Sending out Valentines

Hello! As many already know, I was just a little behind at Christmas time and didn't get many cards made, and had to resort to (gasp!) store bought cards.  While I'm not going to beat myself up over this, I did want to send out some sort of handmade cards to a few people who always enjoy receiving them from me.  Valentines seemed to be the perfect solution and who wouldn't like to get a sweet card in the mail just like you did when you were a kid?  I only made three different kinds of cards and most of them were like the first one shown.  

There is something so cozy and sweet about a card that mimics a quilt. I thought the papers from Love Blossoms dsp worked so well for this and my trusty square lattice embossing folder makes a great 'quilted' design.  We will not discuss how many little squares I cut or how long it took me to fiddle with the patterns until I got them where I wanted them...

This one was a special card made for my best friend's son, who is crazy about both of my girls.  This was especially for him from them.  We thought he would love the monsters and the manly colors on this one! And who doesn't love wiggle eyes???

I made a couple of this design using the super pretty blushing bride glimmer paper.  It is a very basic design, but the glittery hearts really dressed it up!

I hope you enjoyed my Valentines and I would like to suggest that you make a few special cards to brighten up someone's day.  It is a little gesture that can have a tremendous impact.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Card Recipes: Paper-Love Blossoms dsp stack, garden green, whisper white, crumb cake, rose red, blushing bride, blushing bride glimmer paper, Stamp Sets-Teeny Tiny Wishes, Make a Monster (ret), Gift Givers (ret), Ink-rose red, blushing bride, memento tuxedo black, Accessories-square lattice embossing folder, small scallop circle punch, 3/4" circle punch, word window punch, modern label punch, speech bubble punch, large heart punch, various wiggle eyes

CAS Easter

Surprise! Another post from me!!! Can you tell I'm thoroughly enjoying my extra crafting time?!
Over spring break, I had some extra time to blurf (blog surf) and check out some challenge sites.  I was too late for Colour Q but loved the bright colors so I used them anyway!

Then I found an awesome sketch at Clean and Simple Stamping.

Hand Stamped Sentiments and The Squirrel and the Fox both had Easter challenges and the colors were begging for an Easter theme so that's just what I did!

The layers of scallops were a first for me and I think next time I'll make sure to stagger them even more than I did, just for a better effect.  Other than that, this was a pretty basic card to make.  Thanks for popping in!

Card Recipe:  Cardstock-daffodil delight, tempting turquoise, certainly celery, melon mambo, whisper white, Ink-black Stazon, markers, Stamp Set-Gift Givers, Punch-scallop border punch, Extras-pear pizzazz seam binding

Another Challenge Card!

Wednesday, I actually managed to squeeze in some crafting time to play along with some challenges! So if you're in shock at seeing another post from me already this week, now you know why!  Top Tip Tuesday has two different sketches (created by Lisa!) to choose from.  I chose the CAS one, although my card doesn't really look super CAS!  LOL!  My tip for TTT is pretty simple, but it is not something I realized when I first started making cards.  **When you are using several similar embellishments or stamped images, you can easily add dimension and interest by randomly popping some of them up with dimensionals (or pop dots).  I usually lay out my pieces and then decide which ones I want to 'pop'.**    Shopping Our Stash had a challenge to use borders of some kind.  My assorted hearts make the border on this card. BTW- If you have never played along w/ SOS, it is so fun! They actually encourage you to dig through those wonderful treasures that are hiding in your stash and use them (Wow, such a novel idea!!!).  The only relatively new thing on this card was the heart embosslit I used! The DP I used has not been pulled out in ages!

I have actually started to acquire quite the collection of completed Valentine cards! I may actually be finished by Valentines Day!!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-real red, pretty in pink, whisper white, Raspberry Tart DSP (ret), red glimmer paper, Ink-black Stazon and assorted SU markers, Stamp Sets- Gift Givers, Precious Butterflies (sentiment), Accessories-heart to heart punch, scallop oval punch, large oval punch, full heart punch, Fashionable Hearts embosslit, dazzling details and pink glitter glue

Club project-gift ideas

Wow! Feels like forever since I've posted! We had our first snow on the 29th... It was very pretty and best of all, by nightfall, everything was clear again.  I love watching snow fall, but hate shoveling and cleaning off my car, so this was a perfect snowfall for me!

My club ladies wanted some simple gift ideas for this month's club projects.  I received this wonderful post it note holder in a swap at the SU regional from Tamra Needles.

 It inspired me to make a wintery version.  This would be a great gift for co-workers, teachers, or friends. Who couldn't use post it notes?! I am notorious for using tons of them to write notes, jot down ideas, and them post them on my craft table where they are promptly forgotten until I unearth them about a week later... Maybe I need to create a wall mounted post it note organizer!

This is a pretty basic easel design, but if you need detailed instructions, just let me know.  I knew I wanted to use the sweet little girl from Gift Givers for this and hope the club ladies love this as much as I do!

Recipe: Cardstock-wild wasabi, very vanilla, Holly Berry Bouquet DSP, Ink- soft suede, wild wasabi, real red, blender pen, blush blossom & crumb cake markers, Stamp Set-Gift Givers, Accessories, scallop circle punch, dazzling details, mini post it notes

A start on Christmas cards

Hello, my name is Margaret and I am a procrastinator...but I can change, if I have to, I guess...
They say that the first step to overcoming a bad habit is to admit that you have one. While I know that my procrastinating can sometimes cause added stress and the occasional 'dropping the ball', I have to be honest and say that some of my best work comes when under pressure. While working my way through college, I loved my job at Big Lots (an eclectic discount retail chain).  Each day when I came in, it was a different area of the store, a special task, or customer service that awaited me.  I loved the challenge of adjusting to my new duties and although most of my coworkers thought I was crazy, I loved difficult customers. Not nasty, hateful customers, but people that came in the door knowing that they probably weren't going to be pleased. I loved the look of pure shock and awe when I would help them with their concerns and offer suggestions they hadn't considered.  This was not a job I could plan for; it was fly by the seat of my pants and I LOVED it.

If you're still with me, you are probably wondering just what this has to do with paper crafting. My point, and I do have one, is that while I do have to keep my procrastinating in check in most areas, there are other times that the impulsive response is the best.  This is how I create my Christmas cards.  I will look through idea books, surf online, and browse the craft stores, but in the end some of my best cards come at the last minute trying to get just a few more greetings in the mail before the big day.  I like to think that at these times I'm not nitpicking my creativity and it thanks me by giving it's best efforts.

I wasn't planning on making a Christmas card this week, but then I saw the sketch at Sketches By Carly and thought about the stamp set Gift Givers, which hasn't seen much ink yet, a card began to form.  It is not at all like most Christmas cards I create, but I really love how it turned out! I even managed to use some Spice Cake DSP on this!!

I really love that SU started carrying Dazzling Details.  I love this stuff for snow! I also have recently started an addiction to Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz. Almost all of my 'girly' cards get a few shots of this awesome stuff!

Card Recipe: Cardstock- very vanilla, pool party, Spice Cake DSP, Ink-basic gray, pool party, island indigo, blush blossom, Stamp Sets-Gift Givers, Snow Swirled, Tags So Much (ret.-colored only sentiment), Accessories-vanilla shimmer smooch spritz, dazzling details, very vanilla seam binding, scallop circle punch, 2 3/8 scallop circle punch

I also wanted to share a picture from the Louisville Regional Event.  Several ladies from our team, The Crafty SisTAHs, went together.  This is such a wonderful group of ladies and we had a great day together. I'm in the back row wearing pink!

I'll share some pics of swaps in my next post!!

Holiday Mini Peek-Take 2

I love the way Stampin' Up makes my job as a crafter so easy!  So, was there any doubt that when they put a new stamp set that coordinates with punches in the Holiday Mini, that I wouldn't HAVE to have it? In my last post you can see the Halloween image that coordinates with the decorative punch and today's card shows the Christmas image from this set and the latest punch!  The ribbon and the embossing folder are also new!

How cute is this? Wouldn't this make a great Baby's 1st Christmas card? And so much NEW stuff on one card, I'm feeling a little giddy!! So are you just dying to see the new Holiday Mini yet?  I think this might just be my favorite mini so far!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-crumb cake, whisper white, pear pizzazz DSP (in colors pack), Ink-jet black Staz-on, markers-crumb cake, pear pizzazz, and poppy parade, Stamp Sets-Gift Givers, Word Play (I only inked the joy part of the sentiment), Accessories-early espresso quilted satin ribbon (Hol. Mini), Snow Burst embossing folder (Hol. Mini), and Stocking Builder Punch (Hol. Mini)

A Holiday Sneak Peek!

As promised, I took a break from my 'old' stamps to show off some really new supplies.  As a matter of fact, these are not even available for purchase until September 1st (unless you are a SU demonstrator-have I mentioned lately how much I love this job????).  I haven't played at Stamping 411 in a while and the sketch this week intrigued me. Here it is...


and here is my card...

I changed my card a little and after playing with the layout, I felt that it just looked a little too 'naked' without the bow. I used a stamp from the set Gift Givers (Holiday Mini) and used watercolor pencils and a blender pen to color the image.TFL!

Card Recipe: Cardstock-whisper white, basic black, pumpkin pie, Ink-jet black staz-on, Stamp Set-Gift Givers, Accessories-pumpkin pie satin ribbon (ret.), decorative label punch