Penny's Page

Shaker card tutorial

2011-11-30T17:11:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since I posted; my laptop crashed and we do have a new one, but I don't have all my programs yet, so bear with me. The photos could be better! I volunteered to write a tutorial for Operation Write Home and this is what I came up with.

What you will need: an A2 card base, patterned paper, a die or punch, closely woven tulle, score tape and filling.

I used Theresa Collins paper and Nellie's Dies. Adhere patterned paper to front of card and decide on placement of opening. I taped my die down to prevent it slipping.

You will also need another paper to for the inside cover. I chose to use white cardstock, but anything you choose is fine. After they are all run through your machine you will have this:

With the inside of your card facing up adhere one end of the tulle to the card front. I used my ATG for this step. Add your choice of filling (small beads for me) and fold the tulle over. At this point you will want to use score tape or other adhesive on the tulle getting as close to the edge of the design as possible. Don't worry about about the stickiness, it will be covered. I apologize for the bad picture, but you can see the score tape around the heart.

Adhere your piece of cardstock, matching the shapes together over the tulle hiding the messy bit. Take the reserved heart die cut (patterned paper) and adhere to the inside of the card again matching the shapes together. At this point, you can embellish/finish your card as you choose. I chose to make frames for the opening on both sides of the card front.

I also added the swans to the patterned paper heart. I stamped "love you" on a small white heart and pop dotted it to the front of the card. When the card is closed the patterned paper heart shows through the tulle.

I hope this tutorial will help you to make great cards!

3D pumpkin

2011-10-21T11:43:00.002-04:00

Paper Craft Planet has a wonderful 3D challenge group every Tuesday. This week, Susanna's challenge is an awesome 3D pumpkin which she saw on the Archiver's website.

The directions call for 8 pieces of orange 12x12 cardstock and I didn't have it after all the Halloween cards I made. So, I used K&Co. papers - lucky for me they have a lot of orange hued papers. I also used small pieces of Sassafras and DCWV papers, but you can't see them in the picture. Now, being the former blonde that I am, I followed Susanna's advice about scoring first and then cutting to save time, I did that and then cut the pieces in the wrong direction so I needed to score again. Luckily you can't see this error in the finished product! I twirled thin pieces of green CS and glued to the top, a simple stem and I was done!

I'm going to add some stamped leaves and make it my centerpiece for Thanksgiving Dinner. I'm also thinking I can incorporate this into placecards. I'll post those later.

Thanks, Susanna, for a great project!

Have a great weekend.

Monochromatic Stamping

2011-10-20T11:55:00.000-04:00

Today I want to share 3 cards I designed. All stamps are from Stampscapes - I have been intimidated by these stamps since I first saw them. However, I keep on plugging away and now I'm teaching classes using them. This Saturday 10/22 and Monday 10/24, I will be demoing these at my LSS, Inspired Designs.

I originally was going to make these Halloween cards, but I'm not sure they ended up that way. LOL

This card was done with Memento black ink. The only other color was Brilliance silver for the bear.

This scene used Cool Peri, Purple Twilight and Eggplant from Adirondack's ink line by Ranger. It's a very peaceful scene (at least I think so). These inks work really well on glossy cs (from Stampin' Up) and blend beautifully.

The window is a Spellbinder's die for Heartfelt Creations. I cut and embossed the black and then embossed again onto gray paper and cut it to back the black. The PP is Theresa Collins.

So, if you are in Auburn, Maine at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday or 6:00 p.m. on Monday, come to class - it's free!

Halloween mini-album

2011-10-17T09:44:00.000-04:00

Happy Monday!

I participated in the Paper Wishes message board Halloween ABC (anything but a card) swap . I have been watching the new My Craft Channel and Heidi Swapp showed a back to back album, which I 'lifted. I had an old piece of packaging that I've had forever and I decided to re-purpose that. This first picture is fuzzy, my apologies, but it was the only one I took of that view and the album itself is long gone.

I painted the cardboard with Plaid purple and brushed on a gold shimmer top coat by DecoArt.The DreamWeaver stencil and black soot Distress Ink (Ranger) were perfect for an eerie background. Added some black Dazzles (HOTP) and K& Co. Stickers. The ribbon is glued to the back.

This is the front cover without the ribbon.
I used a combination of HOTP, My Mind's Eye, and (I think) Sassafras papers. I've had most of these for so long, I don't know the manufacturer for sure beyond HOTP papers (they came in a kit).

The next few pictures are various interior pages, this is very simple to construct; my base was roughly 5 1/2" square so my papers were 5 1/2 x 9 which I scored at 5 1/4. I glued one to the base and then continued adhering the papers wrong sides together - I think I used 6 total.

The cat and pumpkin are Design Adhesives from Clearsnap and black Crushed Velvet by Doodlebug. On each of the shorter pages I added various embellishments utilizing Dazzles, Tonic Punches and embellishments from Jolee's, K&Co. and Joanne's Fabrics.

The swap required 2 items, so for my second, I did a quick ATC. The background CS was sprayed with Goosebumps and rubbed with Adirondack Ink as a resist. The spider and web are HOTP and the stamps are Inkadinkado. I embossed with PK Glitz Stardust Pumpkin, added a bit of Stickles and I was through.

I was very happy with both of these projects and sent them on to their new home in Texas.

Thanks for stopping by - let me know what you think of these 2 projects!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

2011-10-09T11:44:00.000-04:00

Good morning! I was looking at some of my older posts and I came across the 2 projects I did last year to "celebrate" this event. I decided to re-post them as a gentle plea to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Ladies don't forget your monthly self-exam (if you have a partner, let them help and double the fun!) and get mammograms as recommended by your doctor. Don't want to forget this is a disease that also attacks men as well.

This card ended up going to a co-worker whose sister had a double mastectomy last September. For details about the products used, check the original post here

This was a very odd but fun card which I sent to my oldest sister, she gets my offbeat humor.
Details can be found here

I know we all have busy lives, but stop and take the time! Your family will thank you for it!

World Cardmaking Day Recap and new cards!

2011-10-05T11:33:00.000-04:00

I was certainly busy last Saturday! I spent the day participating in the HOTP message board festivities and got a lot of cards made! I thought I would post a few - the vast majority of supplies on all the cards are HOTP products. I won 2 of the activities and am (not so) patiently waiting for my goodies!

Let me know what you think of these cards! There are some I really like and a few I'm not so happy with - but I won't tell you which is which.

This card was for a challenge to emboss - either kind. I used Sizzix folder and sanded it to get a hint of the black core.

This card was the green challenge.

This card was made to the following requirements: sympathy card, green and vellum. The sentiment (an Outlines stamp) is on green vellum and the focal is gold vellum.

This card was the use a button challenge. The button is a die from Ecstasy Crafts.

This challenge was to create a mini album using bling, 2 PP, 1 CS and a mist. I used purple glimmer mist on light blue paper and a Crafter's Companion stencil. The 2nd PP was on the inside.

This is one of my favorites - a red, black and white card. I am thinking, though, that I should use a bit of Stickles bling - what do you think?

This challenge was to use Dazzles. I used double sided hearts as the focal and border. The sentiment is from Kaisercraft and one of my favorites.

This was use a flower and diecut. The die is from Nellie's Dies (my new favorite!)

This challenge was to tear paper - something I'm not sure I like. What I chose to do was pretty mild though.

So there you have it! There were more, but that's enough for now.

I would love some feedback and thanks for stopping by!

Paper Wishes World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop!

2011-10-01T08:00:00.004-04:00

If you are looking for the Operation Write Home blog hop please click here.

Welcome to the Paper Wishes BLOG HOP - we are so glad you are here to help us celebrate World Card Making Day! Some card making day trivia for you:

Today, card making is a worldwide hobby, especially popular in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
1 in 6 U.S. households participates in making cards
86% of scrapbookers also create handmade cards
92% of paper crafters create cards more than any other type of project

Be sure to check out all the blogs in this blog hop, as well as visit the Paper Wishes message board as there are tons of things going on there today, all sponsored by Paper Wishes, with loads and loads of great prize packages! You don’t want to miss a chance to win!

This blog hop gives you TWO ways to win!!!

First – leave a comment on ALL THE BLOGS and a random drawing will be done to choose the winner, who will get a prize package from Paper Wishes.

Second – play H.O.T.P. (Hot Off The Press) bingo with us.

Visit each blogger on the blog hop to find their bingo square. (Make a note of the blog name for each square too!)
Click on this link to find the official BINGO CARD. (If you aren’t a member of the Paper Wishes message board yet, you are not only missing loads of fun but you may need to register to access the bingo card!)
To win, you will need to make a bingo (4 squares in a row, horizontal, vertical or diagonal) by doing what it shows in each square. There are some free squares; there are some where you just have to post something specific on the message board, and there are some that tell you to use something. Where it tells you to USE something, that means to make a project (any kind of papercrafting project – a card, an ATC, a bookmark, a tag, etc.) with the item listed in that square.
When you have your BINGO ready, follow these directions:
- Go to the Paper Wishes Message Board and click on “post reply” on THIS THREAD.
- In your reply tell us the four squares you are using for your bingo.
- Tell us the square number AND the name of the blog for any squares you are using that were mentioned on a blog.
- Post the items for each square in your reply, including a picture of the project you made for any square with directions to USE something.
We will randomly select a winner from all the correct bingo entries! Be sure that we have either your blog address or your email so that we know how to contact you if you are a winner!!!
Your bingo must be posted to the Paper Wishes message board not later than midnight U.S. eastern time, Sunday, October 2nd to be eligible for the prize drawing!

The BINGO SQUARE FOR THIS BLOG IS: _08_

Here are all the participating blogs for this blog hop:

Nancy

Penny >>>>>>>> YOU ARE HERE!

Michelle

Robin

Patti

Cheryl

Sam

So on with the fun – it doesn’t matter where you start the blog hop, just see where you are on the list above and make sure you visit them all and leave some sweetness behind!

Now that we've got the "business" end of the hop out of the way - here are some cards I have made using products from Paper Wishes.

The background was made by spraying white paper with Goosebumps and when dry rubbing orange ink all over it. Very simple, but a great look; I stamped the image with Staz-on. The papers and ribbon are from Paper Wishes.

I used many different Halloween papers to make the background weaving - it's amazing what you can do while watching tv! The brad buddy is from the Paper Wishes Finished in a Flash Halloween set as are the brads and ribbon. I had enough of the woven piece to make several cards - it's a pretty cool look.

This card used one of my very favorite PW supplies - the Color Me papers. I simply cut the 12x12 sheet to size needed and sponged on Distress Inks by Ranger. I finished it off with a mini collage and polka dot ribbon. The colors are more vibrant in person.

I love to read comments, so please take a moment to let me know what you think of my blog! Enjoy the rest of the hop and don't forget to play along with all the great challenges on the Message Board today!

Your next stop carries you all the way to Ireland and the wonderfully talented Michelle !
I am having trouble getting links to work! Michelle's blog can be found at http://www.preciousthoughtscards.blogspot.com/

Operation Write Home World Cardmaking Day Blog Hop

2011-09-30T22:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome, welcome, welcome! I am very excited to have you stop by as part of the OWH blog hop. This hop is a little different - I won't be linking you to anyone else but you can click the badge above to go back to the OWH page for more great Christmas cards.

The wonderful folks at OWH wanted us to tell our readers why we make cards for the troops. For me, that is easy - I've been a deployed troop (actually, Sailor) away from my husband and 4 kids and know how important it is to have contact with home and to remember all the special days in a family's life. OWH is a great way to help others who go into harm's way keep their families' close.

Please consider helping by making cards or making a donation at the OWH website to help with postage. I am busy making Christmas cards that have to be to the shipper by Halloween!

This is a simple shaker card using a Heartfelt Creations stamp and coordinating die. It was actually very quick and easy to do and has a lot of shine without glitter.

Thanks for stopping by, I'd love it if you left comments!

I'm back and with my first tutorial

2011-09-14T14:32:00.002-04:00

Sorry it has been so long. My illnesses and life make everything a challenge! Not that anyone else has a challenging life LOL.

Today I will be showing how to make a triangle or "tee pee" card. I first learned how to do this at my friend's LSS, Inspired Designs. It is a very simple card to make. Since this is my first tut, any and all constructive feedback is more than welcome!

Supplies needed:
Patterned paper - I used Winter Delights from HOTP
Cardstock - my PP is lightweight so I needed cardstock for a base layer so the card would stand.
1 sheet green glitter paper
1 small piece of hook and loop tape
Embellishments as desired.

1. Cut 3 each of 4x4" cardstock and 3 5/8x 3 5/8" PP

2. I also cut 3 4x4" of green glitter cardstock. Using my cutter I cut a 1/2" border all around. This is an optional step, but I usually cut out the centers of my layers and put the rest in my scraps folder.

3. Assemble the 3 layers as shown. The 3 completed pieces need to be scored on the diagonal. I use a MS score board and you can see the line I drew with a Sharpie down the 6" channel. I use this to line up my papers for diagonal scoring - it makes it quick and easy for me.

4. Put one piece face down on your work surface with the diagonal placed vertically and apply tape where shown. I used score tape so you could see. Normally I would use my ATG; just make sure the adhesive is strong.

5. Attach the other 2 pieces as shown. It is important to line up the pieces and insure the diagonal lines are going in the right direction. In the photo I have made the diagonal lines black and inked the edges red for clarity. Make sure you butt the 2nd and 3rd pieces up to the score line of your first piece.

6. The assembled pieces should look like this:

7. Apply the hook and loop tape. Keep the tape together and apply one side to the upper left hand corner on the back of your card (hard to see in the photo). Fold the card into place and adhere the second piece of tape on the right front of the card as shown. If you kept the tape together it will match up perfectly.

8. The completed, standing card.

To embellish the card I used HOTP pointsettias and a red gem brad from my stash. The sentiment is HOTP embossed with Judikins white EP. I used Nellie's eastern rectangle to cut the sentiment and glitter paper, layered them and adhered with foam tape.

To mail: unhook the tape and fold the card flat - it will fit into a 5x6 1/2" envelope.

Thanks for stopping by - and remember I love comments!

No card today

2011-09-02T10:24:00.000-04:00

Short post with no new card today. I'm off to camp for the Labor Day Weekend. Not my favorite place to be, but I'll be bringing some card supplies with me - hope to have lots to share next week.

Irene and a birthday card

2011-08-28T14:11:00.000-04:00

What is left of Hurricane Irene is now coming through Maine; I'm watching the trees bend in the wind. I'm surprised we still have power but the worst of it hasn't arrived. An earthquake and a hurricane in one week - who says Maine is boring?

I wanted to share my grandson Ethan's birthday card. Hard to believe he is 11; he and his brother seem to be growing up faster than my own kids did.

The card has lots of texture with flocking borders and glitter on the cupcake brad. I used die cuts for happy and birtday along with the letters. I backed the 2 panels with coordinating cardstock to reduce the white space when the card was opened. I didn't use any other embellishments besides brads so he wouldn't think the card was "girly". All products are HOTP.

Once I decided what I wanted to do, it was a very quick card to complete and I heard my DIL say she is going to keep this card. What more can a cardmaker hope for?

Thanks for stopping by!

PaperCutz Challenge #106, Wish Upon a Star

2011-08-26T08:54:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone. Well, we are preparing for Hurricane Irene up here. I'm sure the stores are full of folks stocking up. She is expected late Saturday night.

Well, this week we are going to "Wish Upon a Star" by creating a project using stars and any color or theme you would like. I created a star shaped card and used a star covered paper. I wish I could give credit to where I first saw this card idea, but I was blog surfing and can't remember and couldn't find where it came from (sorry!). It is a fairly simple card to construct.

As always, my picture taking doesn't do justice to the creation! I used gold metallic cardstock (DCWV) for the base and a dark gray with foil stars for PP. I used gold metallic vellum for matting and for the star which I heat-embossed with Gold Stupendous EP. I outlined all of the outside lines with a gold leafing pen when I finished. As you can see by the inside, I didn't let the leafing dry enough before I started to handle the card - it left streaks.

The card opens out giving plenty of room for a sentiment, more embellies if wanted and a message. I stamped the happy birthday sentiment using gold EP and outlined the inner triangle with border stickers from Flower Soft. I thought of stamping more stars on the white framing sections, but decided that would be too much. If anyone would be interested in how to make this card, let me know.

This card is headed to Alex, my son who will be turning 23 soon. It's the end of August which means the kids are heading back to school. This year, we only have 3 left in college. Alex will finish his Master's in Chemical Engineering; Toni will finish up her degree in Electrical Engineering and Ben has 3 semesters left for a degree in Economics. Andy graduated earlier this year and is happily settled in Buffalo, NY working in his field of psychology. Rocky and Chris have chosen different paths than college; but I secretly hope one or the other will go back to school at some point. Chances are very good that when the other 3 finish up, they will no longer be calling Maine "home"; I'm trying to look at the bright side - potentially fantastic vacation sites with different LSS to visit!

Please play along with us this week and, as always, I appreciate comments!

PaperCutz Challenge #105, down at the farm

2011-08-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone. It's been a while since I have posted, my apologies, but life got in the way!

This week at Papercutz Challenge, the theme is to make a craft project with the theme "Down on the Farm" using any colors or theme you would like. Now having grown up in big city, Boston, I don't have a lot of familiarity with fams and I have almost no craft supplies. However I do have this cute boy stamp from I Brake for Stamps; he's got a straw hat and a rake, certainly that's a little "farmish" don't you think?

I colored everything but his clothes with Copics and decided to paper-piece his clothes. I stamped parts of him again on scrap pieces of paper, cut them out and glued them down. I consider myself to still be a Copic beginner and I really enjoy paper piecing. In person he is very cute. I was all done and feeling proud of myself when I realized he was holding a bag of seed corn! I solved that problem with my Tonic leaf punch and the vibrant leaf paper from HOTP. Finished it off with the Autumn rub-on from Scenic Route Paper, the cool fibers and the leaf charm from my stash. All in all, not too bad.

Join us this week, won't you?

As always, I love to read comments.

PaperCutz Challenge #102, under the sea

2011-07-29T11:26:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone! This week at PaperCutz Challenge, your mission is to make a project featuring things you would see "under the sea". Since I wasn't a submariner, but a surface sailor, I had a little difficulty with this one - I have about 20 different stamped fishes sitting on my scrap table and I didn't like any of them. So, patterned paper to the rescue! I wimped out and found a paper (HOTP) which satisfied the requirement.

I was feeling guilty about taking the easy way out, so I decided to go for a slightly more involved card. I really enjoy making these tunnel cards - they are actually quick and easy, yet give fantastic results. The sentiment is part of my fish stamp set from Firecracker Designs by Pamela - unfortunately, she is no longer in business. The stamping on the card face is Cornish Heritage Farms, another company who closed their doors. Another card for my Operation Write Home box - which I really need to mail!

Have a great weekend and be sure to play along!

Smooch, Goosebumps and Halloween

2011-07-26T15:28:00.000-04:00

Kind of eclectic title, but describes the cards I have to show you today.

I used smooch on this card; I put about an inch of water in a pie plate and dropped a few globs of the smooch colors into the water and used a toothpick to swirl them. Then I put the paper in the water pushed it under and then took it out. I love the marbled effect and each piece of paper I did was different. It is hard to see in the photo, but there is also some light pink Smooch. I also put the white flowers into the water - the jewels are already attached, I just wiped them off. The paper flowers come from a punch. Simple yet beautiful!

This card uses the new Goosebumps spray by Tsukineko. I stamped the flowers with Adirondack Watermelon then sprayed on the Goosebumps, when dry I rubbed it all over with more Watermelon and wiped it off - the spray is used like a resist. The depth it gives to the card is wonderful. I cut out another flower and popped it on the top left.

On to the Halloween part! Making cards for Operation Write Home requires you to look at the calendar a little differently. Halloween is due to the shipper's mid September; Thanksgiving the end of September and Christmas by Halloween. In December I'll work on my Valentine's cards due by 12/31. So, last week we topped out the weather at 100 degrees and the humidity made it very difficult to breathe due to asthma, so I stayed inside with my air conditioners! I haven't started on the Christmas cards yet, but that's next after I get this box shipped out.

These last 2 cards have nothing to do with any of the above except I was using up more scraps. I used a new 2 me embossing powder, Judikins Diamond Sparkles, on the butterfly and it is gorgeous.

So, I'll see you Friday with the next PaperCutz Challenge, until then keep cool and be creative!

PaperCutz Challenge #101 and new 2 me products

2011-07-22T09:11:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone. Nugget, my dog, got me up at 7 this morning - I do believe she is worse than any of my kids. However, since she is a 16 year old lab and doesn't talk back, we let her slide and even spoil her a bit!

This week at PaperCutz Challenge the challenge is a pretty easy one - anything goes! Can't get any easier than that...I've been playing with some new products and my sample this week uses "build a blossom" from LaPashe that are available here. I used a chrysanthemum on my card:

I played with it for quite a bit before I was happy with the look. I started by spraying with a homemade yellow shimmer spray (polished pigments and simple solution) for some shine. Then I decided to ink the back on each piece yellow in case it showed. I spent some time shaping each piece and layered them. The smallest piece I gathered up into a cone shape, glued it together to stay in this shape and filled the cone with butterscotch dimensional pearls. I then thought it needed something else, so I used one of my top-secret "highly technical tools" (a bent paperclip) to add bits of glue in random places all over the flower and used PK Glitz Crystal glitter. Then I decided it was finished. Cheryl, the owner of my LSS gave me the highest praise, "I thought is was a regular silk flower". For the card base I squeezed out butterscotch and terra cotta dimensional pearls (Ranger) onto wax paper, folder the paper over and swooshed the pearls around, I then added 2 white cs pieces inside the wax paper and ran it through my Big Shot using the Tim Holtz wood embossing folder. When it was completely dry I patted Versamark on the raised portions and heat embossed with clear EP. You can't tell in the picture, but it has a really nice finish. The small horizontal strip was also colored with the dimensional pearls. Of course, everything was going too smoothly...when I went to add the completed piece to a card base, I realized it was a 1/2" shorter than needed. Now, I could have cut the card base down, but that would be too easy, so I glued a strip of ribbon top and bottom under the front panel. I used a Clear Snap rub-on adhesive thanks and finished it off with brown glitter.
Cheryl also got in another LaPashe product "Nice and Easel which create 3D scenes for easel cards. There is also a smaller 3D image for a second card. I chose to make my easel cards 6" x 6" to allow me to mat the image.

I'm hoping you can see some of the dimension better in this picture. The images had to be hand cut, which can be tedious, but this way I didn't have to worry about the leftover "nibs" from punch out pieces. Each of the roses has at least one layer. The bottom left rose has 3 layers so I used 1/16th foam dots for lift. The saying on the bottom of the card is also part of the package.

This last card is made from the smaller pieces of a different Nice and Easel sheet.

I still had some alcohol inked vellum left from my previous post and thought it went well with these flowers. I ran each piece through my Xyron so I didn't need to worry about adhesive showing through. The bird embellishment is from a 12" border set from K and Co. Most of my supplies are actually for scrapbooks, but it is fun to see how to "downsize" these pieces for cards as I did here. More bang for my buck; if you've been reading previous posts, you know I hate to waste anything, even the packaging sometimes.

All of these cards are samples on display at Cheryl's store, Inspired Designs. When they come down from display and if they are still in good condition, they go into my Operation Write Home box.

As always, please leave a comment, good or bad, I learn from them all! Why don't you play along this week at PCC? Remember, anything goes!

Have a great week!

PaperCutz Challenge #100 and resist technique

2011-07-15T09:10:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! Hard to believe but PaperCutz Challenge is up to its 100th challenge. Every so often the DT will get to pick the challenge and this week, Lisa, wanted us to look up with "the sky's the limit". Anything you may see when you look up, from butterflies to UFOs to the moon and the stars. I love butterflies and I just got a new background stamp from Hero Arts which is beautiful and fits the bill. Yesterday I saw a demo of resist papers, the papers you add color to and then wipe with a paper towel and the original design shows through. I love the look and decided to experiment with my new stamp.

I also bought the Fiskar's anywhere punch, but that's another sItory. So, anyway, I stamped the image on white paper with Versamark and embossed with Zing black EP. I then used
Adirondack's Cranberry ink and a dauber to layer on the color. It has an ombre look to it - or at least that's what I was going for. I laid heavy color on the top and lightened it as I went down to the bottom. I then used a paper towel to lightly wipe off excess ink and this is what I got. I punched the window and lightly inked the inside of the card and popped the flower (which I've had forever), added velvet ribbon and a sentiment and I was done! This card is off to Operation Write Home and their challenge this week of miss you cards.

I then decided to experiment with alcohol inks on various surfaces and this is what I got. I used glossy cardstock and Judikins opaque white EP. I use Copic marker refills as my alcohol inks; her the combination is V04 (lilac), BG15 (aqua) and G21 (lime green). It is a very soft pastel effect. I left the cards very simple as I wanted the background and stamp to take center stage.

The next two cards aren't using the resist technique. I embossed the image on SU vellum, which is much sturdier than standard. I then alcohol inked the back of the vellum for a softer, muted effect. The black panel I haven't made into a card yet. I think I like the one with the white EP better (below), it just seems to fit the colors better.

That's it for this challenge. Have fun creating and make sure to play along!

A blog award!

2011-07-14T19:36:00.000-04:00

Thank you to Tisha of Tisha's Craft Cove for nominating me for an award. My husband and I had been talking about the Bambi movie a few days ago - it is the first movie I remember seeing!

I would like to pass along the award to 2 blogs I have followed since they started.

Cheryl at Cher-ing Paper Memories; Cheryl posts everyday with different bits of goodness. From how to organize your craft room (sigh!!! I think my organization is the chaos system) to cutting titles for scrap pages.

and

KarenLiz at It's Time for Tea and Art. Karenliz does a lot of amazing work on canvas as well as cards and scrapping. She has a flair for color.

Both of these ladies are definitely worth stopping by! Check them out and tell them Penny sent you!

I may even have to spruce up my blog now!

As always I LOVE comments!

Masculine Cards

2011-07-12T15:05:00.000-04:00

The second set of cards for the horse rescue program used Penny Black stickers of boats. They make great masculine cards.

The plaid paper is HOTP. The burgundy frame is what is left over after cutting an oval. I liked the scallop and cut outs so decided to use it to frame the sticker and grey cardstock. The corner pieces are actually Design Lines stickers and are small squares. I cut them in two as a way to help people see supplies can have different uses.

I used the actual die cut on the inside of the card and cut my sticker in an oval shape to match. The die I used is again from Nellie's.

The 2nd card is a gatefold. I covered it with kraft paper and the blue DP is Little Yellow Bicycle. The kraft paper is the solid dark blue on the reverse side so I alternated them when cutting the Nellie's medallion. I covered a piece of chipboard with the DP and added the sticker. The brad like things you see are called Candi. They are made of paper and have their own tiny pop dots that fit perfectly. They come in a lot of colors and are fun to use. You can't see, but they are also on the bottom of the card.
For the inside I again used both sides of the kraft paper as mats.

That's it for today. Have a wonderful day and create something wonderful!

Most of the cards have no sentiment, but here I used one from Outline Stamps. If you can have a favorite sympathy sentiment, than this one is mine. I used the same yellow plaid DP from HOTP. The saying is embossed on dark gray cardstock with Zing gold embossing powder and matted on a red plaid strip which came from the same paper as the yellow. This paper is actually one of their school line, but I cut it up to use the pieces I wanted.

The sailboat is matted on the same gray cardstock which is edged with a gold leafing pen. I also again cut a sticker in half for the 2 corner treatments.

This final card of the set starts with dark green cardstock and DP from Kaisercraft. The paper as a whole has a cute owl in the bottom left corner, but I was able to cut pieces for these cards from the top. The sticker is matted on peach cardstock and I used Design Adhesives by Clear Snap and then used a brown Foil Glitter Flock sheet from We Are Memory Keepers. I'm sorry to say that company has stopped carrying this line! They make added glitter, flock and foil easy with no mess. Simply lay them over the adhesive and rub. I have a small stash, and when it is gone I'll be back to glitter and flock everywhere (including the dog) LOL. The border pieces are from K & Company. Because they were designed for scrapbooking, I was able to get three pieces from each border.

The inside of the card was matted and embellished the same way with the addition of 2 Candi on either side of the sentiment.

What an amazing day!

2011-07-11T10:23:00.001-04:00

Saturday was a terrific day at my local LSS, Inspired Designs. Cheryl hosted a fund raiser for a horse rescue group here in Maine and one of the horses spent the day in her backyard. I had been asked to design 16 cards; 4 each from a different package of stickers. I don't use a lot of stickers, but these by Penny Black are amazing and were very easy to build a card around. I'm hoping to post all the cards this week before I send them off to Operation Write Home. The first set I used was:

I love this set; the colors are rich and vibrant.

The first card uses the stickers as well as Color Story rub-ons with bling. The paper is Sassafras. I started with a 5x7 card and cut an inch off the front to allow the border to show.

I again used a sticker and rub-on for the inside of the card. We set aside one hour "classes" for folks to assemble their 4 cards. Doesn't sound like a lot, but all the cutting, measuring and scoring was done for them.

This card came together quickly. I popped the image and was able to find a red (HOTP - see the bottom card) to go with the polka dots paper from My Minds Eye to add the two strips. A ribbon knot and it was done.

This is one of my favorite cards of the 16. Again, quick and easy using a Nellie's Die medallion and my current favorite die set - the butterflies from Joy Crafts. They cut and emboss beautifully, look awesome layered together or pop dotted with their wings bent for dimension.

The paper is Making Memories. Most of the 2 sided DP I used was the "B" side. Kind of like our old 45 records...(yes, I am old, you can say it LOL).

This is the fourth card of the set and my least favorite of the 16, I'm just not sure why. The paper is Red Sponged with Argyle Border from HOTP, I have lots of the border part left - I'll have to use them for Christmas cards. The window die is from Heartfelt Creations it is an exclusive to them Spellbinder's Die. I cut out the middle panes and for the mat, I embossed the die and then cut along the outside edge. I've been finding lots of ways to use this die - I even cut them up and am left with four corner pieces, which you will see in another card.

I'll be back tomorrow with another pack.

GUEST HOST CHALLENGE: I am the guest host for a Paper Wishes message board challenge for the next 2 weeks. Check it out here!

You're Invited!

2011-07-08T09:20:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you enjoyed last week's blog hop as much as I enjoyed reading all your comments. Welcome to my new followers - I'm very happy to "meet" you!

This week's challenge at PaperCutz Challenge our mission is to create a project using a die cut, hand stamped or digital stampede image of an ice cream cone, popsicle, ice cream sundae or milk shake. This challenge definitely says summer, doesn't it? I know that Mary has the challenge written as "Cricut cut", but any die cut machine or die-cut is welcome. However, if you haven't checked out Mary's Cricut challenges, you should! Also, have you stopped by Cardz TV with Mary? I just love her accent!

On to my project which doesn't fit into any of the categories (LOL), I used 2 templates from HOTP - 3-D Ice Cream Sundae and Sweet Treats Pockets.

I made an invitation and a party favor for an ice cream party (I LOVE ice cream). Both were pretty easy to do with the templates. You'll notice the small ice cream cone in the large one's pocket and this is where I will put the details for the party.

The ice cream sundae looks complicated, but goes together in a snap. The ice cream itself opens and you can put a small treat or gift inside. I used HOTP foil paper for the cup and their shine design paper for the topper and "wafer". This template even has a spoon! It is very fluffy and pretty and can be any "flavor" you want it to be! I own most of the HOTP templates, they are versatile, easy to use and a great value. As long as you don't try to cut your design with the plastic template on it they will last forever.

I've had a difficult week as far as my health went so I have been busy making cards for Operation Write Home and I wanted to share a few I made. As I've said before, I don't know how I would handle things if I didn't have my crafting - it is a terrific stress reliever and nobody has to see my "oops" attempts!

Tomorrow I am helping out at my LSS for a fundraiser for a local horse rescue organization. I designed all the cards used at the fundraiser and the basis for all the cards were 4 different sets of Penny Black stickers (the left and right cards are from one set). I'm hoping to bring the cards home tomorrow and I will post them over the next few days. I am a little nervous about how they will be received tomorrow, but what's done is done. For a $10 donation a person gets a pre-cut kit (now that's a lot of work!) to make the four cards - everything is included right down to the pop dots!

Have a great weekend!

PaperCutz Challenge Star Spangled Blog Hop!

2011-07-01T00:30:00.005-04:00

Happy Friday and welcome to PaperCutz Challenges first ever blog hop! We are celebrating America's birthday with the challenge of a banner with lots of bling.

If you got to my page from Lisa's you are headed in the right direction!

If not, the Challenge starts at the PCC blog.

Don't forget about the blog candy on the PCC site. One lucky person will win a Cricut summer collection luau cartridge. So, be sure to stop at everyone's blog and get creative over this long weekend. The good thing about it though is when I was done inking I sprayed water on my craft sheet and soaked it all up with a coffee filter, so I have a very cool background for a card!

I heat embossed each of the letters using Judikins Diamond Sparkle EP (I love it!!) and then used Versamark on the edges of the stars and embossed those as well. I punched smaller stars from DCWV glitter matstack and used red, white and blue twine to hang my banner. I wish you could see the sparkle and shine, it is very pretty. I've already started hinting to my husband that I need a new, upgraded camera - but Christmas is a long way off (my b-day is also in December)!

I had to take the banner back in, because it looks like rain here in Maine, but it will be out again on my lower deck later this weekend when all the (adult) kids are here!

Every 4th of July brings back memories of the one Independence Day I was very far from home. In July, 1998 I was in Sarajevo, Bosnia as part of the peacekeeping force in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia. The American contingent treated all the multi-national troops to a cook-out of typical summer foods. Later that night there was a fireworks show over the camp. The interesting part was looking up in the hills and seeing tracer rounds be fired at the end of each burst! I'm sure it was there way of saying "Happy Birthday, America"!

Be sure to stop by everyone's blog and leave some love and good luck with the blog candy! In case you need it, here is the blog order:
Paper Cutz Challenge http://www.papercutzchallenge.blogspot.com/
Lisa http://www.mypurpleplayroom.blogspot.com
Penny http://www.pennydouph.blogspot.com/
DeNetra http://www.craftynanny3.blogspot.com/
Shelly http://www.cardsbyshelly.blogspot.com/
Kristie http://www.kreativekristie.blogspot.com/
Patti http://www.pattispaperfun.blogspot.com/
Diane http://www.happyscrapperdiane.blogspot.com/
Mary http://www.cardztv.blogspot.com/
Dee http://forum.paperwishes.com/album.php?albumid=31

Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July weekend! I'd love to hear from you!

Happy Birthday America - the land of the free because of the brave!

Your next stop on the hop is the very talented Denatra.

Mosaic Cards/OWH Second Million Challenge

2011-06-26T13:01:00.000-04:00

I'm busily working on getting my cards packed up to mail off to Dixie, my shipper before the deadline of June 30. However, I keep coming up with "one more card" I want to make - does that happen to anyone else?
My good friend, Cheryl, owner of Inspired Designs, my LSS had a class on Thursday morning to make mosaic cards. I came in at the end, loved what I saw and decided to try it.
I first made a mother board for the background, I used Stampin Up glossy cardstock and Adirondack Earthtone Inks by Ranger. I sponged on 4 different colors trying to blend them together. I learned I tend to make my color splotches a little too large as you can see in the large Stream colored area. Still and all, didn't ruin the finished project.

I stamped my card focals in the corner of my paper and then used HOTP swirl stamps on the rest of the page using Versamark and black Zing embossing powder for all the images. I cut out the focals and then cut up the remainder of the paper any which way. I then tried the next step 2 ways: for one card I used a sheet of Humongo sticky paper and the other I used 1 1/2" Scor Tape. I found no difference in the finished product and by my figuring the Scor Tape is less expensive to use. I cut one of the focals into 3 pieces and reassembled on the sticky tape. I then added the cut up pieces to the rest of the sticky paper leaving space between pieces for the "grout". One thing is to be careful not to handle the stickiness if at all possible to make sure you get good adhesion. I sprinkled Neon Purple Zing Embossing Powder over the whole design and made sure (as much as possible) there was no powder on my mosaic pieces. Hit it with the heat gun and presto! - a beautiful card topper.

I left the flower whole on the second card and popped a smaller one on top for dimension. I finished off both cards with white grosgrain ribbon and a sentiment stamp (both HOTP). As I've mentioned before, my photography leaves much to be desired - the embossing and, really, the whole card is vibrantly colored.

Both are going in my OWH box which will, probably (LOL) get mailed on Monday.

Hope you are all enjoying your weekend and taking time to be creative!

PaperCutz Challenge #97 and BLOG HOP alert!

2011-06-24T09:57:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! It is raining again here in Maine and yesterday was a balmy 63 degrees. Definitely not our average summer. However, this week's PaperCutz Challenge should make things a little brighter. The challenge is to make a project using pink, orange, white and a little black. Interesting combination isn't it? I took some liberties with "a little black" to make this card:

My photography, as always, doesn't do justice to the vibrancy of the colors. The pink and orange in the focal are microbeads which I coated with glossy accents so they wouldn't rub off. It changed their look a bit, but since this card is destined for Operation Write Home, I figured it needed it. I love these papers from My Mind's Eye; part of the "Dusk" portion of the Meadow Lark by Carina Gardner. They are available here (don't let her blog throw you off - she is open for business and you can contact her through the blog).

I have a confession, I have a lot of difficulty cutting into paper I love - cause then it is gone and I can't look at it any more. I'm a clinical social worker, so I officially know this is a problem! LOL So, to save myself the angst the paper I actually used came from the cover piece to the paper pack. This is what I'm talking about:

Problem solved: beautiful card and intact paper - brilliant! You definitely need to look into this line, the tag sheet shown at top is just wonderful for scrapping or card making. I'm trying to look at all of my stash differently and use what I have, including packaging which sometimes is as beautiful as the product.

BLOG HOP ALERT!!!!

Next week, PaperCutz Challenge is having our first ever blog hop. We are very excited to be doing this and hoping everyone will stop by each of the design team's blogs and leave some love. The PCC site will be offering blog candy and I am looking to create a package of blog candy here - perhaps if I can make it to 50 followers during the hop.

As always, have a great week and please leave a comment, I love to read them and will come visit your blog as well.

Father's Day and PaperCutz Challenge 96

2011-06-17T10:23:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! Last week I thought I'd be able to make a post each day showing masculine and/or Father's Day cards. However, real life was secretly laughing at me. So, I have several cards to show you today. These are cards I designed and taught at my local LSS. This was the first class that was all me so to speak and it was a lot of fun. I forgot one step in one card, but hey, its paper. First is the card for PaperCutz Challenge #96.

The challenge is a Father's Day card using a tag and any colors. I made this pocket card. It is a standard A2 card. The pocket stamp is from Heartfelt Creations, the 2 sentiments are HOTP and the dad comes from a $1 stamp from Michaels. I used textured white paper and denim Adirondack ink to make the jeans material. All embossing used pewter Zing embossing powder. I couldn't find any pewter brads so the rivets in the pocket are copper Stickles. Quick, easy and fun. The pocket can also hold a gift card. If you are a sewer, you could probably make this card out of a real pair of jeans!

The next card is a regular pyramid card with a masculine focal. I really enjoy using these LaPashe focals.They don't need to be cut out and they have many different varieties. They can be purchased here.

These are easily made for any masculine card needs. You can just change the greeting inside.

The last group of cards were done using stencils for theorem painting. All 3 come from Jean Hansen Publications. Generally, these stencils are used with paint sticks, but I used Adirondack and Distress inks. The wolf and moose are pullout cards, using the tab to "open" the card for the greeting. This is very simple to do; using an A2 card place it with the fold on the bottom cut a second piece of cardstock slightly smaller, decorate both as desired and put the smaller panel inside the card (this piece must be inserted upside down or the greeting will be upside down) aligning with the bottom and right corners and use a brad to put them together. I made small pull tabs from circles to make it easier to open the card.

This is an interesting twist on a traditional card. The stencils are very easy to use and produce "wow" effects. After a little practice (not shown LOL), I can do one of these stencils in about 10 minutes using inks.

The bear was finished the same way. Only this card is a traditional 5x7. I used wood that is sold in sheets for papercrafting. I'm hooked on using this, it makes a wonderful look with various shading, but can also be altered.

That's it for this week. With 5 boys, a husband and 2 grandsons I need to have many different options for masculine cards. I hope these ideas help you as well.

Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day!

Please, leave comments - I'd love to hear from you.

PaperCutz Challenge #95

2011-06-10T10:40:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! Here in Maine we finally have sunshine and close to 90 degree weather. Summer finally decided to arrive.

This week at PaperCutz Challenge we're having an anything goes with a twist week. Make any project you would like using pink, white and black only. Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team made, they are gorgeous. I decided it was finally time to use my pink and black flocked paper - I've had it forever but couldn't make myself cut into it.

The entire card is made from HOTP supplies and I used 3 of their "specialty papers" - flocked, glimmer and "shine design" which is a glossy paper. I used the Scandinavian Heart template for the focal and a punch for the flowers - you simply fold them and add a brad! I really like HOTP templates, I use them over and over again which makes them a great value for my scrapping dollars. I offset the heart with a white one I had glittered up (can't tell in the picture). This card is destined for my Operation Write Home box, so I am going to have to swap out the glitter backing for plain white.

As always, I hope you play along with us and have a great week! I am teaching a Father's Day card class at my LSS and am hoping to post one of the cards each day next week. Please stop by!

PaperCutz Challenge #94

2011-06-03T09:41:00.000-04:00

It's Friday again and I am off to camp for the weekend. Not my favorite place but my husband LOVES it and I love him...you know how it goes.

This week the PaperCutz Challenge is to make a project with a beach or travel theme using any colors you would like. I chose to use this wonderful stamp - she certainly has character to make a card for Operation Write Home. At the moment I can't remember which company the stamp is from, but if anyone is interested, I'll dig it out when I get home. I colored her with Copics (I'm getting better, but still learning) and papers are from DCWV, finally, the flip-flops are from Joanne's (bought years ago when I made calendars for sisters-in-law).

Be sure to check out the other design team member's projects - they are terrific and full of inspiration!

l also wanted to share another card using my Heartfelt Creations stamp. The flower center is Prima and the wonderful border is Spellbinder's. The papers and greeting are HOTP. Hard to see in the photo but the inside bottom is lined with shiny silver paper to match the silver tinsel EP from Stampendous.

I'm really working at using what I have, especially when it comes to paper! It is hard though - there is always something I "have to have" because it is "ooh, so pretty". Problem is I already have enough paper to last the rest of my life (and I'm not really that old :). I've made an exception though for the Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies. But that's it...I'll keep you posted.

Have a great weekend, spend some time being creative - it is the most relaxing thing I know!

Heart felt Creations

2011-05-30T12:42:00.000-04:00

Happy Memorial Day everyone! A special thank-you to all those who have served in the Armed Forces or have lived through a loved one's deployment into harm's way. A special heartfelt thank you to those who have lost a service member. I will never forget those who answered the ultimate call to duty for their country. It's easy to say "freedom isn't free", its much more difficult to put your life on the line everyday for that belief. As a disabled veteran myself, I know that the cost of service for our country is often a life-long challenge for the veteran and those they left behind.

I have been busy playing with absolutely wonderful stamps from a new to me company Heartfelt Creations. They have beautiful floral stamps with a twist - many of their designs have matching dies for cutting. The blooms either work with an existing Spellbinder's die or they are a Spellbinder's exclusive for the stamps.

I found out last fall my daughter had a tattoo! I know they are very common, but with five boys as well as Toni, I never thought it would be her. I decided to do a page about this and used blossom's from Heartfelt to make a feminine feel to the page.

The main papers are from HOTP and they are flocked - I finally decided to use them instead of just "petting" them. Toni's tattoo is actually the initials for her and her 3 brothers. She knows they always have her back, so she decided to always have them with her. I must admit, I cried when she told me why she picked "brat" for a tattoo.

These are closeups of the flowers. All are heartfelt with the exception of the 2 small pink ones in the second picture. They were made from dies by Ecstasy Crafts. The stamps from Heartfelt are easy to use on DP, vellum or cardstock. You can layer them as is or as I did with the light blue and purple ones in the second picture, I cut off the back petal from the stamp to get an entirely different look.

These flowers also make wonderful card focals. Another set is Daffy Daffodils and I made this card from them:

The three daffs on the border are one stamp and what I really appreciate is the stamp of a single daff which you can use for accent. It isn't easily seen, but I stamped the daff head tone on tone on the yellow DP (DVWV). I colored the images with Copic markers and foam taped them over the images for some dimension on the card.

All of the stamps are available from Inspired Designs.

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful long weekend. Here in Maine, we finally have some sunshine!

Operation Write Home Sketch 70

2011-05-22T16:54:00.000-04:00

I was lucky enough to be able to help out OWH by making samples for one of Julie's wonderful sketches. The original OWH post is here. I had a lot of fun making these samples - by now they have made their way overseas and (hopefully) been sent back home with a note of love by one of our Sailors, Soldiers, Airman or Marines. Making cards for OWH has become very important to me; I was hoping to be able to send a box of cards a month, but I am averaging a card a day, so I think my new more realistic goal will be 365 in 2011!

This card was made using K&Company paper. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the heat embossing was done with Zing! neon orange on purple cardstock. Sounds funky, I know, but it came out very cute. I used my Nesties to cut the circle from the card front and to make the scallop. The flower was made from a punch.

This card was made from HOTP papers using Nesties again for the circles and I folded a large flower in half.
Please, join in on the fun, make some cards using the sketch or not and help our service people keep in touch with home!

Operation Write Home and Father's Day

2011-05-13T15:02:00.000-04:00

Seems a little early to be thinking about Father's Day, doesn't it? But, to get cards to the troops and then back home to their loved ones everything has to be early. I had just finished filling a box with cards, when I saw this post about not having enough Father's Day cards. I hadn't made any, thinking they probably had more than they needed, but what do I know? LOL

So the challenge was to make five of the tie cards from the post (a great tutorial by the way!). I ended up making 12 and because I didn't make it to the post office today, I'll probably add a few more before shipping them tomorrow - I even gave a few pockets and handkerchiefs. If you can, whip up a few and send them to the shipper nearest you - they will be much appreciated.

As always, I'd love it if you left some comments!

PaperCutz Challenge #91

2011-05-13T14:44:00.000-04:00

Hello everyone! This week at PaperCutz Challenge we are tasked with making a project for grads using any colors. I have posted pictures of my son's graduation from college. To tell you what kind of scrapper I am, I finally did his pre-school graduation a week before his college one. I've never scrapped in order, I'll go through pictures and find the ones that "speak" to me. Thank goodness for 3-ring albums LOL.

I definitely know the papers came from HOTP, I'm not sure about all the embellishments. I'm very proud of him; he is now in grad school working on his Master's.

Please play along with us this week!

CKC and PaperCutz Challenge #89

2011-04-29T07:50:00.000-04:00

Good morning! This week at PaperCutz Challenge anything goes. Your mission is to make any type of project you would like using any colors or themes. Pretty easy, right?

This was the first time I made a tunnel card and I really like the look of them. All supplies are HOTP. I colored the flowers using Smooch. I have so many ideas for different looks for this card, just a change in the aperture shape would give it a whole new look.

Today I'm also off to CKC in Manchester, NH. This is my first scrapping "convention" and I'm not sure what to expect beyond my credit card not being happy! LOL

Exploding Box and PaperCutz Challenge #88

2011-04-22T09:27:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! I missed last week's challenge, but am here now. This week at Papercutz Challenge you need to make any project using purple, green, pink, blue and white. A bit of black is also allowed. This one had me thinking hard and then I stumbled across this unfinished exploding box which I had cut out in blue and green - problem solved!

I have templates for several different shapes for exploding boxes and this is a hexagon. They are very easy to make and instead of using photos inside, I chose to make this a quotation/sayings piece of different things that always make me stop and think.

To use all the colors for the challenge, I stamped the words/sayings on white cardstock with black ink and matted those pieces with another color from the challenge. The cardstock I used has a pearlescent finish so there is a subtle shimmer to them. Because of the small sizes, I embellished each panel very simply. I recently bought the large pink flower in the center from Maya Road, it is made from fabric and has wonderful texture. I surrounded it with blue and pink rosebuds to finish it off.

I made the lid, used sheer ribbon for the bow and added more blue rosebuds to cover the Zots holding the ribbon in place. A few flowers from HOTP and a purple jewel brad and I was done.

This was a time consuming project and I have a whole basketful of stamps that need to be cleaned, but I am very happy with the finished project.

Be sure to upload a picture of your project on the Papercutz Challenge blog to be eligible to win a prize.

Have a great week and a wonderful Easter!

PaperCutz Challenge #86

2011-04-08T08:33:00.000-04:00

It's Friday again! We continue with an Easter theme this week as your Papercutz challenge is to make a card using any colors you'd like to make a project using a hand stamped, digi stamped or die cut image of a lamb, chick, bunny or Easter eggs. I made a card with a chick last week, so this week I went with eggs.

I made a tag this week starting with white paper I sprayed with Fully Purple Glimmer Mist. I then used an EF from Cuttlebug's Lotus Blossom set. After I dry embossed it, I gently rubbed Versamark over the raised images and heat embossed with Stampendous Lavender Pastel EP. I also heat embossed the greeting using Inkadinkado stamps and Ranger purple EP. I layered the 2 papers and lace and added the eggs and flowers.
The egg stamp is from Michael Strong which I stamped in Versamark and then used polished pigments and a paint brush to rub on the colors. Unfortunately, my camera hates me these days, so the vibrant colors aren't really showing through. I finished up the eggs with Stickles for more shine! The color combination of purple, pink and green is actually quite lovely. This tag is definitely a departure from my usual "style", but I do like it, there is lots of color and texture and will look great on my DH's Easter present.

PaperCutz Challenge #85

2011-04-01T05:35:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! We are now into April but you wouldn't know it by looking out my windows - it is snowing! One of the prices I pay for living in the beautiful state of Maine. My Spring bulbs had started peeking through and I'm hoping they make it through.

Easter is on its way and this week at PaperCutz Challenge Easter is the challenge! Make any kind of project for Easter with any colors you'd like. I made a simple card for my son and his family. The stamp is a sweet one I just got from HOTP and the suede paper is some I've had for quite some time. (I never used these papers because they felt to good to cut into LOL). I used Nestabilities for layering and all the pastel colors I had.

I stamped the chick twice with purple Staz-on, cut out the egg portion and popped it with foam dots. Simple and quick, but sweet at the same time. You can see in the bottom left corner where the pink paper is crumpled - but you can't see it on the card itself. Oh well...

Please join us this week!

PaperCutz Challenge #84

2011-03-25T09:23:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone! The sun is shining, I can actually see grass outside of my window and my daffodils and tulips are starting to peek out of the ground. Must be Spring!

This week at Papercutz Challenge, your task is to create a project using 3 patterned papers with any color/theme you like. Sounds easy doesn't it? I have a lot of trouble combining patterned papers so they actually coordinate! LOL So, for this week, I took the easy way out and used papers which came together in a pack. Figured even I couldn't go wrong that way.

Papers and sentiment are HOTP. Flowers and bling from my stash and twine is from Kim Bell's Etsy Shop.

I think I made it too easy on myself and did finish a layout from Thanksgiving which used papers from different manufacturers. I'll post that a little later.

PaperCutz Challenge #83

2011-03-18T13:36:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday everyone! I've been MIA from some of the challenges recently, but I think I'm back on track (she says keeping her fingers crossed).

Challenge #83 is your choice! Make a card, LO or craft project using any colors and any theme you'd like.

I've been busy playing with a new die set I bought from Inspired Designs. It reminds me of doilies and is very pretty. I made several cards with it I'd like to share:

All the patterned paper is from HOTP. The die set includes the medallions and the flower in the middle. I used glimmer paper for all the die cuts - it is very difficult to see the shimmer in these pictures, but it is there! I also used the reformulated Liquid Pearls in the first and third cards. Very pretty and "springy".

Please play along with this week's challenge and link your creation here for a chance to win the monthly prize!

Have a great week!

Operation Write Home Bunny Hop Blog Hop

2011-03-05T09:49:00.013-05:00

Good morning!  If you arrived here from Patricia's blog, you

are in the right place. If not, the blog starts here.  It is

time for Spring and OWH is celebrating with a hop to feature

Spring cards.

I apologize if this post looks odd, blogger and I are not getting

along at the moment! LOL

Please remember the following dates for your cards to be at

your shipper.  Easter is March 18th and Mother's Day is

March 31.  If you ever have questions about due dates,you can

check the OWH web site for their one page calendar. Spend some

time exploring the website; I particularly like the tutorial page,

I always find new techniques and tips which helps keep my

creativity fresh.

I've got 5 cards for you today - I couldn't pick just one! As you

can see, my "hello" stamp is a favorite.  I figure it can be used for

just about any occasion.  I try to keep my cards fairly simple, but I love

dimension so all the butterflies add that to the cards.  They'll flatten out

for mailing but will pop back up.

I just spent the week at a wonderful camp called Camp Kieve in

Nobleboro, ME.  The wonderfully generous people there offer programs

for veterans for free.  They have had family weeks, Vietnam Vets week

and a Women Veterans week which I went to.  This is a time for reflection

on our service and an opportunity to center ourselves.  Many of the women

I met had multiple tours in Iraq or Afghanistan along with the first

Persian Gulf war, there were "peacetime" vets and vets who served as

peacekeepers such as my time in Bosnia.  All had poignant stories to

share about how serving in the military changed their lives.  I even

had a reunion with a woman I served with whom I haven't seen in almost

10 years. There were many generous contributors who made this experience

possible for us and I'd like to thank them all.

The next stop on this Hop is  Christy  at lone pine designs!  Have

fun as you continue on!  I love to read comments, so please feel free

to leave me a hello and browse through my other posts.

Happy Spring!

Mid Week Throwdown - Operation Write Home

2011-02-18T14:41:00.001-05:00

This week at OWH the Midweek Throwdown Challenge is to make masculine cards for the troops to send to men and boys. I also used my card for the Paper Wishes MessageBoard Challenge #4 to use scoring in a project.

All papers are HOTP, the twine from Kim Bell's Etsy Shop. The stamps are from Stampscapes. It's a very simple card, with no sentiments, but I do like it.

This was my second card for the challenge - defnitely not masculine! All supplies are HOTP. The folding was in the rosettes, I've never made them before (these are attempts #3 and 4). It is a very soft feminine card.

As always, would love some feedback!

PaperCutz Challenge #78 and a taste of Spring

2011-02-11T01:52:00.001-05:00

Another Friday is here and a new PaperCutz Challenge. This week we are asking you to make a card, LO or craft project using a hand stamped, digital stamped or cut image of ladybugs, bees or butterflies. Use any colors you’d like. I chose butterflies for my card this week.

The papers and stamp are from Hot Off the Press. The butterfly dies are available here. They come in 3 sizes and cut/emboss beautifully. The large one I cut out in 2 different green papers and attached just the body to give some great dimesion. I inked the yellow butterfly orange after I ran it through my Big Shot, I love the polka dots. The smallest butterfly I perched on the U, again only adhering the body. The embellishments on the 4 are not brads but the new Liquid Pearls, the picture doesn't do justice to the shimmer and vibrant colors.

Join in on the fun and be sure to add your card for a chance to win the monthly prize. Have a wonderful week!

Valentine's Card without the hearts

2011-02-04T08:10:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! I hope all your driveways are shoveled out just in time for 2 more storms tomorrow and Monday! We are running out of places to put it all.

This week at PaperCutz Challenge our challenge is to make a layout, card or project for Valentine's Day without using hearts, using any colors you would like.

For my card, I used a modified Bargello technique. I took scraps from a leftover project (more on that in another post) and glued them together on a sheet of copy paper. I then stamped and embossed in white various flowers. To finish up I cut the paper into 1" strips and the strips into 1" squares arranged them in a grid and glued them to the front of my card; all papers and flower stamps are HOTP. I used a package of Flower soft lines to outline the grid in gold and stamped/embossed the sentiment, from Outlines, in gold. I finished it all off with my circle ribbon punch (available here ). Ribbon is from my stash. I haven't always been sold on this technique but I do like the looks of this card.

Please, join along in this week's challenge and you could be eligible to win the monthly prize!

PaperCutz Challenge #76

2011-01-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

Good morning everyone! This week at PaperCutz Challenge your mission is to make a card, LO or craft project for Valentine's Day using a hand stamped, digital stamped or Cricut cut image of a cake, cupcake, cookies or candy, using any colors you'd like.

For my card I used a set of sweet stamps I borrowed from a friend who also had to point out the word play, so I don't know where they came from. I apologize for the pictures - crazy week.

The papers are from HOTP, not typical Valentine's paper, but they are purple! I love using windows on my card and pop-dotting what is inside, it's such a neat look.

The doilies (at least that's what I think they look like) come from Nellie's Dies available here. I have fallen in love with this line of Dies the smallest one in each set offers some kind of embellishment - although I didn't use it here, this set has a very sweet button. There's still plenty of room to write a note and no other sentiment is needed. This will go in my next Operation Write Home box for their Spring Thaw Challenge. It's too late to send Valentine's, but I think this one could be an all purpose kind of card.

Join the fun this week and you could be picked for the monthly drawing.

PaperCutz Challenge #75

2011-01-21T08:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! It is snowing again here in Maine, so this is a good day to stay inside my scraproom with a good cup of coffee. This week at PaperCutz Challenge is an anything goes week. Make a project or layout in any theme/colors you like.
I created this mini-album for Cheryl at Inspired Designs to highlight a wonderful collection of notecards from Prima called Paisley Road. Each design is gorgeous and a great value! You get a total of 30 cards and 6 designs and a really cool box (I love boxes) for only $5.00! Now, I know these are notecards, but I thought they would make a great mini-album and as soon as I saw the card with the "family is" prompt I knew what I wanted to do. My album is 12 pages, I also used the backs of the cards to showcase my kids back when they were little (my DD at 5'9" considers herself the "runt" of the litter).

Paper and embellishments are HOTP and stamps used above are Inkadinkado. On a couple of the pages, I cut around the printed design to edge the pictures under them - they are too beautiful to cover up.

For the back pages I traced the shape and then embossed a background using Cracked Earth stamp by Stampscapes and Zing embossing Powder. I love these word paperclips from 7 Gypsies which I got from HOTP. They are flat so no bulk and they add just a little "touch".

Join us this week and you could be the monthly prize winner! As always, I appreciate any comments or feedback.

Sorry I'm Late! Papercutz Challenge #74

2011-01-14T17:15:00.001-05:00

Wow, I'm behind! It's amazing how life stops when the internet is down.

This week at Papercutz, the challenge is to make a card, LO or other project using a tag or tags with any color and theme. I chose to make a gift tag and matching card for Valentine's Day. Good thing my DD doesn't read my blog!

I started with some really fun paper, Invisibles by Heidi Swapp. I inked the paper from the edges in for the tag and top to bottom for the card using Distress Inks (Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick and Worn Lipstick) and then rubbed the paper to reveal the white dots. I then stamped 2 sizes of Outline's Pointed Posy (available here); the smaller 2 are the same stamp, I just trimmed off the outer layer. I also stamped the tag sentiment twice in different colors. I did the same treatment for the card; the card sentiment I direct inked Worn Lipstick onto white paper and stamped with the Aged Mahogany. I've had this stamp forever, not sure where it came from. I wasn't sure about these polka dots for Valentine's, but I'm pretty happy with how they came out.

Have a great week and be sure to play along!

PaperCutz Challenge #73 and Jif Peanut Butter

2011-01-07T07:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome back to PaperCutz Challenges! We've got another great year of challenges for you . This week the challenge is to make any kind of project using metal and any colors you would like. That's where the peanut butter comes in. You know when you open a fresh jar you have to remove the protective covering? Well, I save those as they are basically aluminum foil (I do the same with the Folger's Coffee pull-backs).

First, I make sure there is no peanut butter left (LOL) and then I ran it through my Big Shot with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder. I guess this is technically a Christmas folder, but I thought it would do well as a general winter card as well. I tapped black Staz-on onto the embossed image to highlight it (yup, you can see where I tapped a little too hard) and mounted it onto a scalloped nestie using mirror finish paper. The patterned paper and metal snowflake brads are HOTP; the paper is a collage of winter words - I made sure there were no holiday greetings. I typed up my sentiment and finished it off with a little bit of silver Stickles and silver edged ribbon. I'm happy to say it doesn't smell like peanut butter! This card is already in my box of cards for Operation Write Home. Please, come and play along with us this week and you will be entered to win the monthly prize!

New Year's Resolutions?

2011-01-02T11:37:00.000-05:00

Well, all the hoopla is done - I was asleep at 11:30 on New Year's Eve but the year arrived nevertheless. I've already had to correct the date 3 times!

I've never been good at resolutions, so I think I will frame them as challenges. I've already written about simplifying my life and this challenge is about creativity. The magazine Scrapbook & Cards Today, a fabulous, FREE on-line magazine plus paper copies has what they call a "Project 12" which is to do a 2 page layout a month based on a sketch by Becky Fleck. I've been watching this on their blog as the months have gone by and they are wonderful sketches. There is a prize each month with 2 chances to win. I've been doing so many cards lately, I think this will help get back to preserving my family's memories.

Having said I was focusing on cards...my other challenge is to send a package of cards each month to Operation Write Home. I feel it's the least I can do. I think this is where simplifying will be a good thing. I love elaborate, highly embellished cards as much as anyone, but they aren't always necessary. Beautiful cards are also clean and simple (CAS). The big challenge for me is the NO GLITTER requirement - I certainly understand it, but I love my bling! My hubby loves to watch tv and I can make cards in the family room while I keep him company. Sometimes less is more - I just need to convince myself!

My last post was about (I think) a gorgeous card using a Design Line medallion. One of the great things about stickers like these is they leave a whole lot of goodness behind when you take them off the sheet. The "innies" as they are known can also make a beautiful card. Here is my take on the innies:

This is a standard gate-fold card and I stacked and cut out the innies just as I did the stickers themselves. The corner treatments are a Nellie's D Die; a 2 piece die which makes a great layered look, they are available here at a great price. I am really enjoying exploring this new line of dies. So, my package of stickers was 2 sheets for $2.00 or $1 a sheet and I made 2 cards from one sheet for $.50 each. Not bad! That leads me to my last challenge of the year. Now that I'm not working,I need to be frugal in my crafting budget. Trust me, I have plenty of supplies - I just need to use them.

PaperCutz Challenge will be back this week - watch for it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-12-29T19:10:00.000-05:00

Well, Christmas is over, we put the tree away today. This was a tough holiday for me - we are calling it black Christmas. I stopped working in mid-December due to health and I've been in a bit of a funk. But, even with a low-key holiday, everyone was pleased and happy to be together. That's important for me to remember the next time I think I "should" outdo Martha Stewart. In fact, at the Paper Wishes message board there is a "word challenge" instead of a new year resolution. I've been thinking and the word that keeps coming to mind is simplify. Probably won't apply to my craft room, but everywhere else could certainly use some attention. This Christmas is a great example, we kept the most important traditions and let the rest go, including the mounds of presents - definitely simplified. I'm also looking to simplify my home - the older I get the less I like clutter and that is one thing my house is full of. I grew up with very little, so I tend to hang onto things, but it is time to re-examine and keep the important things, the sentimental things and let the "stuff" go. A challenge for sure.

I made a card yesterday for Cheryl's store using a Design Line sticker set. It is a stacked medallion which went together very easily (not hard to cut out). I like this line of stickers for the quality and value: you get two sheets of the design for $2.00 - can't beat that.

I used vellum and a burgundy glossy paper from Cheryl's for the medallion layers as well as the Nestabilities scalloped circle. The background paper is HOTP and I finished it off with KaiserCraft black pearls. Is it to early for Valentine cards? Hope not - since I have 2 sheets of the design, this one will be on display and I'll make another one for Paul.

PaperCutz Challenge #72

2010-12-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday everyone! Did you know Christmas is a week from tomorrow? I think it just dawned on me, I went out yesterday to do some shopping, I figured that at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Thursday it wouldn't be busy - wrong!!!

This week at Papercutz Challenge is to make a New Year's card including in the design a banner. This is my first try at using a banner (be kind!).

I think I need to work on the spacing a bit more. All the papers and the large snowflake brad are from HOTP.

This is our last challenge of the year! We're taking a break for the holidays and will be back in 2 weeks!

PaperCutz Challenge #71

2010-12-09T22:00:00.004-05:00

Good morning! This week our challenge at PaperCutz is to craft a project which has snowflakes or a snowman. I must admit, this week I am showing a page I made for last Christmas. On the Paper Wishes message board several of us decided to divide common holiday songs and to each make a page with our portion of the lyrics. Mine was the last lines of Frosty the Snowman. I had a lot of fun designing the page - and a lot less fun replicating it 8 times. However, I'm very happy with how it came out. For the snow at the bottom of the page I glued used crumpled drier sheets to my page and then rubbed icicle stickles all over it, I think you can see the shine in the picture. I found Frosty somewhere on-line and paper pieced him together using suede paper for his vest. The house and train come from the Christmas Noel cart from Cricut. I used a snow writer on the house. I hope you like it and come join in the fun.

Please leave me a note letting me know what you think. Only 14 more shopping days left!

PaperCutz Challenge #70

2010-12-03T10:35:00.000-05:00

Happy December everyone! Just 22 shopping days left until Christmas - isn't that terrifying? I'm usually done with Christmas and all wrapped by now, but I haven't really even started yet. The kids will be easy this year - they all want $, so gift cards it is. When they were younger a little after my youngest was beyond believing, I started having Santa bring the socks and underwear - he'd been getting the credit for the good stuff long enough! So now, Christmas morning, they have a gift bag from the big guy along with their stockings. They even get the same bag every year - I wrote their names on it! Of course, stocking filling is getting pretty expensive too - have you noticed stores advertising "stocking stuffers for under $50"? The grandkids get the same gift bag from Santa along with a very nice present - I love seeing their faces when they realize Santa stopped at Meme's and Papa's for them too!

This week at Papercutz Challenge you are to make a Christmas project using 2 patterned papers and any colors you would like. I made another Christmas card using several papers from Kaiser Crafts Christmas line. I usually like very bright colors for Xmas, but I'm really enjoying working with a more muted palette.

The tree focal is from Echo Park's Card Paper - I've been having a lot of fun using it to create focals. I used Tim Holtz rock candy crackle paint on the focal - I'm not sure I'm in love with how it turned out, but it definitely aged the piece. The self-adhesive bottom border is also from Kaiser Craft, I just cut around the figures for a different look. The ribbon is from my stash. All of the papers I used today are available from Cheryl's store Inspired Designs. She ships anywhere for the actual cost of the package - no added fees!

Now I just need to get these cards in the mail! Have a great week!

PaperCutz Challenge #69

2010-11-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! I'm not a Black Friday shopper - but if you are, happy hunting! This week at Papercutz, it is anything goes! This week my card uses stamps from Ippity which I get from Kim Bell. This is a sweet set, I stamped the flowers twice and inked all the edges. I also got the twine from Kim, I'm really enjoying using it - she has lots of colors to choose from.

Short post today! Please visit Papercutz and post a link to your creation for a chance to win the monthly grand prize! Let the holiday season commence!

PaperCutz Challenge #68

2010-11-19T00:01:00.002-05:00

It's Friday again! This week at PaperCutz the challenge is to make a Christmas project with lots of bling. I chose glitter and Stickles as my bling of choice. Just a side note, by the time I was done, my whole house was glittered, including Nugget! I used the lint roller on her and I didn't get hair, just red and green glitter.

The stickers I used are from Stampendous and are red mirror pointsettias and green holly leaves. I turned the stickers over and applied glitter to the adhesive. After I sprinkled the glitter on, I covered the stickers with another piece of paper and used a brayer to insure even coverage. When I use glitter like this, I always spray it with a clear acrylic sealer to keep the glitter on the card and not all over the recipient's house. I'm able to keep more friends that way. I've had the paper I used forever and don't know where its from, but it is red and green double sided. I cut a narrow red frame from a piece, put it on the card and then turned it over and used the rest of the piece - it gives a nice border and I only needed one piece of paper for the card. I used yellow Stickles for the middle of the flowers and as accent for the sentiment. The sentiment is from HOTP and I used white embossing powder from Judikins.
It is very shiny in person and has a bit of dimension. If you look real close, you can see one of Nugget's hairs on a pointsettia - I didn't notice until I uploaded the picture. I'll make sure it isn't there before I mail it out.

We'd love to see what you come up with for the challenge! Make sure you use Mr. Linky at the Papercutz site to be eligible for November's prize!

Not sure if I will get a chance to post before, so Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours; may you have a safe and happy day! If you do not celebrate Thanksgiving, I still hope you have a safe and happy day and I hope you spend it crafting. Me, I'm cooking and then cleaning up for 12 and counting...

PaperCutz Challenge #67

2010-11-12T09:58:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Hard to believe 2 weeks have gone by since my last post. I had a tough time last week with my health, so I took it off from the challenge. This week at Papercutz the challenge is to make a card, LO or craft project for Thanksgiving, using buttons and bows, and any colors you'd like. For my project I used a really cute template I got from Adela at PaperCraft Planet to make a chair.

I made the chair base from brown cardstock and then used HOTP papers to decorate. I also used a Tonic punch to put two leaves in each side of the chair "skirt". Nesties created the piece on the chair back and you can see the pop dots on the chair seat which is another square of the leaves paper. These chairs are designed to open from the top or bottom, mine opens from the bottom to put a treat inside. This one (and 12 others yet to be made) will be my placecards for Thanksgiving dinner, I'll add names in the oval. I'm going to put after dinner mints in each one.

Please join us this week and if you are the winner you will be put into the drawing for the monthly grand prize!

I spent all of last Saturday at a crop in Gray, Maine to benefit an Equine Rescue group. I was there to help Cheryl as she brought her store Inspired Designs to the crop. I was able to finish a few Christmas cards, hopefully I can post pictures of them later today.

PaperCutz Challenge #65

2010-10-29T11:45:00.000-04:00

Wow, another week come and gone! I hate to admit it, but I'm getting old - time flies by so quickly! This week at PaperCutz Challenge make a card, LO or craft project for Breast Cancer Awareness using any colors you'd like. We tend to think of pink ribbons for breast cancer awareness, but any message of hope or support is what's needed. For Challenge 63 I made a Halloween card for awareness and this week I went with a more traditional approach.

I started with PP from HOTP and used the large Stampin' Up medallion with gold embossing powder to create the background. I stamped this wonderful lady (I use her A LOT!) and embossed with black and cut her out. I did use a traditional pink ribbon and jazzed it up with some bling (creative imaginations).

I don't usually show the inside of my cards, but I think this one came out really well. I repeated the background paper and embossed and cut out three more feathers with a little bling. I distressed the edges of everything with Tea Dye Distress Ink. When I look at this card I think of the song "I am woman" especially the "hear me roar" chorus.

So, for all my friends and readers, take the time to do self-exams and get mammograms per the guidelines. Let's not forget men can be afflicted with this disease as well. So, this week let's make sure we "save the girls and save the boys!

PaperCutz Challenge #64 and Firecracker Designs by Pamela

2010-10-22T18:36:00.000-04:00

It is amazing how quickly time flies! This is my last week as a guest designer for Firecracker Designs by Pamela (and, sadly, the last guest designer opportunity at all). I chose to make my last Halloween card using the absolutely adorable image Duck O' Lantern to make a sweet card for a little one. I colored him with Copics - I did do his whole body! Of course, I don't have any little ones, so it is going to my 'littlest" (6') son!

PaperCutz Challenge # 64 was to make a Halloween card using diamonds, circles, stars or crescents. Life being what it is sometimes, I combined my 2 design team "jobs" again this week. The card is a 4 3/4" square which I covered with this cute purple candy corn paper (I've had it forever, so not sure where it came from) and I then cut a circle in the card using Nesties and my Big Shot; I cut a larger circle/scallop to mat the opening. I then stamped the circle stamps (Studio G, I think) onto yellow circles and backed them with purple circles for a crescent embellie. I also found in my stash 2 candy corn stickers that I popped on with foam tape for a little dimension. As always, my camera doesn't really like purple, but that is the over all color and the ink is purple metallic by Memories. I love their metallic ink line, I have 8 of the colors and use them a lot, they add a rich look to my projects.

So, I have all my Halloween cards in the mail and have started on my Thanksgiving ones! I just use these holidays as an excuse to play! I'm also working on a mini book of a day trip my husband and I took to the top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire.

Just a reminder! Firecracker Designs is having a close-out sale which is currently at 50% off through the end of October. A new price will be posted November 1 with the last day of sales Dec. 15.

PaperCutz Challenge #63 and Firecracker Designs by Pamela

2010-10-15T11:06:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone, it's Friday! Here in Maine we are having a heck of a rainstorm which we really needed. I know folks whose wells ran dry in August and this storm should finally take care of it. My well is fine, but looking at the trees moving I may lose power!

This week I decided to combine both my design team duties into one project. Now, you have to understand I have a slightly "off" sense of humor (it comes from either being in the Navy or raising all those kids) and as soon as I saw "Witchy Poo" I knew what I wanted to do.

PaperCutz Challenge this week is anything goes! For Firecracker Designs by Pamela I have been doing Halloween projects for my guest designer month!

I chose the digi stamp Witchy Poo by Boni Boutelle-Jones. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month and I thought she made a wonderful spokeswoman! (The bling is my idea - not Boni's!) I colored her with Copics (I'm still practicing!) mounted her on a red cardstock mat and made a gatefold card using Happy Place by Sassafrass. I like this paper because it comes with a decorative edge which you can see peeking out on the top of the card. This card is going to my oldest sister, Laurie.

Pamela's store closing sale is continuing and her inventory is clearing out. Make sure you stop by her store soon to nab some of her wonderful rubber stamps currently at 50% off. Her digi designs are not part of the close out sale, but you can sure buy them as well!

Just a reminder - all women need to do breast self-exams and get mammograms as recommended by their doctor.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK AND DON'T FORGET TO SAVE THE GIRLS!

PaperCutz Challenge #62

2010-10-08T12:16:00.000-04:00

This week, the challenge at PaperCutz is to make a project using Red, Black and White only with any theme. I chose to make a wallet card. I found this idea at the Scrapbook and Cards Today blog, designed by Virginia Nebel.

I started with Bazzill textured cardstock and double sided cardstock from Kaiser Crafts. I used my Nesties (can't remember which Label #) for the closure, the black button brad is from HOTP and it closes with Velcro.

There are 2 flaps inside and the top is open to slip in cash. On the right side of the picture above, I will mount a photo (when I decide who it is going to).

On this flap I will add gift cards securing them with Zots. I used a little less than 1/2 a sheet of the PP. I kept the design/embellishments simple because I intend this for one of my sons.

Thank you Scrapbook and Cards and Virginia for a great project!

So, don't forget to make your own project and link it up on the PaperCutz Challenge blog for your chance to win the October prize!

Firecracker Designs by Pamela

2010-10-08T11:45:00.000-04:00

Good morning! I decided to make all Halloween projects for my month of digi guest designing with Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I have to admit, I'm doing them to make my life easier (I'll have 4 of the 5 cards needed to send to my kids away at college). But I also lovvvvve the images! This week I chose this adorable image by Boni Boutelle-Jones for Firecracker.

I colored him with Copics, cut him out and popped him on the background. The papers are Cloud 9 Designs. I printed out the sentiment, tore it and used metallic chalk on the edges. A little Stickles and black ribbon finished the front off.

Want to know why you need to "choose wisely..."?

As soon as I saw this image, the song from my childhood kept playing in my head: Trick or Treat, smell my feet or give me something good to eat! If you've never heard that, it will probably be stuck in YOUR head now! LOL Maybe it was just a Boston thing?

Anyway, I thought it finished off the card.

Just a reminder: Firecracker Designs is going out of business. :(
All rubber stamps are currently 50% off. Don't miss out on a chance to have some of these beautiful stamps. I just received my order and can't wait to play! Digi stamps are not on sale, but are a low price. Pamela is updating her inventory list everyday - get 'em before they're gone!

Mid Week Throwdown - Operation Write Home

2010-10-04T21:10:00.000-04:00

This week's Mid Week Throwdown for Operation Write Home was to make cards for girls. You have to excuse the picture, but it's the best I could do tonight. The papers are from HOTP.

Also, don't forget the October Challenge - get your cards to the shippers before October 15 for a chance to win a prize!

Thanks for stopping by!

Operation Write Home October Surprise Challenge

2010-10-03T19:47:00.000-04:00

It was a busy weekend with World Cardmaking Day - hope you all had fun!

Operation Write Home is having a Surprise Challenge to encourage card donors to get their cards to the shippers early for the Winter holidays. The deadline for all holiday cards is October 30; but, if your package reaches your shipper by October 15 you will be eligible to win Kimber McGray's new book! Check OWH out for all the details. Here is one of my cards going in my next box - hope you like it!

I started with a piece of shiny black card stock and stamped this Stampscapes tree with Versamark ink. I then used Polished Pigments to color the tree. I then used my white rain hairspray on the image to keep the color where it was supposed to be. For some reason, my camera and/or computer don't like purple, but the card base is a purple shimmer, the focal mat and words are on pink shimmer and on the green piece I used an embossing folder on for texture. The ribbon is purple from my stash and I used my new ribbon punch to anchor it.

If you can, please donate your handmade cards to this great cause. It makes a difference in the troop's lives. Tell them Penny sent you! LOL

PaperCutz Challenge #61

2010-10-01T00:26:00.000-04:00

If you are looking for the Paper Wishes blog hop, click here!

If you are looking for Firecracker Designs digi stamp post, click here!

I've been very busy tonight posting, but that is terrific because I get to share in showing you some wonderful papercrafting sites!

This week the PaperCutz Challenge is to use 3 or more patterned papers with any design or theme. I was very busy last month making cards for Operation Write Home. I had pledged to make 100 during September as they celebrated their birthday bash. Unfortunately, I was close but didn't quite make it, the rest will be going this month. I have 2 cards to share with you that are ready to go:

All the papers are from last year's DCWV Christmas stack. The colors are very different for the holiday, but they are very cheerful. One of the rules for OWH is no glitter, it is dangerous for the troops because it can be seen at night. However, Stickles are allowed - thank goodness, I have to have my bling! LOL
This card actually has four papers: the swirly bottom layer, the stripes with the snowflake, blue for the sentiment and a wider stripe pattern for the mat. I added a large brad buddy from Paper Wishes and Stickled (I'm not sure that's a word) all the snowflakes, including the tips of the large brad.

This card uses 3 papers and features a tea bag folding medallion as the focal. I love the look of tea bag folding on my cards and on my scrapbook pages. I often make up quite a few while watching tv with my husband so they are ready to go. One of the great things about using the paper stack is I can make several medallions from one design and know there are many other papers to coordinate with. The ribbon is from my stash. I've never used birds on Christmas cards before, but they are very sweet.

I hope you enjoy my cards and they help inspire you to design your own! Please, play along with us and post your design on the PaperCutz blog - you could win and be put in the drawing for October's prize!

Firecracker Designs Digi Stamp Guest Designer

2010-09-30T23:53:00.000-04:00

If you are looking for the Paper Wishes blog hop, click here!

I was thrilled to be selected as a guest designer for Firecracker Designs by Pamela. I will be working with a few of her digi stamps and will post a new design each Friday. I am very sorry to hear she is closing her store, but life has a way of rearranging priorities. Her close-out sale starts October 1 (today) and her last sale day will be mid-December. I am doing digital stamps, but I have many of her rubber stamp sets and I enjoy using them!

My first card uses Pumpkin Head which was a fun design to work with.

I colored him with Copic markers and I am the first to admit, I am a beginner at coloring! I wanted more of a playful rather than scary, so he is done in light colors. I colored a second head and skull, cut them out and popped them for depth. I also used P K Glitz glitter in the pumpkin's facial features and the skull's one eye. I didn't do this yet, but I think before I mail this to one of my kids away at college I will use glossy accents on the glitter to keep it in one place (my boys never look at my blog, so I'm safe posting a picture. LOL). The sentiments are part of the digi set; I printed them out tore them and edged them with metallic purple ink.

I love easel cards, they are easy to make and are a great presentation. I ran the purple layer through my Big Shot using the Swiss Dots folder for texture, then added the zig zag paper (I've had it for at least a year and don't know who's it is - if you know, please leave a comment and I will add it) and the last layer is bright orange. Some ribbon from WalMart finished it off.

I hope you like him! I'll be back next week with a project using another of Pamela's wonderful images.