Happy Mail from Deborah

I received some happy mail today from my friend, Deborah March. She knows how much I love butterflies and brightened my day with this gorgeous creation!

I scooped the picture of this card from Deborah's blog. For the background, she used this gorgeous Silhouette Lacy Butterflies background - a cutting file from Quickutz and the sentiment is by Hero Arts. The butterflies were punched with a Martha Stewart punch, then glittered with gold Glitter Ritz. So pretty! Thanks so much for thinking of me, Deborah! You made my day!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Winter Watcher

I have another creation to show you using one of my Sweet Pea Stamps, this one is called Winter Watcher from ©Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection.  My colouring for this card has a bit of dark look to it, but I think she's beautiful with her soft blue and white hair and gorgeous teal dress and cape.   Teal is such a wonderfully rich colour - definitely one of my favourites.  Look at the flourish detailing that she put into the dress and glove - so pretty!  Oh my, I love these stamps!  :)

Here's a close up of the image.  It's hard to see, but I used Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz all over the coloured image.   It gives it such a nice, shimmery look.  My pictures are a little washed out.  In real life, the kitty is a little darker blue.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Watcher - ©Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection (Sweet Pea Stamps)
Cardstock: Teal (Bazzill), Night of Navy Linen (CRS), Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Bohemia - Blue Bird - All Boy (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine) 
Touch Markers: 0-Colorless Blender, 29-Bareley Beige, 36-Cream, 64-Indian Blue, 86-Vivid Reddish Purple, 136-Blush, 143-Mint Blue, 144-Pale Baby Blue, 175-Lime Green, Black & Grey (Shinhan Art)
Tools: Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz, Super Fine Detail Clear Embossing Powder (Ranger), Embossing Buddy (SU), Embossing Tray, Heat Tool (Marvy Uchida), Quilling Tweezers
Embellishments: Clear Gems (Dollarama), Clear Rhinestone Border (Dollarama)

Mojo131 Sketch Challenge

This is a long card that I made for the current Mojo Monday sketch challenge. It measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2".  I don't normally make long cards, but this was a fun one to make...unfortunately, now I'll need to make an envelop for it, too, since I don't have any envelopes that size.

I have to tell you, I'm absolutely giddy with excitement over this card - I know, that sounds funny and  you're probably thinking, "Well, Julie, why don't you just pat yourself on the back!"  lol  :)  So, I'll explain my excitement.  Tonight, from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM we were supposed to turn off the lights in support of Earth Hour.  So, we obeyed the no lights rule and lit some candles instead.  Well, I made this entire card in the dark - by the light of just a few tealights!  I think I did a pretty good job with my matting, don't you think?  lol  :)

Here's the Mojo sketch that I followed:

I also used some gorgeous, double-sided, patterned paper that my friend, Val gave to me.   We each bought paper for the other person and challenged her to use that piece of paper on a card.  A fun challenge and Val was good to me, giving me this gorgeous paper to work with!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Sentiments I (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Wine (CRS), River Rock (SU), Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Christine Adolph (Creative Imaginations)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Fired Brick and Shabby Shutters (Ranger)
Tools: Quilling Tweezers, 3/16" Glue Dots, Silent Setter (ProvoCraft) - to punch another hole in the metal tag
Embellishments: Sheer Olive Polka Dot Ribbon (Michaels), Metal Edged Frame, Silver Dragonfly

Sweet Pea Stamps DT Sketch Challenge

Oh, my goodness, I was so excited to see that Sweet Pea Stamps has started up a new blog called Sweet Pea Stampers and they're looking for a design team for it. This is my submission card. I absolutely love there stamps and would be thrilled to be chosen for their DT.  Fingers crossed for me!  :)  I think this stamp, Poppy Love is my favourite - poppies are my all time favourite flower and she's so beautiful.  These stamps are so much fun to colour in!

Here's a close up of the 'Poppy Love' mermaid and gorgeous paper flowers that I found at the Dollarama!   Ya gotta love the dollar store!  :)

They provided this beautiful sketch to follow for the DT challenge.

Thanks for stoppin' by!  :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Poppy Love - ©Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection (Sweet Pea Stamps), Vintage Flourish (Stampabilities)
Cardstock: China Red Linen (CRS), Dark Purple (Recollections), Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Scarlet's Letter - Recognition (Basic Grey), Archaic - Rusty (Basic Grey)
Ink: Ancient Page - Coal Black (Clear Snap), Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Fired Brick (Ranger), Black, Purple, Mauve, Wine
Touch Markers: 0-Colorless Blender, 11-Carmine, 29-Bareley Beige, 144-Pale Baby Blue (ShinHan Art)
Tools: Quilling Tweezers, 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Custom Circle Cutting System (Creative Memories), Aqua Painter (SU), 3/16" Glue Dots
Embellishments:Sheer Black Ribbon (Michaels), Silver Dragonfly Charms, Red Paper Flowers (Dollarama)

Eskimo Proverb Sympathy Card

***Edited to Add***
FroggieTalks left a comment wondering where this Eskimo Proverb stamp is from - it's from the clear stamp set, "Sympathy Sentiments (CL114)" made by Impression Obsession.   If you click on the CL114 link, it'll take you right to the Impression Obsession website where you can see the whole stamp set and order from there if you'd like, too.  Happy Shopping!  :)

This sympathy verse is one of my favourite sayings for this occasion.  This Eskimo proverb is such a lovely way to think of those who we've lost.  I tend to use it a lot for sympathy cards that I make and I like to keep a few extra cards like these on hand, just to have ready when the unfortunate time comes, that you do need one.

A close up of the bow, simple but elegant in keeping with the theme of the card.

Here's a close up to show you the flourish that I stamped using white craft ink, then over-stamped the sympathy verse in rich cocoa.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Sympathy Sentiments (Impression Obsession), Flourishes (Stampabilities)
Cardstock: Soft Sky (SU), Chocolate (CRS), Flat White (Staples)
Ink: Soft Sky (SU), Memento - Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko), Whisper White Pigment Ink (SU)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Scissors, Cuttlebug, Fancy Scalloped Border Piercerabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Decorative Satin Ribbon (Michaels), Jumbo White Brad (Dollarama)

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)

A Spring Challenge

My great friend, Val, has a wonderful challenge running on her blog, here's the info taken from her blog:

Hi everyone!

As a tribute to Spring, I am issuing a challenge to all of my stamping friends out there! It's a tough one (at least for me anyway!)

Spring is a time of regeneration and renewal... the flowers are peaking out and the trees are getting ready to burst into a leafy green frenzy! Spring is also a time for airing out the house, deep cleaning and detoxifying.

Starting today until the end of April, I pledge to save trees by not buying any new crafting paper! I am going to work on USING my existing stash of beautiful papers and scraps!

Will I have the willpower? Do you? Let's do it together - there is strength in numbers - invite a friend!! Please join the fun via Mr. Linky and we'll count the "detox" days together and blog about it as we go!

I'm using a card that I made a few days ago using scraps of paper and I vow to not buy any more paper at least until the end of April!  

Thanks for stoppin' by and I hope you decide to play along, too!  :)

Coffee Filter Flower

I saw this gorgeous creation on Corie's blog today and I just had to CASE it with some new patterned paper that I just got the other day. She used a bit of a different flower than me, here's a tutorial for the one that she made.

Here's a close up of my handmade flower.

For my flower, I used coffee filters, dunked them in tea and wrung them out. Dried them flat with my heat tool and then crumpled up each layer. I used 14 layers on this flower. Each layer was with the smallest scallop circle nestie - punching out 4 at a time.  I poked a hole with a thumbtack down through the centre of all the layers and used a small brad to hold them all together.  I ruffled up the petals and distressed them a bit with my Tim Holtz Tea Dye distress ink.   A fun project for sure!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Cardstock: Ivory (Staples), Soft Sky (SU)
Patterned Paper: Bridgeport - Sunday Bruncg (s.e.i.)
Ink: Tea Dye  - Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ranger)
Tools: 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Quilling Tweezers, Cuttlebug, Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Scallop Dot Punch (Martha Stewart), Textile Texture Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), Thumbtack, Copper Brad
Embellishments: Pale Blue Pearls (Dollarama), Striped Satin Ribbon (Michaels)

Flower Swap Card by Val

I drew Val's name this month for the card swap among our local group of crafty gals and I received this gorgeous flower creation by Val Wilson.   The theme was to make a flower ourselves and incorporate it into a card.  The flower that she made is fabulous - I just love all the layers and the distressing that she did.  Her background is great, too.  I really like the way she cut her patterned paper and offset it slightly and she added such a dainty little white flower rub-on.  Thanks so much, Val, for this beautiful card!  I love it!  :)

Here's a close up of her handmade flower using scalloped circle Nestabilities.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Paper Flower Swap

The theme for our monthly card swap this time around was to make our own flower and to use up one or more scraps of patterned paper.  I made this flower by stamping out 4 flowers from the True Friend set from SU.  I carefully cut each one of them out and then crinkled them all up.   I used my bone folder to curl the petals up and then used a thumbtack to poke a hole down through the centre of all the flowers.  A Decorative pewter brad finished off the flower and holds it all together.  I love this frame, but I don't own that particular Nestabilities, so I freehand drew it myself and cut out two of them!  So proud of myself!  lol  :)

I saw this card below and fell in love with it and decided to CASE it in part.  It was created by Amy Sheffer for StampersDream.com.  I've always been a huge fan of Amy's, her artwork is absolutely gorgeous and such a joy to look at. 

Here's a close up to show you the flower a little better and the dimension of the card.

My girls decided to they wanted to make flowers, too.  Here's the one that my 6 year old made.  She loves red and she's all about shiny things, so she chose this metallic red paper.

This is the one that my 8 year old made - just like Mama's but baby blue.

Well, it's a beautiful day here today, so we're heading out to the yard to enjoy the sun!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Amy Butler - Lotus Greeting Stamps (K&Company), True Friend (SU)
Cardstock: Pumpkin (Bazzill), Ivory (Staples), Chocolate (Bazzill), Deep Red (Bazzill)
Patterned Paper: Bountiful (Creative Memories) - scraps from three sheets from this paper pack
Ink: Chocolate (Ancient Page)
Tools: Thumbtack, Bone Folder, Scissors, Sponge (SU), 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Cuttlebug, Classic and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Jumbo Chocolate Brads, Slate Blue Lace Ribbon & Striped Grosgrain (Autumn Splendor - Making Memories), Pewter Decorative Brad (Dollarama)

Email Subscription Help...

I have a bit of an odd question for anyone out there that might be able to help me. It's regarding my email subscribers. Lately, I've had a few people that have unsubscribed, which is fine, tastes change or they may even be subscribing using a different format.  But, the reason they gave was that their "ISP requested removal." I'm just a bit confused by that, it's not like I'm posting anything thing questionable or of adult nature.

Perhaps there's a setting on blogger that I have clecked by mistake and those ISP's think it's a bad site.  The only obvious setting that I know of is under Settings - Basic - Adult Content.  I've always had this marked as No.

Anyway, hopefully there's someone out there can can shed some light on my problem.  It also just occurred to me that this could be an issue with how I set up my email subscriptions.  Any suggestions?

Thanks for the help! :)

September Rhythm Mermaid

Another mermaid creation from the Sweet Pea Stamps line.  This one is called September Rhythm and I decided to make her into a Tent Topper card.  Since my girls are on March Break now, we each coloured in one of these images today and had a crafty afternoon.  They like mermaids and loved this image so they had fun colouring her in.  Although, tonight my youngest asked when school starts up again...Uh, oh, boredom has started to set in already, I'm afraid!  lol  :)

Here's a close up since in the picture above you can't see the scales in her tail.  The stickles really aren't that thick..it's just my photography!  Guess I should have waited to take the photo during the daylight, but I'm too impatient!  lol  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: September Rhythm - Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection (Sweet Pea Stamps), Playful Expressions Clear Stamps (TPC Studio)
Cardstock: Lime Green (Bazzill), Purely Pomegranate (SU), Ivory & Flat White (Staples)
Patterned Paper: Love Conquers All - Marah Johnson (Creative Imaginations)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko) 
Touch Markers: 0-Colorless Blender, 17-Pastel Pink, 19-Peach, 29-Bareley Beige, 36-Cream, 64-Indian Blue, 136-Blush, 144-Pale Baby Blue, 175-Lime Green (Shinhan Art)
Tools: Aqulling Tweezers, 1/8" Dimensional Squares (EK Success), Scallop Dot Punch (Martha Stewart)
Embellishments: Diamond Stickles & Crystal Stickles (Ranger), White Pearls (Dollarama)

Dance of Butterfly

I can't tell you how much I love my new stamps from Sweet Pea Stamps! Oh my, they're just so much fun to colour and they're so beautiful, I could sit for hours and just colour the day away! :)  If you haven't checked out the images as part of the Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection you've gotta go take a look!  They're absolutely gorgeous!

Well, I had a great weekend and come tomorrow the kids are on March Break for the week.  So, fingers crossed that I can keep them entertained enough that they don't get too bored at home with me!  I'll have to see if I can devise a couple of simple crafty projects for them to do. 

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Dance of Butterfly - Ching-Chou Kuik's Fantasy Art Collection (Sweet Pea Stamps)
Cardstock: Lime Gren (Bazzill), Flat White (Staples), Soft Sky (SU)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Bashful Blue (SU)
Touch Markers: 0-Colorless Blender, 29-Bareley Beige, 36-Cream, 136-Blush, 144-Pale Baby Blue, 175-Lime Green
Copics: BG10-Cool Shadow, E33-Sand, E35-Chamois
Tools: Cuttlebug, Swirls Embossing Folder (ProvoCraft), Sponge, Quilling Tweezers, 3/16" Glue Dots (SU)
Embellishments: Steel Blue Satin Ribbon (Fabricville), Blue and Green Bling (Dollarama), Paper Flowers (Michaels), Crystal Stickles (Ranger)

Faux Metal Tags

My idea was to use those cute little metal edged tags for the two circle accents, but I got tired of fooling around with them!  They're too hard to stamp on and I didn't like the way they were looking, so I was going to try to add patterned paper to the white part of the tag...yup, not working for me either, then I had a brainwave!  Why not just use silver cardstock as a base and it will look like a metal tag! Ta-da, perfect!   :)

I carried the silver theme onto the circle base for the butterfly.  Not sure about this part as my thought was to make it look like it was peeking in a mirror.  Anyway, I guess it works.  What do you think?

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Butterfly (The Artful Stamper), Thanks (Queen Kat Designs)
Cardstock: Soft Sky (SU), Flat White (Staples), Chocolate (CRS),  Silver
Patterned Paper: Wild Saffron - Paper Slab (K&Company)
Ink: Vintage Sepia (VersaFine), Memento - Rich Cocoa (Tsukineko)
Touch Markers: 0-Colorless Blender, 64-Indian Blue, 144-Pale Baby Blue, 175-Lime Green
Tools: Scalloped Edge Punch (SU), Corner Rounder Punch (EK Success), Circle Custom Cutting System & 1 1/2" Circle Punch (Creative Memories), Cuttlebug, Classic Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 3/16" Pop Dots (SU), Scissors (Honey Bee)
Embellishments:Pewter Heart Flower Brad (Dollarama), Pewter Brads (Making Memories), Marcella Paper Flowers (K&Company)

Misha the Lion :)

Just a quick post, but I have something funny to share. I bought this crazy faux-ponytail a while back to go with a Halloween costume and my girls found it today and were playing with it. I saw it and thought it might make a funny lion's mane for Misha and I was right, it was funny! lol :)

Misha thinking, "Oh, come on, get this thing off me!"

Don't worry, I took it right off since she didn't like it at all. But, not before I got a couple of pictures!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Cartoon Animal Babies

I used these super cute baby animals digi's tonight to make a welcome baby girl card since I didn't have any left in my stock and it's always good to have at least one on hand.  I found these little "pot-bellied' cartoon animals the other day on clker.com designed by OCAL.  Super talented artist, by the way.  She should check these images out!  I printed the images off in black and white and then coloured them in with my Touch markers.  It was a super easy card, but I think it's pretty darn cute, too!  I just love making baby cards!  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Tiny Miracle (Studio G)
Digi Images: Cartoon Zebra, Hippo, Pig & Cow by OCAL (http://www.clker.com/)
Cardstock: Pale Pink (CRS), Jet Black (Recollections), Flat White (Staples)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Touch Markers: Black, 136-Blush, 198-Tender Pink, 144-Pale Baby Blue (Shinhan Art)
Tools: Corner Rounder Punch (EK Success), Quilling Tweezers
Embellishments:Pink Bling (Dollarama)

Live Love Laugh Dance Poppies

Oh my goodness, I love these poppies! I coloured them in with my Touch markers (much like Copics), but I was a bit stressed using my scissors to cut them out!   Pretty delicate cuts, but I was successful in not cutting off any stems, so it's all good! lol :)

Here's an angle to show you the dimension of the layers.

If you have some time, you should pop on over to Marjie's Malarkies to see some of her gorgeous colouring pages.  I love poppies and fell in love with this image, so I had to play with it.   You can find the poppies here as a free download.

I've also always loved the quote that's on my card, but I don't own a stamp with this quote.  So, today I decided to create it myself using different fonts and a "Love floral heart" digi image that I just found over on AiFactory Digital Resources and Illustrations.   You can find the floral heart image here as a free download, as well. 

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Digi Images: Poppies (http://marjiesmalarkies.blogspot.com), Love Floral Heart (http://www.aivault.com/store/category/freebies.html)
Cardstock: Jet Black (Recollections), China Red Linen (CRS), Flat White (Staples)
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko)
Touch Markers: 0-Colorless Blender, 11-Carmine, 12-Coral Red, 43-Deep Olive Green, 175-Lime Green
Tools: Black 1/16" Dimensional Dots (MultiCraft Imports), Quilling Tweezers, Aqua Painter (SU), 2-Way Glue (SU)
Embellishments: Black Gems (Dollarama)

Fairy Book Worm

I thought I'd play around with this image for a card for my little book worm daughter, Alexandria.   I know she'll love this sweet little fairy.  Who wouldn't?  I downloaded her a couple of days ago and just had to colour her in tonight while I'm not shaky.   Not the best job colouring, but I had fun!  :)

Here's a peek at the inside of the card...I haven't decided what to stamp on the inside yet!  lol  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Wild Vines Flourish (Technique Tuesday)
Digi Image: Fairy Book Worm (http://fairycoloringpages.blogspot.com)
Cardstock: Flat White (Staples), Purely Pomegranate (SU), Bashful Blue (SU), Lime Green (Bazzill)
Patterned Paper: Make Merry - Celebrate by Michelle Coleman (Fancy Pants Designs)
Touch Markers: 18-Peach, 29-Bareley Beige, 36-Cream, 64-Indian Blue, 86-Vivid Reddish Purple, 95-Burnt Sienna, 144-Pale Baby Blue175-Lime Green
Tools: Quilling Tweezers, 3/16" Pop Dots, Cuttlebug, Scalloped and Small Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Embellishments: Silver Dragonfly, Rose Grosgrain Decorative Ribbon (Scrapbooking & Card Creations)