5 Inky Fingers

String of Hearts

2012-02-01T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday!
I have another fun Valentine to share today. This one was done at the request of my son Josh who more or less challenged me to come up with an idea using the bear from the Under the Stars set. Josh issued the challenge and the first thing that popped into my head was a little string of hearts for the bear to hold. Inspiration often comes from unexpected places!

The bear was stamped on Neenah Baronial Ivory with Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with Copics then hand trimmed. I layered together a square of DP from My Minds Eye Love Me assortment, a slightly larger square of Bashful Blue cs and a die cut scallop square of Soft Suede. I added red brads in all 4 corners and then used foam dimensionals to mount the bear in the middle.

The card is a 5 x 10 piece of Bashful Blue layered on a 5-1/4 inch square of Soft Suede. The patchwork layers came next beginning with a 4-3/4 inch square of DP and 4 other smaller pieces layered and stitched on top. Notice how I got my sewing machine working again! Whoohoo!!

The ribbon is tied around the patchwork piece and the trio of hearts and brads along the left were added before adhering it in place on the card.
The sentiment is stamped on a small piece of ivory and then layered on Bashful Blue and Soft Suede with a couple brads on either end.

The bear square and the sentiment are both mounted to the card with dimensionals and the bear's nose got a little dollop of Diamond Glaze to make it shiny. I also used a black gel pen to enhance his eyes a little. (They got a little lost in the brown I used to color him)
Finally...the string of hearts is done by punching 12 assorted small hearts from dp and adhering them in pairs to each other on either side of a small piece of baker's twine. the ends are wrapped around the bear's paws and tacked in place with a glue dot on the back side.

Thanks for swinging by today!

S: Under the Stars, Technique Tuesday: Smooch
P: Bashful Blue, Soft Suede, My Minds Eye Love Me paper pad
I: Memento Rich Cocoa
A: brads, foam dimensionals, Heart to Heart punch, Spellbinders: Scallop Squares, ribbon, sewing machine, diamond glaze, black gel pen

{Heart} Always

2012-01-30T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Well, we have almost wrapped up the first month of 2012 already and I am probably not the only one thinking I've been caught in a whirlwind! Really! Where did January go?!
Yesterday I went out to my pal Alvina's for a fun little card class that she was hosting and made some very cute cards. One of them is going to my hubby for Valentine's day and I can't wait to post it to show you but...not til closer to the day so the fun isn't spoiled!

Today I have another Valentine to share with you. I discovered Tiddlyinks a week or so ago and OMG! The images are so darned cute I couldn't resist grabbing a couple. My post from Friday was also a Tiddlyinks image so obviously I am hooked!
Today's card begins with a 5 x 10 piece of kraft cardstock folded and layered on a 5-1/4 inch square of Bazzill Hopi and layred with a 4-3/4 inch square of DP from My Minds eye Stella Rose Hazel papers. I trimmed the polkadot strip with a scallop edge punched border of the same Bazzill Hopi CS, a bit of ribbon, a punched posy and a chubby button and also added a paper doily before I adhered it in place.
Our sweet little Wren Pot of Love image was printed on Neenah Solar White, colored with Copics and then cut with Spellbinders Petite Ovals Large. I sponged the piece with Summer Sun ink before popping it out of the die and then cut a Petite Scallop Oval Large from Soft Sky cardstock to back it with. This piece is adhered to the card with foam dimensionals.
The sentiment and heart are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Solar White and punched with the medium oval punch. It's also layered on a scallop oval of Soft Sky. I used slightly thicker dimensionals to mount the sentiment to the card.
Finally, I added two small sections of rhinestone swirls to the upper right and bottom left corners and coated the flower pot hearts and the sentiment heart with Diamond Glaze.

Thanks so much for stopping in! Have a wonderful day!

S: Tiddlyinks:Wren Pot of Love, Small Script, Short and Sweet
P: Bazzill Hopi, Soft Sky, Kraft, Neenah Solar White, My Minds Eye Stella Rose Hazel papers
I: Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Sun
A: lace paper doily, Spellbinders: Petite Ovals Large / Petite Scallop Ovals Large, Fiskars Threading Water edge punch, button, EK Success Posy punch, Scallop Oval punch, Medium oval punch, Want2Scrap rhinestone swirls, dimensionals
Copics: B00, BG10, E00, E11, E19, E39, E44, E57, R32, R35, Y15, Y38, YR24

Bunny Love

2012-01-27T19:34:00.001-06:00

Well...lookie here...it's Friday NIGHT and I'm just now posting. Believe me when I tell you this week has been a doozy schedule-wise. I am not sure if I actually accomplished any of the projects I wanted to get done at home this week. It seemed like every time I tried to set aside a smidgen of time to work on something (anything!) I'd get hit with another spur of the minute request. So, when this morning rolled around and I scooted out the door without posting...well, let's just say I wasn't surprised. Hopefully you think tonight's card is worth the wait though!

My card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 piece of Ridinghood Red folded in half. I pieced together three different prints from My Mind's Eye Life of the Party Lime Twist DP for the front. A green dotted strip is trimmed with a punched border of Neenah Solar White, adhered to the lower third of the card and then tied with ribbon.
The bunnies were printed on Neenah Solar White and colored with Copics then cut out with Spellbinders Standard Circles Small. I layered them on a Lacey Scallop circle of Ridinghood Red and then layered a paper doily behind.
The "i Heart You" was stamped on white and punched with the designer label punch. I cut a small scallop heart (Nestabilities Scallop Hearts) from Ridinghood Red, layered that behind the punched sentiment and then used foam dimensionals to adhere it to the card.
Finally, a couple of rhinestone swirls and a little Diamond Glaze on the noses of the bunnies finish it all off.

thanks for persevering and stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!

S: Tiddlyinks: Somebunny digis, Technique Tuesday-Smooch
P: Ridinghood Red, Neenah Solar White, My Minds Eye Life of the Party-Lime Twist
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: paper doily, ribbon, Spellbinders Standard Circles Small, Lacey Circles and Scalloped Hearts, designer label punch, Want2Scrap Silver swirls gems, diamond glaze
Copics: E0000, E39, R00, R35, R29, YR24, YG25, G20

Quilted Roses

2012-01-25T09:21:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Today I have a faux quilt card to share with you. I say faux quilt because, despite all my good intentions, my sewing machine refused to cooperate so...I have lots of little stitch marks...and no stitches. I guess that makes it just paper pierced huh? {*smile*}

So...the card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 inch piece of Ridinghood Red. The quilted layer starts with a 5 inch square of Old Olive. I cut two 2-1/4 inch squares of Bella Rose DSP and two 2 inch squares then cut each in half diagonally for all the triangles. The pieces were all adhered to the Old Olive square and then "stitched" with the temper mental sewing machine.
The rose and leaves were stamped next with Ridinghood Red and Old Olive (first and second generation inking) on Neenah Solar White and punched with a 1-1/2 inch circle punch. I also cut out a Lacey Circle of white (Spellbinders) and punched a large scallop circle of DSP. These were all layered together with dimensionals and mounted to the center of the card.
The sentiment is stamped with Ridinghood Red on white and punched with the Word Window punch then layered on a Designer Label punched piece of green DSP.

S: Cottage Rose, Short & Sweet
P: Ridinghood Red, Old Olive, Neenah Solar White, Bella Rose DSP
I: Ridinghood Red, Old Olive
A: designer label punch, word window punch, Lacey Scallop Circle die (Spellbinders), 2-1/2 inch scallop circle punch, 1-1/2 inch circle punch, dimensionals, sewing machine/paper piercer

Love you little puppy

2012-01-23T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
I hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend. I went into mine with a long list of projects to accomplish. I never actually believed I'd get them all done but it's nice to dream right?
Anyway, surprise! I did accomplish quite a bit including wrapping up the last of my Valentines for the year and plenty of future posts!

Today's card features one of the cute little puppies from Puppy Love by There She Goes. I stamped our little tail wagger in Memento Rich Cocoa on Neenah Solar White, colored him with Copics and then added a few pawprints along the bottom.
This piece was then wrapped with brown and white bakers twine which I threaded through a pink button and tied off. Next, I layered it on Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink then mounted it with foam dimensionals to incrementally larger pieces of Sending Love Specialty DSP and Chocolate Chip.
The card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 piece of Pretty in Pink. It's layered with a larger panel of the same designer paper plus a punched border (Fiskars Threading Water) of Chocolate Chip and a strip of Pebbles New Arrival DP. The ric-rac was wrapped around the punched piece and the ends tucked to the back before the whole layered panel was adhered to the card. Finally, the puppy layer is mounted to the card with dimensionals.

As always, thanks for stopping by today!
Have a great day!

S: There She Goes: Puppy Love
P: Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, Neenah Solar White, Sending Love DSP, Pebbles: New Arrival
I: Memento Rich Cocoa
A: baker's twine, button, foam dimensionals, ric-rac, Fiskars Threading Water edge punch
Copics: E55, E25, RV02, R29

Hugs and Kisses

2012-01-20T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday everyone and welcome to day two of my Valentine Parade!
Also, thank you so much to all of the people who have left such lovely comments on my last post. The boxes were such fun to make and it's so delightful to know you like them!

Today's card is done in monochromatic style. The card base is a 5-1/4 x 10 1/2 piece of Real Red layered with a 5 inch panel of Neenah Solar White and then two pieces of Real Red DSP.
I also layered together a punched strip (Pinking Hearts) of white and part of a Martha Stewart vellum border strip, tied it with organdy ribbon and added that over the seam of the two pieces of DSP.
The stamped image is from Love You Much and is stamped on white with Real Red then punched out with the scallop circle pinch and the doily is from a Martha Stewart assortment.
Finally, I added a trio of white buttons along the right edge to balance that side out a bit.
Thanks for stopping in today.
Enjoy the weekend!

S: Love You Much
P: Real Red, Neenah Solar White, Real Red DSP
I: Real Red
A: Martha Stewart Vellum borders and doily, scallop circle punch, buttons, ribbon, embroidery thread, foam dimensionals

It's a Valentine Parade!

2012-01-18T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
As promised I have a spectacular kickoff to the Valentine season! What I am sharing today are some nifty little treat box cards that I put together over the weekend. Each box holds 10 Hershey's Nuggets. They will also hold up to 3 Ferraro Roche chocolates. The original template is available on Splitcoast if you're looking to make these yourself. I modified mine so that the box part would actually have tuckable end flaps. I didn't want the recipient to have to totally destroy the box in order to open it so I made some modifications.

Since I have so many to show you, I'm not posting all of the details on stamps etc but I'm hoping you'll forgive me for that. : )

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!

PS: Another little addendum here...
I noted above that I had modified the pattern for these slightly so that the recipient could open the box without destroying it. Below are the measurements I used to incorporate tuckable flaps on both ends of the box portion.

Start with a 8˝ x 12˝ piece of cardstock. Score your 8˝ side at 1/2˝, 1-1/2˝, 6-1/2˝ and 7-1/2˝. Score your 12˝ side at 1/4˝, 1-1/4˝, 2-3/4˝, 3-3/4˝, 5-1/4˝ and 8-5/8˝.
Trim away the sections on both long sides up to the 3-3/4˝ score line ALONG the 2nd score line (1-1/2 inch from absolute edge of paper) Also, trim away 1/2˝ from small side flaps on both ends and the excess 1/4˝ x 1-1/2˝ portions on the box end.
I also rounded the corners of the middle end flaps so they would tuck into the box easier. Refer to the image for guidance on trimming.

Le Jardin in 3D

2012-01-16T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Today I have a 3D flower card to share with you that I actually made a while back and tucked away. Starting Wednesday I'll be posting the first of a whole gallery of Valentine cards and projects so I hope you'll stop back and see what I've done!

Today's card is a 6 inch square finished. (I had to make it that size in order to accommodate the flower!)
The card base is a 6 x 12 piece of Neenah Baronial Ivory. I layered a 5-3/4 inch square of Bashful Blue with a 5-1/2 inch square of Le Jardin DSP and then tied the ribbon around one edge before adhering it to the card base.
The flower is punched from the Le Jardin DSP. I punched 10 sets of petals and then punched 4 of the narrowest petal from Always Artichoke for the leaves.
All of the punched pieces were distressed and molded on a foam mat with the distressing tool and then glued together in layers.
The tag was stamped on ivory, hand trimmed and tucked into the petals after they were glued together and dry and the rhinestone brad was added at the very end. I let the whole thing dry over night before adhering the flower to the card with glue dots.

Remember, starting Wednesday...the Valentine parade starts right here at 5inkyfingers!
Make plans to stop in and check it out!

S: Short and Sweet
P: Neenah Baronial Ivory, Bashful Blue, Always Artichoke, Le Jardin DSP
I: Chocolate Chip
A: Petal Punch, ribbon, embossing tool, rhinestone brads (Ice Crystals(, glue dots, foam mat

And the 2012 Card of the Month winner is...

2012-01-14T20:51:00.000-06:00

As promised... With the help of Random.org, I've selected the winner for my 2012 Card of the Month.

Congratulations to terriavidreader who left the following blog love for me. (Thanks Terri!):

terriavidreader (IN-USA)said...: I would love to get cards! What a great idea. I've seen this before, but wasn't lucky enough to win. Maybe this is my year!; January 7, 2012 8:46 PM

So, Terri.. email me with your postal address and I'll make sure your first card is in the mail Tuesday. (I'd hoped to send it out Monday but forgot we have a postal holiday)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone!

I'm thinkin' Spring?

2012-01-13T04:46:00.000-06:00

Good morning!

So, Wednesday I thought I was being clever posting a "snow day" challenge of sorts. At the time, our weather was a balmy 37 degrees, I was all decked out in a dress (Something I rarely do especially in the winter) and I was almost lamenting the lack of a need to wear my cute new winter hat...Well kids...be careful what you wish for! Later that day our temperatures plummeted into the teens, the wind picked up and we even had a few snowflakes swirling about. Not that any of them have lasted really, but seriously???
So...since a lot of us were really quite happy with the super mild winter we've been blessed with, I'm going to do my best today to tempt Mother Nature into calming her temper a bit and enjoy some flowers! Nice springy, fresh flowers. See? Aren't they pretty?

My card today is one I did by special request of one of the ladies at my dentist's office.
The card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 inch piece of Regal Rose. The front is layered with two embossed pieces; one of Pirouette Pink and another of Old Olive.
The center panel is stamped on Neenah Baronial Ivory and later layered on Pirouette Pink. I stamped the image in Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Certainly Celery and Old Olive and then sponged the edges with Certainly Celery.
The top portion of the stamped panel is tied with a piece of 3/8 inch wide organdy ribbon with a few half pearls to finish it off. I used foam dimensionals to mount the panel to the card.

Thanks for stopping by today and happy Friday! I hope you all have a wonderful (ahem, warm) weekend!

S: Blossoms Abound, Stampendous: Orchid Greetings
P: Regal Rose, Pirouette Pink, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Old Olive
I: Regal Rose, Pirouette Pink, Old Olive, Certainly Celery
A: half pearls (Kaiser), sponge, ribbon, Cuttlebug Dots embossing folder, Sizzix Flowers #6 embossing folder, foam dimensionals

Who Wants A Winter Snow Day?

2012-01-11T04:57:00.001-06:00

Good morning!

We've been blessed with some truly extraordinary weather this year and virtually no snow to speak of. For those of you who live in the Upper Midwest, you know this is truly out of the ordinary for December and January in this part of the world but...we'll take it! Yesterday the mid-day temperature was somewhere in the 45 degree range and I was wondering if I'd ever really need the adorable new hat I just got!
For those of you wishing for a little more "Winter" to go with your winter...bless your little heart. Today's card is for you!

I started with a 5-1/4 x 11-1/2 inch piece of So Saffron and layered it with a 5 inch square of Bazzill Ash cs. Over that I added four squares of DP from My Mind's Eye (Stella Rose) Gertie and Mabel paper packs plus another piece from Crate Paper's Toy Box Collection. The latter was punched with Spellbinders Classic Postage Stamp edgabilities.
My main image is a Mo Manning digi that I absolutely love if only for that fat little dog. I colored it with Copics (of course) and then used Spellbinders Labels 1 to give it a little shape and a little 2-way glue and glitter to bling up her hat. Our skater is layered on a 2-1/2 inch scallop circle of Baja Breeze cut into quarters and layered behind.
The "snow fun" tag is stamped with Bayou Blue on Neenah Solar White, hand trimmed and mounted with a dimensional in the middle so it holds a wave.
The snowflakes are Spellbinders Create a Flake I lightly sponged with Cool Caribbean ink and layered together with a small rhinestone brad.
A few turquoise gems here and there finish the whole thing off.

Thanks for stopping in today and for those of you who are lamenting our lack of snow to play in...well...this is Minnesota after all. Give it another five minutes. I've no doubt you'll get your wish!

Have a great day!

S: Digital Mo Manning, My Sentiments Exactlty Snow Fun
P: So Saffron, Bazzill Ash, Baja Breeze, My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Gertie and Mable collections, Crate Paper Toy box collection, Neenah Solar White
I: Bayou Blue, Cool Caribbean
A: Rcollections gems, Spellbinders: Create A Flake I, Labels 1 & Classic Postage Stamp Edgabilities, 2-1/2 inch circle scallop punch, rhinestone brads, 2 way glue, dazzling diamonds glitter, foam dimensionals

Happiness is a little glittery...

2012-01-09T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was full of stamp projects, Valentines that you'll see coming up here, a little blog surfing and some quiet time spent reading and curled up on the couch watching old movies. Just the sort of weekend I needed actually!

My blog surfing yielded a challenge from Stampendous that I thought I would try my hand at. I don't do nearly as many challenges as I would like but this one sounded fun, and with the added proviso that there was to be glitter and bling, well...really. How could I pass that up?!
So, here we go:

My card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 inch piece of More Mustard folded in half. I layered a 5 inch square of My Minds Eye Hattie's Papers over the face then layered another smaller piece of coordinating paper with a piece of Not Quite Navy cardstock and adhered that in place.
My stamped panel uses a Stampendous set called Scripty Stems. I stamped both of the flowers from that set in More Mustard and Not Quite Navy ink on a panel of Neenah Baronial Ivory cardstock then added the "happiness" sentiment in Not Quite Navy as well. This stamped panel is layered on Not Quite Navy and is mounted to the card with foam dimensionals, but first, I punched a hole in all four corners plus a couple extra along the bottom right edge and added mini brads (Pink Hedgehog) in a matching blue.
Next, I used a 2 way glue pen to stipple glue dots all over the Not Quite Navy blossoms and then sprinkled it with Dazzling Diamonds ultra fine glitter.
The ribbon was tied around the panel just before I adhered it to the card.

Happiness...close up!

Here's a detail shot that shows the glitter a little better.

Thanks for stopping in!
Have a fabulous day and don't forget to leave a little blog love for the 2012 Card of the Month club drawing! Click here to review the post that talks about it and enter to win!

S: Stampendous: Scripty Stems
P: More Mustard, Not Quite Navy, Neenah Baronial Ivory, My Minds Eye Hattie's Papers DP
I: More Mustard, Not Quite Navy
A: 2 way glue pen, Dazzling Diamonds ultra fine glitter, 1/16 inch hole punch, brads (Pink hedgehog), ribbon, foam dimensionals

2012 Card of the Month Club - You could be a winner!

2012-01-07T18:07:00.000-06:00

Hello everybody!! Bonus Post today!

I just finished creating the first of my 2012 Card of the Month cards and couldn't wait til Monday to share this with you!
You guessed it...it's time to pick this year's winner to receive a card a month from yours truly!
Here's how this works:

You need to leave a comment on this post telling me how much you'd love to be the winner by JANUARY 13th.
On January 14th, I'll choose a winner and on Monday the 15th I'll send the first card off.

Here's what's kinda cool about this. If you're chosen as the winner, you get a different card every month that you can use to give to someone else!
Here's a sneak peek at the January card:

January 2012 Card of the Month Club Card

Well? What are you waiting for?!

Send me a little blogger love and maybe you'll be the 2012 Card of the Month Club winner!

Posies for You

2012-01-06T05:36:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday!
I have a really quick post for you today as I am literally running out the door in about 10 minutes and still have about 20 minutes of stuff to do...: )

Today's card is a really simple thinking of you/birthday card that I CASED straight out of the SU! catalog. I changed the colors up a bit but otherwise it's pretty much the same.

The card base is a half sheet of Kiwi Kiss that I scored with my MS scoreboard to make a narrow frame around the outside edge. Next, I punched a Pumpkin Pie Curly Lable, cut it in half and layered it behind my stamped strip of Neenah Solar White. The flowers are stamped with Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red and decked out with rhinestone brads in coordinating colors. The sentiment is stamped directly on the card with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

That's it. Fast, simple and fun right?
Have a great day and thanks for stopping in!

S: Printed Petals, A Word for You

P: Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Neenah Solar White

I: Kiwi Kiss, Pumpkin Pie, Rose Red, Memento Tuxedo Black

A: rhinestone brads, foam dimensionals, scoreboard, Curly Label punch

Roller Baby

2012-01-04T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Today I have a baby girl card to share with you.
My card base is a half sheet of Cameo Coral that I embossed with the Sizzix Dots & Posies folder. Next I layered together two different prints from Penelope's Potpourri Assortment by SEI with panels of Baja Breeze and Certainly Celery. I tied a bit of ribbon around the smaller of the two and then adhered them to the card.
The baby carriage was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Baronial Ivory cardstock then colored with Copics A few little clear gems bling up the wheels and carriage top.
Finally, I used a 5/8 inch circle punch, Birds & Blooms Sizzlet die and the Cricut to cut circles and letters for the word BABY. I added a few mini gems here too to finish it off.

Have a great day! We're halfway through the week already! Whoohoo!

Toni

S: Baby Bundle
P: Cameo Coral, Certainly Celery, Baja Breeze, Rose Red, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: Birds & Blooms Sizzlet die, ribbon, gems, 5/8 inch circle punch, dimensionals, Dots & Posies embossing folder
Copics: B91, B97, YG11, YG63, RV02, R00, N4 and T0

Buttons and Posies

2012-01-02T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning and happy 2012!

I hope you all had an enjoyable New Years complete with whatever sort of revelry you prefer!
I spent a good portion of the weekend working on cards for the 5inkyfingers Etsy store and am happy to report I have a new All Occasion Assortment II available. Skip on over there and take a peek! I promise you won't be disappointed!

Today's card is a CASE from Jeanette R Lynton's book Originals. Straight off the front cover in fact!

My card base is a half sheet of Regal Rose folded and layered with three panels of cardstock and DSP. The top panel is a piece of Neenah Solar White that was embossed with the Sizzix Divine Swirls folder. The lower two panels are smaller pieces of Pretty in Pink DSP and Certainly Celery cs. I added a punched strip of Neenah Solar White along the middle where the three pieces meet.
The flower is a combination of stamped flowers and a punched scallop circle of Pirouette Pink with a plaid brad in the center. The stem is made of two pieces of rick-rack and a bit of linen thread and finally, the buttons are threaded together with linen thread and adhered with small glue dots.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Toni

S: Printed Petals
P: Regal Rose, Certainly Celery, Neenah Solar White, Pirouette Pink, Pretty in Pink DSP
I: Chocolate Chip, Melon Mambo
A: rick-rack, linen thread, buttons, brad, lace scallop punch, Divine Swirls embossing folder, glue dots, 1-3/8 inch scallop circle punch

Sail Away Baby

2011-12-30T08:42:00.001-06:00

Good morning and hello Friday!
I had a bit of a sleep in this morning...as you may have noticed, which is why my post is a bit later than usual. *grins*

We're having our last Christmas celebration with friends tonight so I'll be spending part of the day cleaning up around the house and getting food prepared but I'm hoping to find some creative time later too.

Today I have a sweet little baby boy card to share. The little sailboat is from an acrylic Fiskars set called Sweet Pea. I stamped it on Neenah Solar White with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, colored it with Copics, then layered it on Bashful Blue. The other two layered panels are made with prints from Stampin' Ups Junior Varsity DSP (retired) and slightly larger pieces of Bashful Blue. The card itself is a half sheet of So Saffron.
I wrapped the ribbon around the longest DSP/CS piece first then adhered it to the card, then added the square panel. The ribbon was looped into a bow and tied with a piece of linen thread so it would stay somewhat flat in the middle where the button would go. The button is tied with linen thread and glued to the center of the bow.
Finally, the sailboat is adhered with foam dimensionals just above the ribbon on the square panel.

Thanks for stopping in!

Toni

S: Fiskars: Sweet Pea
P: Neenah Solar White, So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Junior Varsity DSP
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: ribbon, button, linen thread
Copics: R39, R29, B91, B97, YR21, Y38

Joy of the Holidays

2011-12-28T06:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Here it is Wednesday already and a good chunk of my vacation time is behind me, but this morning, as I sit here with my mother sipping coffee and pondering the mountain of jigsaw puzzles she received for Christmas this year,(Which one should we tackle next Mom?!?), I really cannot complain.
My own tree back home is still up and will be through this next weekend at least. Mostly because we're having one more Christmas celebration with friends Friday night but also because I really enjoy having that pine-scented reminder of what the season is all about. At some point the needles will start falling off in earnest and I'll have to give in and take it down, but for now...it's all part of the holiday joy at our house.

Today's card is my own 2011 Christmas greeting. It's very plain and simple this year but in the midst of everything else I had going on this Autumn, simple really filled the bill!
My card base is a half sheet of Old Olive layered with a panel of Cherry Cobbler.
The front stamped panel is Neenah Solar White stamped with the leaves from Best Blossoms, the little berries from Berry Christmas and a sentiment from Craft Lounge: Merry Wishes. I used Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler and Basic Black ink respectively.
Finally, to give it a little bling, I added dark red gems in the centers of all the berry clusters.

Thank you for stopping by today! I'm overdue to start turning over puzzle pieces so I'd better sign off!

Happy Wednesday!

Toni

S: Best Blossoms, Berry Christmas, Craft Lounge: Merry Wishes
P: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Neenah Solar White
I: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black
A: Crystal Stickers gems

Skating Friends

2011-12-26T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had a quiet Christmas Eve at home with Josh (our youngest) and then followed it up with a very nice Christmas Day dinner with our oldest son Dan, his girlfriend Mercedes and my sister and brother-in-law. I think it's safe to say I've eaten all the holiday food I can handle!

Today I have a bit of winter fluff to share with you. Oddly enough we didn't have a white Christmas here in Minnesota this year. I'm not sure when was the last time that happened but it's certainly not the norm.
The card is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 piece of Pretty in Pink cardstock folded and layered with a 5 inch square of Pirouette Pink. Over that I layered together two background paper prints from a ProvoCraft holiday collection I've had in my stash for a while with Certainly Celery and Bashful Blue. Those were adhered to the card in opposing corners for a background. Next, I punched a strip of Neenah Solar White with the lace edge punch and layered that on a slightly wider strip of Pretty in Pink which was then adhered across the middle of the card.
The main image is a Mo Manning digital stamp that I printed on Neenah Solar White. The corners are all rounded and then the piece was layered on Pretty in Pink which received the same treatment. The image is colored with Copics and mounted to the card with dimensionals.
Finally, to wrap it all up, I added an organdy bow with a button center to the right of the image and added the sentiment along the bottom.

Have a great day & thanks for stopping in!

Toni

S: Mo Manning digital, Hero Arts: Merry Holiday Borders
P: Pretty in Pink, Pirouette Pink, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Neenah Solar White, ProvoCraft holiday assortment DP
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: lace edge punch, corner rounder, button, ribbon, gems, was thread, dimensionals
Copics: E00, E11, RV32, RV13, RV09, RV25, R39, Y38, YG11, YG91, BG10, E15, N3, C1

Joy

2011-12-23T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday!!!
I'm officially on vacation until next year and I cannot begin to tell you how great that feels! I can see several hours of quality stamping time on my horizon! Whoohoo!!!

So, with that said, I hope you all HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Today's card begins with a 5 x 10 piece of Kraft CS layered on a 5-1/4 square of Old Olive.
I stamped Old Olive swirls (Baroque Motifs) in opposite corners and then layered two panels of Echo Park Seasons Greetings DP along both edges. The Cherry Cobbler panel in the middle is paper pierced and aligned on the left edge. The "Joy" sentiment is stamped on Neenah Baronial Ivory and punched with the round tab punch and the Old Olive panel is embossed with the Sizzix Starry Night folder.
Finally, the ornament is from Unity Embellished Season and is stamped with Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive. I hand trimmed both pieces, fixed them together and then tied a small bow at the top. A few clear gems add holiday bling!

Have a wonderful Christmas holiday! I'll be back Monday with one more Wintery fun card.

Toni

S: Unity: Embellished Season, Fiskars: Tis the Season
P: Old Olive, Kraft cs, Cherry Cobbler, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Echo Park Seasons Greetings DP
I: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive
A: ribbon, round tag punch, mat pack, paper piercer, dimensionals, Sizzix Starry Night embossing folder, gems

Green Frost

2011-12-21T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Well, we're inching ever closer to Christmas so I'm sure you're all feeling more than a little frazzled about now. Do you ever wonder why Christmas is so much more stressful than any other holiday? I've never been able to puzzle that out!
Anyway, today's card brings you a bit of holiday dazzle that I hope will perk your day right up!

The card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 inch piece of Baja Breeze layered with three strips of Wintergreen DSP, a quartet of glittery stars (Target holiday confetti) and some clear gems.
The glittery green "package" is cut from Recollections glitter paper, tied with white organdy ribbon and decked out with a couple of felt snowflakes and a rhinestone brad.

The tag is stamped on Neenah Solar White with Old Olive and again in Baja Breeze. I hand trimmed the Baja Breeze ornaments and used small dimensionals to pop them up a bit. The white tag is layered on Certainly Celery and then again on a punched Baja Breeze tag. A few mini gems on the ornaments and some silver cord to tie it to the organdy bow finish it off.

S: T~~ags A Lot~~ Tags So Much (corrected 12.30.11)
P: Baja Breeze, Certainly Celery, Neenah Solar White, Wintergreen DSP, Recollections glitter paper
I: Baja Breeze, Old Olive
A: Tag punch, ribbon, silver cord, organdy ribbon, felt snowflakes, star confetti (Target), gems, rhinestone brad, dimensionals

Little Drummer Boy

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
As promised, today I finally have a Christmas card to share with all of you. Actually, I have three more after this, so please stay tuned!

Today's little drummer boy features a darling digital image by Mo Manning and a lot of Copic coloring!
My card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 inch piece of Always Artichoke. I layered three strips of DP from Echo Park's Season's Greetings collection along the top, bottom and right edge then added a Martha Stewart adhesive vellum decorative border over the top of the side piece.
The little drummer boy is printed on Neenah Solar White, colored with Copics and then sponged with Ranger Antique Linen ink. He is layered on a slightly larger piece of Cherry Cobbler.
The button is hand tied with wax thread then layered on the punched circles of DP and Always Artichoke CS.

Thanks for stopping by!

Toni

S: Digital - Mo Manning
P: Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, Neenah Solar White, Echo Park Seasons Greetings Holly and Stripe
I: Ranger Antique Linen
A: button, wax thread, 1-1/4 and 1-1/8 circle punches, Martha Stewart decorative vellum borders, sponge
Copics: E00, E11, R29, R39, R08, YR24, YG63, YG67, G99, G28, B12, B24, B97, B52, E15, E19, E25, N4, C-7

A Little Gray Hared Birthday

2011-12-16T05:30:00.000-06:00

Whoohoo it's Friday!!!
I'm off to work in a few but will be home by lunchtime with a half day off. At which point I am going to dive into the rest of my Christmas decorating, several piles of laundry and a little cleaning. Funny...it kinda all sounds like work doesn't it? Hmmm...

Today's card is the birthday card I did for my best friend Twyla this year. Come to think of it, this is one of those cards you just about have to give to your best friend or you're likely to get back handed... *grins* The inside says: "another gray hare" She's 3 weeks (to the day) younger than me but we take turns poking fun. Since I'm older, I have to get my little pokes in where I can! lol!

My card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 piece of Early Espresso folded in half. I layered a 5 inch square of DP from My Mind's Eye - Stella Rose Hattie collection over the front and followed it up with a double punched strip of Bazzill Pool and a strip of DP from the same pack in a stripe pattern. The ribbon is from American Crafts. (one of those multi-pack assortments)
The little gray hare (Skipping Stones Design: Grey Hare) is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Solar White and colored with Copics. I layered him on a polkadot print and then on a panel of More Mustard.
The sentiment is stamped on white as well, hand trimmed and adhered with glue dots and dimensionals. I used the dimensionals in the middle so it would hold an upward curve.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Toni

S: Skipping Stones Desing: Grey Hare
P: Early Espresso, More Mustard, Neenah Solar White, My Minds Eye Stella Rose: Hattie, Bazzill Pool
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: ribbon, scallop trim border punch, dimensionals
Copics: YR24, N4,W3, T5, B95, B97, BG72,BG10, RV32

Buttons & Wings

2011-12-14T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday!
I say that because at this time of year when we're all more than a little stressed, there's still something uplifting about a Wednesday and knowing you're halfway through another work week!

Today's card is the one I did for my co-worker Virginia this year for her birthday. The sketch is from and idea book I have:

Originals: Handcrafted Cards Made Easy by Jeanette R. Lynton (Aug 21, 2008)

I followed the sketch fairly closely but, of course, had to tweak a few things here and there.

My card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/5 piece of River Rock. I used my Martha Steward scoreboard to create the gridwork background. Just another way you can use that scoreboard!

The panels along the left fold are Melon Mambo, Kiwi Kiss and Early Espresso, The butterflies and little tag are cut from Neenah Baronial Ivory and Pirouette Pink. I used the Sizzix Wonderful Wings die to cut the butterflies and hand trimmed the tag.

The buttons are all hand stitched together and then adhered to the card with glue dots. A little linen thread trims out the tag and a few pearls finish off the butterflies.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

Toni

S: Happy Moments

P: River Rock, Melon Mambo, Kiwi Kiss, Early Espresso, Pirouette Pink, Neenah Baronial Ivory

I: Memento Rich Cocoa

A: buttons, linen thread, glue dots, Wonderful Wings Sizzix die, Kaiser half pearls, lace scallop edge punch, 1/16 inch hand punch

Little Blue Onesie

2011-12-12T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
I hope you had a nice weekend.
I worked on getting our family Christmas tree up and decorated with a few gifts under it to help us all feel a little more festive.

Today I have a cute little boy baby card to share with you but rest assured I will have a few Christmas cards to share with you coming up. Other than the ones I did for us I really haven't made all that many so last weekend I whipped up a few special ones to show you. So...stay tuned!

Today's card begins with a half sheet of Bashful Blue. I wheeled and embossed the jumbo Onesies in White craft ink along the top half of the card and layered a panel of polkadot DSP on the bottom. The ribbon is tied where the two meet.
Next, I punched a Chocolate Chip scallop circle and a 1-1/4 inch Bashful Blue circle and layered them together. The little onesie is stamped on Neenah Solar White with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored with Copics. I adhered that to the colored circles and used a pop dot to affix it to the card.

Thanks for popping in! Have a great day!

Toni

S: Bundle of Joy, Onesie Jumbo Wheel
P: Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Neenah Solar White
I: Memento Rich Cocoa, White craft
A: ribbon, scallop circle punch, 1 inch and 1-1/4 inch circle punches, white embossing powder, heat tool
Copics: RV32, B91, B95

Carol's Birthday Blooms

2011-12-09T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday!

Today's card is the one I did for my boss for her birthday this year. I had a bit of fun with it and used a non-traditional edge along the bottom.

The card base is a 5-1/4 x 8-1/2 piece of Soft Suede. I rounded the bottom corners and layered it with a panel of background paper from the Anna Griffin Christmas Scrapbook collection.
The corners of the background paper are rounded and the edge is hand stitched with embroidery floss. I sponged the edges a bit too with Soft Suede and then used 4 antique brass brads to hold a small rectangle of vellum in place as a pocket for the sentiment.
The flowers are punched from More Mustard and Barely Banana, fastened together with a rhinestone brad and then layered on a pair of circles in the same colors. The whole stack is layered on a Soft Suede scallop circle.
Next, the sentiment is stamped on Neenah Baronial Ivory in Chocolate Chip, hand trimmed to a tag shape and sponged with Soft Suede. An organdy ribbon bow dresses it up a little.
Finally, the tabs along the bottom are stamped on Barely Banana in Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip and More Mustard, hand trimmed and adhered to the interior back of the card.

Have a great weekend! I'm off this afternoon and looking at tackling the lights on our Christmas tree.

Toni

S: Baroque Motifs, Birthday Greetings
P: Soft Suede, More Mustard, Barely Banana, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Vellum, Anna Griffin Christmas Scrapbook DP
I: Chocolate Chip, Soft Suede, More Mustard
A: 5 petal punch, small daisy punch (EK Success), 1-1/8 and 1-1/4 inch circle punchs, scallop circle punch, embroidery floss, mat pack, needle, antique brass brads, sponge, rhinestone brad, ribbon, corner rounder

Argyle Bling Birthday

2011-12-07T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday!

I hope you're all having a good week so far. Work for me, has been as busy as usual, but tonight we're going to get our Christmas tree and I'm looking forward to that. Tis' the Season!

Today's birthday card starts out with a half sheet of Buckaroo Blue layered with a full panel of polkadot dsp and a strip of argyle from the Junior Varsity collection. The latter was trimmed out with a pinking heart edge punched from So Saffron.
The focal point is a layered square from Punch Bunch that I stamped in both So Saffron and Baroque Burgandy on Neenah Solar White. The center of the So Saffron version was trimmed and popped up on a dimensional on the Baroque Burgandy and then on a Bashful Blue scallop circle.
The ribbon was tied around the card front next and then followed with a third pattern of DSP layered on Bashful Blue. I adhered the latter to the left side of the card over the ribbon and then added the scallop circle layer and a handful of gems.

Thanks for dropping in! Have a great day!

Toni

S: Punch Bunch
P: Buckaroo Blue, Bashful Blue, So Saffron, White, Junior Varsity DSP
I: So Saffron, Baroque Burgandy
A: scallop square punch, 2-1/2 inch circle scallop punch, pinking hearts edge punch, ribbon, gems, dimensionals

Bugaboo Frankie Friends

2011-12-05T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning and welcome to a new week!

Today's card is one I did a while back. My Copics got quite a workout on this one and I tested out a few new background papers too.

The card base is a half sheet of Real Red layered with four strips of designer paper from My Minds Eye Lime Twist - Out of the Blue assortment.
The little guy and his friend in the wagon are are a digi from Bugaboo stamps. I printed it on Neenah Solar White and layered it on a mustard-colored print from the same paper assortment and then on Night of Navy. The sentiment is stamped with Basic Black on white as well and layered in the same way.
A star brad and a little jute twine bow finish the whole thing off.

Have a great day!

Toni

S: Bugaboo digi stamp, Smarty Pants
P: Real Red, Night of Navy, Neenah Solar White, My Mind's Eye Lime Twist - Out of the Blue
I: Basic Black
A: Star Brad, Jute twine
Copics: R08, R29, R39, C-7, N4, N3, T0, B00, B91, B97, YG63, E00, E11, YR14, E25, E55, E35, E19, RV32

Little Baby Giraffe

2011-12-02T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday!
Why is it that, after a holiday, the first week back is always grueling? I'm sooo ready for the weekend, I can't begin to tell you!

Today's card is a bit of sunny baby fun.
The image is a digital from Shutterstock that I found and sized to fit my card and printed on Neenah Soalr White cardstock. I colored it with Copics and layered it on a panel of Marigold Morning (I think?) DSP. I left the right edge of the DSP extra wide to accomodate a strip of yellow and white gingham ribbon and an other narrow piece of Whisper White ribbon that I tied into a bow. This whole piece was layered on a piece of Neenah Solar White that I scalloped the edges of using my slightly neglected (ok REALLY neglected) scallop scissors. I remembered, however, why they were neglected. The don't cut very well so they're now relegated to the "Island of Lost and Forgotten Toys".

The card itself is a half sheet of Bazzill Sunshine Yellow that I embossed with my Sizzix Dots folder and layered with another pattern from the same DSP pack. Over all of that, I adhered my giraffe panel and finished it off with a "little baby" sentiment stamped with Basic Black, punched with a 1/2 inch circle punch and layered on a really little scallop circle. The latter was cut using the Sizzix Birds and Blooms sizzlet die.

Cute right?
Thanks for popping in! Have a great weekend!

Toni

S: digital giraffe (Shutterstock), Everyday Flexible Phrases
P: Bazzill Sunshine Yellow, Neenah Solar White, Marigold Morning DSP
I: Basic Black
A: ribbon, Sizzix Birds and Blooms die, 1/2 inch circle punch, scallop scissors
Copics: YR21, YR31, Y38, E55, E15

Brenda's Birthday Blooms

2011-11-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

Good morning!

Today's card is the one I did for my sister Brenda for her birthday this year. After seeing her this past weekend, I realized I still hadn't posted her card. My bad!

The card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 piece of So Saffron folded in half. I layered the left two-thirds with the large floral print from Le Jardin, folded one corner down and added a couple of staples to hold the flap down. The right edge of this piece was trimmed with a punched strip of Baja Breeze and then I tied the ribbon (Martha Stewart) in the opposite direction.
The flowers, leaves and sentiment are stamped on Neenah Baronial Ivory with Baja Breeze, Bayou Blue and Always Artichoke. Flowers and leaves are hand trimmed, curled and pinched a bit and layered together with glue dots. I added a punched So Saffron flower in the center and used a Baja Breeze corduroy brad to hold all the pieces together before sticking them down with a thick glue dot.
The sentiment was punched with a 1-1/4 inch circle punch and layered on a scallop circle punch of Always Artichoke.

Thanks for stopping by!

Toni

S: It's Your Birthday, Teriffic Tulips, Looks Like Spring
P: So Saffron, Always Artichoke, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Le Jardin DSP
I: Baja Breeze, Bayou Blue, Always Artichoke
A: Baja Breeze corduroy buttons, Boho Blossoms punch, 1-1/4 inch circle punch, scallop circle punch, ribbon, stapler

Swirls, Pearls & Butterflys

2011-11-28T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
I have to say I had a great time with my mom here for a couple of days plus a little girl time with my mom and sister Brenda, some stamping time and lots of extra sleep! Really, it doesn't get much better than that!

So, today we're back to reality, a 4:15 am wake up call and a full day at work... Hmmm, maybe if I just rolled over...

Yeah, well enough of that.
This morning I have another butterfly card to share that is suitable for either wedding or birthday.
The card base is a 5 x 10 piece of Neenah Baronial Ivory scored for a gatefold card and layered on River Rock. The front panels are layered with designer paper from the Brocade Background assortment and I dressed up a few of the swirls with some Kaiser half pearls.
The main panel is a square of River Rock layered with another pattern from the Brocade Background assortment and tied with a bit of ivory organdy ribbon. Two-thirds of this square is adhered to the left card flap with the remainder left free.
The butterfly is done in two layers: One of Neenah Baronial Ivory and the other from one of the designer papers. I chose a darker pattern for that so that it would show up behind the ivory. Both butterflies were cut using the Wonderful Wings Sizzlet dies, glued together along the body and adhered to the card with glue dots so the wings could be bent upward slightly. Finally, I stamped the sentiment with Chocolate Chip on a small piece of ivory , punched it with the medium oval punch and layered on a scalloped oval of Chocolate Chip. A trio of pearls dress up the butterfly body.

Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy your day!

Toni

S: Short and Sweet
P: River Rock, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Chocolate Chip, Brocade Background DSP
I: Chocolate Chip
A: Wonderful Wings Sizzlet dies, oval punch, oval scallop punch, ribbon, Kaiser half pearls.

Chocolate Saffron Butterfly Swirls

2011-11-25T04:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning and happy Friday! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
My mother is here for a couple of days which is lovely and of course, we're all off work for the holiday. Later today. we're diving into a jigsaw puzzle which I have been looking forward to for quite a while now. *smiles*

Today's card is a wedding card but it would work as a birthday card too.
The card base is a 10 x 5 inch piece of Neenah Baronial Ivory layered on a 5-1/4 square of River Rock. The card is scored with gate folds and both sides are layered with panels of Chocolate Chip and Le Jardin DSP. I wrapped the ribbon around the lower part of both of those panels with a knot on the left side.
The center panel is a piece of Neenah Baronial Ivory stamped with So Saffron swirls (Priceless) and a sentiment from Whimsical Words in Chocolate Chip. The butterfly is stamped, hand trimmed and then adhered to the card with a glue dot. I layered this part on River Rock and Chocolate Chip, adhered the whole thing to the left panel of the card and finished it all off with some pearls.

Enjoy the rest of your Turkey Day weekend!

Toni

S: Bliss, Priceless, Whimsical Words
P: River Rock, Ivory, Chocolate Chip, Le Jardin DSP
I: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron
A: ribbon, Kaiser half pearls

There's a baby on the way!

2011-11-23T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Today's card is a sweet little bit of baby fun that I did for one of the ladies at work who's having her first baby.

I downloaded this adorable baby image from Mo's Digital Pencil Too a while back but hadn't really done anything with it until now.
My Copics got a bit of a dust off too which was fun and I was almost giddy when I realized I had this delightful background paper from My Mind's Eye that matched my Copic colors perfectly.
My card is 6 inches square finished. The folded card is a 5-3/4 x 11-1/2 piece of Bazzill Petalsoft layered on a 6 inch square of Bazzill Arizona. The baby was printed on Neenah Solar White layered on Petalsoft and Chocolate Chip. I layered a combination of background papers with either Chocolate Chip or Bazzill Hopi and added a little punching along the edge of the latter before adhering them to the card. The ribbon is tied around the punched piece but I tucked the baby layer just behind the ribbon when I adhered it in place.
Finally, I punched a 1-1/2 inch scalloped circle, a 1-1/4 circle and a 1 inch circle from three different background papers and then added the pink button that I had tied with narrow organdy ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

Toni

S: Mo Manning digi
P: Bazzill Petalsoft, Arizona, Hopi, Neenah Solar White, My Minds Eye Life of the Party DP
I: N/A
A: ribbon, button, scallop circle punch, 1 inch and 1-1/4 inch circle punches, button, scallop lace edge punch
Copics: R00, RV32, E41, E55, G20, YG11, YG63, YR37, Y00

Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

2011-11-21T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!
Today I'm sharing the napkin rings I did for my Thanksgiving dinner later this week. I wanted to post these early in the week in case any of you were looking for ideas for napkin rings or place holders. The ones I am showing here do double duty as both.

Detail shot of my tag.

I used Spellbinders Nested Maple Leaves dies to cut a trio of leaves from More Mustard, Soft Suede and Dusty Durango cardstock then folder embossed each one. The edges of all of them were sponged with Chocolate Chip ink before I layered them together and punched a small hole for the twine. The tags are hand cut and lettered with the names of everyone who'll be sharing dinner with us and then tied to the leaves with the twine.
I've included a couple of closer shots so you can see the embossing detail.

These were really easy and fast to do so if you're having trouble finding napkin rings that you like (that was my inspiration for doing them) these are simple and very inexpensive alternatives!

Thanks for stopping by!

Toni

S: None
P:More Mustard, Soft Suede, Dusty Durango, Crumb Cake
I: Chocolate Chip
A: Spellbinders Nested Maple Leaves dies, Elegant Lines embossing folder, Dots embossing folder, Autumn Splendor embossing folder, ribbon (Archivers), Jute twine (American Crafts), 1/16 inch punch, sponge

2011-11-18T07:36:00.001-06:00

Good morning!
Posting a tad later today because, (shocker) I overslept by an hour. Good thing it's Friday because apparently I need to sleep in and doing that Monday through Friday isn't generally recommended!

Today I have pretty simple card to share.
I started with two panels (one slightly larger than the other) of Neenah Solar White. The smaller of the two was embossed with a Sizzix Divine Swirls embossing folder and then layered on the larger. The ribbon is tied around both layers.
For a little 3D interest, I added a hand-crocheted flower with a filigree brad and charm in the center and a little stamped "congratulations" tag before adhering it to the Lavender Lace card.

Thanks for stopping in today!

Enjoy your weekend!

Toni

S: Bundle of Joy
P: Lavender Lace, Neenah Solar White
I: Elegant Eggplant
A: filigree charm and brad, hand crocheted flower, word window punch, Sizzix Divine Swirls embossing folder, dimensionals

Junior Varsity Birthday

2011-11-16T04:31:00.001-06:00

Good morning!
It's a nippy 28 degrees here today and I'm really looking forward to my first cup of hot coffee. I think our projected high for today is 36. Yay... I love Minnesota...I love Minnesota... *smiles*

So, today I have a birthday card to share with you. I went a little crazy with layers but love how it turned out. Of course it doesn't hurt that I love this Junior Varsity DP either! Too bad it's discontinued. : (
The card base is a half sheet of Baroque Burgundy layered with a panel of Bashful Blue. Over that I adhered a panel of Old Olive patterned paper and a strip of argyle that I paired with a punched So Saffron edge.
The first band of So Saffron grosgrain ribbon was wrapped next followed by a layered square panel of striped DP and Baroque Burgandy. The stars (Starring You) are stamped on Neenah Solar White with Old Olive and So Saffron and layered on Old Olive. I tied the ribbon before adhering this piece to the card with foam dimensionals.
Finally, I stamped the star in the word circle from the same set in both Baroque Burgundy and Bashful Blue and then hand trimmed the Bashful Blue star. The words were punched and then layered on a scallop circle of Baroque Burgundy with the Bashful Blue star added at the very end on another dimensional. A little glitter on the star finishes it all off.

Enjoy your day!

Toni

S: Starring You
P: Baroque Burgundy, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, So Saffron, Neenah Solar White
I: Baroque Burgundy, Bashful Blue, Old Olive, So Saffron
A: 1-1/4 inch circle punch, scallop circle punch, ribbon, Pinking Hearts edge punch, dimensionals, 2-way glue, glitter

Up In The Air Congratulations

2011-11-14T05:30:00.000-06:00

Good morning!

Well, Fall is definitely in the air here! I admit I've been in somewhat of a denial mode only because winter's here can be so hideously long. Unfortunately, when the thermometer is perpetually stuck in the 40s you have to let go of the idea that Summer is still here... Sigh...

But, on to the REAL reason you're here...

Today's card starts with a half sheet of Pumpkin Pie layered with three designer papers from the Stella Rose Mable collection by My Minds Eye.
The sentiment is stamped right on the DP with Memento Rich Cocoa (pardon the wonky...I can never seem to stamp that particular congratulations straight).
I ran the orange ric-rac through my Xyron sticker maker to make it sticky and reduce ravelling on the ends. The button is tied with linen thread and stuck on with a glue dot.
Finally, the hot air balloon is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa on Neenah Baronial Ivory and colored with Copics. I used Spellbinders Petite Ovals Large and Petite Scallop Ovals Large to cut the balloon and a Baja Breeze scallop oval out, layered the two together and add a few gems to give it some bling.

Thanks for popping in!

Toni

S: Unity:Adventurous, Congrats
P: Pumpkin Pie, Baja Breeze, Neenah Baronial Ivory, My Minds Eye Stella Rose Mabel DP
I: Memento Rich Cocaa
A: gems, ric-rac, button, linen thread, dimensionals, Spellbinders Petite Ovals Large and Petite Scallop Ovals Large dies
COPICS: BG32, B00, YR68, Y38, YR02, YR21

Haiku Daisies

2011-11-11T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday everyone!

I thought it was past time I posted a square card (seems like forever since I did one) so, today I have one that uses one of my favorite sets, Upsy Daisy. I also dived into my stash of retired papers and found the Haiku collection which, considering it's Autumn here in Minnesota, is very timely.

My card base is a 5-1/4 x 10-1/2 inch piece of Dusty Durango layered with a 5 inch square of More Mustard, a 4-1/2 inch square of DP and a layered strip of DP and Old Olive cardstock. The latter was edge punched with the Lace Scallop punch and tied with some Dusty Durango polka dot ribbon.
The floral panel is a piece of Neenah Baronial Ivory stamped with Dusty Durango and layered on More Mustard (yes, it's really there) and Dusty Durango. I adhered that piece directly to the card, Finally, the sentiment is stamped with Old Olive, hand trimmed and also layered on More Mustard and Old Olive. A couple of dimensionals pop it up off the card a bit.

As always, thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Toni

S: Upsy Daisy, Sweet Little Sentiments
P: Dusty Durango, More Mustard, Old Olive, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Haiku DSP
I: Old Olive, Dusty Durango
A: ribbon, lace scallop border punch, dimensionals

Navy Flutters

2011-11-09T05:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday!
Can you believe it??? I'm posting on time, I'm not running late, and except for the dog who keeps tripping me up, I'm actually going to get out the door today when I'm supposed to. Not sure what the deal is with Wednesdays, but I've had a string of doozies.

So, today's card is something that's kind of fresh and fun despite the dark colors. I really love putting blues and greens together and Night of Navy and Old Olive are probably one of my favorite combinations, but toss a little splash of Ridinghood Red in there, and wow! Fun right?

The card base here is Night of Navy and I used my Sizzix Flourish Floral embossing folder to add texture. Next, I layered together a narrow strip of Ridinghood Red with another of Old Olive and adhered that along the open edge. The center panel is Neenah Solar White stamped with Old Olive (branch and sentiment) and the flowers and butterfly are stamped with Ridinghood Red and Night of Navy on separate pieces of white. They're hand trimmed and popped up on foam dimensionals with a few pearls for the flower centers and butterfly body to finish them off. The stamped piece is layered on Ridinghood Red and Old Olive too and then adhered directly to the card.

Enjoy your day!

Toni

S: Friends Like You, Cheep Talk
P: Night of Navy, Ridinghood Red, Old Olive, Neenah Solar White
I: Night of Navy, Ridinghood Red, Old Olive
A: pearls, foam dimensionals, Sizzix Flourish Floral embossing folder

Pastel Plum Sympathy

2011-11-07T05:47:00.000-06:00

Good Morning!

Well, it's Monday again. Not sure where my weekend went, but I'm pretty sure I didn't go into work for two days so it must have been the blur I woke up from this morning... Anybody else feel like that?

Today's sympathy card features a kind of cool technique that I don't think I've shown here before.
I do a lot of cards with dry embossing using various embossing folders and my Cuttlebug or BigShot and the effect you get is always beautiful but I thought I'd try to add a little ink to the mix and see what happened.
Now, there are two ways you can do this. If you want the ink to be on the recessed portion of the imprint, you can ink up the appropriate side of the embossing folder (Don't use STAZON for this!!!!) put your paper in and emboss which will then transfer the ink on the embossing folder to the de-bossed portion of your imprint. The second way to do it is what I did here. I embossed the paper as I normally would and then dragged my ink pad lightly over the top of the raised imprint. In this case, I used my White Craft pad on Perfect Plum paper. The effect is similar to using white core cardstock and sanding away the raised portion of your imprint to reveal the white but what I like about doing it this way is that, if you're so inclined, you can add a little embossing powder your imprint will really stand out. Cool huh?
So the rest of the card is really pretty straightforward. My card is actually a half sheet of Stardreams Lavendar. I layered a slightly smaller piece of Neenah Solar White together with the embossed Perfect Plum layer and the ribbon is tied around those two before adhering it to the card.
The flower and leaves are stamped with Perfect Plum and Old Olive respectively, hand trimmed and watercolored with the ink pads and a water pen. I used foam dimensionals to pop the flower up off the card.
The sentiment is from Making Memories - Sympathy and is stamped on Neenah Solar White in Old Olive and layered on Old Olive. I finished the whole thing off with a Kaiser half pearl in the center of the flower.

Have a great day! Thanks for visiting!

Toni

S: All Natural, Making Memories-Sympathy
P: Stardreams LAvendar, Neenah Solar White, Old Olive, Perfect Plum
I: Perfect Plum, Old Olive
A: Kaiser half pearls, water pen, foam dimensionals, Sizzix Cottage Style embossing folder, ribbon

K & Co Blooms

2011-11-04T05:30:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you've all had a great week. Mine was more than a little crazy but I guess that's pretty normal for me. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the weekend and a little stamping time with friends in between the usual laundry and home stuff.
Today's card is a relatively basic note card. It actually looks like there's more going on than there is because of the designer paper I chose but then again, K & Company never fails when it comes to beautiful papers.
This assortment is from the Charlotte collection and is full of pretty vintage prints.
The card base is a half sheet trimmed of Pink Pirouette layered on a quarter sheet of Rich Razzleberry. The designer paper is two different prints from the assortment and are just layered over the Pink Pirouette card. I added in some paper flower embellishments (also K & Co), ruffled up some paper lace tape, a pretty organdy bow and a few half pearls to finish it off. No sentiment on this one, so you can use it for pretty much anything!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous weekend!

Toni

S & I : N/A
P: Pink Pirouette, Rich Razzleberry, K & Company Charlotte collection
A: lace tape, ribbon, Kaiser half pearls, K & Co Paper 3D flowers

Lighthouse Prayers

2011-11-02T20:03:00.001-05:00

Good evening!
So, it's Wednesday and yes, I realize I am about 13 hours late posting this but we had a little glitch in our internet service this morning so I couldn't post or send email. Drat!
So enough whining...
Today's card is a sympathy card that I did a while back for my stash at work. I was working on getting some more masculine cards put together so this one worked pretty well for that.

The card base is a half sheet, cut lengthwise, of Bazzill Juneberry layered with a strip of Neenah Baronial Ivory and a larger panel of Early Espresso.
To give it all that scuffed, distressed look, I just rubbed my Tim Holtz Walnut Stain ink pad over the surface. Actually that was kind of the result of an OOPS because I dropped the ink pad on the card after I had the ivory in place so to "fix" it, I decided to smudge up the rest. *grins*
Next, I stamped the lighthouse on a panel of kraft cardstock and used a white chalk pen (Tombow) to color in part of it. I inked up the edges a bit before I layered it on Ivory.
Next, I stamped the sentiment (My Time Made Easy-Occasions Collection) on Ivory, punched it out with a small oval punch and layered it on a punched oval of Juneberry. Finally, I tied a little jute twine in the corner of the lighthouse piece.

Thanks for stopping by!

Toni

S: Coast to Coast, My Time Made Easy - Occasions Collection
P: Bazzill Juneberry, Early Espresso, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Tim Holtz Walnut Stain
A: white chalk marker, jute twine, 1/16 inch punch, small and medium oval punches, dimensionals

Halloween Takeout

2011-10-31T05:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!

I'm sure there are any number of you out there who embrace Halloween with all sorts of enthusiasm so for you, I have a little Halloween treat box to share.
This was the project we did in my little class at work last month and everyone seemed to like it. Or, maybe it was the chocolate I gave them to fill it with that they liked... LOL!
Anyway, it's a fun project so let's get started!
The box is done with Bazzill Black cardstock and the Sizzix BigZ Takeout Box die. We decorated each side with designer paper from Bo Bunny and then punched holes on two sides to string the ribbon handle through. The ribbons used are from last year's dollar spot at Target and I did a little happy dance when I realized how perfectly they matched the DP. Don't you love it when that happens?!
The little tag on the top is from Gift Givers and is punched with the Decorative Label punch. The pumpkins and background are colored in with colored pencils and the pumpkins are glittered in my sample here. Actually, I don't think we glittered the ones in class because I think I forgot to pack it that day. duh! Anyway, the tag is then layered with dimensionals on a scallop circle of orange glitter paper and then the whole thing is used to hold the box shut.
Here's the detail shot for the tag:

I hope you and your kids have a safe and happy Halloween. I'm dusting off my Invisible Woman costume again this year, hunkering down with a bowl of popcorn and generally avoiding the whole trick-or-treat crowd.

Thanks for stopping by!

Toni

S: Gift Givers
P: Bazzill Black, Neenah Solar White, orange glitter paper (Target), DP: Bo Bunny
I: Memento Tuxedo Black, orange, green and yellow colored pencils
A: Decorative Label punch, 2-1/2˝ scallop circle punch, Big Bite, ribbon, Sixxiz BigZ Takeout Box die, Big Shot, dimensionals, sticky strip

In the Pink

2011-10-28T05:30:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! It's Friday! Hooray!

All in all it was a pretty good week. Busy as ever, more than a little crazy, but here it is the weekend already and we've zipped through another 5 days. Whew!

Today I have a cute little girl baby card to share with you.
I tried out a couple new things on this one: the stamp set for one and the scallop border along the bottom for another. Way cute, right?!?

My card is a half sheet of Pretty in Pink folded in half. The scallop border is a strip of Regal Rose that I die cut with Taylored Expressions' Scallop Border die. I cut a panel of DP from Doodlebug Design (My Girl Kit), adhered the scalloped strip to be back and then adhered the whole piece to the card. Three buttons - each one is stitched with wax thread - are adhered to the right side and a piece of coordinated ribbon was tied around the card and into a bow.
The little baby carriage is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Solar White, colored with Copic markers and then die cut with a Spellbinders Petite Scallop Ovals large die. A little Regal Rose sponging around the edges brings that darker pink in again and foam dimensionals pop it up a bit from the card.
All done!

Have a fabulous weekend everybody!

Toni

S: Bundle of Joy
P: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Neenah Solar White, Doodlebug Design: My Girl Kit DSP
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: Taylored Expressions: Scallop Border die, Spellbinders Petite Scallop Ovals Large, dimensionals, ribbon, buttons, wax thread, sponge
COPICS: E00, E11, RV02, RV04, RV13, N4, C7, Y38

So Sorry Cocoa and Blue

2011-10-26T05:30:00.000-05:00

Hello!
Quick post today...you know the drill...It's Wednesday so I must be running late!

Today I have a Sympathy card to share.
The card base is a half sheet of Close to Cocoa. I think I was trying to use what I had of that color up when I made this card. (Never was all that fond of it to be honest) Anyway, I left the front of the card very plain. Just dressed it up a bit with a strip of Early Espresso layered with two prints from the Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP paper and a bit of Martha Stewart ribbon.
The tag is made using a Spellbinders Labels 4 die and a piece of Early Espresso plus a punched layer of Neenah Baronial Ivory that I punched using the EK Success Estate Label. The little spray of flowers is from Verve's Because of You set and the sentiment is from Hope for Comfort. Both were stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa. The flowers are tiny little blue gems.
Pretty simple, and easy to assemble if you need a quick sympathy card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Toni

S: Verve: Because of You, Hope for Comfort
P: Close to Cocoa, Early Espresso, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Parisian Breeze Specialty DSP
I: Memento Rich Cocoa
A: Crystal Stickers gems, EK Success Estate Label punch, Spellbinders Labels 4, ribbon (Martha Stewart)

Guava Durango Congratulations

2011-10-24T05:30:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope your week gets off to a great start. I know mine will be a whirlwind of projects but that's pretty normal and I had a very productive and satisfying weekend so I won't complain.
I did learn a valuable lesson however...DON"T volunteer to do my son's laundry unless I'm prepared to be doing laundry ALL DAY. Yikes!

Today, I have a congratulations card to share with you. I stocked up on the Autumn Flowers DSP while it was on clearance a while back and I'm so glad I did. I love the prints in this assortment and I find myself pulling them out quite often. Too bad it's discontinued! : (
Anyway, my card is a half sheet of Groovy Guava that's embossed with the Sizzix Flowers Summer embossing folder. I used my Fiskars Threading Water edge punch to scallop the edge of a panel of Dusty Durango and then layered it with a piece of the floral DSP big enough to cover the holes that are part of the edge punch design. The ribbon was tied in a knot and the ends wrapped around to be adhered to the back of this layered panel which was then adhered to the card front.
Next, I cut three smaller panels of Dusty Durango and layered the largest and smallest with two other prints from the DSP pack. The middle panel is a piece of Neenah Solar White stamped with the small flower from Printed Petals in Dusty Durango and the branch from Cheep Talk in Old Olive. I stamped on extra flower on a scrap of the same white and hand trimmed it. Once I had the three panels in place behind the ribbon, I added the cut flower on a foam dimensional. The sentiment is stamped with Old Olive and hand trimmed as well.
Finally, a little bling on the flower petals wraps things up.

Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy your day!

Toni

S: Cheep Talk, Printed Tetals, Congrats
P: Groovy Guava, Dusty Durango, Neenah Solar White, Autumn Flowers DSP
I: Dusty Durango, Old Olive
A: Fiskars Threading Water Punch, Crystal Stickers gems, ribbon, Sizzix Flowers Summer embossing folder

Bluebird on a Chair

2011-10-21T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hey! Guess what?! It's Friday! I don't know about you, but I've been looking forward to this all week. LOL!

Today's card is a bit of a variation of the one I shared on Wednesday. I was playing with different embossing folders when I did these which is a great way to crank out lots of cards in short order if you need to.
For this version, I started with a half sheet of Bazzill Stonewash and embossed the front with a Sizzix Birds and Vines folder.
Next, I layered a 4-1/4 x 1 inch strip of Neenah Solar White with a 4 x 1 inch strip of the same Stonewash blue. The ribbon is tied around the length of the strip and then the whole thing is adhered to the card front.
The little chair and sentiment are stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and the chair is colored with copics. I gave the top edge a lacy finish with a Martha Stewart Arch Lattice punch and rounded the bottom two corners before using a little metal clip from Making Memories to clip the chair tag to the ribbon.

Thanks for stopping in today! Have a great weekend!

Toni
S: Happy Moments, Little Hellos
P: Bazzill: Stonewash, Neenah Solar White
I: Memento: Rich Cocoa
A: Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Punch, corner rounder, ribbon, Making Memories Cheeky Flat Clips, Sizzix Birds and Vines embossing folder
Copics: E19, YR24, RV02, Y38, B12, B91, B52

Rosy Best Wishes

2011-10-19T05:20:00.000-05:00

Good morning!

Really quick post today as I am running late...again! I'm blaming it on the fact that Rich is out of town for a few days and didn't give me a nudge this am to get out of bed. Well, for heaven's sake! You didn't think I would accept responsibility did you?!?

So anywhoo...the card base on this one is, well, pretty much the whole card. The cardstock is Bazzill Petunia cut to the standard 8.5 x 5.5 and folded in half. I Cuttlebugged the bottom 3/4 of the card with a Sizzix Dots folder, punched a 1/8 inch hole where the dots stopped on the fold and threaded a piece of fuzzy fiber through to tie into a floppy bow. "Best Wishes" is stamped in Rich Razzleberry directly on the card and the mini medallion was stamped with the same color on Neenah Baronial Ivory then punched with the scallop circle punch. The little clip is from Making Memories (Cheeky Flat Clips) and the rose is from the vintage flower embellishments assortment. Ta da!

Catch ya later!

Toni
S: Vintage Labels
P: Bazzill Petunia, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Rich Razzleberry
A: Scallop circle punch, Adornments fibers (EK Success), Cheeky Flat Clips (Making Memories, Sizzix Dots embossing folder, vintage roses

Vintage Rose

2011-10-17T05:44:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!
I hope you all had a great weekend. We had lots of bright sunshine but the wind kind of made doing anything outside difficult so I made up for it by working industriously on the 5inkyfingers.com website adding a whole new wedding announcement section. Please make a point of popping over there to check it out and spread the news if you know of anyone who's getting married. I'd love to help them with custom invitations!

As for the rest of the weekend, there was a definite nip of Fall in the air. Of course, I'm in denial a little bit because it's been so nice having warmer temperatures later into the year. We get a little weary of Winter up here in the North country so the longer we can go in the Fall, the better.
With that in mind, I have a card to share with you today that still holds a bit of a Summer feel.
The card base here is a half sheet of Soft Suede layered with two half panels and a narrow strip of Springtime Vintage DSP I pretty much divided the card front in half with those pieces.
Next, I used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Lacey Circles dies and circle cutter to cut a Bazzill Romance and Neenah Baronial Ivory circle pair. I stamped off the single flower from Bliss in Melon Mambo several times along one edge of the ivory circle and then stamped several more flowers in varying shades of Pretty in Pink and Melon Mambo and hand trimmed them for mounting. The leaves were punched with a McGil Petal Punch and corregated to distress them a little.
After adhering the circles in place, I arranged the cut flowers and leaves where I wanted them and used a combination of glue dots and dimensionals to adhere them.
Finally, I stamped the birthday greeting from Vintage Labels in Soft Suede along the opposite side of the circle, tied ivory organdy ribbon around the width of the card and added several small half pearls to the flowers and next to the sentiment.

Enjoy your day!

Toni

S: Bliss, Vintage Labels
P: Soft Suede, Certainly Celery, Bazzill-Romance, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Soft Suede
A: Nestabilities Lacey Circles, Circle Cutter, ribbon, dimensionals, Horizon faceted stones, paper crimper, McGill Petal Punch

Lilac Abundance

2011-10-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

TGIF!
Anyone else ready for the weekend? It's been another crazy busy week so I'm ready for my Saturday morning sleep in.

Today I have something a little extra special to share with you.
My best friend Twyla (who never ceases to remind me that she's 3 weeks younger than me) had her birthday in August and her favorite flower is the lilac. A couple of years ago I made her a card with lilacs using this same stamp set and she loved it. Since then, she's moved into her first house and her bedroom is done in lavenders, plums and greens. She'd asked me a few months back if I would do something for her to hang on the wall so I tucked it away as a birthday idea. Pretty darned clever huh? *smiles*

So, today I'm sharing the gift I made for her.
I started with a panel of Neenah Baronial Ivory cut to fit the frame I'd found. I stamped the flowers and leaves using Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery and Old Olive and then stamped duplicates of the leaves on another piece of ivory to be cut out and mounted separately.

The real fun for this project is in the layered flowers. The detail shot gives you a better look at all of the layers of flowers. Suffice it to say...there's a LOT! I punched out literally hundreds of tiny flowers using a Punch A Bunch corner flower punch and an assortment of lavenders and purple cardstock scraps. Every one is glued on one by one in multiple layers. Fun huh? Actually, it took me about 2 hours to glue them all into place but since she's the best friend ever, I figure she's worth the effort! LOL!

Anyway, once I had all the flowers stamped I added the "My Friend" on the bottom in Perfect Plum and then used foam dimensionals to adhere the hand-trimmed leaves above the blossoms. Essentially, I just added the same leaf above the ones I'd stamped directly on the cardstock.
Next, I tied an organdy ribbon bow, heated it with my heat tool to melt it and wrinkle it up a bit and then added the pearl brad where the knot was. Finally, before I added the bow and brad, I sponged Kiwi Kiss over the entire face of the piece then misted everything with both Pearl and Aztec Gold glimmer mist for an antiqued, shimmery look. The photo really doesn't do it justice!

Love you lots Twyla! I hope your birthday was as wonderful as you are.

S: Blossoms Abound, Heartfelt
P: Neenah Baronial Ivory, Assorted scraps of lavenders and plums.
I: Old Olive, Certainly Celery, Kiwi Kiss, Perfect Plum
A: Punch A Bunch corner flower punch, organdy ribbon, pearl brad, heat tool, sponge, dimensionals, white glue, photo frame.

Toni

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-10-12T05:59:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
Yesterday was my mother's birthday. She turned 84 and, I swear to you, she doesn't look a day over 70. She's quite simply, the most amazing woman and I love her dearly. Unfortunately, I don't get to see her very often so I do my best to make it up to her with regular written notes, and extra special cards. This year, I went with a very traditional, old-fashioned looking card that I'm fairly certain she will like. I also made her a little notepad trio for her gift. Truthfully that felt a bit stingy considering I made her 50 different Christmas cards last year!

Today's card is the one I made for her.
The card base is a 5-1/4 inch x 10-1/2 inch piece of Certainly Celery cardstock that is layered with a 5 inch square of Rose Red and three coordinating patchwork pieces of Springtime Vintage DSP. Everything was sponged with Soft Suede ink and/or distressed prior to adhering to the card. The sentiment and rose are both stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink on Neenah Baronial Ivory, sponged with Soft Suede, distressed and layered on Soft Suede. I colored the rose with Copics (B00, B91 and B97) mounted the rose directly to the card, used dimensionals to mount the sentiment and finished to whole thing off with some organdy and satin ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

S: Kind & Caring Thoughts, 5th Avenue Floral
P: Certainly Celery, Rose Red, Soft Suede, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Memento Rich Cocoa, Soft Suede
A: Distressing tool, sponge, ribbon
Copics: B00, B91, B97

Toni

Eggplant Ginko Sympathy

2011-10-10T05:57:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Mine was full of fun stuff including a trip over to the Bachman's Idea House (way cool) Friday night, dinner with my son Dan and his new girlfriend Saturday night and the Viking's game yesterday. They actually won, by the way, (shocker) so the game was kinda fun. I'm not a big fan of football but free tickets are always good right? *smiles*

Today's card is a sympathy card.
The card base is a half sheet of Certainly Celery folded in half and layered with a panel of Elegant Eggplant and a strip of Bazzill Orchid.
The stamp I used for the main focal point is from Kind and Caring Thoughts and I used Elegant Eggplant to stamp the image on Neenah Baronial Ivory. The celery ribbon is tied around the stamped panel prior to adhering it to the card and I finished it all off with the sentiment stamped vertically on the orchid and a trio of adhesive gems.

Thanks for starting off your week here!
Enjoy your day!

S: Kind & Caring Thoughts
P: Certainly Celery, Elegant Eggplant, Bazzill Orchid
I: Elegant Eggplant
A: ribbon, Crystal Stickers gemstones

Toni

For You

2011-10-07T05:17:00.000-05:00

Good morning and hello Friday!
I have a really busy weekend lined up that includes a trip to the Bachman Idea House tonight, dinner Saturday night with my oldest son Dan and his new girlfriend Mercedes (meeting her for the first time) and a Vikings game (girl's day out) on Sunday. Of course all my little elves will clean house for me and finish up all my laundry...Yeah. Maybe not. Funny thing about those elves...they seem to be on strike a lot lately.

So, on to the card, and the real reason you're here.

I started with a half sheet of Bazzill Petunia folded and layered it with an embossed panel of Neenah Baronial Ivory. I used the SU! Framed Tulip embossing folder for that. The center panel is a piece of Pirouette Pink cut to fit the inside of the tulip frame and a slightly smaller piece of Springtime Vintage DSP. Along the bottom I added a strip of paper lace from my stash (I think Twyla bought it through Oriental Trading a decade or so ago) and a bit of ivory organdy ribbon. Next, I punched a Rich Razzleberry 2 1/2 inch scallop circle and stamped the small medallion frame from Vintage Labels on Neenah Baronial Ivory twice. The Rich Razzleberry circle was tucked just behind the ribbon on the left side and the two stamped pieces were punched out; one with the circle scallop punch and the other with a 1 inch circle punch.
I stamped the punched circle with the "For You" sentiment from the same Vintage Labels set in Soft Suede and used a dimensional to pop it up a bit before adhering the piece in place.

S: Vintage Lables
P: Bazzill-Petunia, Pirouette Pink, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Rich Razzleberry, Springtime Vintage DSP
I: Rich Razzleberry, Soft Suede
A: Crystal Stickers half pearls, ribbon, scallop circle punch, paper lace, SU! Framed Tulip embossing folder, 1 inch circle punch

Thanks so much for stopping in! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Toni

Fly Fishin'

2011-10-05T20:01:00.002-05:00

Hello!
I realize I 'm a bit late posting today, but well...I got a bit distracted this morning and flew out the door before I remembered to post. Must be old age...

Anywhoo...here goes!
The card base for this one is a half sheet of Pumpkin Pie. I layered a strip of designer paper along the top and left edge and then set it aside for a bit.
The focal point for the card is the stamped panel of course. For this I stamped the Fly Fishing image in Basic Brown on Kraft card stock, layered it on Early Espresso and wrapped and tied a button in place with linen thread. I adhered it in place with foam dimensionals and then added a little layered tag on the left using kraft, Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie. The sentiment is from Vintage Labels and is stamped in Basic Brown as well.

Thanks for stopping in! Sorry to make you wait today!

S: Fly Fishing, Vintage Labels
P: Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Kraft, Pebbles-New Arrival
I: Basic Brown
A: linen thread, button, 1˝ and 1-1/8˝ circle punches

Toni

Lynn's Birthday

2011-10-03T06:02:00.000-05:00

Good morning!

I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was really productive and more than a little exciting. If you haven't already noticed, I've got a new addition to the lineup of widgets here on my blog plus a fresh new page link at the top that takes you to...drumroll please...my very own 5inkyfingers.com website! The widget is a peek at my new 5inkyfingers Etsy store and gives you a gateway to get there too. I'd be thrilled if you'd take time to check both of these new additions out and, of course, tell all your friends!

Today I have a special birthday card to share with you. My pal Lynn had her birthday on Saturday so Friday I gave her this card. The fold is a little different, and I'm sorry I didn't think to take a photo of that aspect, but I'll try to describe it anyway.

I started with a 5.25 inch square of Chocolate Chip and 5 inch square of So Saffron. I also cut a 4.75 inch square of Neenah Baronial Ivory for the inside. Next, I cut a 5.25 x 4 piece of Chocolate Chip and a 5.25 x 3 inch piece of Certainly Celery. The rectangles were scored .5 inches from one end and adhered to the back side of the So Saffron square opposite each other. The ivory square was stamped around the edges in Ridinghood Red with the flower trio from Best Blossoms. I sponged the whole thing with Chocolate Chip too so it wasn't so bright in contrast to the DP I was planning on using.
The next step was to decorate the two folding panels so I covered each one with a different DP from the K & Company Wild Saffron assortment and tied a saffron bow around the Chocolate portion. Finally, I stamped my sentiment on a piece of ivory, punched it out with my EK Success Estate Sign punch and layered it on a 2.5 inch Garden Green scallop circle. I sponged both pieces with Chocolate Chip, used dimensionals to adhere it to the card and finished it all off with three Ridinghood Red flowers and a little bling.

S: Great Friend, Best Blossoms
P: Chocolate Chip, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Garden Green, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Chocolate Chip, Ridinghood Red
A: EK Success Estate Sign punhc, 2.5 inch scallop circle punch, sponge, dimensionals, ribbon, gemstones

Have a great day everyone!

Toni

Double Tag Congratulations

2011-09-30T05:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!

I hope you've all had a great week. Bring on the weekend right??
Today's card is technically a graduation card but I decided it could definitely be used for other congratulatory occasions so I decided to post it anyway.

The card base is a half sheet cut lengthwise of Dusty Durango. The top half is embossed with a Sizzix Dots embossing folder and the lower half is layered with a pieced panel of DP from the Stella Rose Gertie paper pack. The two small panels on the upper half are layered on Bashful Blue and adhered next followed by the ribbon band. Next, I stamped the congratulations sentiment on Neenah Solar White in Chocolate Chip and punched it out with the large oval punch. The graduation scroll is stamped on a scrap of white, hand trimmed and then mounted to the sentiment oval with a dimensional before layering on a scallop oval of Bashful Blue.

Thanks for visiting today! Enjoy your weekend!

S: Fiskars: Graduation, Great Grad

P: Dusty Durango, Bashful Blue, Neenah Solar White, Stella Rose Gertie paper pack
I: Chocolate Chip
A: Sizzix - Dots embossing folder, ribbon, large oval punch, scallop oval punch, dimensionals

Deepest Sympathy

2011-09-28T06:00:00.000-05:00

Good morning!

Today's card is a sympathy card suitable for either gender.
The card base is a half sheet trimmed of Soft Sky layered on a quarter panel of Baja Breeze. The face of the card is covered with two different designer papers from the Stella Rose Hattie paper pack. I punched the edge of the blue piece with my Martha Stewart Arch Lattice punch adhered it to the other floral print and then wrapped the ribbon around and tied it before I adhered it to the card.
The stamped panel is a square of Neenah Baronial Ivory stamped with Upsy Daisy in Summer Sun. The sentiment is from My Time Made Easy - Occasions collection and is stamped in Baja Breeze. I layered the stamped panel on More Mustard and another piece of designer paper and adhered it to the card with dimensionals.

Thanks for dropping in!

S: Upsy Daisy, My Time Made Easy: Occasions Collection
P: Baja Breeze, Soft Sky, More Mustard, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Stella Rose Hattie Paper Pack
I: Summer Sun, Baja Breeze
A: ribbon, Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Punch, dimensionals

Buttons and Fleurs

2011-09-26T05:30:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope everyone had a relaxing and fun weekend. Mine was blessedly quiet and I managed to sleep in a bit both days which definitely helps my overall attitude going into a new week! LOL!

Today I have a bright and cheery all purpose card to share with you.
The card base is a half sheet of Cool Caribbean. I ran the front through a Sizzix embossing folder called Flowers #6 before I started the rest of the panels. All of the designer paper is from KI Memories - Heritage Collection. The center background panel is layered on Chocolate Chip and the corner panels are layered on Old Olive with a trio of wax thread tied buttons on each. The center panel is a small square of Neenah Solar White embossed with the same folder then layered on Chocolate Chip and Dusty Durango. I finished it off with a little leatherette flower that I found at Target.

Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy your day!

S: N/A
I: N/A
P: Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Dusty Durango, Neenah Solar White, KI Memories Heritage collection
A: Sizzix Flowers #6 embossing folder, buttons, wax thread, leatherette flower (Target)

Choo Choo Baby

2011-09-23T05:40:00.000-05:00

Yay!!! It's Friday!!!
I know you didn't need me to tell you that, but I'm so glad to see the weekend looming I can't begin to tell you. It's really been crazy around here. I even got my days mixed up and posted my Wednesday card on Tuesday...That should give you an idea of where my head has been...

Today's card is a cute little boy baby card. The layout is fairly simple for this one.
The card base is a half sheet of Brocade Blue layered with a panel of DSP from one of Stampin' Up!'s Prints Packs - Welcome Neighbor. Over that I layered together a smaller panel of Chocolate Chip with a panel of Bashful Blue DSP, wrapped it with a bit of chocolate ribbon and added a corduroy button tied with wax thread.
The train and letters are stamped with Chocolate Chip on Neenah Solar White and punched out with a 1/2˝ and 1-1/2˝ circle punch. The letters were then layered on 5/8˝ punched circles of Brocade Blue and the train was layered on a Chocolate Chip Lacey Scallop Circle die (Spellbinders). The letters are adhered to the card directly and the train is popped up on foam dimensionals. My intent was that the letters would mimic the little puffs of smoke following the train. See it?

Thanks for dropping by today. I hope you enjoy your weekend!

S: Going Somewhere, Alpha Dots alphabet
P: Brocade Blue, Chocolate Chip, Neenah Solar White, Welcome Neighbor DSP, Bashful Blue DSP
I: Chocolate Chip
A: 1/2˝, 5/8˝ and 1-1/2˝ circle punches, Spellbinders Nestabilities Lacey Circles, ribbon, dimensionals, corduroy button, wax thread

Moody Blue Baby

2011-09-20T05:38:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Today I have another baby card to share with you.
I started with a half sheet of Baja Breeze cut lengthwise and folded in half. I layered the background with two pieces of DSP from the SU! Manchester pack (discontinued) plus a piece of Neenah Solar White that I'd embossed with my Sizzix Dots folder.
Next, I stamped 4 babies from Baby Firsts on Neenah Solar White punched them with a small square scallop punch and colored them with Copics. Each square is layered on a pale green cs from Archivers and then mounted to a single large square of Baja Breeze. Corners were rounded on all of the colored squares. To finish it all off, I tied Baja Breeze ribbon around one end.

Thanks for stopping by!

S: Baby Firsts
P: Baja Breeze, Pale green (Archivers), Neenah Solar White, Manchester DSP
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: Sizzix Dots embossing folder, square scallop punch, corner rounder, ribbon
Copics: B00, B12, B52, E00, E11, YR21, RV32, G20

Wheelbarrow of Thanks

2011-09-16T04:44:00.000-05:00

Hello!
It's Friday again...Can you believe it? We've had a lot going on this week both at work and at home so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that another 5 days have slipped past me. Our weather took a little foray into Fall this week too which either brings sighs of relief or groans of dismay from people depending on how ready they are for winter to arrive. Personally, I'm clinging desperately to the idea that we've got several more days of sunshine and beautiful weather ahead!

So...Toni...about that card?

Today I have a bright and cheery thank you card to share with you. The DP is from the same KI Memories Heirloom pack that I used for a gift set I did for my mother in law. It has a decidedly Scandinavian bent so it was perfect for her. I also like it for the bright, citrusy colors. For this one, I started with a half sheet trimmed of Neenah Solar White and layered it on a quarter sheet of Chocolate Chip. I added a horizontal band of Kiwi Kiss paired with DP horizontally to the face of the card and another of Marina Mist and DP vertically to the left. The yellow ribbon is tied lengthwise around the card next and knotted.
The wheelbarrow panel is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics then layered on Chocolate Chip. I also stamped a tiny little thank you tag and layered that on Marina Mist as well. The Wheelbarrow panel is mounted to the card with foam dimensionals and the little tag is tied to the ribbon with linen thread.

Thanks for visiting today! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

S: Love You Bunches, Happy Moments
P: Neenah Solar White, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Marina Mist, KI Memories Heritage Pack DP
I: Memento Tuxedo Black
A: ribbon, linen thread, foam dimensionals

Copics: B52, YR68, YG25, YG01, Y15, R32, RV04, E55, T5, W3

10 fingers, 10 toes

2011-09-14T04:44:00.001-05:00

Hello & happy Wednesday!
Today I have a fairly simple baby card to share with you. This was part of an assortment I did a while back for a friend and it was fun to pull out some older baby/kid sets to play with. This one (Kid Prints) has been gathering dust since I used it for Dan's scrapbook several years back. I tell you, there's nothing sadder than a neglected stamp set...
Anyway, for this one I pulled out my embossing powder and heat gun too.
The hand print is first stamped in Night of Navy on a half sheet of Marina Mist cs and then stamped again in Craft white and embossed with white embossing powder. Next, on a square of Neenah Solar White, I stamped one hand print in Night of Navy (stamped off twice) on followed by the sentiment. This stamped piece is layered on Marina Mist and Night of Navy cs and adhered to the card with foam dimensionals. To finish it all off, I tied three small pieces of matching ribbon to an oval paper clip and added that to the side of the stamped panel.

That's it! Pretty simple right?
Have a great day!

S: Kid Prints, Scrappy Cat: Baby Boy Phrases
P: Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Neenah Solar White
I: Craft White, Night of Navy
A: White embossing powder, ribbon, dimensionals, Hodgepodge hardware clip

Blushing Blossoms

2011-09-12T05:54:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you all had as beautiful a weekend as I did. I chose to be lazy and do a whole lot of nothing the whole weekend and it was great! I needed the little mental health break and it was so nice to not have somewhere to go or anything in particular to do. I made a point of soaking up as much sunshine as I could too as proof of my laziness! LOL!

Today I have a sympathy card to share with you. The floral stamp set is from Stampendous and is called Scripty Stems. I've had it for a little while and haven't really done much with it so in a recent sympathy card stash building exercise I pulled it out.
My card is a half sheet of Sahara Sand covered with two vertical panels of DP from K & Company. The stamped panel is Neenah Baronial Ivory stamped with Regal Rose and Always Artichoke (Markers) and then sponged with those colors plus a little River Rock in the background to antique it a bit. The sentiment is from Pink By Design (Sympathy). I rounded one corner then mounted the stamped panel on a piece of Sage Shadow and rounded the same corner again. The ribbon is tied around the stamped panel pair and then the whole thing is adhered to the card with foam dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping in today!

S: Stampendous: Scripty Stems, Pink By Design: Sympathy
P: Sahara Sand, Sage Shadow, Neenah Baronial Ivory, K & CO: Charlotte
I: Regal Rose (Marker and Pad), Always Artichoke (Marker and Pad), River Rock pad
A: ribbon, foam dimensionals, corner rounder, sponge

September Bouquet

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!
We're looking forward to a beautiful, sunny weekend so I thought this card tied in nicely. This is the card I did for my group of 16 for September (Geez...should probably mail them out huh?).
The card base is a half sheet of More Mustard layred with a panel of So Saffron plus two smaller pieces of DSP from the Haiku assortment. The felt ribbon is from SU!s Alpine Originals and is secured on either end with two small saffron colored brads. The stamped piece in the center is stamped with the large flower from Fabulous Flowers in So Saffron and then with the smallest flower in the set in Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip. The sentiment is from Hero Arts Thinking of You Messages and is stamped with Chocolate Chip as well. Once I had the stamping done, I punched it out with a 1-3/4 inch circle punch and layered it on an Old Olive scalloped 2 inch circle and added another brad to the center of the chocolate chip flower. I used foam dimensionals to mount it to the card since the felt ribbon was a bit bulky.

Thanks for stopping in! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

S: Fabulous Flowers, Hero Arts: Thinking of You Messages
P: More Mustard, So Saffron, Old Olive, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Haiku DSP
I: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip
A: brads, Alpine Originals felt ribbon, 1-3/4 circle punch, 2 inch scallop circle punch, foam dimensionals

Plum Swirls

2011-09-07T04:46:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
Well, as is typical of short work weeks, this one is flying right by. Yesterday was a bit of a whirlwind and I don't expect today to be any different, but I guess I'd rather be perpetually busy than searching for something to work on! Well...maybe having not QUITE so much to work on would be nice but I'll stop whimpering.

Today I have another sympathy card to share with you. The layout is very simple and relies on texture to really make it shine. I used an embossing folder for part of the card layering and my scoring board for another.
The card base is a half sheet of So Saffron. I punched the front edge with my Fiskars Threading Water punch then cut two panels- one of Certainly Celery and another of Elegant Eggplant - and added the texture to both. The Certainly Celery was scored every 1/8 inch on my scoring board and then adhered flush with the top of the card. The Elegant Eggplant piece was embossed with a Sizzix Starry Night folder and adhered flush with the bottom of the card.
Next, I stamped Certainly Celery swirls from Priceless on a small piece of Neenah Solar White and topped them with an Elegant Eggplant sentiment from Pink By Design. I rounded the corners, layered it on a slightly larger piece of Elegant Eggplant and then punched a So Saffron scallop rectangle to back the whole thing. A couple of dimensionals pop it up off the card and a little felt flower adds a little bling.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your day!

S: Priceless, Pink by Design: Sympathy
P: So Saffron, Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery, Neenah Solar White
I: Elegant Eggplant, Certainly Celery
A: felt flower (target $1 spot), Sizzix Starry Night embossing folder, Martha Stewart Scoring board, Fiskars Threading Water edge punch, dimensionals

Botanical Sympathy

2011-09-05T08:42:00.002-05:00

Good morning! I hope you're enjoying your Labor Day weekend! I've got the usual list of projects to tackle today before I go back to work tomorrow but I had the weekend at home to enjoy while the rest of my family went North.

Today's post is a double header. I had some scraps of designer paper left over from other projects so I thought I'd see about using them up on a couple of sympathy cards. I always seem to be running low on Sympathy cards, so when I can create multiples quickly it's a good thing.
The card bases are Old Olive and So Saffron with some Bazzill Juneberry for an accent color and Neenah Baronial Ivory for the neutral. Layouts are similar with a couple of coordinating felt flowers (May Arts) stacked up as a focal point and a bit of ribbon to, pardon the pun, tie things together. LOL!

Here's the full list of supplies:
S: impression Obsession: Sympathy Sentiments, Pink by Design: Sympathy, Studio G: Flourish background
P: So Saffron, Old Olive, Bazzill Juneberry, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Webster's Pages DP - You Life Plaid and Botanical Print
I: Old Olive, So Saffron, Memento Rich Cocoa
A: Water pen, felt flowers (May Arts), Painted Deco Brads, Ribbon, dimensional

Thanks for stopping by today!

You're So Nice...

2011-09-02T05:38:00.001-05:00

Good morning and happy Friday! We're heading into a nice long weekend so I hope you all enjoy the extra day. I'm off today and Monday and couldn't be happier for the break. *smiles*

Today's card is a bit of girly fun. My card base is a half sheet cut the long way of Kiwi Kiss layered with a narrow panel of striped dp from the My Mind's Eye Stella Rose Gertie Paper Pack, a punched scallop border and a slightly wider panel of Bashful Blue. The punched border is done with the Fiskars Threading water punch and a piece of Cameo Coral cs.
I stamped my sentiment directly on the Bashful Blue piece in Chocolate Chip and then added a crimped and ruffled piece of floral dp from the same paper pack. I discovered if you run your paper through the crimper first, making the pleats and ruffles is MUCH easier! The ruffle is adhered with sticky strip with a bow to finish it off.
The floral panel is stamped on Neenah Solar White and layered on Chocolate Chip and then layered on Chocolate Chip. Finally, I punched an assortment of little flowers using the Itty Bitty punch pack, used mini glue dots to stick them down and added a little bling to finish them off.
Thanks for stopping in!
Enjoy your holiday weekend!

S: Sweet Dreams
P: Kiwi Kiss, Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, My Minds Eye: Stella Rose Gertie, Cameo Coral, Neenah Solar White
I: Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
A: itty Bitty Punch Pack, Chrystal Stickers gems, Fiskars Threading Water punch, ribbon, corrugator, sticky strip, glue dots, dimensionls

Pseudo Silk Hydrangea

2011-08-31T05:49:00.001-05:00

Hello & Happy Wednesday!
Today I have a faux silk card to share with you. I really like this technique; especially for more detailed, realistic stamps and this hydrangea from Because I Care was perfect.
I also rousted some glittery embossing powder that hadn't seen the light of day for some time and that was kind of fun too.

My card base is a 5 x 8.5 piece of Certainly Celery scored at the 5 inch mark, folded and layered on a 5.25 inch square of Rich Razzleberry. Next, I cut a 4.75 x 4 panel of Rich Razzleberry and stamped the Medallion along one long edge using Versamark. I embossed it with Holographic embossing powder and then adhered it to the right side of the Certainly Celery Card.

The hydrangea is stamped with Basic Black and colored with a blender pen and Rich Razzleberry and Certainly Celery ink. Once that was done I could apply the faux silk technique. The face of the hydrangea panel is coated with glue (I just used a glue stick) and then a slightly larger piece of white Mulberry Paper was patted in place. I like to use Mulberry instead of tissue because it has the threads of silk in it which just adds to the effect. Crumpled white tissue paper works well too, and is generally what is suggested when doing this technique. Once the Mulberry paper was set, I trimmed the edges and layered the piece on Rich Razzleberry and Certainly Celery before adhering it just left of center on the card. A short little sentiment (Paper Trey Ink) stamped directly on the hydrangea panel and fluffy organdy bow finish the whole thing off.

Have a great day!

S: Medallion, Because I Care, Paper Trey Ink: Heartfelt Basics
P: Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Neenah Baronial Ivory, White Mulberry paper
I: Rich Razzleberry, Certainly Celery, Basic Black
A: Blender Pen, glue stick, holographic embossing powder, ribbon

Manchester Tree

2011-08-29T05:47:00.034-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you had a great weekend! We spend Saturday morning at the State Fair which truthfully, is something I'd prefer to do once every 5 years or so, but it was a family thing courtesy of Rich's work, so we went.
The good news is we avoided all the fried food and managed to get out of there without spending a fortune on anything "on a stick". Yay us!

Today I have a sympathy card to share with you. It's a fairly simple layout but there are enough layers to make it interesting. It's also got more of a masculine feel to it if you're looking for ideas there. That little bonus is largely due to the Manchester DSP I used.
The card base is a half sheet of Sahara Sand. I cut a quarter sheet trimmed to fit the card from Manchester DSP and punched an Always Artichoke 1-1/8 inch circle, stamped the "so sorry" sentiment with Chocolate Chip on Baronial Ivory and punched that out with a 1 inch circle punch. The circles are layered together and adhered midway up the card along the right edge and a strip of striped DSP was adhered over the top. Finally, I added a little taupe ric-rac across the middle and tucked the ends to the back before adhering the whole piece to the card face.
The tree is from Lovely as a Tree and is stamped with Basic Brown on Neenah Baronial Ivory. I used a water pen and my Always Artichoke ink to color in the tree and then layered it on Sahara Sand and Always Artichoke. A few dimensionals pop it up off the card and help it to clear the ric-rac.

Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy your day!

Sepia Anniversary

2011-08-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!
I hope you've all had a good week. I've been flying low all week, but that's ok. Tomorrow we're off to the State Fair (am only thank you very much) and then I have the weekend ahead of me to catch up on some things around home. Anyone else doing anything fun???

Today's card is an anniversary card that I did a while back. The whole sepia tone really appealed to me when it was all done and it's always nice when your elements come together so nicely.
The card base is a half sheet of Early Espresso. I cut and sponged a strip of Neenah Baronial Ivory first to start the layers. The middle panel is where all the action is though. First I cut a 3 inch square of Neenah Baronial Ivory, distressed and sponged the edges and then cut a slightly larger square of Kraft and gave it the same treatment. Next, I stamped a filigree swirl from Unity's Moments in Bloom in the upper right corner using Memento Rich Cocoa and colored it in a bit with a pearl white gel pen. I also stamped a distressed notebook ledger (Unity Naturally You) in River Rock at just about dead center. Sorry, that's kind of hard to see in the photo. Next, I crimped a strip of Kraft, cut it to fit the Ivory panel and then added a couple aged copper heart paper clips and some brads to hold everything in place.
The flowers are punched using the Itty Bitty Punch pack and a small EK Success Groovy flower punch. I used another brad to hold the larger flower in place and trimmed out the smaller ones with some mocha colored half pearls. Finally, I stamped the sentiment just above the crimped Kraft strip in Memento Rich Cocoa.

Thanks for stopping in. Enjoy your weekend!

S: Unity: Moments in Bloom and Naturally You, A Word For You
P: Early Espresso, Kraft, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Memento Rich Cocoa, River Rock
A: Recollections: half pearls, EK Success small groovy flower punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack, aged copper brads and paper clips, distressing tool, sponge, paper crimper

Window Flowers

2011-08-24T05:54:00.003-05:00

Hello!
How's your week going? I'm in a bit of a scramble at work trying to wrap up multiple large projects, but that's pretty typical. Forge ahead right?!
Today I have a thinking of you card to share with you.
The card base is a half sheet (cut lengthwise) of Kraft. The face of the card is layered with an embossed panel of Kraft trimmed with a slightly wider piece of Rich Razzleberry. I used the Square Lattice embossing folder to add texture to the Kraft panel and then punched out a Curvy Label window along the bottom right edge.
The flower is from Bliss and is stamped on Neenah Baronial Ivory, hand trimmed then popped up on a dimensional in the little window. The sentiment is stamped in Rich Razzleberry directly on the card and a bit of Rich Razzleberry ribbon finishes it off.

Thanks for dropping in!

S: Bliss, Hero Arts: Pocketful of Thoughts
P: Kraft, Rich Razzleberry, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Rich Razzleberry
A: Curly Label punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, ribbon, foam dimensional

Cinnamon Baja

2011-08-22T06:15:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Mine was lazy and relaxing and perfect. They should all be like that!
Today's card came about through a combination of punches, dies and designer paper. Stamping is pretty minimal but I found a new little trick for saving a booboo when the flower you're die cutting doesn't come out quite the way you expected.
My card base is a half sheet of Bazzill Fawn layered with a panel of Bazzill Java and Cloud 9 Design Cinnamon Stick DP. I punched a strip of Baja Breeze using the EK Success Oval Chain punch and then threaded a thinner strip of the Java through the design. Next came the little sentiment tag. I stamped it on Neenah Solar White and hand trimmed it into a tag shape then punched a small hole near the top, threaded a little linen thread through the hole and one of the loops on the oval chain and tied it off. The leaves and the center of the flower are die cut from cork (way cool texture by the way) and the other two flower pieces are from the Sizzix Flower Layers #3 die. Here's where the booboo came in. When I was cutting the Baja Breeze larger flower, the paper slipped so part of one of the petals was clipped off. Frustrating right? Well, since the part that was clipped ended up being an inverted clip, I just used my scissors to repeat the idea on all of the other petals. Ta Da!!! Lemonade!!!
The rest is basic layering with a foam dimensional to pop the flower up a tad.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

S: Silhouette Sentiments
P: Neenah Solar White, Bazzill Fawn and Java cs, Cloue 9 Design Cinnamon Stick DP, Baja Breeze
I: Chocolate Chip
A: EK Success: Oval Chain punch, cork, 2 step bird punch, Sizzix Flower Layers #3 die, linen thread, 1/16˝ punch, foam dimensionals

Priceless Butterfly

2011-08-19T05:45:00.001-05:00

TGIF!!! I don't know about you, but I am ready for the weekend!
Today, I have a birthday card to share.
The card base is a half sheet of Chocolate Chip folded in half. I stamped the top half of the card with the little speckles from Itty Bitty Backgrounds in Vanilla craft ink. the bottom half is layered with designer paper from the Parisian Breeze collection and a layered band of Rose Red and Sahara Sand went across the middle. That piece has a paper lace accent too. The main panel is a trio of layers: Rose REd, Chocolate Chip and Neenah Solar White. The White is stamped with a Chocolate Chip flourish from Priceless and the butterfly is stamped with Regal Rose and hand trimmed. I used a glue dot to adhere it to the card and added a few pearls for the body. The little layered circle is stamped with Chocolate Chip as well, punched and layered on Rose. Red I folded the corner of the Chocolate Chip card back and added a small piece of designer paper to the same corner then added the punched circles and a Kaiser half pearl. Finally, the sentiment is stamped directly on the card in Chocolate Chip.

Thanks for looking!
S: Priceless, Stampendous: Orchid Greetings
P: Chocolate Chip, Rose Red, Neenah Solar White, Parisian Breeze DSP
I: Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose
A: Lace paper ribbon, Kaiser half pearls, 1-1/8 and 1-1/4 circle punches

Elegant Blossoms

2011-08-17T05:57:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday!
I am having a crazy busy week, but that's okay - keeps me out of trouble right?

Today I have a bright and snappy thinking of you card that I CASED from page 20 of the SU! Summer Mini.

The card base is a half sheet of Positively Pink folded in half and layered with a punched strip of Tempting Turquoise and Neenah Solar White. The white is stamped randomly and sponged with Garden Greetings in Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun. The punched edge is done with the EK Success Oval Chain punch and most of it is tucked under the white.
The sentiment is from Whimsical Words and is stamped with Melon Mambo in Neenah Solar White and punched with the large oval punch. I used the Sizzlet Lots of Tags die set (Label #2) to cut a Pumpkin Pie decorative oval tag and the Beautiful Wings die to cut a couple of Melon Mambo butterflies. A little ribbon around the stamped panel and a gemstone or two finish it off.

Thanks for stopping!
S: Garden Greetings, Whimsical Words
P: Positively Pink, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Neenah Solar White
I: Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun
A: Sizzlet Lots of Tags, Beautiful Wings dies, Large Oval Punch, ribbon, Crystal Stickers gems, sponge dauber, EK Success oval chain punch

Old Time Best Wishes

2011-08-15T06:14:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I trust you all had a good weekend as I did. I managed to get two very satisfying walks in, sat out and enjoyed the sunshine yesterday, and spent some time while it was raining finishing up my Christmas cards. Yes, I know it's early and yes, I realize it's still Summer, but it's soooo nice to have them done. Now when I have my little group of stampers over in September for our annual Christmas Card assembly day, I can wander and help without feeling guilty that I'm not getting mine done. I also wrapped up a couple of birthday gifts, some cards for a gal at my dentist's office and finally put all my toys away from last weekend. All in all...a darned productive weekend!
Today's card is a somewhat masculine Best Wishes card. The card base is a half sheet of Not Quite Navy lined with Neenah Baronial Ivory. The front center panel is made up of 3 layers - Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and Neenah Baronial Ivory. The Ivory is stamped with a variety of images including a notebook register (Unity:Moments in Bloom), a corner flourish and clock face from Tim Holtz: The Journey, a sentiment from Kind and Caring Thoughts and the pocketwatch from Papa's Pocket. I used Memento Rich Cocoa, Night of Navy, Ridinghood Red and River Rock ink. The panel is wrapped with beading thread and then cinched together under the button. The little square medallions are done using Fiskars Clearly Sentimental and are stamped with the same three ink colors then trimmed and layered together with dimensionals.

Thanks for stopping by!

S: Fiskars: Clearly Sentimental, Tim Holtz: The Journey, Unity: Moments in Bloom, Kind & Caring Thoughts, On Your Birthday and Papa's Pocket
P: Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Early Espresso
I Memento Rich Cocoa, Night of Navy, Ridinghood Red, River Rock
A: button, beading thread, foam dimensionals

Embossed Thank You Duet

2011-08-12T05:28:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I'll be skipping out the door very shortly so this is going to be a quick post.
Today I have two thank you cards to share. The layouts are identical. I just changed out the color scheme on each one.
In both instances, I started with a half sheet of Neenah Solar White trimmed to fit a quarter sheet of either Night of Navy or Real Red.
The card fronts were embossed with the Cuttlebug Thanks embossing folder and then wrapped with a length of ribbon vertically. The sentiments are stamped with Night of Navy and Real Red on white and layered on the appropriate color. That's it. Pretty simple huh? Just what you want when you need a bunch of thank yous all at once.

Have a fabulous day! TGIF!
S: Hero Arts: Thank You
P: Neenah Solar White, Night of Navy, Real Red
I: Night of Navy, Real Red
A: Cuttlebug Thanks embossing folder, ribbon, 1-1/2 and 1-3/4 inch circle punches

Chocolate Chickadee

2011-08-10T05:56:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I hope your week is going well. I've been insanely busy but the weather has been fabulous so I'm getting lots of walking in which is great. Helps to work of the stress of the day!
Today I have a thinking of you card to share. The bird and the flourish are both from Friends 24-7 and the sentiment are from Stampendous: Orchid Greetings.
I started with a half sheet of Soft Suede cut 4.25 x 11 and folded at 5.5 inches. I layered three different patterns of Parisian Breeze designer paper on the upper two-thirds of the card and scored the bottom inch or so in a cross-hatch pattern on my scoring board. This is a great way to add a little texture to a card using something you probable already have on hand. Next, I smudged up all the edges with my Chocolate Chip ink pad then tied the ribbon around the bottom section. The bird and sentiment are stamped with Chocolate Chip and the flourish is stamped with Baja Breeze. The cardstock is Neenah Solar White and I smudged the edges of that piece as well. A few dimensionals pop it up off the card and that's it!
Thanks for stopping in!

S: Friends 24-7, Stampendous Orchid Greetings
P: Soft Suede, Neenah Solar White, Parisian Breeze DSP
I: Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze
A: ribbon, dimensionals, scoring board

Durango River Flowers

2011-08-08T05:13:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you all had a fabulous weekend! The stamping retreat was lots of fun, of course, and I have a nice assortment of cards to share coming up. It was great to get away for the weekend with my best friend and we met some very nice ladies with several common interests.
Today I have a couple of different cards to share with you. I'm posting them both at the same time only because the general makeup is so similar and I used the same Faux Pressed Flowers technique on both.

The first is the card I am sending out this month to my group of 16.
I started with a half sheet of Neenah Baronial Ivory folded, layered it with an embossed strip of Dusty Durango and some ribbon, and finished it off with a layered panel of flowers on Ivory and River Rock.

The second is done in much the same way, but I added an additional layer of Black and swapped the colors around a bit so my card was Dusty Durango (sorry, I know it looks like Pumpkin Pie...) and the embossed band is River Rock. The orientation changed a bit too but as you can see they're similar.

I hope your week is fabulous!
Thanks for stopping by

S: Petal Pizzaz, Hero Arts: Thinking of You Messages, Hero Arts: Thank You
P: Neenah Baronial Ivory, Dusty Durango, River Rock, Basic Black
I: Dusty Durango, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Basic Black
A: ribbon, Sizzix Plaid embossing folder, Floral Flourish embossing folder

Gertie's Birthday

2011-08-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

Good evening!
I know this post is really late but I'm actually at a stamping retreat this weekend and had no time this am to post. So...better late than never right???

Today's card is a funky little birthday card that gets most of it's charm from the designer paper I used. This pair is from the My Mind's Eye Stella Rose collection called Gertie's Papers. I layered two panels of dp over the face of a Marina Mist card. The dark band across the middle looks black but is actually Early Espresso. The stamped swirl panel is die cut with the Top Note Bigz die and stamped with the large swirl from Priceless in Old Olive.
To finish it off, I punched an assortment of flowers, layered them together and added a gem to the middle for a little bling. I also added a few really tiny gems to a few spots on the swirls.

Thanks for stopping in, and for being patient with me while I'm off stamping!
Have a great weekend.

S: Priceless, Hero Arts: All Occasion
P: Marina Mist, Neenah Baronial Ivory, My Mind's Eye Stella Rose: Gerties Papers, Regal Rose
I: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip
A: Crystal Stickers gems, BigZ Top Note Die, EK Success flower punches, 5 petal punch, Itty Bitty Punch Pack

Elegant Blossoms

2011-08-03T05:31:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
This week is really flying by. I've been getting ready for a weekend stamping retreat every chance I get plus squeezing in time to walk, celebrate my birthday and help out a friend with a Cricut project. Can you say whirlwind???
With that said, I'm going to keep this short.
Today's card is a half sheet of Sahara Sand embossed with the Elegant Lines embossing folder and layered along the bottom with Kiwi Kiss and Bazzill Cantaloupe cardstock. The ribbon is tied around the Kiwi and cantaloupe pieces before they are adhered in place.
I stamped congratulations with Memento Rich Cocoa and finished it all off with some paper flowers from K & Co.
Enjoy your day!

S: Congrats
P: Sahara Sand, Kiwi Kiss, Bazzill Cantaloupe
I: Memento Rich Cocoa
A: K & Co Bailey paper flowers, ribbon, Elegant lines embossing folder

Saffron Decor

2011-08-01T04:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Monday!
I had a great weekend, and I hope you did too. Next weekend I'm headed off with my bestie to a stamping retreat so I spent a good chunk of yesterday wading through my to do list and packing up my toys to go. I think I have a handle on it...maybe. LOL!
Anyway, I finally felt good enough to get back into my walking groove too which was great and we were blessed with a hot, sunny, summer weekend.

Today's card is a thank you that I did a while back for a friend of mine. I managed to unearth some designer paper that I forgot I had (shame on me I know) and a stamp set or two that hadn't seen the light of day for some time.
The card base is a half sheet of Neenah Baronial Ivory cut 4 x 10.5 and folded in half then
layered on a saffron yellow Bazzill cardstock. The face of the card is layered with a panel of striped dsp from the Le Jardin pack with a narrow strip of the same saffron along the bottom. I used the EK Success Real Estate Sign punch to give the edge of another saffrom strip a curvy edge and placed that next. The main panel is stamped with So Saffron and an image from Artfully Asian and the sentiment is from SeeD's Card Wishes in Basic Gray. I layered the stamped piece on saffron, followed by a slightly larger rectangle of Le Jardin DSP and Basic Black.

Thanks for popping in today!

S: Artfully Asian, SeeD's Card Wishes
P: Saffron (Bazzill), Neenah Baronial Ivory, Basic Black, Le Jardin DSP
I: Basic Gray, So Saffron
A: EK Success Real Estate Sign punch

Grey Sahara Thanks

2011-07-29T05:16:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!
Well, the weekend is finally here, and I have to say I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully, I can squeeze in a little time to stamp in between the running around I need to do. I've got a couple of special people with birthdays right around the corner to make cards for plus a retreat next weekend to get ready for. I finally talked my best friend into going to a weekend stamp retreat with me and I'm so excited! I know we're going to have oodles of fun. Might even get some stamping done! ha!
Today's card is another somewhat masculine thank you that I did a while back. Initially I wasn't sure about the pairing of gray and sahara sand, but now I think it's a good match.
The card is a half sheet of Basic Gray with a full panel of Sahara Sand dsp to start. Over that, I layered together a 1/3rd panel of Neenah Solar White with another pattern from the same DSP stack. The textured gray band is Stardreams Charcoal and is embossed with the Sizzix Diamondplate folder. I added two pewter brads prior to adhering it to the card. Finally, the Thank You emblem is stamped with Hampton Arts: Thank You in Basic Gray, punched with a 1-1/8 inch circle punch and layered in a 1-1/4 inch circle of Sahara Sand. I added a matching pewter eyelet in the center and used foam dimensionals to adhere it to the card. Pretty simple right?
Have a great weekend!

S: Hampton Arts: Thank You
P: Sahara Sand, Basic Gray, Neenah Solar White, Stardreams Charcoal, Sahara Sand DSP
I: Basic Gray
A: pewter eyelet and brads, Sizzix Diamondplate embossing folder, Cuttlebug, 1-1/8 and 1-1/4 inch circle punches, foam dimensionals

Butterfly Dots & Swirls

2011-07-27T05:33:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday!
I hope you're all having a good week so far. I'm still battling a cold but hanging in there. I'm more than ready for to feel better though. I miss my exercise program if you can believe it!

So enough whining...today I have a fairly simple card to share.
I started with a half sheet of Rich Razzleberry cut 4.25 x 11 folded at center. The lower 3/4 of the front is embossed with dots using a SIzzix Dots embossing folder with a thin strip of Old Olive along the top and a bit of organdy/satin ribbon tied over that.
The focal point is a Neenah Solar White oval stamped with the small swirls from Priceless in Old Olive and then layered on a slightly larger oval of Rich Razzleberry and an Old Olive scallop punched oval. The butterfly is stamped on white as well with Rich Razzleberry, hand trimmed and adhered with a small glue dot in the center. The wings are folded up a little bit and a few tiny gems finish the whole thing off.
Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy your day!

S: Priceless
P: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Neenah Solar White
I: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
A: ribbon (Offray), Sizzix Dots embossing folder, EK success Scallop Oval punch, lg oval punch, dimensionals, Crystal Stickers gems, glue dots

Baby Quilt

2011-07-25T06:09:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I hope everyone had a good weekend. I spent most of mine in bed, on the sofa or out on my deck in one prone position or another while I fought back this nasty cold I have. NOT a lot of fun I must say but hopefully all that rest did me some good and I can kick this thing to the curb sooner rather than later.
Today's card is a sunny and sweet baby card that I did a while back for a friend who needed an assortment of baby cards for work colleagues.
I started with a half sheet of Neenah Solar White and layered the front with two pieces of Marigold Morning designer paper and a semi-large scalloped square of the same white cut with Spellbinders scalloped squares. This card opens on the right like a standard card, so to tie the ribbon all the way around I cut a small slit in the fold along the left and threaded the ribbon through before I tied it.
The top focal panel is a slightly smaller square of Bazzill Sunshine Yellow cardstock layered with 4 small shite scalloped squares. Each one is stamped in Marigold Morning with the dotted frame from Around and About. (Disc.) The letters were cut using a Cricut and the Base Camp cartridge in the same Sunshine Yellow as the panel. To finish it off, I added a small hand-crocheted flower to the center of the panel with a brad.

As always, thanks for dropping by!

S: Around and About
P: Bazzill Sunshine Yellow, Neenah Solar White, Marigold Morning DSP
I: Marigold Morning
A: brad, hand-crocheted flower, ribbon, Spellbinders Scalloped Squares, EK Success scalloped square punch

Sunny Blooms

2011-07-22T05:35:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you've all had a good week. Mine has been a combination of interesting and challenging with a bit more of a lean toward challenging. Yesterday was one of those days where you really wish you hadn't crawled out of bed and to top it off I'm coming down with a Summer cold which really stinks going into the weekend. So...I guess you could say I'm posting this card to perk ME up. Of course if you like it too, that's even better!
I started with a half sheet of sunshine yellow cardstock (Bazzill) folded in half. The paper was textured so I left the background alone.
The center panel is a piece of Neenah Solar White stamped randomly with several flowers from Scrappy Cat's Tween Scene set in Pacific Point, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie and Summer Sun. I punched a thin strip of Not Quite Navy with my Fiskars Threading Water punch and adhered that along the bottom edge of my stamped panel then layered the whole thing on a slightly larger piece of Pumpkin Pie. The sentiment is stamped on white as well with Pacific Point and die cut with Sizzix Lots of Tags Sizzlets. I fininished it off with a little ribbon and some randomly scattered gems.

Thanks for popping in! Have a fabulous weekend.

S: Scrappy Cat: Tween Scene, All Natural
P: Bazzill Sunshine Yellow, Not Quite Navy, Pumpkin Pie, Neenah Solar White
I: Malon Mambo, Pacific Point, Summer Sun, Pumpkin Pie
A: gems, ribbon, Sizzix Lots of Tags Sizzlets-label 1, Fiskars Threading Water punch

Springtime Bliss

2011-07-20T05:45:00.001-05:00

Good Morning!
I hope you're having a great week! I had two days out of the office while I was at class. Today, I'm back to the usual work routine and hopefully a little time playing with what I learned!
Today's card is a somewhat generic notecard. I fell in love with this designer paper as soon as I saw it and it coordinates beautifully with the Bliss stamps.
For this one I started with a half sheet of Bazzill: Petunia cardstock folded in half. Over that I layered together a three layer panel of Certainly Celery, Rose Red and Springtime Vintage DSP. Next, I stamped a small piece of Neenah Baronial Ivory with Certainly Celery and the filigree stamp from Bliss and used McGill tag punch to create a tag. "Bliss" was stamped along the bottom edge of the tag with Always Artichoke and I tied a few fibers and ric-rac through the hole at the top. The tag was adhered to the card with dimensionals. Finally, I stamped a Melon Mambo butterfly, hand trimmed it and added it to the tag with another dimensional and a few pink gems to finish it off.

Thanks for visiting today!
S: Bliss
P: Bazzill: Petunia, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Springtime Vintage DSP
I: Always Artichoke, Melon Mambo
A: Adornments Fibers, ric-rac (May Arts), 1/8˝, foam dimensionals, McGill tag punch

Squared Off Thanks

2011-07-18T05:33:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I am off to my Adobe Flash class this morning which I am really looking forward to. I've been wanting to learn this software for a while now. SO excited!!!
Today's card is pretty simple, and a bit masculine but I was happy to be able to find a home for those square pewter brads finally! They've been rattling around in my metal embellies box for a while now.
My card base is a half sheet trimmed of Neenah Solar White layered on a quarter sheet of Not Quite Navy. I covered the front with a slightly smaller panel of Not Quite Navy designer paper and then set it aside for a bit. The embossed band is some Stardreams pewter cardstock embossed using a Sizzix Diamondplate folder. I adhered a strip of another Not Quite Navy designer paper along the top edge and added the 4 square brads on either side. I left space for my center square sentiment. The sentiment is from ELzy Belles - Swirly Greetings and is stamped with Not Quite Navy on white and layered on the pewter Stardreams and then on Not Quite Navy. I popped it up on a dimensional for a little height.

Enjoy your day!
S: Elzybelles: Swirley Greetings
P: Neenah Solar White, Not Quite Navy, Stardreams Pewter
I: Not Quite Navy
A: Square pewter brads, dimensionals, Sizzix: Diamondplate embossing folder.

Thank You Petals

2011-07-15T05:31:00.001-05:00

TGIF!!!
Wow, this has been one really long week. I'm so looking forward to the weekend. On Sunday, I'll be participating in a Ladies Day Out Expo over in Maple Grove and that should be fun. Otherwise my weekend is pretty open thank the Lord!
Today's card is a thank you with lots of layers and embellishments. I pulled together a bunch of punches and dies, a little bling and a lucky pairing of stamps and designer paper.
The card base is a half sheet of Old Olive stamped randomly with the large flower from In the Spotlight. Along the left edge I layered together a strip of American Crafts Coriander background paper and an edge punched strip of Pirouette Pink. The edge punch is from EK Success and is called Oval Chain. I tied a thin bit of organdy ribbon around the piece before adhering it to the card. Next I punched a Lacey Circle (Spellbinders) from a piece of SEI Penelope's Potpourri background paper and layered that with a circle of Ridinghood Red. I also punched a scallop circle from the same print plus two Pirouette Pink and one Ridinghood Red 5 petal flowers and put them all together with a rhinestone brad. The leaves are cut using a Sizzlet Little Leaves die. I centered the large lacey scallop circle on the card and then added the other pieces. The sentiment is stamped on Neenah Solar White, punched with the Word Window punch and then layered on a Baja Breeze Modern Label punch piece. A few rhinestones for a little bling finish the whole thing off.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your weekend!

S: Stampendous: Flower Vases, In the Spotlight
P: Old Olive, Ridinghood Red, Baja Breeze, Neenah Solar White, Pirouette Pink, SEI: Penelope's Potpourri DP, American Crafts-Coriander DP
I: Memento Tuxedo Black, Old Olive
A: Crystal Stickers gems, 5 petal punch, Spellbinders Lacey Circles, 2 inch scallop circle punch, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, Oval Chain edge punch, Sizzix: Little Leaves sizzlet die, ribbon

Pressed Garden

2011-07-13T05:06:00.000-05:00

Good morning and happy Wednesday!
Here's hoping you're having a great week and enjoying your summer. Our weather has been spectacular lately which means my stamping time diminishes a bit in favor of being outside to enjoy it. Good thing I have a little stash of cards I can share huh? lol!

Today's card is another one that uses the faux pressed flower technique. This time though, I folder embossed the larger background panel and layered another focal panel over the top. I think the fresh colors are kind of fun too.
So, the card base is a half sheet of Not Quite Navy. I layered the interior with a panel of Naturals Ivory since NQN is so dark, and then set it aside for a bit. The two background panels are Kiwi Kiss and Naturals Ivory. I stamped the ivory with Garden Greetings in Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss and Crushed Curry then adhered it to the Kiwi Kiss panel and ran it through my Big Shot with the Sizzix Plaid embossing folder. A little Kiwi ribbon wrapped lengthwise around the embossed panel and it's ready to be added to the card base.
Finally, the square focal point panel is done with the same Naturals Ivory and Kiwi Kiss, but I added a layer of So Saffron in there too. A few dimensionals pop it up off the card and a button tied with thread round things out.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a fabulous Wednesday!

S: Garden Greetings
P: Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, So Saffron, Naturals Ivory
I: Not Quite Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Crushed Curry
A: Kiwi ribbon, Sizzix Plaid embossing folder, Big Shot, foam dimensionals, button, wax thread

Plain & Simple Thanks

2011-07-11T04:22:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you had a good weekend. Ours was hot, hot, hot, and we had a thunderstorm to round things out last night. I was hoping it might push away a little of the humidity, but no such luck. Oh well...it is Summer after all!

I have one more thank you to share today - another very simple card that goes together quickly if you need something last-minute or don't want a lot of frills.

I started with a half sheet of Neenah Solar White and trimmed it to layer on a quarter sheet of Always Artichoke. Before I adhered the two together, I ran the bottom half of the card front through my Sizzix Plaid embossing folder. Next, I cut a strip of Mellow Moss (SU! Discontonued) and a small rectangle of white and stamped the leaves in Always Artichoke. The strip was adhered to the card just above the embossing and the white was adhered to a slightly larger piece of Always Artichoke. I left enough of the latter on the bottom to add 5 artichoke colored brads along the edge and then mounted the whole thing to the card with foam dimensionals. Finally, the sentiment was added just above the Mellow Moss strip. That's stamped with Always Artichoke as well.

Thanks for stopping by today!

S: Pocket Silhouettes
P: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Neenah Solar White
I: Always Artichoke
A: Brads, foam dimensionals, Sizzix Plaid embossing folder

Diamondplate Thanks

2011-07-08T06:09:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday!
Okay kids...need a masculine thank you card? There's nothing like a little diamondplate to give a card a masculine edge. Add in a little chrome and well...you're golden!
The card base here is a half sheet trimmed of Neenah Solar White layered on a quarter sheet of Night of Navy. The row of dots (Heidi Grace:Borders) is stamped with Night of Navy along the fold. The thank you medallion is stamped with the same color on a scrap piece of the same white then punched with a 1-1/2 inch circle punch and layered on a 1-3/4 inch circle of Night of Navy. I edge punched a strip of Night of Navy (EK Success: Zig Zag edge punch) and layered that with a strip of metallic silver that I'd embossed with the Diamondplate folder. The rest is assembly!

Have a great weekend!

S: Heidi Grace: Borders, Hero Arts: Thank You
P: Neenah Solar White, Night of Navy, Silver Metallic
I: Night of Navy
A: Sizzix Diamondplate embossing foler, EK success Zig Zag punch, 1-1/2 and 1-3/4 inch circle punches

Doubly Thankful

2011-07-06T06:03:00.001-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you all had a fun holiday weekend. We had a great time at the in-laws and the weather was fabulous. Just what you want for a long summer weekend right?
So, I guess you could say I'm doubly thankful for the fun and the family!

My card today started with a half sheet of Neenah Solar White trimmed to layer on a quarter sheet of Ridinghood Red. Before I put the two together, I stamped the Weathered background in Chocolate Chip along the folded edge and then layered the other half with a panel of designer paper from the DCWV The Green Stack. Where the two met, I layered a strip of Close to Cocoa and another strip of Chocolate Chip that I punched with the EK Success Zig Zag border punch. The "thank you" panel was stamped using Fiskars Sentiments and Many Thanks in Ridinghood Red and Soft Suede (Stamped off once).

Thanks for stopping in! Enjoy the rest of your week!

S: Fiskars: Sentiments, Many Thanks, Weathered background
P: Neenah Solar White, Ridinghood Red, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, DCWV The Green Stack
I: Ridinghood Red, Soft Suede
A: EK Success ZigZag border punch

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T05:58:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th of July!!!!
I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday weekend. May your marshmallows be sticky, your chocolate gooey and your fireworks sparkly!

Today's card begins with a half sheet of Always Artichoke. Over that, I layered a quarter sheet trimmed of Kraft.
The stripes on the flag are RIding Hood Red and Confetti Ivory strips about 3/4 inch wide. I cut several strips of each (This is my July card) and just dragged my Soft Suede ink pad across the top to give them the distressed, smudgy look. Then I cut them to fit and layered them on the cards. The blue square is Not Quite Navy. I sponged the edges with Soft Suede and stamped the ticket from Artifacts in White Craft. The star is stamped with Night of Navy on Confetti Ivory and hand trimmed with an antique brass brad in the center and a glue dot to hold it to the card. "Freedom and Liberty" are hand penned.

S: Artifacts
P: Always Artichoke, Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red, Confetti Ivory, Kraft
I: Soft Suede, Not Quite Navy, White craft
A: antique brass brad, glue dot, sponge, Chocolate Chip marker

Peony Anniversary

2011-07-01T06:13:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday!
Here we are heading into a holiday weekend. I hope yours will include lots of good old fashioned All American fun. We'll be celebrating with family but I'll have a post for you on Monday suited to the occasion!
Today I have an anniversary card for you.
The stamped image is called Jumbo Peony by Stampendous. Isn't it gorgeous? The sentiment is from Hero Arts (Occasions).
My card is a 5.25 x 10.5inch piece of River Rock. I cut a 5 inch square of Basic Black and punched one edge with my Martha Stewart Lace Edge punch then adhered that to the face of the card. The flower is stamped with River Rock on Neenah Baronial Ivory and placed next with a strip of Basic Black and a narrower strip of Neenah Baronial Ivory added to the bottom edge just above the lace edge. The ribbon was wrapped around the black and ivory strip before it was adhered to the card. For the ribbon flower, I used black thread and needle to cinch together a small piece of ribbon into a rosette and then added the half pearl to the center once I'd tied it off. The sentiment was stamped with Basic Black and three more half pearls along the top left corner finish it off.

Thanks for visiting today! Enjoy your holiday weekend!

S: Stampendous: Jumbo Peony, Hero Arts: Occasions
P: River Rock, Basic Black, Neenah Baronial Ivory
I: Basic Black, River Rock
A: Kaiser half pearls, black grosgrain ribbon, needle & thread, Martha Stewart lace edge punch

Krafty Bloomin Thinking of You

2011-06-29T06:02:00.001-05:00

Hello!
I hope you're having a great week. I'm up to my ears in projects both at home and at work, but hey...nothing new there! Keeps me out of trouble, right? : )

Today I have a thinking of you card to share with you. I just bought some new embossing folders, and this one (Flourish Floral from SIzzix) is so fun. I also dived into some K & Co paper I bought recently and hauled out my kraft cardstock hoping to use some of it up. I've never been all that wild about it, but I admit it is kinda growing on me now that I've played with it a little. Plus, I really like it with Rich Razzleberry so you'll probably see more of that combo coming up.
For this card, I started with a half sheet of Kraft trimmed to fit a quarter sheet of Rich Razzleberry when folded. I embossed the front of the card, adhered it to the Rich Razzleberry panel and set it aside for the moment. The mini panel is a small piece of Rich Razzleberry layered with a piece of Kraft and another of the stripe decorator paper from K & Company Charlotte collection. I punched a scallop circle of Rich Razzleberry and tucked it just under the K & Company piece before adhering it in place over the Kraft. Next, I punched a flower (EK Success groovy flower punch) from Kraft and embossed it with the Square Lattice embossing folder before adding a button tied with wax thread to the center and adhering it to the card with a glue dot. Finally the sentiment (My Time Made Easy) was stamped with Rich Razzleberry on Neenah Baronial Ivory and punched with the Modern Label punch.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope to see you here again soon!

S: My Time Made Easy: So Sentimental
P: Kraft, Rich Razzleberry, Neenah Baronial Ivory, K & Co Charlotte
I: Rich Razzleberry
A: Flourish Floral embossing folder, Square Lattice embossing folder, scallop circle punch, Modern Label punch, Wax thread, EK Success groovy flower punch, button

Polkadot Parade

2011-06-27T05:51:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday!
I had a super creative weekend - got a ton of larger projects done, and enjoyed some great summer weather too!
Last week I noticed that my friend Alvina had posted the last of her cards using the Playful Polkadots Simply Scrapping Kit and was nice enough to mention my cards. So... I'm returning the cyber-love and sharing them today along with a link back to her website. Check it out! She's got some cute ideas to share!
I did all of these cards at a class Alvina had last month. The class was actually for an envelope photo album using this same Simply Scrappin kit but since I don't have any photos suited to this kit and I'm not that into scrapbooking, I went my own way and made cards instead. It had been a while since I did any squares so this was a good refresher exercise for me.
For the most part, I just used the papers and embellishments from the kit and just added my own ribbon, rhinestones, buttons etc to dress things up a little more. Obviously there are a lot of options in this kit, but these 8 cards came together pretty quickly. There are a couple where I added a BigZ die or Spellbinders die to the mix, but stamping was pretty minimal. Anyway, I love how they all turned out, don't you?

Here's the list of stuff I used beyond the kit:

Spellbinder's Lacey Circles dies, Scallop Lace edge punch, BigZ Butterflies die, BigZ Scallop circle die, assorted ribbons, corduroy buttons, Crystal Stickers gems, Kaiser half pearls, foam dimensionals, felt buttons, Flowers Summer embossing folder (Sizzix)

Enjoy your day!

Martha's Dove

2011-06-24T06:05:00.001-05:00

Hello! Happy Friday!

Today's card is a thank you. I bought this Martha Stewart dove punch at Christmastime last year (one of those - Oh my goodness I must have it deals) but haven't really done all that much with it so I decided it was time to see what I could come up with.
My card base is a half sheet of Neenah Solar White trimmed to fit a quarter sheet of Perfect Plum. I layered the face of the card with a panel of So Saffron DSP from the Delicate Dots pack.
Next, I stamped a smaller panel of white with two of the flowers and one of the leaves from Itty Bitty Buds in So Saffron, Vintage Violet and Wild Wasabi and then layered it on Perfect Plum. The sentiment is stamped in Wild Wasabi, punched and layered on Perfect Plum too.
The dove is punched out of Perfect Plum and doodled with a white gel pen and the floral border and the leaves are Wild Wasabi punched with the EK Success Daisy Chain edge punch and SU!'s 2 Step bird punch. I tied a piece of plum ribbon around the smaller stamped panel prior to adhering it to the card, and used foam dimensionals to place the bird and the sentiment. Finally, to finish it all off, I added adhesive gems to the floral border and the dove.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy your day!

S: So Happy For You, Itty Bitty Buds
P: Neenah Solar White, Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi, Delicate Dots DSP
I: So Saffron, Vintage Violet, Wild Wasabi
A: 2 step bird punch, Martha Stewart Vintage Dove punch, ribbon, gems (Crystal Stickers), small and medium oval punches, EK Success Daisy Chain punch, dimensionals

Mr & Mrs Love Bird

2011-06-22T06:19:00.003-05:00

Hi!
This is going to be a really quick post - I'm running late but wanted to get this out there for you!
Need a really quick wedding card? This one is super easy and fast to do in a pinch.
I started with a half sheet of Neenah Solar White trimmed to fit a quarter sheet of Night of Navy and embossed it with the Elegant Lines embossing folder. Next, I punched two birds out of white and ran just the bodies through my Swiss Dots embossing folder. (Cuttlebug) I left the wings plain for contrast and used small foam dimensionals to adhere them to the birds and to the card. The "Mr. & Mrs." was stamped with Night of Navy just below the birds, and finally, a couple of medium and small clear rhinestone gems and some white organdy ribbon finish it off.

Have a great day!

S: Inkadinkado: Wedding
P: Neenah Solar White, Night of Navy
I: Night of Navy
A: organdy ribbon, rhinestone gems (Crystal Stickers), foam dimensionals, Elegant Lines embossing folder, Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug), 2 step bird punch

Hoot Owl Hello

2011-06-20T06:02:00.000-05:00

Good morning!
I hope you had a good weekend, and for those of you who were helping someone else celebrate Father's Day, I hope you got a little fun out of it too! We spent part of the day at the Back to the 50s car show and saw some really beautiful cars. I admit I kind of enjoy that sort of thing - It comes of growing up with 3 brothers who were/are highly interested in classic and street rod cars and raising 2 boys who are kind of the same way. Anyway, we had a good time, saw tons of cars, walked for what seemed like miles, and still managed to get home in time for me to get some more stamping done! Whoohoo!
So, today's card is a funny little hello that I made with the owl punch.
The card base is a half sheet of Always Artichoke. I layered the front with three pieces of coordinating DSP from the Haiku assortment then trimmed another narrow strip with a Chocolate Chip punched edge and added that across the middle. Hello was stamped with Chocolate Chip on Neenah Baronial Ivory then punched with the small oval punch and layered on a medium oval of Old Olive and a scallop oval of Chocolate Chip. The owls are Chocolate Chip as well and dressed out with more designer paper. A couple small punched leaves, a small bow and a few felt flowers that picked up at Target in the Dollar Spot finish the whole thing off.
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a great day!

S: Stampendous: Typewriter Wish
P: Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Neenah Baronial Ivory, Haiku DSP
I: Chocolate Chip
A: Felt Flowers (Target), 2 step Owl punch, small and medium oval punches, scalloped oval punch, 2 Step bird punch, Fiskars Threading Water punch, dimensionals, white gel pen

Thanks

2011-06-17T04:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!
Wow, I'm so glad it's the weekend. Well, almost the weekend anyway. I have a veritable mountain of cards to create for various things plus we're going to the Back to the 50s Car Show on Sunday for Father's Day. I'm kinda looking forward to that actually but I'm not sure how you can possibly see 11,000 cars in one day. Here's hoping the weather cooperates!
So, on to the card. Today I have a thank you card to share with a slightly off beat layout.
The card base is a half sheet of Melon Mambo folded with a couple of asymetrical strips of designer paper banding the middle and another of Neenah Solar White stamped. The designer paper is Springtime Vintage - love that paper!. I cut a 2 x 4.25 inch piece and then cut it at an angle lengthwise so that I had 3 pieces. I flipped one of the pieces over and adhered that below the middle piece and then repeated the cut with the white after I'd stamped it. That snappy, bold thanks is from Close to My Heart (Thank You). Note: the pink rick-rack is from May Arts, and I wrapped the ends of the piece under the middle designer paper piece before I adhered it to the card.
The flowers are two EK Success punches. I used Pretty in Pink for both and then added a couple of Martha Stewart small leaf punches to either side. A small white flower brad in the middle holds the flowers together.

Thanks for stopping by today! Enjoy your weekend!