Throwback Thursday-Birthday Time!

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday where my older stash turns into completed pages!  Today, I have three birthday themed pages to share with you.  Lots of older goodies getting some love on these pages!

The first page uses a paper pack I've had for a very long time and the alpha stickers are even older than the paper!  I even pulled out my butterfly punches and pearls to dress this page up a little/

Pages 2 &3 go together.  While the Disney paper isn't quite as old as some of my other paper pads, I've still had it a while and the flower & leaves have been in a box forever!

Today is the last official student day of school and after all the loose ends are tied up, I will be enjoying a couple of duty free months!  Well, there is that graduation get together, and prepping for two kids heading to college in the fall, but I will definitely have more free time on my hands!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day!  Don't forget to dig in your crafting stash and make something wonderful!

Page #1 Recipe: Paper-Prima 'Breathe' collection, whisper white, Accessories-bitty butterfly and elegant butterfly punches, pearls, old alpha stickers from stash

Page #2&3 Recipe: Paper-EK Success 'Disney Mickey', whisper white, Accessories-1" & 3/4" circle punches (flower center), silk flower & leaves from stash

Oh 'deer' it's almost new years...

Hello! Once again, time has slipped away and the post I intended for Christmas day didn't happen.  So even if I didn't post, know that I was wishing everyone a very happy Christmas season!  I even had a card to share...

I always try to make some Christmas themed thank you cards to give to friends and family.  This year I went with a very simple idea-a reindeer face.  DH didn't think everyone would immediately see the deer, so I added a mouth.  Of course, the inside sentiment gave it away anyway!

The card was so easy to replicate. The hardest part was using the corner rounder on the top where it was two layers... I created the inside using MDS and a variety of stamps and text I had on the program.

I hope you have a wonderful, healthy, and peace filled new year! Thanks so much for visiting and have a fantastic day!

Card Recipe: Paper-soft suede, basic black, real red, Accessories-3/4 and 1 3/8 circle punches, MDS software program

Wanna play Doctor??

OK... Get your mind out of the gutter!  This is a PG blog! :)

I was going through my supply of cards and while I had plenty of 'get well' cards, I also like to have some that are a little humorous to send some laughter with the wishes.  Night Nurse Nina definitely fits in the fun category.  I found her at Dr. Digi's, yet another purchase I made thanks to the enabling of my dear friend, Lisa M...  If you enjoy funny and slightly warped images, you will love this place!

I used copics to color the lovely Nina, and created the background with pastels.  Notable Alphabet worked perfectly for adding the sentiment on the first one.

and I changed things up just a little on the second one with Teeny Tiny Wishes.

I'm hoping that when these are delivered, they will bring a smile to someone's face.  I also hope that they won't be facing a needle like the one Nurse Nina is clutching... Makes me shiver just thinking about it!

I hope you have a wonderful day and remember, paper crafting each day keeps Night Nurse Nina away! And for all of my American friends and visitors, Happy (early) Independence Day!!!

Card Recipes: Paper-basic gray, basic black, tempting turquoise, real red, whisper white, Ink-copics, black stazon, Stamp Sets- digi images from Dr Digi, Notable Alphabet, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Punches-modern label, word window, 3/4" circle, Accessories- whisper white grosgrain ribbon(ret),  pastels

Not really a Flashback Friday, but I'm calling it that anyway!

In case you didn't know, IT'S FRIDAY!!! Not only is it Friday, but it is the first Friday of our return to school after Christmas Break, which makes it even more precious!!!  I missed my 'kids' and I think they missed me, but WOW! The overabundance of energy and temporary amnesia of all classroom rules and routines really wore me out!  I am so glad that I have a two day break to recover and recharge!  Plus, I am taking a little time this weekend to get some much needed scrapbooking done.  But that's not why I'm here today!

Over Christmas break, I knew I needed to make some thank you cards for my students and others who had so generously shared the holiday spirit with me.  If you read Tuesday's post, you know that most of my break was a mojo free period, but fortunately, I located it before returning to work and finished the cards on Sunday.  I also had a little help from my blogging friend, Heather.  She had the cutest punch art snowman card and when I saw it, I knew that I wanted to do something like that for my 'kids'.  If my post title was a bit confusing (and drawn out), it is because technically I didn't use up any old stash other than some glitter glue.  But I did use a retired stamp set and a TON of whisper white scraps that had been accumulating in a bag to make 30 of these, so I'm calling it a Flashback!

I spent most of the day making these babies! Fussy cutting 30 hats was a job in itself! It ended up being something of an assembly line production, but for whatever reason, what normally would have been tedious was actually relaxing as I watched my girls 'bust a move' with Just Dance as I colored, cut, punched, stamped, and glued.

I stamped the snowflakes in whisper white craft ink on the background and also sponged a little whisper white to make the snow covered ground under the snowman. It's hard to see in the picture, but I added some silver glitter glue to the hat band and put a dot of pink glitter glue in the center of the flower.  I think you can probably figure out the rest!

Well, that's it for me! I hope you have a wonderful weekend and find lots of time to be crafty!!

Card Recipe:  Cardstock-wild wasabi, whisper white, rose red, bashful blue, Stamp Sets- Snow Swirled, Curly Cute, Cold Play (ret), Ink-whisper white, black stazon, Markers-bashful blue, wild wasabi, pumpkin pie, Accessories-3/4", 1", 1 3/8" circle punches, non SU snowflake punch, corner rounder, pink and silver glitter glue from stash, rhinestones

Anything But a Card Challenge #8- Frosty the Glowman

Hello and welcome to week two of the current challenge at Anything But a Card.  We are celebrating the light or Seasonal Holiday.  You are free to interpret light however you like, as long as it's not a card.  We would love it if you would join in our challenge!

I am neck high in planning and making gifts for Christmas and knew that I would combine my design team project with something that would make a nice little present as well. It's multitasking by only doing one thing!! Gotta love that!!

I have been on an ornament kick lately and enjoy giving them as gifts because most people have a Christmas tree and who doesn't love a gift made with love?!  I first saw a snowman using a tea light, at Stamp & Scrap with Frenchie and thought it would make a cute idea for a little gift.  Then I saw another version that had a body as well.  Debbie's snowman is part of her 12 Days of Christmas Ornaments and she has a great tutorial, and some absolutely wonderful creations displayed on her blog!  I loved the hat on France's snowman and decided it had to go on my snowman too.  Of course, I took a little artists inspiration to change things around a little and make this guy my very own...

This was so easy to put together that I made 6 of them using up the tea lights I had left over from DD#1's birthday party a few years ago.  My girls liked them so well, they immediately laid claim to them as gifts for their teachers.  Good thing I made six of them!!

If you would like to recreate my little snowman, he really is super simple to put together.  Just layer the two larger circles and then use the 3/4" circle punch to make a hole for the switch to fit through. A little sticky strip around the base hold the ribbon in place and also attaches the tea light to the circles.  The eyes, buttons, and mouth are pearls that I colored with a black sharpie.  If you need a more visual description, I suggest a visit to Debbie's blog.

Well, that's it for me today! Only three more school days until our Christmas vacation begins.  Woo! Hoo! I am planning on doing a lot of crafting during my break and am looking forward to some 'not busy' time with my family.  Have a wonderful week and happy crafting!

Project Recipe:  Cardstock-basic black, whisper white, red glimmer paper, Ink-Baja breeze, whisper white, black sharpie, Punches-2 1/2" circle, 3/4" circle, Boho blossom, modern label, word window, Accessories-3" circle die, basic pearls, neutrals brads, old olive grosgrain ribbon (ret), sticky strip

Tiffany's Color and Sketch Challenge-Just a little bling...

Hello! I hope you week is going well and you are finding lots of time to be crafty!  Personally, I feel like my wheels are spinning, but I'm going nowhere... Lots to do and trying to keep track of everything is not conducive to my crafty mojo!! I think I need a vacation (and yes, I do realize that I just went back to work!) so I can relax and play!

Every month my team leader, Tiffany, gives us an envelope with cardstock pieces and a sketch.  If we choose to accept her challenge, we must use the sketch and the colors she chose to make a card.  We can add a neutral and embellishing, but it has to be in the colors she gave us.

When I saw the sketch with the circles at various heights, I thought of ornaments and knew it would be a great chance to use my new ornament stamps and framelits.  I did not know I would be trying three different ways to 'hang' them...  I created everything on the card and embellished the ornaments with a little bling (rhinestones and dazzling details), then set out to hang them on my card.  My first thought was linen thread, but then the thread would be taped on the back of the card and I wasn't thrilled of trying to cover it up.  So I thought, I'll use the night of navy marker and draw lines.  It didn't look horrendous, but it also did not look beautiful.  So as I'm looking at the lines I thought 'What would happen if I used the string of rhinestones...' and I tried it on the second and fourth ornaments.  Beautiful! Next came the strings for #1 and 3...um....wow...that is a LOT of bling...  See for yourself!

Now that is one sparkly card! And definitely NOT what I normally create! Stampin' Anne, eat your heart out!! Tee!Hee! For those of you not familiar with Anne Marie's work, she is the queen of all things glittery (and pink!)!!

It took a little time for this to grow on me, but my girls loved it and I'm thinking it may go to one of my girly girlfriends for Christmas.  I'm just glad that I completed the challenge on time and was able to play with my new toys!!

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week and that we both find some time to be crafty!! I really need to scrapbook!!!! Have a fabulous day!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-old olive, whisper white, Brights DSP stack, Ink-old olive, pretty in pink, night of navy, Stamp Set-Ornament Keepsakes, Tags til Christmas, Accessories-Holiday Ornaments framelits, ornament punch, word window punch, pretty in pink dotted scallop ribbon, 3/4 " circle punch, RHINESTONES, silver dazzling details

Tiffany's Challenge

Every month our SU group, The Crafty SisTAHS, get together.  Tiffany, my upline's upline, hosts the meeting and everyone takes turns with sharing, making a project, choosing a swap theme, and bringing snacks.  This month, Tiffany had a challenge for all of us to make a card using a sketch and some cardstock she gave us.  We were allowed to add a neutral color and any embellishments, but couldn't change the color combo.  The colors were wisteria wonder, cherry cobbler, and pretty in pink.  Very girly colors! So I pulled out the stamp, Packed For Mom for the first time; added some whisper white, and began to put my card together. I had a great time playing with this image! I knew I wanted to color some of the images and pop up the flower and the next think I knew...the dazzling details  and crystal elements came out and there was even some fussy cutting too!

A closer shot of the image...

I have to confess that I did use a different base than the one Tiffany gave me.  I knew I wanted to use bakers twine as the 3 ribbon/bows part of the sketch and couldn't wrap them with the base she gave us.  So I cut a new piece the long way for my card.  Hopefully, she'll forgive me for taking liberties with her challenge : )  I really enjoyed doing this and hope she will continue to offer these challenges.  I really didn't use wisteria wonder too much before, but now I think it's starting to grow on me!  Thanks, Tiffany!

Card Recipe:  Cardstock-wisteria wonder, cherry cobbler, pretty in pink, whisper white, Ink-black Stazon and several markers, Stamp Sets-Packed For Mom and Party This Way (sent), Punches-modern label, large oval, word window, 3/4 " circle, Extras- white bakers twine, cherry cobbler & original dazzling details, crystal effects, basic rhinestones, perfect polka dots embossing folder

Shaking the 411

I love checking out the sketches at Stamping 411, but don't seem to find time to play along as often as I would like.   This week, the sketch was just too appealing, and when I saw that Hand Stamped Sentiments had a challenge to make a shaker card, I thought the two would work well together!  This is my first EVER shaker card and it was a very easy technique thanks to my shaker frames!!

The funky dotted border was made using the eyelet border punch.  I had estimated my strip of paper a little too narrow, but when I looked at it, I thought it looked pretty cool anyway!

A close up of the shaker window and all of it's glittery goodness...

It's almost my bedtime, so I'm going to cut this short and hurry off to link it to the two challenges! Thanks for visiting!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-old olive, marina mist, whisper white, Paisley Petals DSP, Ink-marina mist, Stamp Set-Precious Butterflies, Accessories-2 3/8 scallop circle punch, eyelet border punch, 3/4 circle punch, snowburst embossing folder, basic pearls, dazzling details, shaker frame, glass and fine glitter

Boo!

Today was a great day to play with my stamps and paper! I blog hopped and found a few challenges that I wanted to try. Sketches By Carly had a fun sketch that I wanted to try. Then I saw the color challenge at My Create Ink, rich razzleberry, basic gray, and lucky limeade. Hmmm... I checked in on the ladies at Hand Stamped Sentiments and they were having a Halloween challenge. Three challenges in one card? Too cool! (It doesn't take much to excite me!) I had lots of thoughts and ideas going through my head and then I remembered that I had seen the owl punch turned into a ghost somewhere in blogland. I don't usually work a lot with gray and was afraid that the only gray would be my ink.  Then I remembered the gray corduroy buttons & brads I had bought from the clearance rack a long time ago! Here is my 3 challenge card...

As you read my card recipe, you may be a little confused. Just where is that Word Play stamp set on this card?! Well, I knew I wanted to put B-O-O on my banner but the alphabet stamps that I own are too big to fit on the banner. So, I used the B from 'wish big' and the O from 'thanks a million'. Necessity is truly the mother of invention! After I had the card put together, I started thinking that I should have done some dry embossing or stamping on the base. It just looks a little bare... Let me know what you think!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-lucky limeade, rich razzleberry, whisper white, & rich razzleberry DSP from the brights pack, Inks-basic gray and rich razzleberry, Stamp Sets- 4 frames, Word Play, Fabulous Phrases, Accessories-decorative label punch, owl punch, 1 3/4" circle, 1" circle, 3/4" circle, basic gray corduroy brads (ret), spider web embossing folder, rich razzleberry 1/4 grosgrain ribbon, white bakers twine

More than an ornament...

I recently had a class showing how versatile the ornament punch can be. Only one of the three cards actually had 'ornaments' on it. There are so many creative ways to use this punch and I'm not sure who the original inspirations were, but I can't take credit for coming up with them. Today's card uses several pieces of cardstock punched w/ the ornament punch to make a flower.

I made a card similar to this a while back and thought that it was a fun way to use the punch.  I had the design for this one in my head and when I went to put the very vanilla center on the card, it just looked way to plain.  So I dug through my stamps looking for something that would fit on the circle. I looked at the stamp set Faith in Nature and inspiration hit! I used the flower stamp on the circle to add the details of a flowers center and the script on the stamp really dressed it up.

Card Recipe: Stamp set-Faith in Nature, Card stock-crumb cake, poppy parade, very vanilla, baja breeze dsp from the stack, Ink-poppy parade, Accessories-square lattice folder, big shot, very vanilla satin ribbon, 3/4" circle punch, ornament punch

Get Well Wishes

I needed a few more cards for my stash of 'last minute' cards and decided to make a get well card.  I used the sketch from Stamping 411 to get me started.  Here's the sketch...

and here's my card...

I also made a birthday card for one of my best friends using this layout.  The only difference is on the label, I cut out and pasted the numbers 2 & 9 from the DSP Play Date, since she's celebrating her 29th birthday (again!)  It's the most amazing thing, I'm a year older than her, but she is turning 29 this week and I will be 29 next month.  Math never was our best subject ;-)

Card Recipe: Cardstock-old olive, so saffron, chocolate chip, Play Date & tempting turquoise DSP, Ink-versamark, so saffron, and tempting turquoise, Stamp Sets- Butterfly Prints, and Word Play, Accessories- decorative label, scallop circle, scallop border, 1" circle and 3/4 circle punches

Word Play

I've been MIA last week on posting, mostly due to other priorities... But, now I'm prepared for my class taking place this weekend and had some time to play today before grilling, fireworks, and smores!! I love July 4th! My card today is based on the sketch challenge at Sketches by Carly. I flipped the sketch on it's side and used some of my hoarded SU buttons (I'm so bad at this!!) to create a birthday card. I just realized that this also fits another challenge, so I'm entering this in Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge to use buttons!

Card Recipe: cardstock-old olive, whisper white, daffodil delight, pacific point, ink-melon mambo, daffodil delight, various markers, stamp sets-word play and cupcakes wheel, accessories, ice cream parlor ribbon and buttons (ret.), linen thread,3/4" circle punch

Hello and Goodbye...

I just received my new stamp set previews this weekend and couldn't wait to play around! I haven't participated in Stamping 411's sketch challenge in the past 2 weeks and thought this would be a great place to start! I knew I wanted to use Precious Butterflies (a new hostess set), so my next decision was which DSP? Elegant Soiree is retiring from our current catalog and I thought this would make a nice blending of old and new...Which led to my creating wedding cards. You know-something old, something new, something blue (Sorry, nothing borrowed!).

As you can see, I changed the second card a little. This new stamp set is quickly becoming one of my favorites! TFL!

Card Recipe: Stamp Sets-Precious Butterflies, Fabulous Phrases, Card Stock-Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze, and Whisper White, DSP- Elegant Soiree, Inks-Baja Breeze & Soft Suede, Accessories-square lattice embossing folder, baja breeze seam binding ribbon (returning from spring mini), 1 3/4" and 3/4" circle punches