of white vellum paper and embellish with foam snowflake, wood button and twine (Note: I slightly distressed the white snowflake so that the white wasn’t to stark)

4. Distress edges of card base with light brown ink.

Supplies:

Stamps: Snowman Framed Doodle from Purple Onion Designs

Ink: Distress ink, Memento Tuxedo Black

Papers: Gina K kraft cardstock (Copic friendly!), white vellum

Accessories: Dienamics scalloped die, Darice foam snowflake, twine from the Twinery, wood button, Copic markers, Koh-i-noor white pencil

It's all about Friendship (YNS Challenge #55)

2011-11-09T03:00:00.005-05:00

This week’s YNS Challenge (#55) is all about FRIENDSHIP. For my project I created a card using my Super Hero Ellie stamp and the matching “super friend” sentiment.

I was reorganizing my scrap bin and I found some pieces of a comic book themed paper (from EK Success). I decided to make Super Ellie look like she popped out from the comic pages. I coloured her with my Copics using only grey tones (C00, C1, C5, C7 and C9). I quite love this technique and look of the monochrome grey image --- and the best part is that if you colour from light to dark you really don’t have to worry too much about bleeding or going outside the lines hee hee. I find the only tricky part is figuring out how many different tones to use to make the image look like it has enough "colours".

We’d love for you to play along with this week’s challenge. All the details, rules and more great designer’s samples can be found on the YNS Challenge blog. Ass usual Karen is offering up a great prize for the winner of this week’s challenge (Fhiona and Her Best Buddy Fhinn stamp set). Can't wait to see what you come up with!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Super Hero Ellie (image and sentiment set) from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: EK Success superhero paper, Bazzill cardstock, Neenah cardstock, Kaisercraft paper
Accessories: Devine Twine (sampler pack available in YNS store), button, Spellbinder's dies, Copic markers

Creating some autumn decor using Ranger Distress Stains

2011-11-08T14:26:00.000-05:00

This month the design team at Purple Onion Designs was challenged to create a Thanksgiving themed decor item. Since Thanksgiving was last month up here in Canada, I opted to create a fall themed decoration for my fireplace mantel.

I love the smell of scented candles and have several of the large jar style. The label on the jars are rather retail looking when you leave it sitting out, so I created a canvas wrap with an autumn theme using the fall Noteblock stamp and some distress inks and stains. The wrap easily slides on and off so you could create a new one for each season (and also I would recommend removing it temporarily if you’re burning the candle *just in case* since it’s made of fabric and paper)

To create the wrap I ripped a strip of canvas fabric (I like the more rustic look to the edge versus just cutting) and stamped all over with a pumpkin stamp in orange distress ink. Then I added a border of scallops of fall paper to the top and bottom using fabric glue before sewing the back closed. I tied some raffia around the wrap before adding the stamped panel and embellishments.

For the Noteblock panel, I took some of my yet-to-be opened Tim Holtz Distress Stains, applied them to my craft mat and used it as a stamp pad of sorts. Because the stain is watery you will miss out on some of the details of the stamp but I love all the different colours together on the one stamp. You could easily use the same technique with the regular Distress Inks and a spritz of water if you don’t have the stains. To finish off the wrap, I added a fall flower with a wood button center as well as a twine bow.

Happy early Thanksgiving to all my American readers J

Supplies:

Stamps: Fall Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs, Pumpkins (Michele Clement stamps) from Purple Onion Designs

Ink: Ranger Distress Stains (Forest Moss, Fired Brick and Wild Honey), Ranger Distress Inks (Dried Marigold)

Paper: Georgia Pacific cardstock, Provo Craft fall themed paper

Accessories: Canvas (fabric store), raffia, wood button, fall flower, twine, Spellbinders die, craft mat

be Merry with Stamping Bella's Uptown girl

2011-11-06T14:12:00.000-05:00

Hello! Well, now that Halloween is behind us, it's time to start producing more Christmas cards. I usually make them year round and then come December I have a decent selection of one of a kind cards. I generally don't make more than two of the same ones --- I'm not a fan of mass production :)

This is a card I created a few weeks back using one of the new "Uptown Girl" stamps from Stamping Bella. It's not actually designed to be a Christmas stamp but by adding some red and white twine to the candy pop I think it looks rather seasonal. I used my pencil crayons on the dress of this card (rather than my Copics). To make my candy I took some Beacons 3 in 1 glue and covered the candy before winding the twine in a circle. You just have to use a pair of tweezers to get it started but it was pretty easy.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamp: Uptown Girl - Claudia Has a Candy from Stamping Bella
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: My Mind's Eye
Accessories: Baker's Twine (Wilton), Spellbinders Nestabilities, Copic Markers, Prismacolor pencils, Making Memories snowflake, button, red poinsettia, Stickles, button, SRM Sticker

My little cupcake and her pink party

2011-11-01T21:05:00.000-04:00

Hello! Last week was my daughter’s 2^nd birthday (wow does time ever fly) and we had a small party for her last weekend. Even though the party was a bit of a last minute decision, I had to add a few of my crafty touches.

My inspiration for the pink cupcake theme came from the cupcake dress that I picked up a few months back. We managed to convince her to wear for her portrait session but she refused to wear it for the party or for her Halloween party at daycare (oh well! *sigh*).

I purchased the pink polka dot cupcake stand from Homesense (it’s made of a very study coated chipboard so you can reuse it). I created the little flags for the top layer using some dies and stamps from My Favorite Things. I’ll be honest and say I was attempting to create flags for ALL the cupcakes but I just totally ran out of time. Scroll down for the simple directions and supplies for the flags (they’re relatively fast to make if you do it assembly line style)

My Mom created the scalloped banner using her Cricut machine. We decorated the banner with some ribbon bows and some 3D flowers that my Mom also cut on the Cricut (from the Flower Shoppe cartridge). The rest of the pink decor on the table was just from the dollar store.

Instructions for the cupcake flags:

1. Cut out flag out of white cardstock using the tail of the Die-namics First Place Award Ribbon Die & Stamp Set.

2. Stamp polka dots in pink ink and sentiment in dark pink ink (both from Die-namics By The Numbers and Stamp Set).

3. Cut the number two out of dark pink cardstock

4. Attach flag to bamboo skewer using double stick tape and adhere “2” to front of flag

Supplies:

Stamps and Dies: Die-namics First Place Award Ribbon Die & Stamp Set from My Favorite Things (for the flag), Die-namics By The Numbers and Stamp Set from MFT (for the number “2” and all the stamps

Ink: Palette Claret (dark pink), Ranger Distress Ink Spun Sugar (light pink)

Cardstock: Coredinations, Georgia Pacific

Accessories: Bamboo skewers

YNS Day 8 -- Winter Home

2011-10-28T00:00:00.007-04:00

Today is day 8 of the YNS holiday release party. Thank you for all your kind comments yesterday and I hope you're enjoying all the fun so far.

Today I'm sharing a simple shaker card I made using the new "Winter Home" stamp. The design of this card is super simple---just two squares of patterned paper layered on top of each other. The top square was made into a shaker using some faux snow. For the window I added a scalloped ring around the edges to create a focal point. If you would like a step by step tutorial on how to make a shaker card, check out this post on Splitcoaststampers.

Thanks so much for stopping by and don't forget to stop by the YNS blog to check out today's other releases, more details about the early bird sale and more fabulous samples!

Supplies:

Stamps: Winter Home from Your Next Stamp

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Papers: Basic Grey patterned papers, Neenah cardstock

Accessories: Faux snow (by Art Glitter), Fiskars border punch, Spellbinder's dies, acetate (for clear window), Offray ribbon, Wilton baker's twine, Making Memories tag, Stickles, Copics, button

I'm DIE-ing to show you something new, PRIZES....and a challenge

2011-10-27T00:00:00.028-04:00

Welcome to day 7 of the YNS holiday release AND my project for this week's YNS ABC Challenge (see end of post for more details). Today is an exciting one as I’m sharing a little gift wrap/package that I made using the new winter stamp and die set. You can win your very own stamp and die set just by commenting on this post, all the other design team blogs and the YNS blog (visit YNS blog for a list of today's participants).

The finished package/pouch is approximately 4” x 6” and it would be perfect to hold a small gift or even a gift card. I plan on making a few more and wrapping up an ornament and gift card for each of my daughter’s day care teachers.

I took a white wedding treat bag (made by Wilton) and stamped the entire surface with the sentiment block stamp in red ink. Then I coloured the trees with a green Copic (just a tip but if you don’t want it to bleed through to the back of the bag, place a piece of cardstock inside to catch the leaks---let’s just say this one is a prototype LOL!). I then added two strips of scrap paper to the front of the bag and attached the tag with some baker’s twine. On the tag I used the tree stamp and cut it out with the coordinating die. No fussing around with the cutting---yeah!

Head on over to the YNS blog and check out all the samples that the design team created with the set and don’t forget about the early bird special going on right now J

Oh, and one more thing.....this week's YNS challenge (#54) is an ABC challenge -- anything but a card-- you can make tags, gift bags, scrapbook pages, decorate ornaments...anythings goes as long as it's not a card! One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org to win the adorable Ellie Loves to Skate cling stamp (or YNS Bucks if you already have her) and the Winner Blinkie to proudly display on their blog! More details can be found on the YNS Challenge blog. You have until Tuesday, November 8th at midnight EST to enter and you must use a YNS stamp or digi image.

Supplies:

Stamp and Die Set: Holiday Stamp and Die set from Your Next Stamp

Ink: Adirondack Red Pepper, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Papers: Provo Craft patterned papers, Georgia Pacific white cardstock

Accessories: Basic Grey embossing folder (Sizzix), Avery mailing tag, Wilton baker’s twine, Die-namics scalloped die, Copic Markers

Challenges: Your Next Stamp ABC (Anything But a Card) challenge

On the fifth day of Christmas YNS gave to me.....

2011-10-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

On the fifth day of Christmas YNS gave to me---one happy reindeer!

As I was digging around for some Christmas papers to use on my project, I came across an ancient (like we're talking at least 10 years old I think!!!) Provo Craft Christmas slab and it was exactly the inspiration I was looking for for my happy reindeer image. I took four different papers bold, bright and graphic papers from the slab for my layered creation. This cute stamp also comes with a sentiment in a fantastic Christmas-y looking font.

Be sure to stop by the YNS blog for the rest of today's releases and more samples from the designers.

See you later this week with a look at the new stamp and die set-----and don't forget to dig out some of those old papers, you never know what you'll find :)

Supplies:
Stamp: Happy as a Reindeer from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Provo Craft, Neenah carstock, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Foam snowflake, Wilton baker's twine, button, Dienamics scalloped die, Fiskars border punch, Copic Markers, Making Memories pin and sentiment tag, Stickles, Spellbinder's dies

Love and kisses

2011-10-24T00:00:00.032-04:00

Welcome to day 4 of Your Next Stamp's holiday release. Be sure to stop by the YNS blog to see today's other new release stamps and some more designer's samples. Just a reminder that from today until Nov 2nd you will get a FREE gift with EVERY purchase plus FREE SHIPPING on all orders to Canada and the US over $30 (enter code YNSHolidays).

And now for today's project----Allow me to introduce you to the new "Family Photo" stamp. I just totally love this stamp---it reminds me of my perfect little family (aside from the fact that my hubby has a shaved head and we don't have a dog LOL!)

After colouring my image, I realized I wasn't digging the solid colour clothing. So I decided to add some pattern to my image using my Copic colourless blender and drew some lines and dots onto the clothing. This is the first time I've used this technique and I really love how much texture it adds.

I used a shaped card base (cut out on my Mom's Cricut) and just layered a second die cut circle on top before adding my image.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Family Photo from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Lily Bee, Neenah cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Accessories: Card base cut on Cricut, Offray ribbon, SRM stickers, Prima flower, Copic markers, Stickles, Spellbinders die

Your Next Stamp’s (YNS) 14 Days of Holiday Fun!

2011-10-22T00:00:00.007-04:00

Hello and welcome to day 2 of Your Next Stamp’s (YNS) 14 Days of Holiday Fun. From now until November 3rd YNS has .....

New Releases, New Releases and more New Releases! There are over 30 new holiday stamps AND a new Holiday Stamp and Die set being release on Oct 27th
Prizes! You'll have lots of chances to win some of these awesome holiday goodies! Check the YNS blog and YNS Facebook Page daily everyday to find which days are prize days (you will only have 24 hours to enter)
Design Team Inspiration - everyday on the YNS blog, the DT projects featuring the new releases for that day will be posted. There are lots of great holiday projects you will not want to miss!!!
Early bird special sale – from Oct 21st - Nov 2nd you will get a FREE gift with EVERY purchase plus FREE SHIPPING on all orders to Canada and the US over $30 (enter code YNSHolidays)

And now that we’ve got all those details out of the way, onto my project---Today I’m sharing a card I made using the new Holiday Joy stamp set. I chose to use a simple design so you could make a lot of these fairly quickly (assembly line style) for your holiday card list. I like using a more non-traditional colour palette on my holiday cards so that they can be used for everyone, regardless of whether they celebrate Christmas or not. Scroll down below the images for my supply list and full instructions. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Instructions:

Dry emboss light teal cardstock with holiday themed embossing folder, lightly sand around edges (to reveal core) and distress edges with white pigment ink. Mat onto white scalloped rectangle (I created mine by gluing two Nestabilities rectangles together) and then adhere to white cardstock card base.
Die cut bracket shape out of white cardstock (marker friendly) and teal patterned paper. Cut the patterned paper in half and adhere to bottom of white die cut bracket (for each patterned paper die you can make two center panels so keep the extra).
Stamp “Joy” image in black ink onto white part of cardstock and colour with markers.
Add strip of ruffled ribbon and baker’s twine across paper seam (I purchased the ribbon already ruffled at a fabric store). Ink edges of teal portion of panel with white ink and adhere to card base using dimensional adhesive.
Embellish image with glitter glue and add twine bow and button.

Supplies:

Stamps: Holiday Joy set from Your Next Stamp

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Joann’s Essentials white pigment ink

Papers: Coredinations cardstock, Neenah cardstock (for image panel), Georgia Pacific cardstock (for card base and scalloped rectangles), My Mind’s Eye patterned paper

Accessories: white ruffled ribbon (fabric store), My Mind’s Eye baker’s twine, red button, Spellbinders Nestabilities dies, Stickles, Sizzix Basic Grey embossing folder, Shinhan art makers, Copic markers

Thanks Teacher on Unity Friday

2011-10-21T08:30:00.001-04:00

Good morning Unity friends. I have a short and sweet post today......

This is a thank you card that I made using one of Samantha Walker's new release stamps (A to Z Coordinates) from Unity. The design is quite simple and was based on the WCMD sketch challenge from Splitcoaststampers.

I stamped the school house image onto the lined patterned paper, coloured with my Copics (this brand of paper is good to colour on with minimal bleeding) and then used a notebook edge punch along the top. All of the school themed papers are from October Afternoon.

Thanks so much for stopping by and for more great projects from Unity Stamps, stop by their blog for the weekly customer blog hop (don't forget you can win some fabulous stamps too!!)

Supplies:
Stamps: Samantha Walker A to Z Coordinates (Schoolhouse) from Unity Stamp Co., April 2011 Kit of the Month ("teacher") from Unity Stamp Co.
Papers: October Afternoon
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Twine, button, Copic markers, Stamping Up Notebook edge punch, SRM sticker

Knock knock....who's there?

2011-10-20T07:50:00.000-04:00

It's the last of my Halloween projects --- a decorative door hanger that I created using stamps from Purple Onion Designs.

For this project, I covered a pre-made wood door hanger (available at Michaels) with some orange paper and stamped on it with the vintage demask backgrounder in black ink. I stamped the Halloween Noteblock onto the same orange paper and added that to the hanger before adding lots of die cuts and embellishments. There are two layers of trims on the bottom --- black sheer curly trim (from the fabric store) and some pom pom trim. You'll notice there are a few different shades of orange on the paper. To achieve this look, I added some Ranger Distress Inks with a sponge.

You could easily adapt this design for other holidays....in fact I'll probably make a Christmas one so stay tuned :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Vintage Demask backgrounder from Purple Onion Designs, Halloween Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs, Halloween Ribbons from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Palette Noir, Ranger Distress Ink (Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade)
Papers: DCWV
Accessories: Black ribbon trim (fabric store), Offray ribbon, button, black Stickles, Martha Stewart accordian embellishment, Quickutz/Lifestyle Crafts spider web and bat die, pom pom trim, wood door knob holder (craft store)

Another Spooktackular Unity Friday.

2011-10-14T07:00:00.004-04:00

Hello and Happy Friday! Today I'd like to share with you not one but TWO Halloween cards I created for the Unity World Card Making Day challenges.

The first card was for an inspiration challenge (see image in challenge thread ). I was inspired by the black and white of the inspiration image. I created the background using a Tim Holtz embossing folder and lightly sanding the surface. Then I used the spider web stamp as the focal image of the card and added lots of embellishments and a giant die cut spider that I glittered up with some Stickles.

This second card was created for the Halloween challenge. I used the same spider web image and added some colour with some Distress Inks and a sponge. Lots of scraps on this card and once again an embossed background.

I'm also linking these cards up for this week's Simon Says Halloween/Goth challenge :)

Supplies (pumpkin card):

Stamps: Samantha Walker Halloween Traditions set from Unity Stamp Co. , September 2010 Kit of the Month (pumpkins and sentiment) from Unity Stamp Co.

Ink: Ranger Dried Marigold Distress Ink, Palette Noir (black)

Papers: DCWV carstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock, Recollections patterned paper (polka dot), Echo Park patterned paper (stripes)

Accessories: Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinder's die, American Crafts ribbon, Dienamics scalloped die from My Favorite Things

Supplies (black and white card):

Stamps: Samantha Walker Halloween Traditions set (Spider Web background) from Unity Stamp Co.

Papers: DCWV cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock, Echo Park patterned paper

Ink: Palette Noir

Accessories: Quickutz spider die, Spellbinders dies, Dienamics scalloped die from My Favorite Things, Pom Pom trim, Martha Stewart twine, button, Tim Holtz embossing folder

Halloween week continues with some treat bags

2011-10-13T08:35:00.000-04:00

Hello! Today I'd like to share with you some quick and easy Halloween treat bags that I created using some Purple Onion Designs stamps, distress inks, and some plain white treat bags (from Wilton-designed for wedding treats). My inspiration for the treat bags came from my childhood memories of getting little paper bags filled with treats on Halloween. I discovered they don't even make the paper bags anymore (at least in my area) so I set out to create my own.

For the first bag I took some orange distress ink and applied it using a stipple brush around the outside of the bag. (For you novice stampers, a stipple brush is like a giant paint brush that you can use with inks to give a soft overall application of colour. I personally find the stipple brush easier to control the colour compared to using sponges.) I then stamped some bats in black ink onto the bag and added some ribbon, trim and twine to close the bag. As a final accent I added a glittered die cut bat.

For the second bag I simply stamped the witch and bat images in orange and black ink. Then I created a paper strip border with some scrap papers and again added some trim and twine.

These bags were very quick to create.--I'd say for both a total of five minutes or less---so you could easily make a lot of them in a short time! I made 20 of them for my daughter's school Halloween party (but modified a bit to make them toddler friendly) and I filled them with some individually wrapped cookies and peanut free treats.

Supplies:
Stamps: Bats and Flying Witch (Halloween Flight Set) from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Palette Noir, Ranger Dried Marigold Distress Ink, Ranger Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink
Papers: Echo Park Apothecary
Accessories: White paper treat bags (Wilton), Martha Stewart twine, pom pom trim, Dienamics Scalloped edged die from My Favorite Things, Offray ribbon, Quickutz/Lifestyle Crafts bat die, black Stickles

It's a Halloween challenge with Your Next Stamp and a FREE Digi!

2011-10-12T03:00:00.005-04:00

Hello! It's time for another challenge from Your Next Stamp. This week's them (YNSC53) is Halloween.

For my project I made a tag to label my daughter's Halloween bucket for her party at daycare. The pumpkin image is one of the limited edition digi stamps available in the YNS store until December 31. I printed the image on some thick white cardstock and then used some Tim Holtz Distress Stain to cover the image (see Today's Tip below). Then I added some shading with a coordinating shade of Copic and some black Stickles to bling up the eyes and mouth (Disclaimer: the shading is not quite as abrupt as it appears in the photo---it's probably just due to my sharpening of the image in Photoshop). Then I covered an Avery mailing tag with some scraps of paper that were on my desk and added a double bow and some pom pom trim.

Today's Tip: If you have a large image that is primarily one colour (such as the pumpkin image), distress inks or distress stains are a great way to add colour without using markers. Use the dauber of the stain or a sponge (for the distress inks) to wipe the colour over the entire image as your base colour (in this case orange). You don't even have to worry about going outside the lines because you will be cutting it out! Then add other colours (such as the green in the stem) on top with your markers. You can even shade directly on top of the inks or stains to add depth.

And now it's YOUR turn to play along. How would you like a FREE Halloween digi image from Your Next Stamp? All you need to do check out the digi stamps section in the YNS Store and select which image you would like to use for the challenge. Send Karen an email (see email address here) and she'll send along the image so that you can play along with us this week. The winner of this week's challenge will win an Eek the Bat stamp.

Thanks for stopping by and I can't wait to check out all the great Halloween projects you create :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Pumpkin digi stamp from Your Next Stamp
Papers: WRMK, Recollections, Echo Park
Embellishments: Pom pom trim, Martha Stewart twine, Tim Holtz distress stains, Copic Markers, Stickles, Dienamics scalloped die, Offray ribbon

Unity Friends with Flair...inside and out

2011-10-07T07:00:00.005-04:00

Hello Unity friends! It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to join Friends With Flair Friday but I’m back to share a Halloween card (yep another one LOL!) I made using the October KOTM sketch. My card was inspired by one of the designer's samples.

I finished my card inside and out using stamps from the September 2011 kit (pumpkin stamp image) and the September 2010 kit (sentiment). I made the background for my card by using the cover sheet of the Echo Park Apothecary collection (you know the one that comes with the 12 x 12 complete kit) and then layered a bunch of ribbon/trims and die cuts onto the front. Sorry for the orange-y hue to my photo but this time of year it's very hard to get decent light for my photos (booo!!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: September 2011 Kit of the Month from Unity Stamp Co., September 2010 Kit of the Month (sentiment) from Unity Stamp Co.

Papers: Echo Park Apothecary collection, Georgia Pacific Cardstock, Recollections cardstock

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Copic markers, Offray ribbon, pom pom trim, Spellbinders die, Quickutz/Lifestyle Crafts spider web die, Recollections flower

Witch-y Wednesday

2011-10-05T09:01:00.000-04:00

Hello! Hopefully you're not tiring of Halloween projects because I have another few to share this week.

Today I'd like to show you a card I made for the October Sketch for You To Try using one of the new Your Next Stamp digital stamps. I printed the Cute Witch onto some Neenah cardstock and coloured her with my Copics. Then I made a little scene with her using some of the WRMK Spookville papers. What I like about digital stamps is that you can make your image as big or small as you need for your project. To embellish my card I used another one of the Martha Stewart pre-made accordion embellishments I got at Liquidation World, changed the colour with distress ink and stamped my sentiment onto it before adding a twine bow.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Cute Witch Digi stamp from Your Next Stamp, sentiment from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Palette Noir (sentiment)
Papers: WRMK (Spookville line), Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Martha Stewart accordion embellishment, Martha Stewart twine, button, Copic markers, Fiskars border punch
Sketch: October Sketch For You To Try by Jen Del Muro

For your Halloween treats.....

2011-10-03T08:21:00.000-04:00

Hello and happy Monday! This month the Purple Onion design team was challenged to create some Halloween decor and treat containers.

I made a little treat bag using some pre-made white favour containers from the wedding aisle of the dollar store. They came 6 in a package for $1 so they're a great inexpensive way to jazz up your treats.

I used cut and dry foam to cover the container with orange distress ink and then stamped the front and back with the Vintage Demask backgrounder in black ink by masking off the side panels. Then as my embellishment I took a pre-made Martha Stewart accordion fold embellishment (I picked up a few packages at a liquidation center for 20 cents each!!and changed the colour using distress ink. I also added some extra layers of black cardstock and then glued it back together. I then added a sentiment from the Halloween ribbons set and a bat to finish off the embellishment. To make my container more "spooky" I used crepe paper instead of tissue paper to line the box.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Vintage Demask background from Purple Onion Designs, Halloween ribbon stamp from Purple Onion Designs, Halloween Flight set (bat) from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Palette Noir, Ranger Distress Ink (Dried Marigold)
Papers: My Mind's Eye
Accessories: White party favour box (from the dollar store), Martha Stewart accordion sticker, button, Martha Stewart baker's twine, Offray ribbon

Feeling outdoorsy with Market Street Stamps

2011-10-02T15:21:00.001-04:00

Hi! Today I'd like to share with you a masculine-ish card I created for the Market Street block party using some of the new Market Street Stamps that were in my "to get inky" basket. I went with an outdoorsy look on this one and used the camper image from the Gone Camping set and the Wonderful Wood grain background stamp (which I just love bc it has a cool graphic feel).

If you look closely you'll see that I added some wood grain to the round image panel in light brown ink and then also I wanted some texture on the camper so I also stamped on it before paper piecing the door and heart. All of the papers are from the October Afternoon Campfire collection and I added a sentiment sticker from SRM Stickers. I figured the card could be used as a going away card or moving card or even just for any occasion that requires a good luck.

Be sure to stop by the Market Street blog for more wonderful MSS customer creations.

Supplies:
Stamps: Gone Campin' set from Market Street Stamps, Wonderful Wood Grain backgrounder from Market Street Stamps
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress Ink (Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo)
Paper: Neenah cardstock, October Afternoon Campfire Collection
Accessories: SRM Sticker sentiment, Copic Markers, twill ribbon, wood button, Scalloped Dienamics die from My Favorite Things, Spellbinders dies
Sketch: Market Street Stamps blog

Happy World Card Making Day!!

2011-10-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

Hello and Happy World Card Making Day!

First of all I'd like to announce that I'm thrilled to be joining the Your Next Stamp design team! I did some guest design work for them earlier this summer and it's a honour to represent this local Canadian stamping company on a regular basis. I'll have some new YNS creations for you shortly but in the mean time you can check out all my YNS creations here.

Second of all....hop on over to the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog for a special card gallery. They are featuring one of my Halloween cards that I made using a Noteblock Stamp from Purple Onion Designs. For more details on this card, see this previous post.

Supplies:

Stamps: Halloween Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs

Ink: Palette Noir
Papers: Making Memories, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Spider web die cut (Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz), Offray ribbon, Recollections flower, Cricut card base

Sparking my creativity with Paper Smooches

2011-09-28T20:08:00.002-04:00

Today I'd like to share with you a card I created using this week's Paper Smooches sparks challenge. I have several Paper Smooches sets sitting in my "to use" basket and decided to pull one out and get it inky.

The challenge was to use a photo as inspiration (see photo below) and this is what I came up with --- I was inspired by the colour palette, the twine and of course the ruffles on the onesie. I opted for a holiday theme and used that fabulous white ribbon that I bought at the fabric store as my snow-y ground.

Thanks for stopping by!!

And here's the inspiration photo from the challenge:

Supplies:
Stamps: Swanky Snowdudes from Paper Smooches stamps
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Joann's Essentials white pigment ink
Paper: The Paper Company kraft cardstock, Coredinations mint green cardstock, Kelli Panacci patterned paper (pink), Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Pink sorbet twine from the Twinery, Copic markers, Cuttlebug embossing folder, button, Spellbinders Nestabilities, white ruffled ribbon from the fabric store

Happy Halloween!

2011-09-25T08:25:00.000-04:00

Hi! Long time no blog----I was busy working on a "special" project for the last few weeks so I haven't had too much time for my own stamping plus I had zero mojo after finishing the project LOL!.

But, today I'd like to share with you a Halloween card that I did just for fun. I used the September My Mind's Eye (MME) card sketch and used mainly MME papers and dies. Since I ~~couldn't find~~ don't have any actual Halloween MME papers, I used seasonal colours from a number of the 6 x 6 pads (see supply list). The die cut sentiment and spider is from a die cut sheet from an older line of MME Halloween collection. The cute little witch stamp is from My Favorite Things.

I also used a few die cuts on this card for this week's Simon Say's blog challenge. The spider web is an old Quickutz die and the scalloped green paper was cut with a My Favorite Things die. Finally, I used a ton of patterned paper for this week's Wee Memories challenge (#69).

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamp: Pure Innocence Little Witch from My Favorite Things
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, brown ink for distressing
Papers: My Mind's Eye Lime Twist (Fly a Kite 6 x 6), Stella Rose (Mabel 6 x 6), black cardstock
Accessories: Martha Stewart baker's twine, button, MME die cut sentiment, strip and spider (unknown line), large Dienamics scalloped die from My Favorite Things, Stickles, Quickutz spider web die
Challenges: MME Sept. card sketch, Wee Memories #69 (patterned paper), Simon Says challenge (dies and punches)

Time for a SUPER new September stamp release from Your Next Stamp

2011-09-14T03:00:00.059-04:00

Hello! I'm thrilled to be joining Your Next Stamp again for this month's release blog hop. If you've come from Diana's blog, then you are in the right place. If you got lost along the way or just happened to come across my blog please find a complete list of the participating blogs at the end of the post.

Today I'm sharing a SUPER cute new stamp with you --- Super Hero Ellie. I opted to go all out with the star/super hero theme on this one. The background was embossed with a star Cuttlebug folder and lightly sanded to reveal the core, the star die cut circle is one of the new Spellbinder's releases and the star papers are some OLD Cherry Arte papers (black and white) combined with some recent Jillibean papers (blue star). I opted to paper piece Ellie's cape to play along with this week's YNS Challenge #51. Finally I added some yellow Stickles to give my super hero the bling she deserves :)

So, here's what you need to know about today's hop:

You have until Saturday, September 17th at midnight (EST) to enter for your chance to win (just leave your information in the linky on the YNS blog or at the bottom of this post). Up for grabs are some stamps from today's release.
In addition over in the YNS Store, there are a few special stamp bundles for sale AND for every $30 you spend, you will receive a FREE stamp (selected by YNS). Who doesn't love free stuff?
And finally, don't forget to play along with this week's YNS paper piecing challenge (#51) over on the challenge blog. There's always lots of great inspiration and as usual a chance to win some great YNS goodies.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Time to hop on over to Maureen's blog.

Supplies:
Stamps: Super Hero Ellie from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black
Papers: Cherry Arte, Neenah cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock, DCWV, Jillibean Soup
Accessories: Spellbinder (Star Circles die), Devine Twine - Air Mail (sampler pack available in YNS store), Stickles, Copic markers, button

Today's blog hop links:

Kerri - http://cardsbykerri.blogspot.com/
Dana http://gotjoycreations.blogspot.com/
Jenny P. - http://mylittlestampinspot.blogspot.com/
Jen D. http://iheart2stamp.com/ { YNS Guest}
Wendy - http://sugarpea-designs.blogspot.com/
Peggy- http://cardcrazy.wordpress.com/
Ashley – http://www.hearthugsdesigns.blogspot.com/ {YNS Guest}
Diana - http://doodledeedesigns.blogspot.com/
Jen R. - http://www.tennisgirl27.blogspot.com/ {YNS Guest} <---You are here.
Maureen - http://mycasestudies.blogspot.com/
Carole - http://motherslittlehelper.typepad.com/
Amy - http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com/
Karen - http://yournextstamp.blogspot.com/

It's been ten years since the world changed forever

2011-09-11T08:00:00.004-04:00

I wrote this post four years ago and I thought I'd bump it back up.......

I'm sure everyone can remember where they were and what they were doing on September 11/2001.

I worked on the afternoon shift at the time and was driving to play tennis in the morning with a friend. On my way to the courts there was a news bulletin about a plane flying into the World Trade Center. At the time I assumed it was a traffic plane and went on my merry way.

After returning to the car after playing tennis is when I learned of the magnitude of this event. Sitting in my car, I was shocked, terrified and numb. (As I sit here typing I'm getting goosebumps just remembering that moment).

I arrived home and turned on the TV to see that familiar image of the plane flying into the second tower.....OVER and OVER and OVER and OVER. Those images are still so fresh after all these years.

Like most people I was glued to the TV for days, mourning with the rest of America and not knowing what was going to happen from one day to the next. The few days of eerily empty blue skies a constant reminder.

On this day, 9/11 I remember all those who lost their lives---the heroes who risked their lives to save others----the men and women who've gone to war to fight for freedom.

I'll never forget 9-11, the day the world changed forever.

Photo taken at the site of the WTC on my trip to NYC in September 2005.

Boo....Eek....Trick or Treat....

2011-09-05T15:35:00.002-04:00

As I was packing up my supplies for our recent move, I came across a great piece of Halloween themed paper from Making Memories that inspired me to create this card. Because the paper is double sided I was able to use only one piece of paper to create my card (which is rare for me because I *LOVE* patterned paper hee hee). It had a cute skeleton image on one part of the paper that I designed the card around.

I stamped the Halloween Noteblock stamp from Purple Onion Designs in black ink onto a distressed part of the paper and then lined up the top with the flat part of the scalloped card base (cut on the Cricut). I embellished the card with a die cut spider web, some ribbon and an orange flower. A pretty quick and easy card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:

Stamps: Halloween Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Palette Noir
Papers: Making Memories, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Spider web die cut (Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz), Offray ribbon, Recollections flower, Cricut card base

Summer BBQ card and a Last Days of Summer blog hop.....

2011-08-26T00:00:00.001-04:00

Hello! Today I'd like to share a summer themed BBQ invitation that I created for the "Last Days of Summer" blog hop. There are 11 wonderful manufacturers participating in the hop (including Purple Onion Designs) which runs until Sunday Aug. 28 at 11:58 pm. All you need to do is leave comments on all 11 of the participating manufacturer's blogs (see links below) for your chance to win some awesome prizes!! Start hopping over at the POD blog.

Now a bit about my card....I wanted to keep the design simple so that it would be easy to create a set of them quickly. I stamped the image and sentiment onto some Neenah cardstock and coloured the image with Copics. I punched the top with my notebook edge punch and then mounted it onto some gingham paper (I was going for a picnic look) before adding to a black card base. And of course no card is complete without some kind of embellishment so I added some black gingham ribbon and a red button. Card complete in less than 10 minutes!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Michele Clement BBQ set from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, Neenah cardstock, Provo Craft gingham paper (from an old slab)
Accessories: Fiskars border punch, Copic markers, Offray ribbon, button, Stamping Up Notebook punch

Here's a list of all the manufacturer's blogs----hop on over and check it out:
Purple Onion Designs - http://www.purpleoniondesigns.typepad.com
Discount CardStock - http://www.discountcardstock.com/blog/
Scor-Pal - http://scor-pal.blogspot.com/
Flower Soft - http://flower-softinc.blogspot.com/
Want 2 Scrap - http://want2scrapco.blogspot.com/
Urban Lily through Urban Swank: http://urbanswank.blogspot.com/
Really Reasonable Ribbon - www.reasonableribbon.blogspot.com/
Helmar - http://helmarusa.typepad.com/blog/
Nikki Sivils Scrapbooker - http://nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com/
The Twinery - http://www.thetwineryblog.com/
PSA Essentials - www.psastampcamp.blogspot.com

Oh Happy Day and last chance to save!

2011-08-16T08:38:00.001-04:00

Here’s another card I created using this month’s new release stamps from Purple Onion Designs. I used the new “Love Bugs” stamps with some of the other Stephanie Ackerman sets to create my scene. The scale of these sets (including the sentiment) worked perfectly together which gives a lot of versatility!

Just a reminder that POD has ALL their stamps on sale for 25 % off ~~until this Wednesday~~ until Sunday August 21st (extended due to some technical issues) so if you’ve been seeing something you *have* to get, then now’s your chance to get more for your money.

Supplies:

Stamps: All stamps from Stephanie Ackerman’s collection from Purple Onion Designs: Home Sweet Home set (sun and clouds), Love Bugs (worm, lady bug and butterfly), Mixed Middles Flower, Cupcake Framed Doodles (Sentiment)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: My Mind’s Eye, Neenah cardstock, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: May Arts Ribbon, Dienamics scalloped die from MFT, Copic Markers

Some birdhouses and a POD birthday sale!

2011-08-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

Good morning! First of all I'd like to wish Purple Onion Designs a very HAPPY 8th ANNIVERSARY!! To celebrate this wonderful event, Michele is having a big 25% off sale!! The sale runs until August 17th and all you have to do is use code: SUM2011 during checkout to receive the 25% off. What a fabulous time to pick up some of the new summer releases that I shared earlier this week!!

To end off today I'd like to share a simple card I created using some Stephanie Ackerman stamps from POD. I simply stamped and coloured the birdhouses directly onto the kraft card base and then added a strip of My Mind's Eye paper, some bakers's twine and a button. I coloured an extra birdhouse for the center, coloured it cut it out and popped it for dimension (yeah, I know I'm obsessed with dimension LOL!).

Thanks for stopping by!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Stephanie Ackerman's The Bird House set from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: My Mind's Eye, Gina K kraft cardstock (the cardstock is thick enough that the markers don't soak through so it's perfect for a single layer card)
Accessories: WRMK Sew Easy baker's twine, button, Copic Markers, Fiskars edge punch

Birthday hopping with Your Next Stamp!

2011-08-10T08:00:00.039-04:00

Hey everyone and welcome to Your Next Stamp's 2nd Birthday Blog Hop, we are so happy you are here celebrating with us and our wonderful guest designers! If you have just stumbled across my blog and want to join in all the fun and games you can go to the start at Peggy's blog. If you have been hopping along and are arriving from Beth's blog then you are right on track!

What is a birthday party with out games and some AMAZING prizes? Well we have a fun little puzzle for you to solve along the hop and when you do you will be entered into the draw for one of TWO amazing YNS prizes! Not everyone has a puzzle piece so you need to pay attention, and click on the puzzle pieces, and follow the directions as you find them along the way. [3rd party cookies must be enabled to do the puzzle] When you are done put them all together at the end of the hop for your chance to win! You have until Monday, August 15th at Midnight EST.

There are also lots of amazing deals right now in the YNS store to celebrate and you don't need any code! The next stop on the hop is Crystal's blog! Good luck and happy hopping!

I have two cards to share with you today. The first card uses the new August release called Yummy in the Tummy. I was inspired by the sprinkles on the sundae and found some older Basic Grey sprinkle papers to use. I added lots of sparkle to the card using some stickles and made a little flag out of some SRM stickers and a decorative pin. I've seen this done a lot lately with toothpicks but I didn't have any on hand and thought the red pin would look good :)

The second card I'm sharing today is one I made using the World Kids "Asha" stamp. I have to admit I have *never* coloured black hair or darker skin tones before so I was a bit terrified to give it a go. I think she turned out pretty well for a first try---if I do say so myself. I opted to use the traditional Indian celebration colours (red and gold/orange) on this card and used some punches and Spellbinder's dies that reminded me of Indian architecture. I hope I did the culture justice for this card.

Supplies (Card 1):
Stamps: Yummy in the Tummy from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Basic Grey, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Copic Markers, Stickles, Fiskars bracket edge border punch, Spellbinder's Nestabilities, Offray Ribbon, Devine Twine (sampler packs available in YNS store), decorative pin, SRM stickers

Supplies (Card 2):
Stamps: Asha from India (World Kid's Collection) from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Pink Paislee, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: May Arts ribbon, Spellbinder's Nestabilities, SRM Stickers, Prima pearl, Stickles, Fiskar's Bracket Edge punch

In case there are broken links along the way, here are a list of all of the YNS hop participants:

Peggy- http://cardcrazy.wordpress.com/
Kerri - http://cardsbykerri.blogspot.com/
Cindy - http://cindyhaffnerscorner.blogspot.com/ {YNS Guest}
Beth http://inkyfingersrule.blogspot.com/
Jen R. - http://www.tennisgirl27.blogspot.com/ {YNS Guest} <----- You are here.
Crystal http://crystalkbk.blogspot.com/
Julie - http://www.lastminutecrafter.blogspot.com/ {YNS Guest}
Dana http://gotjoycreations.blogspot.com/
Jenny P. - http://mylittlestampinspot.blogspot.com/ (YNS Guest)
Jen D. http://iheart2stamp.com/ { YNS Guest}
Susan - http://www.susiestampalot.com/ {YNS Guest}
Wendy - http://sugarpea-designs.blogspot.com/
Diana - http://doodledeedesigns.blogspot.com/
Maureen - http://mycasestudies.blogspot.com/
Carole - http://motherslittlehelper.typepad.com/ {YNS Guest}
Amy - http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com/ {YNS Guest}
Karen - http://yournextstamp.blogspot.com/

Sam and Olive make me smile

2011-08-09T09:23:00.000-04:00

"B" is for BEARS! Here's a look at the new stamps that the talented Stephanie Ackerman designed for this month's release at Purple Onion Designs. These two cuties are know as Sam and Olive and will be available in the "What's New" section of the POD web site tomorrow.

For my card I wanted to mimic the doodle look of the stamps so I drew a border around the outside of the card base, die heart and arrow and then added my own stitches with a Tombow marker. The bears were coloured with my Copics, paper pieced and then I attached them to look like they're holding hands. To check out some more of Stephanie's new stamps, go on over to the POD blog to see more samples from the design team.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stephanie Ackerman Sam and Olive the bears (two separate stamps) from Purple Onion Designs, sentiment from Photographer set from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Adirondack Espresso, Distress Ink for edges
Papers: My Mind's Eye
Accessories: Fiskars scalloped edge punch, large heart die from Lifestyle Crafts (Quickutz), button, twine (The Twinery)

If life gives you lemons......

2011-08-08T08:34:00.000-04:00

....make a card about making lemonade :)

Good morning! Today I'd like to share with you a card I made using the upcoming release from Purple Onion Designs. The stamps will be available on August 10th in the "New Release" section of the website.

Today I used a stamp and sentiment from the new bbq set. It's a bit difficult to see in the photo but I used some liquid glass over the cup and pitcher images to make it look "glassy" and added some shimmer to the ice cubes using Stickles. I was digging around in my box of embossing folders and came across this citrus one that I actually had no idea I had (it came as part of this set but I hadn't really noticed it before). To make the sentiment fit on my card I cut it a bit so I could fit it on the panel (just a tip but you can still easily piece them back together when you use them even when they're cut). The papers are from a small pad of citrus themed papers from K and Company that I got at Michaels on clearance at the end of last summer.

Be sure to stop by the POD blog to see lots more card samples and some of the other new release stamps.

As you can see I used some dimensional adhesive again to give more "pop" to the image and the panel. I love using this technique on my cards and they are still pretty mailable as long as your embellishments are not too big :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Michele Clement BBQ set from Purple Onion Designs (available August 10th in the "What's New" section)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, K and Company (Lemon Citron collection)
Accessories: Spellbinder's Nestabilities dies, Fiskars border punch, Crystal Lacquer, Stickles, Offray ribbon, button, Copic markers, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Happy Birthday Super dad!

2011-08-06T13:28:00.000-04:00

It was my husband's birthday last week and I decided to get out my new MFT Ribbon and Die set. I often struggle with making masculine cards so it was a bit of a challenge to come up with a manly theme since I love ribbons, flowers and all things more girly. As you can see I opted for using stars as my starting point and used some masculine papers which are from an ancient "stack" of paper that I think I've had since the beginning of time (O.K. maybe at least since 2005 LOL!).

What I love about this die/stamp set is that it pairs amazingly well with several of the Spellbinder's dies. I used the pinking circles and the small scallopped circle dies to add more dimension to my award ribbon. As you can see in the second photo I also used dimensional tape inbetween several of the layers to make it more 3D. I'm looking forward to getting lots of use out of this die and stamp set :)

The layout of the card is based on last week's MFT sketch over on Splitcoaststampers ( MFTWSC31).

Supplies:
Stamp and Die set: Die-namics First Place Award Ribbon Die & Stamp Set from My Favorite Things
Ink: Adirondack Red Pepper, Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: From an old "Stack" (not sure which one but it's REALLY old)
Accessories: Twine, button, Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Stickles

Take you Best guess to win some POD stamps

2011-08-05T07:51:00.000-04:00

Hello and Happy Friday!

Next week marks the release of some great new summer stamps at Purple Onion Designs and to celebrate, Michele is giving you a chance to win some of the new stamps on the POD Blog! So how do you win? Well just keep reading below.....

"B" is the theme of all the new stamp sets being released this Wednesday 8/10! There are 7 stamps/stamp sets whose theme start with the letter B. If you would like a chance to win some of these stamps then start guessing! You have until midnight Sunday 8/7 to leave a comment on the POD blog post with your 7 "B" guesses. You are only to post 7 guesses. Winners will be drawn at random from all the correct guesses of a particular theme.

It's a lovely day for the beach!

2011-08-01T13:52:00.000-04:00

Today in Ontario most people (myself included) are enjoying a LONG weekend (yeah!). It's a beautiful sunny day outside today which inspired me to share this vintage beach card that I finished on the weekend.

I stamped the summer Noteblock stamp from Purple Onion Designs with blue Distress Ink onto some white cardstock and then I created the distressed background using two shades of brown distress ink and a stipple brush. Adding the brown ink turned the blue a nice shade of turquiose which was the starting point for the card. I used the two Noteblock images for the background of the card and then started layering to complete my design.

The papers and "beach" image are from one sheet of double sided paper from Graphic 45. I used some crinkled ribbon to make it look watery and then just kept gluing some sea shell die cuts (also distressed with ink) and flowers. I think this is one of those cards that turned out to be a more is more design :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Summer Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Ranger Distress Inks (Broken China, Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo)
Papers: Graphic 45, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Accessories: Cuttlebug seashell dies, Snug Hug bias tape (died with Tattered Angels sprays), Prima flowers, Prima pearls, My Favorite Things large scalloped die

Happy Birthday with Stephanie Ackerman and POD

2011-07-27T08:12:00.004-04:00

Good morning! I received a new package of rubber from Purple Onion Designs last week and I couldn't wait to ink up the new cupcake stamp set (designed by Stephanie Ackerman). I paper pieced the center framed cupcake image and then cut a few extras to colour and add to the card.

The papers are from My Mind's Eye (6" x 6" pad). I used my Bow Easy to tie a three layer Baker's twine bow and then added a small red button in the center. I added just a touch of sparkle to the center cupcake and then popped it with some dimensional adhesive.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stephanie Ackerman's Cupcake Framed Doodle stamp set from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Distress Ink
Papers: My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Mabel 6 x 6" pad, Georgia Pacific cardstock (card base), Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Baker's twine from WRMK (Sew Easy thread), Fiskars Threading Water border punch, mini red button, Stickles, Copic markers

Another baby card and a craft room update

2011-07-19T21:18:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! Today I'd like to share another baby card I made using the Purple Onion Designs Baby Noteblock set.

When designing this card, I thought a bit outside the box: typically I would tend to use this style of stamp on a rectangular card but I thought it might look cool to try it on a round card base. I stamped it in pink distress ink onto some white cardstock, matted it onto a scalloped rectangle and then lined up the top with the flat part of the scalloped card base (cut on the Cricut). I embellished the card with pink ribbon and a flower.

So my tip for the day: Don't be afraid to mix and match shapes on your cards. Don't think that you are limited to using stamps such as the Noteblocks on square or rectangles...play around a bit and you'll be surprised how great it looks!

A close up of the dimension:

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Spun Sugar Distress Ink from Ranger
Papers: The Girls Paperie, Georgia Pacific cardstock, Core'dinations cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, Cricut card base, Recollections flower, Spellbinders Nestabilities, clear embossing powder (large panel embossed with clear powder to make it look darker and a bit of shine)

And finally a quick crafting update. We moved into our new house about 3 weeks ago now and I'm finally starting to unpack this giant pile of stuff (and yes I have A LOT of stuff!!):

Into this lovely blank new craft space:

It's been a really SLOW process because I'm trying to sort out and organize as I fill the new space (I was lucky that I was able to pile all the stuff into our guest room and then move it into the empty craft room). Stayed tuned for some after photos and lots of craftiness coming up!!

A nice big (6 x 6) baby shower card

2011-07-12T07:00:00.006-04:00

One of my friends recently asked me to create a baby shower card for one of her co-workers. The catch is, it had to be big enough for about 40-50 to sign AND the gender of the baby is a secret so no pink or blue allowed (demanding huh?!?!). So here's what I came up with---I made a 6" x 6" card base and on the inside I created some "pages" for the people to sign (so it's essentially like a mini album).

Since I didn't really have any gender neutral baby papers on hand, I created my own paper using my baby themed Noteblock stamp from Purple Onion Designs. It's a bit hard to see in the photo but I added some clear embossing powder to the panel that has the scalloped background. The embossing gives the ink a slight bit of shine and adds a darker tone to the ink which makes it stand out nicely.

I added a paper pieced baby carriage (Quickutz die) and then created a white crepe paper ruffle along the bottom of the card.

I think this design would be great for a little mini album brag book for a shower gift.

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs
Papers: White crepe paper, Bazzill cardstock, Basic Grey, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink (Sage)
Accessories: Clear embossing powder (Stampendous), buttons, baby carriage die cut (Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz), Offray ribbon, MFT Dienamics scallop die cut, Spellbinders Nestabilities

Friday is one of My Favorite Things

2011-07-08T07:50:00.000-04:00

Hello and Happy Friday! We have officially moved into our new place (two weeks ago actually) and I'm starting to unpack my craft space now that the rest of the house is sort of in order. I can't believe how much craft stuff I actually have once you see it all packed it all up in boxes! I'll take a photo this weekend to show you the before and after photos.

In the mean time, I have a few cards I made a while back featuring some stamps from My Favorite Things to share. The first card uses a die/stamp combo of a spinner. I just love this set and can't wait to use it on scrapbook pages as well. I have the original die/stamp set as well as the add on sentiment set so there are LOTS of different themes you can create--in this case I went with a Christmas countdown theme. The spinner die also fits perfectly on one of the scalloped Nestabilities dies.

This second card uses one of the very first Pure Innocence stamps that I purchased. I paper pieced the shower cap and the rest of the card was made using scraps.

Supplies:

Stamps/Die set: Die-namics Game Night Spinner Die & Stamp Set Duo by My Favorite Things Stamps, You Spin Me additions for game night stamps by MFT (sentiment and Christmas images)
Ink: Brilliance Rocket Red Pigment Ink
Papers: Georgia Pacific cardstock, Bazzill cardstock, American Crafts papers
Accessories: brad, SEI twine ribbon, Spellbinders die

Stamps: Pure Innocence Lather.Rinse.Repeat from My Favorite Things
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: October Afternoon, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Fiskars border punch, Copic markers, Stickles, button, embroidery thread

Thankful for..... Your Next Stamp DT opportunity

2011-06-28T15:04:00.000-04:00

As the end of June approaches (WOW, that month sure flew by!!) my guest designer position with Your Next Stamp draws to an end. Thanks to Karen, for letting me showcase her stamps this month :)

So today I'd like to share the last of the YNS creations I completed this month using the Fhiona "Thankful for You" stamp set. For this card I picked the background text paper (from October Afternoon) before I started colouring my image, and then I pulled the colours for the image from the coloured parts of the text. I should mention that the actual image has a lady bug sitting on the flower on the right. I totally messed up the colouring on the bug so to salvage all the colouring that I had one already I just cut it off---embrace your mistakes LOL!

Thanks for letting me share my YNS creations with you this month. And P.S. I just read on the YNS blog that Karen is having a big sale from today until Friday. Check it out :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Fhiona Thankful for You set from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: October Afternoon, The Paper Company kraft cardstock, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, rhinestones, Copic markers, Stickles

Purple Onion is MOXIE FAB!

2011-06-23T07:00:00.007-04:00

Hello! Paper Crafts Magazine is featuring Purple Onion Designs stamps today on their Moxie Fab blog so today I'd love to share a recent project I made with some of the new POD Stephanie Ackerman stamps.

This card was a bit of an experiment for me---I was playing around with a colour combination that I wasn't quite sure would "work" and then I tried playing around with the stamped image a bit. I think the finished card has an art journal kind of of look, don't you think?

I coloured the flower image with my Copics and to change up the look of the image, I took the music backgrounder and stamped on top of the flower part of the image before adding the flower center. Since I had decided to add a pop of blue to the center of the flower I decided to work with some blue and more purple on the card base. I stamped the same music backgrounder stamp onto some Core'dinations cardstock and distressed and sanded the edges before adding the panel to some purple cardstock that I embossed with a Tim Holtz music themed embossing folder. The sentiment on the ribbon is a clear sticker from SRM---they adhere really well to surfaces other than paper.

Don't forget to stop by the Moxie Fab blog to check out the Purple Onion Designs stamps and rumour has it that there are some free stamps up for grabs :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Stephanie Ackerman Mixed Middles Flower from Purple Onion Designs, Early 1900s Music Background stamp from Purple Onion Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Palette Noir
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, Core'dinations cardstock, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, SRM sentiment sticker, Copic markers, Tim Holtz embossing folder

Black and white plus one YNS challenge (YNSC45)

2011-06-22T03:00:00.041-04:00

This week's challenge on the Your Next Stamp challenge blog is to create a project using black, white and one other colour (excluding hair and skin----phew!). For my card I chose to use green as my "plus one". I coloured the Fhiona Riding a Bike image using a few tones of grey and green Copics.

To create the card, I layered some black and white papers from an old DCWV pad (that I think has been in my stash since the beginning of time LOL!) onto a cardstock base and added a panel of white cardstock at the top (embossed with Cuttlebug folder). I added a strip of green satin ribbon and bow across the bottom and popped the image and one of the flowers with some dimensional adhesive. The black and white flowers were hand cut out of a sheet of paper from the pad.

Hope you'll stop by the YNS challenge blog to see all the other designer's examples and play along for your chance to win a prize (note that YNS are not required but if you have them, we'd love to see them).

Supplies:
Stamp: Fhiona Riding a Bike from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: DCWV (patterned papers), Neenah cardstock, Georgia Pacific cardstock
Accessories: Copic markers, Cuttlebug embossing folder, SRM Sticker sentiment, ribbon from Creative Bag, Bow Easy (to tie the bow)

Fast FWF Friday.....Oh my, it's a SINGLE layer card!

2011-06-17T08:21:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago over at My Unity Place, they had a challenge to make a single layer card. And what a challenge that was for me---I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've made a single layer card. It actually probably took me longer to THINK about how to make one than if I had made a dozen of my "normal" style cards LOL!

So, here's what I came up with. The bird image from the May 2011 Kit of the Month sort of reminded me of a Halloween crow so I went with it. I just stamped the sentiment (from the September 2010 KOTM) and bird image onto a piece of Halloween themed paper, inked the edges and added a bow. I have to admit I did cheat a little wee bit and add a strip of striped paper and a scallop across the card. I was planning on just adding some ribbon but it just didn't quite go so I did opt to add the strips to complete the design. *Phew* that was a hard one LOL!

Be sure to stop by the Unity blog today for Friends with Flair Friday. Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bird from May 2011 KOTM by Unity Stamp Co, Sentiment from Sept 2010 KOTM by Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Palette Noir
Paper: Making Memories, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, Spellbinders scalloped rectangle die

Sending happy thoughts your way with YNSs June release

2011-06-14T19:23:00.000-04:00

Hi! Today I'd like to share a card that I made using one of the new June release images from Your Next Stamp. For my card I went with a total bicycle theme using the new Fhiona Riding a Bike stamp, a gear motif Cuttlebug embossing folder and some bicycle paper from Jillibean Soup. The sentiment is a sticker from SRM (I'm loving these for my cards these days---great variety of sayings without having to have a billions stamps on hand).

O.K. so how would you like to win one of the new June stamps??? Well, be sure to stop by the Your Next Stamp blog today to see all the new releases, some more wonderful creations from the design team and of course the giveaway.

This is also a great time to stop by the YNS store and advantage of a summer 10% off sale. The sale is from June 15th to June 20th – just enter online code YNSJUNENR for your discount. (I totally have my eye on some of the Fhiona World Kid Collection that might just find their way home with me).

A bit of detail.....as you can see the image panel was adhered with dimensional tape and you can see the texture on the cardstock and the wrinkled ribbon.

Also a tip: See the grass and pavement? Well I created that using my Copics. I use the side of the brush nip to create grass using a few tones of green. Then I just filled in below with some grey tones to make the pavement.

Supplies:
Stamp: Fhiona Riding a Bike from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Core'dinations cardstock, Neenah Cardstock, Jillibean Soup papers, Bazzill cardstock
Accessories: Seam binding (dyed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist), Recollections flower, Spellbinders Nestabilities, Cuttlebug embossing folder, SRM sentiment sticker, Copic Markers

Congrats on your bun in the oven (Card Patterns #119)

2011-06-11T11:00:00.010-04:00

Hello! I hope everyone is having a nice weekend so far.

Today I'd like to share with you the card I made for this week's Card Patterns sketch (119) for which I am very thrilled to be featured as the guest designer. To see this week's awesome sketch and to check out all the other designer's samples, please stop by the blog.

For my card I used Lawn Fawn's "Plus One" set. I used the oven as my central focal image and then part of the mobile image for the side accents. To add some texture I embossed the panels before stamping my sentiment directly on top.

Thanks so much Card Patterns for the chance to be the guest designer this week!!

Supplies:
Stamps: "Plus One" set by Lawn Fawn
Ink: Memento Tuxedo black
Papers: DCWV (Linen Closet), Bazzill cardstock, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, button (Dollarama), Cuttlebug embossing folder, Spellbinders Nestabilties, Copic makers, Stickles

Sketch: Card Patterns #119

It's fruity Friday again....

2011-06-10T08:04:00.002-04:00

Hello and Happy Friday! Today I'd like to share with you the last of the cards I made using my homemade strawberry embellishments (I promise this is the last one!!).

The reason I didn't share this card earlier is because I entered it in the Page Maps Anniversary card contest and guess what?......I was selected as the winner! I love using Becky's sketches for both card making and scrapbooking so it was an honour to be selected. The theme was "celebration" so I turned the card into a birthday card by adding some rub-ons to the front of the sentiment. You can see my card as well as the winning layout featured in the June newsletter.

My tip of the day: why not create a set of cards using the same supplies? For this set of cards I had already made three of the felt strawberries and had everything else sitting on my desk so it was really easy to use everything at once to make a matching set of cards. I definitely want to use this strategy more in the future and it's a great way to minimize scraps!!

As always, be sure to stop by the Unity blog for Friends with Flair Friday. Have a great weekend!

(Excuse the green tinge on this card. At the time I was photographing we had two weeks of rain and the lighting was awful so I had to adjust a bit and ended up with a bit of green around the edges)

Here's a look at the full set of three cards:

And another closeup (the double bow was created using my new found love---the Bow Easy):

Supplies:
Stamps: Jillibean Soup "Sweetest Day" Itty Bitty from Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Palette Noir ink
Papers: Jillibean Soup, The Paper Company kraft cardstock, Bazzill cardstock,
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities, craft felt, Stickles, Prima bling, Prima flower, Offray ribbon, Daisy D's Rub-on letters
Sketch: PageMaps March 2011 sketch
Challenge: Unity "Tooty Fruity" challenge

The Perfect Pair of challenges --- Lawnscaping meets Simon Says

2011-06-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

I recently got a few sets of the fabulously fun Lawn Fawn stamps and popped on over the Lawnscaping Blog challenge to motivate me to get them inky. This week's challenge (#11) was to create a CAS (clean and simple) card. I also opted to use a fruit theme to play along with this week's Simon Says "Let's get fruity" blog challenge.

So for my card I simply stamped the image and sentiment onto white cardstock, coloured it (with my Copics) and mounted onto a die cut scalloped circle. Then I took a plain piece of green cardstock, embossed it with a pear themed embossing folder and added a ribbon bow. The card took me all of five minutes at the most to make....four of which were looking for cardstock and the embossing folder LOL! I'm LOVING these quick and easy cards---I'll definitely be trying more in the future.

Supplies:
Stamps: My Silly Valentine from Lawn Fawn
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Bazzill cardstock, K and Co. paper, Neenah cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, Spellbinders Nestabilities die, Cuttlebug embossing folder

Your Next Stamp shaped card challenge

2011-06-08T03:00:00.020-04:00

Hello! For those of you who follow or view my blog regulary, you know that I *love* to make shaped cards so this week's Your Next Stamp challenge to make a shaped card (no rectangles or squares) was really no challenge at all for me.

I used a round scalloped card base that I cut on my Mom's Cricut machine and then layered it with some patterned papers from the latest Basic Grey birthday collection. The birthday Fhiona image was paper pieced and coloured with my Copic markers. I "popped" the balloon part of the image with some dimensional adhesive and some twine from The Twinery. To finish off the card I added some Stickles and cut some of the mini banners from the patterned paper.

Thanks for stopping by! We'd love to see you participate in this week's challenge....you could even win a prize :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Birthday Surprise Fhiona from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Georgia Pacific cardstock (base), Neenah cardstock (image), Basic Grey papers, Core'dinations cardstock
Accessories: Offray ribbon, Stickles, twine from The Twinery, Cricut Card cartridge

'Tis not really the season but....

2011-06-03T16:57:00.000-04:00

Hello and happy Friday! I know technically it's not really "the season" (as the sentiment indicates) but I today I'd like to share with you the first creation I made for my guest designer stint at Your Next Stamp.

This card illustrates that you don't need a huge collection of Copic markers to colour images. For this card I only used a total of five Copic markers (one brown for the hair, one for the skin, one for the ice and two for the clothes). Oops, make that six, I also used grey for the skate blades. I chose purples to colour the clothing to match the non-traditional winter colours of the Cosmo Cricket "Mitten Weather" collection papers.

Be sure to stop by next week for another YNS card I created for the biweekly challenge. You can play along to win some great prizes :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Skating Fun Fhiona from Your Next Stamp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Papers: Neenah cardstock, Cosmo Cricket patterned papers
Accessories: Offray ribbon, button, Copic markers, Spellbinders die, Quickutz die (bracket shape that holds image), SRM Sticker sentiment, Stickles

Welcoming in June with Your Next Stamp

2011-06-01T21:35:00.000-04:00

It's June 1st and I'm happy to announce that I'm the Guest Designer this month for Your Next Stamp. I'll be sharing creations all month long, joining in on the YNS Challenges AND wrapping up with some creations using the NEW RELEASES. You don't want to miss it :)

See you soon with some YNS creations and in the mean time stop by the YNS blog for lots of great projects.

A banner birthday

2011-05-31T07:39:00.000-04:00

Hello! Today I'd like to share with you a birthday card I made using some of my favourite Purple Onion Designs stamps. I took the birthday noteblock stamp, heat embossed with black powder and then layered it onto some Basic Grey birthday papers and Core'dinations cardstock. (Note: You lose a little of the detail on the letters of the Noteblock stamp when you heat emboss but you do get a nice shine. If you wanted to keep the detail AND shine I would recommend using coloured ink of your choice and then embossing with clear detail powder.)

I then added two strips of paper pieced banners across the card (I wanted the whole happy birthday sentiment at the top to show so I attached the banners more towards the bottom.) After attaching the stamped banners I added some twine across the top with a few bows on the ends. Tip: To attach the twine I use Beacon's 3 in 1 glue. You can apply in a very thin strip and it dries completely clear....I *LOVE* that adhesive :)

Thanks for stopping by!!

If you would like to see more cards created with the Noteblock stamps, check out the POD Noteblock gallery.

Supplies:

Stamps: Stephanie Ackerman’s Build a Banner set from Purple Onion Designs, Happy Birthday Noteblock from Purple Onion Designs

Ink: Palette Noir, Versamark (for heat embossing)

Paper: Basic Grey, Coredinations cardstock

Accessories: Twine from the Twinery, Spellbinders die, black detail embossing powder from Stampendous