Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Slider Card Tutorial Links

I've had several people ask for the tutorials that I forgot to add for my Magic Slider card and the Double Slider card that we made at our SU night on Monday. I went on SCS and found the tutorials to share with you. Beate Johns always does a wonderful job of explaining things, step by step with lots of great pics, so I won't bother to do up another one. Here are the links:

Double Slider Card

Magic Slider Card

Beate used 12" x 12" cardstock, but I acutally used 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock, so my measurements are slightly off from hers. These are the differences if you'd rather use the smaller cardstock.

5 1/4" x 9" ~ for the outer shell of the slider, (score this piece at the 2 1/2", 5 1/2" and 8 1/2" mark)
2 3/4" x 4" ~ Cut 2, these will be the pull pieces.
2 1/4" x 3 3/4" ~ Cut 2, these will be the top layer for your pull pieces
1" x 10" strip of think plastic (Cello bag, grocery bag, etc.)

I won't include the rest of my measurements, just decorate as you wish. Have fun with it! :) Just a hint, use a good quality cardstock with this one. I tried going 'el cheapo' while making a couple of these with my daughters, but the cheap cardstock that they chose was too flimsy and the slider part ripped inside each of the cards. So, use a good, heavier cardstock like SU or Bazzill.

I especially like the Magic Slider, it's a fun one to make and it always seems to be a wow card for people when you show them as they're not expecting the card to do that! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Butterfly Wish


The butterfly stamp that I used in tonight's card is one of the stamps that I received from Deborah last night. Thanks again, Deborah, I love butterflies and I think this one might just be my new favourite stamp! :)

Tonight, while I was singing to my youngest daughter to sleep, I got the idea for this card. I think I've sung the same songs so many times that my mind kinda goes on autopilot and it starts to wander....to card designs and color combos! lol :) I tried to think of pretty, girly colours with a whimsical design and I knew I wanted to use this butterfly stamp as they remind me of my girls. They love giving me 'butterfly kisses' and I love getting them so much! In case you're not familiar with what a butterfly kiss is, it's when you flutter your eyelashes as quickly as you can on someone's cheek and it tickles them.

So, anyway, that's what I had in mind while I was coming up with this card. A little butterfly wish to share with you all. :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)



Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly (Magenta), 'wish' - Small Script (SU)
Cardstock: Certainly Celery (SU), Burgundy (Bazzill)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU)
Patterned Paper: Perhaps - Julia (Basic Grey), Perhaps - Red Riding Hood (Basic Grey)
Tools: Scissors (Honey Bee), 1/8" Dimensional Squares, Wavy Line Scissors (Provo Craft)
Embellishments: Pink Grosgrain Ribbon (Dashes, Dots and Checks - Michaels)

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Sympathy Cards from Catherine and Kim

I wanted to share a couple of lovely sympathy cards that I received from Catherine and Kim last night. Thanks so much girls for thinking of me. I really appreciate it! I'll treasure your cards always.

This is Kim's card, it's actually more stunning in real life... it was hard to get a proper photo of the butterfly with it being shimmery. So beautiful! I can't remember what it's called, but Kim, if you're reading this, could you leave a comment with the name again for us all. Thanks again, so much! :) Also, thanks for the listening ear over the past couple of weeks! :)
This is Catherine's beautiful card, she did the doodles using a stencil and gel pen...I'm so envious, I know mine wouldn't look nearly as nice! Thanks so much, Catherine. She came right over to babysit for us when we heard the news that Rick was dying and she stayed at my house for about 5 hours watching my two girls and with her three children, as well. I can't tell her how much I appreciate her coming on such short notice so that we could go to the hospital to say our goodbye's and be with the family.

Well, the supper fairies still haven't come, so off I go to make something... lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Cards from SU Workshop

These are the two cards that we made at our Stampin' Up! night last night at Deborah's. I just love the little gift card holder, what a great idea! I've seen these online before, but never took the time to figure out the directions to make one, but they're soooo easy! Can't wait to make more of them...Xmas perhaps!
There's a little pocket in the centre flap to slip a gift card in to. Very cool! :)

This is the Double Slider card that we made. A neat card to make and I can see 'kids birthday cards' written all over this style of card, especially with some bright colours and some cute animal images. I'll have a few of those to do in the future, so stay tuned... :)

This is how the double slider pieces pull up by the tab. Cute, eh? :)

Thanks again to Yvonne for cutting all our cardstock out for us for our projects. It's always fun to see what she has to show us and she always spoils us! Doesn't she girls? We love her, we really shouldn't tease her like we do... Poor, Yvonne! She'll never bring that stamp set again with the little words (that's discontinued) since we all gave her such a hard time that we couldn't buy it! lol :)

Humm, ya think the supper fairies could swing by with a meal for us...I don't really feel like cooking. Well, guess I should go try to devise something to eat. I'll be back on tonight with a new creation.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Stampin' Night at Deborah's

I had a great time out last night at Deborah's with the girls. We made a couple of really nice cards, got to chat and carry on and then Deborah let us all raid her stamp collection for some freebies! It was like Christmas in April!!! Thanks again so much for having us over, Deborah! The Banana Chocolate Chip muffins were delicious, too! Can't wait to get the recipe off your blog so I can make some more! :)

I drew Deborah's name for the fun fold swap, this is the gorgeous creation that she made that I get to keep. I've never seen a card like this before, I had to take pics of each angle to show you. Just beautiful, Deborah! :)

This is the right side angle view

This is the left side angle view

These are the stamps that I choose from Deborah's stash. Thanks again so much for your generosity! I can't wait to play with them! :)

I'll share the card projects that we made in my next post.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Monday, April 28, 2008

Fun-Fold Swap Card


This is the card that I made for our 'Girl's Night Out' fun-fold swap challenge. I had fun with this one...after I finally got the directions figured out! lol :) It's not a hard card to make it's just that I'm more of a visual person than trying to read written instructions on how to make something.

Can't wait to see what we'll be making tonight, I'll share tomorrow! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)



Supplies:
Stamps: True Friend (SU)

Ink: Real Red (SU)

Cardstock:
Mustard & China Red Linen (Bazzill)
Patterned Paper: Wild Saffron Paper Slab (K & Company)

Embellishments: Red Grosgrain Ribbon (Michaels), Antique Brass Brads (Hodge Podge Hardware - SU)
Tools: Scissors, 1/8" Dimensional Squares, 1" Circle Punch (Creative Memories), Plastic Bag strip for slider part

Fun Tri-Fold



I had fun this morning making this card. I thought I'd try fooling around a bit with my scissors with some freehand cutting. I made a tri-fold card using a 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock, but instead of cutting it to make a normal A2 style of card, I cut it the long way at 5 1/2" and kept the other side at 11". I made my score lines for the folds and the added the Purely Pomegranate and Teal cardstock for each of the layers, cutting each wavy one individually before adding the next layer. I also added the brads to the front of the card before adding my final layer of teal cardstock so as to hide the brad posts.

I've got my next post ready for the card that I made for tonight's fun-fold card swap with our group of friends. I've got it set to post automatically at 7:30 PM so that we'll all be at Deborah's place already so it won't spoil the surprise for any 'peekers' out there! lol :)

Well, I have to get some stuff done before I head out tonight for crafty night. I'll post my projects tomorrow of what we make tonight.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)



Supplies:
Stamps: Embrace Life (SU), Small Script (SU), Italian Poetry Background (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate (SU), Very Vanilla (SU), Teal (Bazzill)
Embellishments: Antique Brass Frame (Hodge Podge Hardware - SU)
Tools: Scissors, Thumb Tack (to punch holes for brads), 1/8" Dimensional Square

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Floral Thank You


This card took way longer than it should have...with two junior helpers trying to make their own cards at my craft table, as well! It's really not big enough for me and all my stuff... let alone two more sets of arms in the way! lol :) Anyway, they had a lot of fun and I finally got my card done. I'm lovin' this patterned paper from K & Company. I'm still using my favourite colours of blue, but I'm trying to throw in a splash of colour, hense the hint of red. I really like these colours together.

I got my fun-fold card completed last night at 1 in the morning after some figuring of directions...now that I've done one again, they're really very easy, just couldn't get my head wrapped around the directions for a bit..think I was just tired. Anyway, I'll share my card tomorrow night after we swap them out.

Well, we're off to have a family afternoon, have a great day! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)



Supplies:
Stamps: Stem Silhouettes (SU), 'Thank You' - Greetings Galore (Impression Obsession)

Ink: Blue Bayou (SU)

Cardstock: China Red Linen (Bazzill), Very Vanilla and Blue Bayou (SU)

Patterned Paper: Wild Saffron Paper Slab (K & Company)

Embellishments: Red Grosgrain Ribbon (Michaels), Antique Brass Jumbo Brads (Dollarama)

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Another LA Ad...in Colour

I was reading my flyers today that come in our weekly community newspaper and what do I see, but another pic of me, in colour this time. lol :) A better pic than the one that appeared in last Saturday's provincial newspaper, in my opinion, but my hair is still looking a little crazy. Rather weird to see myself there, but I am proud of the weight that I was finally able to lose. I'm so much happier with myself and feel so much better, too! :)

The kids have had a full day today with a birthday party to attend and then a playdate with our neighbour's little girl, so I think they're pretty much ready for bed now. Yippee! That means a full crafty night for me! lol :) I have a fun-fold card to make for Monday night for a swap that I'm doing with a group of local friends and I'll try to get something else done, as well, so I can show you tonight as I can't post my fun-fold card until late Monday night so I don't spoil the surprise.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Wild Saffron Butterfly



I got the opportunity to get in some crafty time this afternoon to make this card for a friend of mine. I used some new patterned paper from a K &Company slab that I picked up on sale this morning. It's all double-sided, heavy-weight and there's some gorgeous patterns in the 36 sheets...technically 72 sheets since it's double-sided. I'm so glad that I noticed it...it made up for the fact that I was bummed 'cause they were sold out of the new Cuttlebug embossing folders which was my actual mission to find today! Oh well, it gives me an excuse to go back again in the near future! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)



Supplies:
Stamps: 'Thinking of You' - Greetings Galore (Impression Obsession)

Ink: Taken With Teal (SU)

Cardstock: Butter and Teal (Bazzill)

Patterned Paper: Wild Saffron Paper Slab (K & Company)

Tools: Horizontal Slot Punch (SU), 1/8" Dimensional Squares, Scissors

Embellishments: Golden Brown Polka Dot Sheer Ribbon (Dashes, Dots and Checks - Michaels), Copper Brads

My 15 Minutes of Fame...

We had an absolutely beautiful day here today. It got up to +19C. Hurray, Spring is officially here, I think! I thought I'd share a pic of the pretty Crocus flowers in my flower garden in front of my house. I just love it when these little flowers pop through. They don't last long, but they're a real sign that Spring is here!

Hey, who's that? Oh...it's ME! :)

This was my 15 minutes of fame that appeared in the Saturday issue of our Provincial newspaper, the Halifax Herald. I joined LA Weight Loss back in September 2006 and pretty much reached my goal in January 2008 when I finished attending the centre. I still follow the program and eat properly...most of the time! lol :) But, my main issue now is toning. They quoted me as having lost 75 lbs, which is correct for the 12 months, but as of now, I'm actually down 91 lbs and 40 inches. I've very proud of myself...I feel so much better about myself and I really enjoy shopping for clothes and getting dressed up now. Not to mention the health benefits, my overall health has improved so much and I have so much more energy. I feel great. I can run after my girls and I don't feel like I need a nap, or like I'm gonna die from exhaustion! I can't thank them enough for giving me my life back. The photo shot was a lot of fun last month. I was honored when they contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in participating. They'll be giving me a CD of all the photos from the shoot, I kinda wish I could have seen them all before they printed the one that they did...I'm not really keen on the one that they used because of the angle, but I guess it's ok. Anyway, I'm rambling...lol :) I have a new card to share in my next post...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Monday, April 21, 2008

Scenic East Coast Pics

Well, I think Jim and I have put more miles on the car in the past two weeks than we have in the past year. Lots of roads trips, Jim had to go to Sydney by himself a week ago last Saturday and then we had to go there together on Wednesday for the funeral. Just this past weekend, we took the girls for a road trip to Yarmouth and Digby. We had a really nice weekend with beautiful, sunny, warm weather. From our home, it's a 4 hour drive to Yarmouth, we stayed there over night at the Rodd Grand Hotel and in the morning we drove another hour to Digby, stayed there for a the afternoon and then headed back to the city which is another 3 hour drive. We met up with my best friend, Michèle and had supper with her. She was in town for the weekend from Moncton. It was really nice to see her and my girls just love her to death. Over the weekend, we had some beautiful sunshine and it got up to +15C on Saturday. We took a trip out to Cape Forchu and walked along the rocks by the ocean at the Cape Forchu lighthouse and collected rocks and seashells...one of the girls' favourite things to do! It was a bit chillier on Sunday, but it was still nice and sunny and about +12C. I met up with Janet, who steered me in the proper direction to find some local stores what carry stamp/scrapbooking stuff...however, one of the stores was undergoing renos and had all their crafty stuff put away! Eep! Imagine, them not thinking it was a necessity to have out! lol :) So, onto the next store where I got 6 stamps and the Disney rainbow ink pad that I used in my previous post. All for just $10. 25! Screamin' deals! Then, I ran out of time and couldn't stop at any more as we were running behind, as usual... Oh well, next time I'll know where to go! lol :)

These are some of the pics from our ventures and a bit of the East Coast for you to enjoy...

This first pic was taken up in Cape Breton, overlooking the community of Big Pond. That's where the Celtic singer, Rita MacNeil is from, too. Cape Breton island boasts some of the most magnificent views around. I especially love travelling there in the Fall, though, when the trees are all in full colour. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful sight!
Now on to Yarmouth, at the far other end of the province. This was our view from our 6th floor hotel room.

This is an old Schooner that was beached...not sure what the story is behind this, if it sank and they brought it up and just put it there, or if she ran into the bank...anyway, a rather neat picture.
Info on the Bay of Fundy and Cape Forchu in Yarmouth where we collected sea shells.
Cape Forchu Lighthouse.
Looking down towards the ocean from the base of the lighthouse.
Girls on top of the 'mountain' as they called it. :)
The girls and me with the lighthouse in the background.

Ok, I just realized that it's after midnight...gotta call it a day. I'll be back tomorrow with another card.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Reverse Print Flower

Ok, so I've had this reverse print stamp set for about 3 years now at least and it's never been inked! The saying along the side of the reverse flower image says, 'the heart that gives also gathers.' I figured I would try playing with it a bit with the spectrum ink pad that I bought this weekend, I kinda like how it turned out, but wish the pink and blue were a bit darker... Ahh, we're never happy, are we? lol :)

My photography skills seem to be really off lately, as well. My pics aren't coming out crisp at all. I keep fiddling with them, but can't seem to get the right pic, then I just end up giving up. I think I'll try to rig up one of those photo boxes, or maybe I can convince Jim to make me one instead...a Mother's Day present perhaps! :) Now I just need to find a link to one, I'm sure I bookmarked a couple in the past, now to find them, though, is the problem.

We had a great weekend, I'll share some pics of our road trips in my next post.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)



Supplies:
Stamps: Reverse Prints (SU)
Ink: Disney Mickey & Minnie Rainbow Pad (All Night Media - Plaid)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate (SU), Midnight Blue (Bazzill), Burnt Sienna (Bazzill), Flat White (CRS)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Stylized Flowers Embossing Folder
Embellishments: Burgandy Satin Ribbon (Fabricville), Antique Brass Swirl Embellie (Hodge Podge Hardware - SU)

Friday, April 18, 2008

Little Girl's Birthday


This is a simple card, but fitting I think, for a little girl turning 6. It's dainty and pink, what little girl doesn't like pink? :) I had a birthday card to make for next week for one of my daughter's best friends in her class at school. Thought I should get it done ahead of time, as I usually wait til the last minute thinking I still have plenty of time to get it done and then, wham, the day is here and I'm not ready! Sound familiar? lol :) So, there, I'm done a week ahead of schedule...perhaps I'll start a new trend for myself! :)

Things here are getting a bit better. We went to my friends funeral on Wednesday, it was a 5 hour drive away in the town where he grew up. It was a long day of driving, but we were glad to be able to go to the service, although it's still doesn't seem real that he's gone. He'll definitely be missed by us and so many others. He had so many people that cared for him. Just to give you an idea, he had nearly a thousand people attend the visitation the day before the funeral. I'm sure he was looking down and smiling at all the good times that we were all reminiscing about. May he rest in peace.

Well, I have to go get the girls ready, we're heading back over to the Elem school tonight for a 'Spring Fling' family dance. The girls are so excited and it's so much fun for us to watch all the kids dancing around. They're all so cute! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)



Supplies:
Stamps: Birthday Themed (Studio G)
Ink: Rose Romance (SU)
Cardstock: Flat White (CRS), Light Pink and Rose Pink (The Paper Company)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Stylized Flowers Embossing Folder, Sea Sponge for highlighting flowers, White Pigment Gel Pen (Signo - SU)
Embellishments: Pink Polka Dot Ribbon (Dollarama), Pink Buttons ~RAK from Tracy Houghton, thanks again, Tracy! :)

Monday, April 14, 2008

With Sympathy Dove


This is one of the sympathy cards that I made for each of the three brothers of my friend who just passed away. We'll be leaving Wednesday morning to go to Cape Breton for his funeral. From here, it's about a 5 hour drive one way, so it's going to be a long day as we have to drive all the way back home that night...it'll certainly allow for a lot of time to think. Seems as though I've done a lot of that over the past few days. I keep breaking down and crying. I thought I could deal with working tonight with the public, but apparently I wasn't ready... I tired to put on a happy face for everyone asking me how I was doing, each time I rang in their order. But, then I looked up at my next customer and he looked like he could have been a twin to my friend who just passed away. Needless to say, I lost it, I tried to maintain some sort of composure while I quickly rang in his small order, but thank god I was working on the speedy line tonight, and there wasn't anyone else in line after him. Then, as I was crying, I told my supervisor that I needed to go home. I'm sure they all think I'm crazy. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Thanks for listening.



Supplies:
Stamps: Nightingale (Inque Boutique), 'With Sympathy' - Greetings Galore (Impression Obsession)

Cardstock: Blue Bayou and River Rock (SU)
Tools: Corner Rounder Punch (SU)
Embellishments: Blue Brads (Making Memories)