Princess Kitty

I'm sharing a card today that uses the Princess photostamp by The Stampsmith. I had to crop the image, but kitty is perched on a pillow, just like a Princess! Isn't she cute?

Well, it's hard to believe, there's only a few days left until Christmas and I still have lots of wrapping to do.  I always procrastinate until the last minute, so I'd like to try to get it all done today.   I kinda wish I could wiggle my nose and it'd be all done, alas I don't think that's gonna happen, so off I go to wrap presents...

Wishing you all a safe and Merry Christmas! :)
 

A Few Christmas Cards

I have several Christmas cards to share with you today...that I finally took the time to photograph.  I've become quite addicted to Pinterest lately...I think there's a reason why I waited so long to sign up with it, since I knew this would likely happen!  So many great ideas, so little time!  lol  :)  Can you believe Christmas is only days away?   Wow, I really need to get myself in gear and finish my shopping!  Anyway, I'm trying to get some Christmas cards ready to send out and I saw the first three cards Pinterest and gathered inspiration from them to create ones of my own  The above card was inspired by this card.
 

 This little button Christmas tree was inspired by this card.

 This doily card was inspired by this card.

 These last two cards are my design, using up some scraps.  Isn't this red ribbon delish?  :)

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

TSC37: A Handmade Holiday - Framed Home Decor

It's challenge time again over at The Stampsmith Challenge and this time around we're challenging you to create something using 'A Handmade Holiday' theme.  This can be a Christmas Tree Ornament or a piece of home decor...the sky's the limit!  I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

I decided to make a piece of Holiday home decor, using a three picture frames.  The large one is stained using a cherry finish and the other two are little chocolate ornate frames, which I used to frame my stamped images, Holly and Grace by The Stampsmith.

I embossed the poinsettia using ivory embossing powder onto wine cardstock and cut out all the layers, finishing the flower with a pearl brad for the centre.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Happy 9th Birthday, Natalia!

Happy 9th Birthday to my sweet little girl, Natalia!

We had Natalia's birthday slumber party yesterday/this morning and I have to say, I'm still recovering from the lack of sleep.  It's crazy how loud 10 little girls can be when they get together...I think I can still hear the ringing in my ears! 

This is the birthday cake that I got for her.  I was really impressed at how clearly the picture came out.  This is the first time I've bought one of these cakes from Atlantic Superstore and Natalia loved it.   It's amazing what they can do with cakes these days.   They scanned her picture from a 4" x 6" that I provided, and they enlarged it to fit the top of the cake and printed it off onto Rice Paper.  I'm not sure how they get the rice paper onto the top of the cake, but very carefully, I'm assuming!  lol  :)   It's hard to read the sentiment on the bottom of my picture, but it was clear in person.  It reads, Happy 9th Birthday, Natalia.

OK, I'm off to relax and go to bed early...the last of them were up until 3:00 am this morning...yes, I'm getting too old for these sleepovers!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)

Teal Christmas Wishes

I'm sharing a Christmas card with you today using the beautiful Holly Christmas photostamp by The Stampsmith.  I opted to use teal, a non-traditional Christmas colour, even using it on my poinsettias, just for fun.

I sponged on black soot distress ink to highlight the embossed pieces.  I think it adds elegance to the project and I finished off the poinsettias with a little pearl embellie for the flower centers.
 
Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Butterflies and a Kiss

For my card, I used a stunningly romantic stamp by The Stampsmith.  This photostamp is sold as a single and is called The Kiss.   I love using this stamp for special cards, this moment between the couple gives you a glimpse of their special day that I think so many can relate to.

For the background, I used a gorgeous patterned paper pad by Prima, called Rondelle.  The butterflies were punched out of the same Rondelle paper pad, using the Tim Holtz Mini Butterflies set.

I have a couple of Christmas cards to share with you, too.  I'll post them tomorrow.

Thanks for stopppin' by! :)
 

Kermit Thank You

This fun card is for one of my colleagues who has just stepped down from a regional committee he's served on for 10 years.  He's a great guy with a fantastic sense of humour, so I thought he'd get a kick out of this card, as apposed to a sappy thank you card.  He happens to also be a musician who has his own band, hence the addition of Kermit playing the banjo.  I hope he likes it.  If nothing else, he'll love the gift card inside! lol   :)

I used a few images from the net and created the sentiments and printed them off.   Paired it with some manly-looking dp from the Craftsman Collection by Prima.  In case you can't read the sentiments on the card, they read as,
It's not easy bein' green...
Nor, is it east bein' on a committee this long!

Thanks so much for your dedication!

inside of card with gift card pocket on left-hand side

back of card

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

TSC36: Monochromatic Whites Challenge

It's challenge time again over at The Stampsmith Challenge and this time around we're challenging you to create something with 'Monochromatic Whites' in mind.  For my card, I used this sweet little girl from the Thank Heaven for Little Girls #1 stamp sheet by The Stampsmith. 

For the background, I brewed a pot of tea and used it to dye a coffee filter.  After I soaked it, I crumpled it up as best I could to give it an aged look and then used my heat tool to dry it out.  I then paired it with some pretty lace, a doily and a Prima flower to finish it off.

I hope you decide to play along in the fun for a chance to win a free stamp sheet from The Stampsmith!  I look forward to seeing all your creations!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Shoe Queen

This is not a traditional birthday card, I know, but one of my colleagues just celebrated her birthday last week and I made her this card that is truly fitting for her.   She wears some of the loveliest shoes around and just so happens to also run her own shoe business on the side.  She carries some gorgeous shoes...I just wish I could wear some of them without fear of breaking my neck!   lol  :)

I used the cute little pump stamps from the Shoe Queen stamp set by Impression Obsession.  The Shoe Queen sentiment is also from this set.   The flourishes I added around the sentiment are part of a stamp by Inkadinkado.

This Wednesday, there will be a new card challenge theme over at The Stampsmith Challenge so I'll have my card posted tomorrow for that.  Stay tuned to see what the new theme will be and for my Design Team creation.  I hope to see you play along with us!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Halloween Masquerade

I used the gorgeous masquerade stamp from the Halloween stamp set from The Stampsmith.

The beautiful flowers around the image are flowers from a wedding that I attended this past summer that I dried.  They used them in the bride's bouquet, but these were ones that the little flower girl threw to the ground as she walked up the aisle.  I thought they were absolutely stunning so I pocketed a few!  lol  :)

I used some scraps for the woven background to create the basket weave pattern.  Not traditional Halloween colours, but hey, who says I have to be traditional?

Now for my Halloween Ghouls...on their way to their elementary school dance this past Thursday.  I was so sorry that I couldn't go with them, but unfortunately, I had another migraine so I was home sick in bed.  Jim assured me they had lots of fun, though.

My 11 year old, Alexandria as Katy Perry/a Dead Mermaid...yes, a tad odd, I know!

My nearly 9 year old, Natalia as Abby Bominable from the Monster High doll craze.

Just a note that there's still a couple of days left to enter the 'With Gratitude' card challenge over at The Stampsmith Challenge.  You have a chance at winning an entire sheet of stamps from The Stampsmith just for entering!   I hope you decide to play along in the fun! 

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Halloween Moon Dancers

It's almost that spooky time of year again and that being said I have another Halloween card to share with you.   I used these fun little moon dancers from the Halloween plate by The Stampsmith.  

I'm almost done another Halloween card, using another  fun image from the same stamp set.   I'll post it soon, so stay tuned...

Thanks for stoppin by! :)
 

Four holidays in one weekend!

It's been a weekend of 4 holidays...yes, birthday, anniversary, Thanksgiving and Halloween all in one!  Saturday was my oldest daughter's 11th birthday, yesterday was my 17th wedding anniversary and today my family came to my house and I served up a big feast of turkey with all the trimmings for Thanksgiving Day.  Now, onto the 4th holiday...

I have a bit of Halloween fun to share with you tonight.  I used the kitty perched on a tree branch from the Halloween plate by The Stampsmith.   I'll have a few more Halloween cards to share with you throughout the month, so stay tuned.   :)

Here's a close up of the spooky kitty image and my spider web made out of hemp twine that I pulled all part to make it look fibrous.  

I also made the spider using my Martha Stewart Double Loops punch.   I punched it out once to make the body and four legs, then, I punched it out two more times and cut off a leg from each side and glued them to the back to create my little spider.   Some tiny green gems for eyes and he was complete.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

TSC35: With Gratitude

Our theme for this month over at The Stampsmith Challenge is 'With Gratitude'. To play along, create any sort of thank you card, using at least one stamp from The Stampsmith to be entered into the draw for a chance to win a gift certificate, valued at $21.00 from The Stampsmith Store!

For my project, I used sweet little, Shirley, holding a bucket full of flowers.

I hope you decide to play along in the fun!  I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Beautiful, Ophelia

I have a card to share with you today using the beautiful, Ophelia by The Stampsmith.   She comes in a few different sizes, this is the medium-sized stamp that measures 2.25" x 3.5".

I cropped her a little bit, so here's the full stamp below.

A close up of the beautiful, Ophelia.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Magic Slider Box

I made this box last weekend when I got together with my group of crafty friends. Janice shared this great Slider Box tutorial by Beate Johns with us and we all had fun making each of our boxes.  They all turned out very different from one another. I always find it amazing how different each of our styles are. 

Here's an angel view to show you the dimension of the box.

Here's the box with the note card and the drawer pulled open.  Little chocolates or candies can be put in the drawer to make a cute little gift.

I have another project to share with you using some of the same gorgeous papers...stay tuned.

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)
 

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I made this card for my Dad for his birthday today. He loves to cycle and definitely lives life to the fullest, so I thought this would be fitting for him. For the main focal image, I used the cyclist from the Mountains Landscape photostamp sheet by The Stampsmith.

Here's a close up of the photostamp of the cyclist trailing up the mountain.

Here's the close up of the sentiment, 'Live.'  I added the extra part of the sentiment, 'life to the fullest.'

Just a reminder about the current 'Bags n' Tags' challenge we have on the go over on The Stampsmith Challenge blog.  I see a few entries so far, but I'd love to see all your gorgeous entries, too!   Each entry, which uses at least one stamp by The Stampsmith, has a chance to win a gift certificate from The Stampsmith Store, valued at $21!   I hope you decide to play along in the fun!

Thanks for stoppin' by! :)