Sleigh bells ring....

...are ya listenin? 

This is a fun card using the October stamp of the month set - Holiday Magic. 

Colors are Cranberry, New England Ivy, and Cocoa.

Harvest of Memories

Not a great picture...but love this pumpkin!  The words "Harvest of Memories" is stamped in black in the lower right corner.  Stamp set is CTMH's So Grateful...a new one this year. 

Many Thanks

Circle of Love

This card was particularly fun to make because you just don't know how the stamped image will look until it's on the paper!

Circle of Love is a great stamp set and I adore this peacock image. I think it will be a go to set for a long time.... The paper on this card is from the Magnifique paper packet and I love this ribbon for this card...finishes it just right!





So, to stamp this image you will need your inks - I used Pacifica and Cocoa, and some sponge daubers. First ink the whole stamp with the Pacifica ink. Then stamp it off on some scratch paper. Lay the block on your table and grab your brown sponge dauber. Ink up the dauber with cocoa and then decide what areas you want to accent with the brown - reink dauber as necessary. Then go back to Pacifica and add a little darker blue here and there. You want to leave some of the lighter blue in some areas so that you have lots of good shading and blending. When you have it colored the way you like, stamp it and be amazed!! :)

I finished this card off with a strip of Magnifique paper and a knot of Colonial White ribbon. I used my daubers to add ink around the edges of the whole card and finally stamped the word Love in full-strength Pacifica.



I also made a "clean" copy of this card because I wasn't sure I liked the sponged edges after I did it. I think I like the second version better for this one.

Have fun with this technique! Thanks for stopping by today!

A Game of Love

What a week! It's been hard to even find time to breathe this week! So, I decided this morning to TAKE some time to get a new card posted! :)

This is a fun new set from CTMH called A Game. I wasn't going to order it, but well....things happen!



The colors on this card are Tulip, Baby Pink and Black. Embellishments are Itty Bitty black brads. Fun and simple!


Here's a couple versions...so many fun possibilities. Besides this heart and X, there are several other small images to create your tic tac toe game.

Have a great Friday and a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Find Your Style - Shoe

Here's a shoe with Style! I love the way each of the images in this set has words within the image. Right along the heel of the shoe it says "grace." I love that!

The colors in this card are Smoothie and Pear. For some extra bling, I added bows of pretty-close-to-Pear ribbon and some sparkly adhesive flowers. I have inked the edges of the shoe panels by swiping them across my ink pad. The background panel of Smoothie cardstock has been stamped with the word Friend in Smoothie ink and I used an edge distresser and my scissors to rough up the edges. The green shoe has been popped up on foam tape - forgot to do that with the pink shoe so it is just adhered flat on the card.

More to come with this set...Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous, stylish, graceful day!

Find Your Style - Butterfly

So, I went to work on my photos and realized that I hadn't installed my camera's software for editing, etc. Took me a while to figure that out, though....sad! Anyway, I have several cards to share over the next few days, and this is the first installment.

I used the CTMH Stamp of the Month set - Find Your Style. It is such a fun set to use! This butterfly was inked with 3 different colors. First I used Creme Brulee on the whole image, then rolled the edges of the butterfly in Juniper. Finally I rolled just the very edge in Cocoa and stamped it on my cardstock. The word "Soar" was added to the lower corner, also in Cocoa.

You can't see it very well in this photo, but the outer edges of the butterfly have also been clear embossed. After cleaning off the stamp, I rolled the edges of the stamp on my Versamark pad and stamped over the colored image. After sprinkling on clear embossing powder and heating it, the image has pretty sparkly edges. This technique is a really neat way to add a little sparkle and glitz!

The butterfly is layered on Cocoa cardstock, which is then layered on B&T from the Veranda paper packet. The last touch is a bow of Creme Brulee grosgrain ribbon.

Come back on Thursday for another card with Find Your Style...

Coming very soon!!

I've got new projects to post....will take photos today and get first project posted tonight!


Edited to add: My darling daughter has been taking photos for me while I'm at work today...I'll be able to post tonight for sure!! :)

January Stamp of the Month

I am so excited about this month's stamp of the month set! I just got mine and will be playing with it this week. I think it's going to be a lot of fun!!

Happy New Year!

2011 - a new year full of possiblities. Last year, I chose a theme word for 2010 - that was change. Oh my gosh, was that ever appropriate! So many changes over the year - including switching from part-time to full-time work, a complete change in jobs but not workplace, the opportunity to sponsor a child through Compassion.com....

What a year! But now I am looking forward to the promise of this year. My new theme for this year is "no Procrastinating!" Procrastination is a lifelong habit that I want to get rid of. I am tired of living in last-minute stress and the chaos that comes from leaving things too long. I am also tired of not accomplishing the things that are important to me in a timely manner - or even at all! And I'm sad to see that my children have the same habits - my daughter would argue, because she is really good at working on large projects early....but she puts off things like practicing her saxophone and cleaning her room. So, I want to learn to organize my time better, organize my home better, and set up my stamping room so that there is no reason not to stamp, to take pics of my projects, and post them to my blog. I want to hold stamping classes in a calm and relaxed manner so that I can have fun with my guests instead of feeling exhausted at all the last minute work I had to do to get ready. I want to enjoy time with my family and friends without having to stress over the mess in my home or the lack of preparation for company. Lots to do, and it's time to get started!!

Here's to 2011! May it be a good year for all...with new and healthy habits to come!