It's My Birthday Today! :)

I have the best friends, ever! It's no wonder we all get a long along so well with all three of our birthdays being within a week apart! are you ready for eye candy? It's like an homage to butterflies!!!

My friend, Valerie, gave me the card above along with this fabulous altered 'to do list' notebook

and this gorgeous toilet paper roll book below. What a fun project, I have to try one of these! I love them all, Val, thank you so much! :)



This stunning butterfly creation below is by another friend, Kim. She recently moved a couple of provinces away and I miss her dearly. This card will be posted proudly so that I'll think of her when I see it. Big hugs to you, Kim! Oh, by the way, my apologies, as this picture doesn't do justice to how gorgeous this card really is...the pierced layer just shimmers and the watercolours are absolutely stunning. It's definitely eye candy! Thanks so much for sending this gorgeous card to me along with the stunning stamps, too! I'll play with them soon. :)
This next card is from my Mum. She's recently got into card making and I'm so proud of her. I knew I could convert her from a devout scrapbooker...it'll only took about 10 years! lol :) Thanks so much, Mum, I love it.
What a wonderful selection of birthday cards I've received! All these butterfly creations are right up my alley! Thanks, so much, to all of you! You're the best!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Princess for a Day

I totally forgot that I had this Butterfly Impressabilities and found it this morning!  So, I thought I'd play with it for a card that I needed to make for a friend of my oldest daughter for her birthday party this weekend.

I used the Butterfly Impressabilities to emboss the background.  Then, I used my new Fancy Scalloped Border Piercerabilities for the border and embossed with it first.  Then, I cut out the scallop on the top as it only embosses, it's not a diecut.  I added an extra diecut layer on the bottom and paper pierced the swirls around the butterfly.

Here's a close up to show you the embossing and the paper piercing that I did using the Border Piercerabilities.  A fun tool to use!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by!  :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Crown - Fairest of Them All - Snag'em Stamps (Imaginisce), Just Chillin' (Making Memories), Sentiments 1 (Impression Obsession), Butterfly by Kathy Davis (Inkadinkado)
Cardstock: Light Pink (CRS), Soft Sky (SU), Flat White (Staples)
Ink: Coal Black (Ancient Page)
Tools: Fancy Scalloped Borders - Piercerabilities (Spellbinders), Butterfly Impressabilities (Spellbinders), Paper Piercing Tool, Paper Piercing Mat, Quilling Tweezers 
Embellishments: Blue, Pink and Clear Bling (Dollarama)

Crafty Fun with Val

I had a wonderful night last night. My friend, Val Wilson, came over to have a crafty night with me. Val is such a great friend and she's such a hoot to be around. Full of some much fun and laughter, it's contagious! Just wish I wasn't so tired last night. I was up til 3 AM the night before finishing up Teacher's Xmas gifts and then had to get up yesterday morning to go in the office a bit early, so I was pretty sleepy all day. Just 2 1/2 more working days left for me, though and then I'm off work til Jan 4th, 2010. Still seems weird to write 2010 doesn't it? I can remember watching movies when I was a kid about all the space suits the general public would be wearing around on a daily basis, while driving their flying cars...don't think we're any where close to that yet, but the years seem to mysteriously keep creeping closer and closer to that date...

Val spent her night making beautiful little lumiere's. She was commissioned to make several for a co-worker for Xmas gifts and she made me this stunning black and white one sown above. I love it! Thanks so much, Val! :)

Here's a pic to show you when it's lit. They're so pretty! :)

OK, on to crafty projects. The card above is a sympathy card that I made last night for a friend that I work with who sadly lost her husband yesterday. So sad to lose someone anytime, but for it to be a week before Christmas makes it that much more difficult, I think. My prayers go out to her and her family during this time.

This is a card that Val showed me how to make last night. Such a neat idea and cool use of the Martha Stewart branch punch. It's a bit time consuming as you need to punch out about 50 branches, but it makes for a cool effect when you attach them all to the double sided tape that you've added to the triangle shaped tree in the background. Thanks for showing me this technique, Val!
Here's a close up of the branches to show you the dimension.
OK, I've gotta go do some housework and then brave the line ups at the mall to finish my Xmas shopping. I'll be back soon!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Dance Like No One is Watching

I was asked by one of my male co-workers to make a birthday card for a friend of his. He just said that she likes dance, and I love the following quote by Mark Twain and I knew I wanted it to be part of her card. I hope she likes it! :)

"Dance like no one is watching
Sing like no one is listening
Love like you've never been hurt
Live like it's Heaven on Earth"
-Mark Twain

OK, it's way past my bedtime! Time to call it a day. I'll be back soon.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Aqua (Bazzill), Flat Black (CRS), Ivory (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Wild Saffron (K&Company)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Tools: Paper Piercer, Piercing Mat, Ticket Punch (SU), Scalloped Square and Oval Nestabilites (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Epson printer using the font 'Freebooter Script' for the quote
Embellishments: Pale Aqua Flourished 5/8" Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Marcella - Silver Pearl Brads (K&Company), Silver Hearts Brad (Dollarama)

Happy 14th Birthday, Alysha!

This is the birthday card that I made for my niece, Alysha, who's turning 14 years old on Sunday. Wow, it's hard to believe that she's gonna be 14 already! How time flies, it just seems like not too long ago that she was a little baby. I can still picture her in her little umbrella stroller at my wedding. Such a cutie and she looked just like my brother did when he was a baby. She's grown into such a beautiful girl now and is so smart, just like her Dad (my brother) and has his sense of humour, too. I'm so proud of her and know she's gonna do great in life.

I CASE'd the style of this card off of a card that the very talented, Beate Johns did last year, I think. One of the many 'inspiration' cards that I have on file on my computer. It's a tri-fold style of card. The front flap with the ribbon lifts up and then the butterfly/happy birthday panel folds down to reveal the inside of the card. Blue is her favourite and I figured she might like the style of this card being that it's a bit different. Hope she likes it! :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly (Daisy Bucket), Happy Birthday - Snag 'em Stamps (Imaginisce)
Cardstock: Blue Bayou (SU), Cream (Staples), Chocolate Brown (Bazzill)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine)
Patterned Paper: Backyard "Sunny Days" Floral/Brown - Bohemia (My Mind's Eye)
Tools: Ticket Punch (SU), Designer Tag Punch (SU), Paper Piercer, Piercing Mat, Piercing Guide, 1 1/4" & 1 1/2" Circle Punches (Creative Memories), Classic & Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug, Mini Glue Dots (SU)
Embellishments: 1/2" Chocolate Brown Satin Ribbon (Michaels)

Happy Birthday, Catherine!

This is the birthday card that I made for my friend, Catherine. Her birthday isn't until next week, but our group of stamping friends are all getting together tonight, so we're all celebrating her birthday tonight. Please pop on over to her blog and wish her a big "Happy Birthday!" and check out her crafty work while you're at it. :)

Here's a close up to show you the dimension of the butterfly. I like folding their wings a little bit, to make it look like they've just landed on the card.

Well, I'm just finishing getting ready for our girls night out of crafting. I finally got my group projects (enough for 9 of us) done earlier today. It took a lot longer to score and cut all the paper than I had expected. Kinda of a cute project, though, I think. I'll post pics later of my project and the projects or cards from the other two ladies. It should be a fun night, I', really looking forward to getting out for the night. Ok, gotta run...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Birthday - Snag 'em Stamps (Imaginisce), Ornate Flourish and Butterfly 1 (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: White (Staples), Navy Blue (Bazzill), Blue - a shade darker than Blue Bayou by SU (bought from Kim...don't know who makes it)
Ink: Blue Bayou (SU)
Tools: 3/16" Mini Glue Dots (SU), 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Paper Piercer, Piercing Mat, Classic and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Navy Blue Grosgrain Ribbon (Michaels), Light Blue Satin Wired Ribbon (Fabricville), Blue Gem Brad (Dollarama)

Birthday Card from Deborah

When I was at Deborah's tonight, she gave me this gorgeous belated birthday card as we haven't seen each in other in a bit with her and I both being away. Well, it certainly deserves it's own post and will get a special place in my home to be displayed. Check out the detail! I really can't imagine the patience it took to make this card, far more than I have, I'm sure! Not to mention the fact that my eyes would never be able to handle such intricate work! Thank you so much, Deborah! I adore it and I truly appreciate you taking the time to make such a special card for me.

Well, I'm on my way to bed. I didn't quite finish my card tonight while I was chatting with the girls, so after I got home I pulled out all my supplies and I finished it. I'll share it tomorrow. So, stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)