Take Time to Smell the Roses

I have a summery creation to share with you tonight. One of my co-workers asked me to create a card for her for a friend, something happy, peaceful and summer-like. This is the card I came up with. Do you think it works? :)

I used Camelia for my main focal image. Isn't she lovely?  This photo stamp is sold as a single by The Stampsmith.  I distressed all the edges of the cardstock and patterned paper and then some fun buttons, beautiful lace and a pretty like butterfly die cut finish off the embellishing.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Birthday Cards from Louise and Deborah

I received two more gorgeous birthday cards last night. This Asian Beauty was made by my friend, Louise Allen. She makes the most beautiful cards and this one is one is no exception. I wish I could get a better photograph of it to show you how it shimmers, but to get the detail on her dress and the shimmer, there's too much reflection , so I had to go with an angle instead. Believe me, though, it's more more beautiful in person! Thanks so much, Louise! I love it! :)

This next stunning card was made made by Deborah March. It's called a step card and I think it's fabulous. I love the steps - so cool! My daughter's loved it, too, and they can't wait to try one themselves! Apparently, crafty time will be in order soon! lol :) Thanks so much, Deborah, it's lovely as always and I love the butterfly! :)


Here's a close up of one of the steps inside. On the opposite step it says Happy Birthday.

Deborah also gave me a little stamp set. She knows how much I like coffee! lol :) Thanks so much, again, Deborah!
Stay tuned, I have more to show you...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

RAK from Val

I had a great night last night. I had a couple of friends over for a little stampin' night. I think the three of us were as loud as if there were a dozen of us! I needed that! Thanks so much to Catherine and Val for coming over to make me laugh! Val, you're an absolute hoot! Luv ya! :)

This is the gorgeous card that Val brought me last night. She included a whole bunch of butterfly punchies for me to play with too! I love the Asian paper that she used and the daintiness of the card. The Stickles add just enough bling, too. I know you can't see a lot of them from the picture, but it just sparkles in real life. Thanks so much, Val! I love it! :)

I finished one card tonight that I started last night, but I want to finish the 2nd one and then I'll post them together. Stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Asian Birthday

Well, I was starting to go through a bit of crafty withdrawal. We returned home late Tuesday night from a nice few days of visiting my in-laws up in New Brunswick. But, we came home to lots of stuff to do, so I haven't had a chance to stamp. But, tonight I made the time as I had a birthday card to make for a very good friend of mine and it needs to get in the mail so it will arrive to her on time. I won't say who the card is for, just in case she happens to read this. I imagine if she does see this she'll know it for her because of the colours that I used. She loves orange and bright colours, so I think she'll like this. Anyway, hopefully, it'll be a surprise when it arrives in the mail! lol :)

Well, it's that time of day again to call it a day. I'm gonna try to get in some crafty time again tomorrow before I go to work. We'll see how things go, for some reason lately the days just seem to be slipping away before I realize it and then I notice it's been a few days before I've posted anything here. I really don't know where the time goes. But, I do need to get started on Teacher gifts for Xmas, as well. Lots to do this year...gotta rack my brain for some ideas...the works are moving and I have a few ideas, now I just need to narrow them down! lol :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Solid Cherry Blossom Branch, Butterfly Wishes & Sentiments 1 (all by Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi and Vellum Cardstock (SU), Rust & Navy (Bazzill), White Flat (CRS)
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Really Rust, Night of Navy (SU)
Tools: Paper Piercer, Piercing Mat, Piercing Guide
Embellishments: Wasabi Green Brads (Making Memories)

Asian Watercolour

I decided to play a bit with my watercolour crayons this afternoon before I have to go into work and I came up with this Asian themed card. I found this patterned paper that I've had for a while now, and I thought I'd pair it with some red cs to pull out the hint of red from the patterned paper. The cream background patterned strip to the side of the stamped image is actually a sticker from a Creative Memories kit.

Well, gotta go cook supper, and get ready for work...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: China Red Linen (CRS), Cream and Plum (Creative Memories), 140 Lb. Cold Pressed - Cotton Watercolour Paper (Fabriano)
Patterned Paper: Aloha - Paper and Sticker Kit (Creative Memories)
Embellishments: Red Grosgrain (Micheals)
Watercolour Crayons: Always Atrichoke and Rose Red (SU)
Tools: Aqua Painter Brush (SU), Scissors
Ink: Black StazOn

A Night Out with the Girls

I had a great night out last night with a bunch of the girls. We headed on over to Catherine's for a SU Party, we had a great time chatting, stampin' and carrying on and eating! Yummy cake, Catherine! :) We made two beautiful cards that I really love. I know, I know, blue again...but it's not my fault! I'm not the one who designed the card! lol :)

Here's the first card that we made. This is my first latch card that I've ever made. I've seen samples of this type of card, but just never got around to making one. I really love this card how it turned out. We used SU Cardstock Vellum....OMG, what awesome vellum! It's such a nice heavy weight, and I think the flowers are gorgeous done on this. We stamped them with black StazOn and then used SU markers to colour in the back side of the flowers and then coloured the stamens on the front side of the flowers. I'm gonna have to get some of this cardstock vellum soon! It was a lot of fun playing with it for sure! :)

Here's a better look at the Vellum flowers.

Here is a view of the latch, in case you're not familiar with this type of card.

This is the second card that we made. I had so much fun playing with the watercolour crayons. They really do such a beautiful job...I'm such a fan of SU WaterColour Wonder Crayons. I 'must' purchase more!!! Why can't I just win the lottery? Wouldn't it make life so much easier? lol :)
Thanks so much for having us all over to play stamps with you, Catherine! lol :)

Kim also bought along some goodies for us to help ourselves to. Things that she had and wasn't using anymore and wanted to see if any of us could use them. We were all like kids in a candy store, I tell ya! lol :) I got some wonderful things to play with, thanks again, so much, Kim! You're a sweetheart! :)

Here's the goodies that I got from Kim - some pretty primas and an assortment of cute chipboard die cuts. Also, some patterned paper and eyelets.
Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Sympathy Window Card

My dear friend, Catherine phoned me tonight to tell me that her grandmother had just passed away. So, this special sympathy card is for her and I also made one for her Dad and Mum.

Catherine's parents are very kind souls. Her Mum is such a sweetheart, when I was sick and my husband was away with the Navy, she made me a big pot of beef stew so I wouldn't have to cook. How thoughtful is that? This was Catherine's Dad's Mother that has just passed away. He is still recovering from a heart attack and my heart goes out to him at this time, especially when he's still not up to par himself.

May his Mom be at peace now and those who loved her, remember her always.

Supplies: (All Stampin' Up, unless otherwise noted)
Stamps: Garden Silhouettes
Ink: Cranberry Crisp
Cardstock: Cranberry (Bazzill), Celery (Bazzill), Taupe and Flat White (CRS)
Patterned Paper: Bohemia - Backyard "My Journey" Brocade/Brown (My Mind's Eye)
Embellishments: Wine Velvet Ribbon (Michaels)
Tools: Double Rectangle Punch, Sea Sponge, Double-Sided Adhesive, Oval Cutting System (Creative Memories), Cuttlebug, Stylized Flowers Embossing Folder, Verse is a Native American Proverb that I've always liked. I printed off using MS Word and 'Freebooter Script' that I downloaded from the Internet.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Asian Thanks and Curled Ribbon Tutorial

I was able to get in some crafty time tonight after I got home from work and finally got to play with my Garden Silhouettes stamp set that I've been wanting to play with for some time now. It reminds me an Asian-looking stamp, so I paired with with a 'thank you' stamp with a font that has an Asian feel to it, as well. I love this Purely Pomegranate colour from SU's 'In Color' ink line, it's such a beautiful, vibrant colour. I decided to go with a monochromatic theme for this one and I quite like how it turned out.

I used my heat tool on the white organdy ribbon to give it a pretty curled effect. You need to be very careful as to not apply too much heat in one area of the ribbon, though, or you'll burn a hole right through the ribbon or it'll just shrivel up basically into a little knotted mess!

I made this simple little tool to help with the curling effect. Just take a regular piece of cardstock and cut a little slit in it, slide it over the ribbon and that way you can control where the heat is being distributed. Simple, but it works! :)

This is how I slide the tool over the knotted ribbon to protect the knot and the other side of the ribbon from excessive heat. It only takes a couple of seconds to heat the ribbon, it will start to curl right away. I start at the tip of the ribbon and move my way into towards the knot until I achieve the desired curled effect. Have fun with it! :) Yeah, I know...I need to get out more! I think I get far too excited over ribbon! lol :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Garden Silhouettes (SU), Greetings Galore (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Purely Pomegranate (SU), White (The Paper Company)
Embellishments: White Organdy Ribbon
Tools: Double Rectangle Punch (SU), Cuttlebug, d'Vine Swirls Embossing Folder, Smallest Oval Template and Red Cutting Blade (Creative Memories), Heat Tool, Double-sided tape.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)