Welcome, Baby Girl!

My friend, Diana, just had a new little baby girl, so this card is for her.  I finally got to see her today for a few minutes and she's absolutely beautiful!   So tiny and those little hands, oh, my goodness.   It almost makes me want to have another one!   Oh, ya gotta love visiting a new little baby, though....especially when you can cuddle them and then give them back to the parents and go home and have a good night of sleep yourself!  lol  :)  

I love making girls baby cards and I was inspired by this card by Kerri Michaud and knew I wanted to make a card with the same basic sketch. Thanks for the inspiration, Kerri!  :)

Ok, that's all for now.   I'll be back soon with something else to show you.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Baby Powder Collection - Giraffe (Imaginisce)
Cardstock: Flat White & Ivory (Staples), Dusty Rose (Bazzill), Rose (Creative Memories)
Patterned Paper: Brooke Narr Stripe & Paisley (Making Memories)
Ink: Creamy Caramel (SU), Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), Labels Eight Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Ivory and Dusty Rose Ric Rac Ribbon (MultiCraft Imports), Pink Bling (Dollarama)

Easter Bunny

This card is pretty cutsie for me, but I thought with Spring right around the corner (hey, I can dream can't I?), that I'd try something for Easter to give to my girls.  I'm think they'll like this card.  :)  Now, I'll have to make one more, though!

I followed the current sketch by Jen del Muro of I{heart}2stamp:

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Easter (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Goldenrod (CRS), Sage Green (Bazzill), Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Watercolor Background Note Card (Hero Arts)
Ink: Coal Black (Ancient Page)
Watercolor Crayons: Regal Rose, Pretty in Pink, Blush Blossom, Certainly Celery, Perfect Plum, Pale Plum (SU)
Tools: 3/16" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Aqua Painter (SU)
Embellishments: Mauve Flower (Prima), Mauve Pearls (KaiserCraft)

Let Your Dreams Find Wings

A friend of mine recently got a promotion and I wanted to make him a card. I always find masculine cards a challenge, but I like this sentiment and I thought an image of an eagle soaring would be nice to go with it. I don't have an eagle stamp, so I opted to use a digi image instead.  Thanks to my friends, Val and Kim for helping me find the perfect one!  :)

Well, we've had a doosie of a day here today along with last night with highs winds and lots of rain.   The power flickered on and off for a while this afternoon and then went out completely for a few hours.  So, we ordered a pizza tonight and ate it by candlelight!   It took 2 hours for the pizza to arrive...apparently, a few other people in the area had the same idea!  lol  :)  Anyway, by the time the kids finished dessert it was past their bedtime, so they went straight to bed.  Jim and I listened to our crank radio for a while until the power came back on.  It certainly is quiet, though, without all the sounds of everything running.  I can't imagine having to go very long without power, it just comes so second nature to try to turn on the lights even when there's a outage, eh?   Anyway, I'm glad it's back!  Ok, enough, rambling from me, time to call it a day.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Let Your Dreams Find Wings (Impression Obsession), Eagle Digi Image
Cardstock: Chocolate Brown (CRS), Lime Green (Bazzill), Ivory and Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Distressed Brown Stripes (Dollarama)
Ink: Chocolate (Ancient Page)
Tools: 3/16" Pop Dots (SU)
Embellishments:Antique Brass Iron on Studs (Hillary Duff Stuff)

Prima News...

**Copied directly from the Prima:
...but we can’t reveal it just yet! We know you’re going to love it! And don’t worry-we promise to share the big news with you soon. It’s really hard not to spill the beans, but we are sworn to secrecy. So, in the meantime, we have an exciting opportunity for you to win BIG and it’s open to everyone! There are two fabulous prize baskets worth $100 up for grabs. Prima will choose one winner from the US and one International winner.

Good luck and head on over to Prima yourself to check out the fun!  :)

SFYTT Sketch Challenge

I had a great time making this card for the current SFYTT sketch challenge.  I stopped into Zellers yesterday to fill my prescriptions and I noticed a clearance table of crafty items...I took a peek and I found these acrylic embellishments and buttons.  I couldn't leave them there!  You know me, I love a bargain!  lol  :)

This is the sketch that I followed by Jen del Muro of 'I{heart}2stamp.'

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Teal & Lime Green (Bazzill), Jet Black Linen (CRS)
Tools: Lattice Arch Punch (Creative Memories), Black Pop Dots (MultiCraft Imports)
Embellishments:Sheer Black Ribbon (Michaels), Acrylic Embellishments (ColorBok), Buttons (ColorBok)

Faux Leather Wallet

I had a great night on Sunday making this faux leather wallet with my girlfriends.  They came over to my place since I'm still not feeling very well and still unable to drive.   Unfortunately, Kim wasn't feeling well this time, so she didn't make out to my place to make these with us, but she was kind enough to send all the supplies for us to make them.  Thanks, so much, for getting this awesome project together for us, Kim and I look forward to seeing you soon! 

I've seen these on line before, and have wanted to try one, but never got around to it so I'm so glad we made these.  They're much easier to make than I had expected.  We used this tutorial by Yvonne Hagane on SCS.  Her tutorial shows lots of step by step pictures with are very easy to follow.

Here's an angle to show you the accordion sides to the wallet.

Here's a view of the inside of the wallet to show you the beautiful patterned paper that I used.  Don't look too closely at my poor sewing job, though!  The thread kinda bunged up on the top-right corner. Oops!   lol  :)

To make this Faux Leather Wallet:
1. Cut out a piece of cardstock for the outside (5 1/4" x 8 3/4")
2. With remaining piece of cardstock, cut out the pieces for the accordion sides. (2 - 2' x 3").  Score them every 1/2" across the 3" length and mountain fold each of them.
3. Choose a co-ordinating piece of patterned paper for the inside of the wallet and cut it to be slightly smaller than the outside piece of cardstock. (5 1/8" x 8 5/8")
4. Use a corner rounder punch and punched all corners of the wallet's outside piece of cardstock and inside piece of patterned paper.
5. Decide on a style for the embossed pattern for the outside.  (I used the Distressed Diamonds by ProvoCraft.)
6. Distress the embossed pattern with Tim Holtz Distress inks.  (I used Fired Brick to go with my Indian Red cardstock.)
7. Apply VersaMark over the entire embossed side that you've just distressed.  Completely cover with clear embossing powder and then by carefully holding your cardstock by it's edges, use a heat tool to clear emboss it.
8. Apply gluestick to the backside of the patterned paper and adhere to the back side of the embossed cardstock.
9. Sew around the entire edge of the wallet.
10. Attach your accordion sides with very tacky tape to be sure they stay put.
11. Attach your button/brad embellishment for your closure.  I opted to add my button to the side to mask the poor job I did with sewing!  Actually, I kinda like the button on the side - it seems to make it look more elegant!  See, all mistakes are just an opportunity to embellish! lol :)
12. Use self-adhesive velcro dots for the closure of the wallet as shown in the picture above.
Have fun!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Happy Mail from Ila and Tracy

I had more 'happy mail' today! After waiting for two hours to get bloodwork done this morning and not being able to eat or drink...meaning no pain meds since last night, I was glad to come home to take my meds again and find some happy mail waiting in my mailbox! They definitely made my day!  Thanks so much, ladies for thinking of me!  :)

The first card above came from a friend and fellow CSTer, Ila Stachowich. What a sweet card, I just love it! How cute is little mouse?  :)  Ila does the most beautiful work and in my opinion, is the Queen of High Hopes and Magnolia stamps. Her colouring is out of this world, she makes everything look so soft and well blended. One of these days I need to take a course on colouring as that's one of the areas that I could really use help in.

This 2nd card came from my friend, Tracy Houghton. Tracy and I converse back and forth quite often and I hope to some day met her in person when we take a trip out west. She knows she's always welcome to come visit us here in Nova Scotia, too, of course! Hey, are ya up for a vacation, Trace? This cute little book worm reminds me of my 8 year old daughter. She's always reading, I'm so glad that she has a love for reading, it'll really help her down the road. 

Thanks so much to Ila and Tracy for thinking of me and brightening my day with some happy mail! :)  I have a paper crafts project to show you from the other night...so, stay tuned for that!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

RAK's and a Swap Card

This beautiful card above was given to me by my friend, Louise Allen.   I love the shimmer on this card and it also uses some of my favourite colours, gorgeous flowers and a beautiful butterfly charm.  I absolutely love it!  Thanks so much, Louise!

Apparently, a couple of my friends have a twisted, sarcastic sense of humour...with the next two cards!   lol   :)  The card below was given to me by my friend, Kim Prince.  I love it!  So funny!  Thanks so much, Kim for thinking of me and making me laugh so hard with this card!

 

Here's another card that had me roaring with laughter - so funny!  Not sure about holding the kitty by the tail, but I know it's all in fun!  Thanks so much to my friend, Valerie Wilson for bringing this one over to me.  My hubby, Jim's not quite sure about you two, now!  But, you know I luv ya both!  lol :)

The card below was created by Catherine Levy.  I drew Catherine's name for our swap this time around.  It was to incorporate sheet music and buttons on a card or project or your choice.   I love the way she used the sheet music to create this beautiful distressed flower.  So pretty.   Thanks, so much, Catherine, it's beautiful!

As you can see, I used a few of the girls photos from their blogs to save me from having to take pictures of them and plus, they were watermarked already.  I don't think they'll mind me using their pictures.   Thanks again, girls!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Is that Audrey Hepburn or Max Headroom...

I've been meaning to post this since before Christmas for some comic relief...but I keep forgetting! So, here it finally is. Apparently, my 6 year old daughter has channeled Max Headroom from beyond in the form of a twisted Audrey Hepburn...WHAT????

Yes, that's right! Natalia took a completely gorgeous image of Audrey Hepburn and coloured it to look like Max Headroom, in my opinion! Who is Max Headroom, you say? Well, it was a TV show back in 1980's.  Doesn't this image bear a striking resemblance to Natalia's card, above!  LOL  :)

Max Headroom is a character, portrayed by Matt Frewer and designed to resemble a computer-generated figure, who originated in a 1985 British music video. Headroom became ubiquitous in pop culture for a time, appearing in Coca-Cola commercials and in his own 1987 television series, also called Max Headroom. (Taken from Wikia.)

Just to show you what this image looked like before she coloured it, here's a card that I made a little while back with this photostamp from QuietFire Designs.

Anyway, just thought some of you out there could use a good laugh!   LOL  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by!  :)

Sheet Music Swap and an update on me

My local stampin' friends are coming over to keep me company tonight and make a project demo'd by Kim. I'll post it tomorrow, so stay tuned. :)  Our swap card this time around was to use 'sheet music and buttons.'  The patterned papers that I used are by Creative Memories from their Bountiful Harvest paper pack  The sheet music came from Val's Mum.  She got a new book and wondered if we would like to use her old one for card making,  Such a neat medium to use on a card, I think!   Thanks, so much, Val, for sharing some pages with us!   :)  I love the vintage look with the use of some different buttons.

Well, I'm not feeling very well today, but I really need the company tonight with a few good laughs and besides, they know how I'm feeling, so they're not expecting me to entertain them all night.  But, hey, perhaps I will be the entertaining one with the addition of my morphine!  lol  :)

I'm still in a great deal of pain with massive headaches, neck and shoulder pain along with a lot of numbness still in my left arm and hand.  But, now I'm facing issues with my Neurosurgeon.   She got the report back from my MRI and she said that the tumour isn't invading the spine or surrounding nerves, so there's nothing neurosurgically that she can do for me! So, she's passed me back to my family doctor to deal with.  I cried when I heard that on Friday.   Now, I have to go through a bunch of other tests to find out what's wrong with me and find another surgeon to operate to get rid of my tumour.  I just want to get back to normal and get back to work!  I'm going crazy at home!  Plus, the fact that I can't drive because I'm too dizzy.  This sucks!  Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me that they figure what's the matter soon!  Thanks again to everyone for their emails, beautiful cards and kind thoughts!  I appreciate them all more than you know.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

RAK from Nancy

I received some 'happy mail' in the form of a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) yesterday from my friend, Nancy Elrick, who also happens to be the list owner of a wonderful Yahoo group that I've been a member of for several years, called, CST (Canadian Stamp Talk).

I've loved the versatility of this flourish stamp from SU! and the flowers she used are so pretty and shimmery.  Hard to take a good pic of, to get the true colour, they're a darker pink in real life, but my flash was picking up on the glitter in them.  So pretty, though.   

Nancy, thank you so much for thinking of me right now, especially when you have so much on your plate, as well.  You really made my day!   Keep an eye out for a little love coming your way, too!  *wink*

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Happy Birthday, Mum!

 

This is a card that I made for my Mum's upcoming birthday. She likes mauve and soft, pastel colours so I went with something in muted colours, but still cheery.

I was in Winners a while back and I found a set of cardstock/vellum invitations that you could print out yourself that came with envelopes...for only $2 for 15!  So, yeah I had to buy them!  lol  :)  I just added the matted squares and the butterflies and embossed the bottoms to jazz it up a bit.  I think she'll like it.

Here's a different angle to show you the dimension of the butterflies and the two sets of embossed score lines that you hardly see in the picture above.

The butterflies came from my friend, Val.   She decided to fuel my butterfly addiction and gave me a bunch of diecut butterflies cut from some gorgeous heavyweight patterned papers.  I finally got around to using some of them.  Thanks again so much, Val!  :)

Oh, on a recycling note, can you see the mauve square mattes for the butterflies?   You'll laugh when you hear where this paper is from!  My friends, Val and Kim brought me a gorgeous plant the other day and this mauve paper is what the plant was wrapped in!  I loved the colour of it, and wanted to use it for my Mum's card!  Funny, eh?  Thought you'd all get a kick out of that!  lol  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by!  :)

Mutch to Stamp's 1st Colour Challenge

I thought it might be fun to start something new on my blog.   So, I've started my own Colour Challenge for anyone to enter.   From time to time, I see something on TV, in a magazine or maybe while just walking around a store and I absolutely love the colours together.  I then find myself drawn to making a card using those colours.   I've looked at different colour challenges on the Internet and I always find it amazing when a group of people are given the same colours to work with and everyone's project turns out completely different.  

This is my creation to perhaps give you a bit of inspiration.

 

A close up of the embossed butterfly...ya know I had to add a butterfly, didn't ya?  lol  :)

So, if you'd like to enter my challenge, please leave me comment below with a link to your card.  If you don't have a blog, simply email me a picture of your card - my email address is in the sidebar.   Also, I'm not promoting any particular cardstock supplier, so simply use colour choices that are similar to the four colour swatches that I have above.

You have until Feb. 28th to post a link to your creation here and I'll post all entries on my blog shortly thereafter and I'll send out a little crafty treat to the random winner.  I can't wait to see everyone's creations!

Thanks for playin' along!  :)

Happy Valentine's Day, Jim!

 

This is the Valentine's Day card that I made for my hubby, Jim. I recently got this stamp and I love it, especially the "Kiss Me You Fool" sentiment, Jim will get a kick out of that, I'm sure!  :)

I just wish I had an easier time taking a picture of it, though. Because of the photostamp, after several attempts with different camera settings and in different lighting, I still couldn't get a good picture.  So, I opted to just use my scanner instead. Arg...I need to take a photography course! lol :)

This is a little container of yummy goodness for Jim for Valentine's Day.   Chocolate covered cashews and chocolate covered cherries.  Afterall, what's Valentine's Day, without a little chocolate! 

Thanks for stoppin' by!  :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Kiss Me You Fool - Photostamp (Inkadinkado), Sweet heart (Studio G), of mine (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: China Red Linen (CRS), Chocolate Brown (CRS), Sky Blue (The Paper Company), Glossy White (CRS)

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Vintage Sepia (VersaFine)
Tools: Sponge (SU), Cuttlebug, Textile Texture Cuttlebug Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft)
Embellishments: Jumbo Chocolate Brads (Dollarama)

Asian Fusion Origami Challenge

I made this card for a challenge over at Capture the Moment for Nicole's Asian Fusion Origami Challenge.  I can't tell you how frustrated I got.  I had a project in mind to use an origami lotus flower as a topper to a cute little origami box to hold chocolates.   But, alas I had to resort to the kids origami projects as I just couldn't get my lotus flower to turn out right after several attempts and several different styles of paper.  :(

Anyway, I think this little "Welcome Little One' card turned out kinda cute.  I love making baby cards and it just so happens that I know a few people that have just had babies or are due really soon, so I'm sure this card will find a home soon!  :)

I used this pattern for my little origami stars over at Origami Fun.  I think I'll try playing with some of these patterns down the road....I'm determined that I'm gonna get that lotus flower folded out without ripping the paper!  

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Welcome Little One (Studio G), Baby Bundle (Paper Inspirations), Man on the Moon (SOA)
Cardstock: Baby Blue (The Paper Company), Goldenrod Linen (CRS), Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Classic K Bailey Green Swirls (K&Company)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine), Gold (Silver Ball - Staedtler), Yellow Craft Ink, Metallic Gold Gel Pen (to outline vintage sepia stamped sentiment)
Touch Markers: 136-Blush (Shinhan Art)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Swuares (EK Success), scissors, Scattered Straw Distress Stickles (Tim Holtz - Ranger)
Embellishments:Origami Stars (made with white text stock and inked up with yellow craft ink)

Valentines for My Girls

I made two of these cards for my two sweet little girls, Alexandria and Natalia for Valentine's Day.   I know these are really simple cards, but my girls come to expect handmade cards from me for obvious reasons...I can't go out and buy one now!  I did make a few little mistakes in my colouring on the little girl...I'm sure the girls won't even notice.   Hard to focus on colouring today the way my head feels, but I wanted to get these cards done.

I was surprised yesterday with this sweet stamp set and pretty little pink tulle flowers as a gift to cheer me up from my friend, Dejah.   She owns one of our local stamp stores, Carousel Rubber Stamps.  Thanks so much, Dejah!   I'm sure my girls will love this image - it's too cute!  :)   My friends, Val and Kim also stopped by with tonnes of goodies and absolutely made my afternoon!   I was having a really good day yesterday with minimal pain and it was so nice to have a few laughs with them.   They're such great friends!   Thanks again so much for everything, Val and Kim!  You guys Rock!  :)

Thanks to everyone else who has sent me emails to express their concern for my health issues, too.   I really appreciate your good vibes heading my way.  Hopefully I'll be fit as as a fiddle really soon!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: You're the Best (Hero Arts)
Cardstock: China Red Linen & Goldenrod Linen (CRS), Flat White (Staples), Light Pink (The Paper Company)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Touch Markers: 11-Carmine, 29-Bareley Beige. 36-Cream, 136-Blush, 198-Tender Pink (ShinHan Art)
Tools: Cuttlebug, Classic and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Circle Custom Cutting System (Creative Memories), Corner Rounder (EK Success), Swiss Dots and Swirls Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), 3/16" Pop Dots (SU)
Embellishments: Pink Princess 2" Tulle Flowers (Bazzill Basics Paper), Pink Rhinestones (Dollarama)

Get Well cards

I really do have some of the best friends in the world!  This card is from my friend, Catherine, as a 'get well soon' card that she brought over to me along with a meal that she prepared for our family.   Several of my friends have been bringing over meals to help out while I haven't been feeling well.  I can't express how appreciative I am of the support.  Even Catherine's Mum brought over a meal this morning and brought the card below that she made to cheer me up.  I love getting happy mail and not having to worry about making meals is one less thing that I need to worry about right now.

I haven't mentioned anything on here, but I had to go off work on sick leave a couple of weeks ago as I'm going through a bit of a medical issue.  About a year ago, I discovered a lump on my back up between my shoulders.   I asked my family doctor about it and she sent off a referral to a specialist, but said sometimes it takes a little while to hear back from them.  Well, about 6 months ago, I still hadn't heard anything and although I was expecting for it to be a while to get in to see the specialist, the lump was getting bigger, so I went in to my family doctor again to have her look at it to re-assess it.  She agreed it was growing and she sent off another referral to the specialist, hoping that it would speed things up a bit.

Well, about a month ago, the tumor started to grow a lot all of a sudden and it started to become very painful.  So, I made yet another appointment with my family doctor.  While I waiting to get to her, the pain got so bad that it was nearly unbearable.  Jim took me to the hospital and as soon as the ER doctor looked at it she got concerned and prescribed me some Morphine right away to control the pain.  The tumor is pressing on my spine and surrounding nerves which is causing an extreme amount of pain in my neck, arms and shoulders along with excruiating headaches, dizziness and nausea.   Not to mention that I'm also experiencing numbness and paralysis in my left arm from time to time as the nerves become pinched.  Sounds, like fun, eh?

I finally got in to meet with my Neurosurgeon last Tuesday and she was very kind and seemed genuinely concerned for me.   She booked me in for an MRI that I had on Tuesday this week, but I'm still waiting for the report to get back to her, then she'll contact me to go back to see her.  I'm hoping she'll call soon, so I go in and have the surgery and get back to normal.  I'm scared to death about having back surgery that close to my spine, but I'm sure all will go well and then I can work on getting well again and be able to go back to work.   I really miss working and I'm going shack happy at home spending most of my days in bed and not being able to do anything is driving me crazy!

So, that's what is going on in my neck of the woods.   I'll post another update as soon as I hear any more news.  In the meantime, please keep your fingers crossed for me and thank you to everyone that has helped out by hearing through the grapevine that I'm not feeling well.  I luv you all!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)