FROSTY THE SNOWMAN, courtesy of Paper Trey Ink

Look at my little snowmen.  Aren't they cute??? This die cut came from Paper Trey Ink. The snowflakes are from Lawn Fawn's snowman stamp set (clear stamps).  I used various Holiday paper to cut him out with the snowman diecut that I purchased at Paper Trey Ink. I cranked him through my Cuttlebug and Voila!!!!  I drew the face and buttons on him.  (On the snowman with the red ribbon, I used a Lawn Fawn Snowman Stamp set for the buttons).

Now before you think that *I* created this cute card... HA! I LAUGH AT YOU.   (Snort).  Go check out Christina. She's one of the puppeteers that makes my creations...

Sentiment from Stampin' Up.  Snowflakes are part of the PTI stamp set that coordinates with the snowman.  Ink: Jenni Bowlin

Amuse-Bouche:

And just to get you in the holiday season... check out these Magnificent Beasts!  (Well, Colt would qualify as such... SamUL?  Not so much).

A fun little gift tag

I believe I mentioned before that two of the little girls in my neighborhood draw me pictures with crayons and leave them in my mailbox.   I reciprocate by buying them supplies to continue their artistic endeavors... like MORE CRAYONS.  Here is a little gift tag I made for each box of crayons.

Let's see,... I used Spellbinders Nestabilities to frame my Paper Smooches image, Copics, Glossy Accents on the eyes, Smooches on the wings, Distress Ink around the edge of the frame and lastly, the sentiment and frame and stamp on the frame are all part of the Fillable Frames Sets from Paper Trey Ink.   The sentiment was stamped in Spice Tin by Jenni Bowlin.  Oh, and I did white emboss the frame in white embossing powder on the frame.

Congratulations!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was beautiful in So Cal and we're up for 70-80 degrees this week.  (BIG SMILE!!!!  OOH, MY CHEEKS HURT, I'M SMILING SO MUCH!... or is that my sunburn?  ha! )

A friend of mine got a promotion... and isn't that a wonderful blip of hope in times when you hear of people continuing to be laid off.  I made him a card/CD holder.... I wanted to use a technique that I saw on one of the Paper Trey Ink designers' blogs.  It was all about using your stamps to create background pattern paper.

The ink is Jenni Bowlin. The stamps are from  a combination of an Inkadinkadoo clear set stamp that I got at Michaels (the circle shapes).  The flowers came from a Michael's Recollections clear set stamp called "Flowers for You."   The sentiment and the flower next to the sentiment is from Lawn Fawn stamps.

Here it is....

These tickets are from Paper Trey Ink (including the sentiment).

I was super busy making Christmas gifts this weekend... (em... and sleeping... and watching Dexter until 3am...   :-)   ).  I hope to have some crafts to show this week as most of the things I worked on can't be showcased until after the gifts have been sent on their merry way....

Have a wonderful week....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.... A GIFT FOR YOU...

Happy Thanksgiving to all my bloggy friends. Here is a gift I am sending to you, visually speaking.  I want to say thanks to all of you who comment and look at my blog.  I know you're all busy with all the blogs you subscribe to and friends you have and I do appreciate your comments. (I'm horrible on reciprocating... I'm sorry).

The tutorial on this backpack was on a prior posting however I was thrilled with the paper I created using Hero Arts Thankful (clear) stamps that I got at Simon Says Stamp.  I used various Jenni Bowlin Inks.  The 1/4" ribbon is from Michaels.  The sentiment was on clearance at Michaels.  

I hope you all are having a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with lots of good eats!

Filled with M&M's

The acorn is from Lawn Fawn stamps.  I used Stickles on the acorn.  Twine from Paper Trey Ink

4.25" x 4.25" thank you card from Lawn Fawn

I used Lawn Fawn stamp and Spellbinder Nestabilities to create two thank you cards.    Very simple cards.

Are you all gearing up for Thanksgiving?   I hope you have a fun and yummy turkey day.


Amuse-bouche:
Have you all tried the M&M's Pretzels?  They're pretty yummy. My friend absolutely L.O.V.E.S. them!

Thank you, Sassy Cheryl's!

I love Sassy Cheryl's images.  I used Copics and put Glossy Accents on the bowl and the sign that says "Thanks."  I painted "Smooches" on the arm band and the headband.  I used Spellbinders Nestabilities with Distress Ink to frame the image.  The sentiment is from Inkadinkadoo (a clear acrylic set available at Michaels).  I also used Stampin' Up's Melon Mambo ink.

This is from Inkadinkadoo clear acrylic set.

A masculine card?

I don't know if you all consider the colors 'masculine' but I made this card for a (male) friend.  The background paper is from DCWV's Harvest Gathering Matstack.  The ribbon is from Michaels (1/4 inch). Liquid Pearls was added for the foam. I used a Spellbinders Nestabilites diecut.  Copics were my instrument of choice.  I used Distress Ink around the edges.

Amuse-bouche:

If any of you are looking for a soy-alternative to chicken (I can hear Marlene barfing right now).... I am absolutely in LOVE with these.  

I love the Mandarin Chicken.  There are other flavors but this is my favorite one.  Here is their website.  It's a Canadian Company.  I buy my frozen bags at Ralph's grocery store or Target (they're cheaper at Target).  

A baby shower card...

I made this baby shower card from Scattered Showers stamp and die set from Paper Trey Ink.  The block letters were purchased at Michaels (buttons sections) and glued with a hot glue gun.  The punch is a Martha Stewart Punch-around-the-page.   

The sentiment "congrats" is from Lawn Fawn and the watermark is an old block stamp that I got a long time ago.  "Baby Things" from "All Night Media (San Rafael, CA). The ink is "lavender sachet" from Jenni Bowlin.

Amuse-bouche:  I finished Season 1 and 2 of Vampire Diaries.  Now working on Season 1 of Dexter.  (I made a lot of cards this weekend... so there will be posts this week!!!).

Another Thanksgiving card, courtesy of Hero Arts

I don't have many Thanksgiving stamps so I ordered this one from Hero Arts (via Simon Says Stamp).  The leaves were made with Distress Ink (Spiced Marmalade).  The sentiment was from Recollections (Michael's) and on clearance. I used Quick Dry (Scotch)  glue to adhere it to the cardstock.  The shoes were painted with Glossy Accents.  The buttons on the boy's shirt were with Liquid Pearl. 

Amuse-bouche:
Guess what I saw at Target??? How is it that I was unaware it came out 10/4/11??? 

Happy Veterans Day

I hope you all had a happy Veterans Day and had the opportunity to thank a veteran or someone currently serving in the military.

I made this Thanksgiving card with a Pink Cat Studios Digi-image.  I used a lot of Glossy Accents, Stickles, and Sakura Glitter pen.  This image was cut out and is on an Action Wobble.  

The sentiment on the inside is from Mary at Cardztv with a watermark of "happy bird day" that came from Paper Trey Ink's stamp set. 

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Turkey Day!   This is the sentiment stamp from Mary at Cardztv.  I wanted to pull out my dusty Cricut (I'm having problem with the blade cutting cleanly so I haven't been using it.  It's hardly been used since I got it...  I guess I should read the instructions...) and Voila- here is my turkey.  The background pumpkins are actually cut out from a thin scrapbooking paper (paper piecing).  The sentiment is Mary's and was stamped with Jenni Bowlin's Brown Sugar ink.  The banner is Lawn Fawn's.

The actual size of the card is 4.25" x 4.25."

Amuse-bouche: 

Rain is due in So Cal this weekend. :(

Many Thanks.... care of Lawn Fawn

I rarely take the time to enter into all the great challenges the community has.  I think so far, I have only entered a card into 2 challenges. This one will be entered in the Lawnscaping Challenge.  It is a simple Thank You card, featuring a Lawn Fawn stamp, Distress ink (Spun Silver and Dusty Concord), and Jenni Bowlin's ink for the sentiment (sentiment courtesy of Lawn Fawn). There is Glossy Accents covering the vase and the faces on the flowers.

Glossy Accents are on the vase, with some Stickles on the flowers

Thanksgiving card with Mary's Stamps at CARDZTV!

I saw this "pumpkin pickin'" sentiment stamp on Mary's Thanksgiving stamp set... and wanted to create a card for it.  I created the pumpkins out of the Simply Charmed cartridge (with embossed dots on the Cuttlebug).  The orange background was made with Distress Ink (pads), Spiced Marmalade on orange cardstock.  The "pumpkin pickin'" sentiment and "Happy Turkey Day" came from Mary's stamp set.   Mary has a line of stamps that you can buy (click HERE).  I got her Thanksgiving set.  Cute little stamps!!!  I couldn't find Thanksgiving ribbon at Michael's so I found this in the Christmas section for 50% off.  

Martha Stewart punch-around-the-page.

Amuse-bouche
Amazing video of a man with his 16 dogs.... It's 9 minutes but just start watching the first 2 minutes.  You'll see what I mean....  Thank you, P for the link!!! Amazing

Click on this link  http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=qFP28ANXLLA&vq=medium

What a DIVA!!!

I used this Pink Cat Studio image with some Copics, Bling, and sparkly Sakura Gelly Pen to create this card. The background is a Stampin' Up flower set of tulips and flowers, embossed in clear embossing powder on watercolor cardstock.  I then took Broken China and Tumbled Glass Distress Stain and put it on a heat mat.  I rubbed the embossed image/watercolor cardstock on the ink and rubbed it around on the mat.   You should watch Britta's video to see it done LIVE.  I put glossy accents on the eye glasses.  I also added some white flocking powder on the dog's fur.

Amuse-bouche:
So, if you read yesterday's post, you know my nephew had his sign taken away at the KINGS game.  He had made a sign for Sidney Crosby, a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey player.  Here are his two original signs.

\

Happy Sunday!

I got a new Spellbinder die with my coupon at Michaels.  So.... here it is with my Penny Black image (for a birthday card).

Amuse-bouche:

I have been a loyal KINGS fans for the last 20 years.  I'm pleased to say my nephew has also grown to like hockey however, he has elected to be a fan of the Pittsburgh PENGUINS!!!!!  All I can say, is ... at least it's not our rival, THE DUCKS. I'd have to stab myself with a paper piercer.   Well, my brother was able to score super close seats to the Kings V. Penguins game at the Staples Center.  He made a HUGE sign for his favorite player.  Apparently, the security staff took it.  SO he quickly put together another one.  The only part I can read is "They took my bigger sign."  How sad! 

Using Distress Stains

Britta Swiderski had a recent tutorial on using Distress Stains.  Go here to see her blog post and video.   Here is my attempt at using Distress Stains (I used a combination of Broken China, Tumbled Glass, and Spun Sugar).  The result is the blue background mat. I used watercolor paper to help absorb the ink.  The image is from an old flower set from Stampin'Up.   The ink used for the image was lavender scarlet from Jenni Bowlin.  The darker purple ink was Distress Ink (Dusty Concord).  The die cut is a Spellbinders Nestabilities diecut.  The pink ink was Spun Sugar (Distress Ink).  I put the mat on a piece of Smokey Grey PTI paper.

A doggie backpack.....

I am soo excited to show you my latest project. The tutorial can be found here.  

Back side of backpack

Isn't this cute??? Inside, there are little journal tags as this will hold a gift card and about 6 journal tags because it is from a number of people.

The dog stamp used is Paper Smooches.  The paper came from Recollections.   The ribbon was purchased for $1 at Michaels. 

Slip and fall....

My friend slipped and fell and broke her ankle.  Poor thing!  I wanted to pick up her spirits (in addition to the pain meds they gave her) so I made her this card.  I used Paper Smooches and Lawn Fawn stamps to create this get well card for her.   I used Copics to color the image as well as Spellbinders Nestabilities.  The string was from craft string at Michaels.  You probably can't see the glossy accents on the eyes but I did put glossy accents on the bird's eyes.   The ink used on the bandaids was Weather Vane from Jenni Bowlin. 

I used Shabby Shutters Distress Ink on the inner 'scalloped' circle by "masking" the bird.

Glossy Accents are on the orange portions of the shell. The top to the ice pack was in silver gel pen. Copics were used to color the image.  The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn stamps.

Amuse-bouche:  

This is the sight I woke up to one morning... 

Strange Dog