Live, Love & Stamp

I Have Eye For You!

2012-02-02T11:55:00.000-06:00

Hello! I have a very silly Valentine card for you today! I saw a card on one of the blogs with this very puny sentiment. I actually think it was a stamp set from another company that I don't have, but I used a stamp set I do have and did the sentiment on the computer to make it work. Let me show you my silly card. Enjoy!

Hilarious, right? Yes, I know my googly eye should have been larger to cover the whole white of the monster's eye and monster's are not turquoise and red, but ... mine is and that eye? Well, he just has a slight abnormality! Hee Hee! Anyway, I love how this very silly card came out, how about you?

Recipe:
Paper - We R Memory Keepers Heart Attack line (from last year), Cardstock White, Red
Stamps - Hero Arts Monster Fun set, Be Mine from Studio G $1 stamp
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Spellbinders Heart Circle (borrowed from friend, need this set!), Spellbinders Classic Heart, Classic Circles
Other - Twine by The Twinery, Button, Rhinestones (they aren't really on the above card because I forgot to add them, but the card needs them and they will be going in the bottom right corner ... 3 of them!)

See you tomorrow!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

I Love You With All My Heart!

2012-02-01T11:00:00.000-06:00

Hello! I realized I have not shown you the Valentine card that was the third kit in last week's class at The Crafty Scrapper. You did not see it when I did the class share here because it was a surprise even to those who took my class. But they all loved it and I know you will too! I made a shape easel card. Enjoy!

Is it not adorable? I made extra so I could send some out for myself! I pre-glittered the hearts with Glossy Accents and Pink glitter. Everyone knows I love to paper piece and this one almost looks 3D with her little arms holding the heart! I see that MFT has their guest designer challenge going on called Stamp Your Heart Out. I think I need to enter this one for it. Boy, I would love to be a guest designer ... I love all my MFT stamps! What do you think of this cute Valentine? I bet you wish you would have been in my class so you could make one too! Huh?

Recipe:
Paper - Doodlebug Design Sweet Cakes line: both sides of Hugs & Kisses, Cardstock White, Red, Pink
Stamps - My Favorite Things PI Love You With All My Heart
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Copic for skin
Tools - Spellbinders Hearts
Other - Glossy Accents, Art Institute Transparent Magnolia Glitter, Pearls

I should be back tomorrow with another creation.
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2012-01-28T10:05:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am back today with another share. This is one of the week's where we had a choice between a square and a circle. Let me show you. You will see my card, Debbie's card, and the sketches. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketches

I rarely print a sentiment on my cards because I don't have pretty handwriting, but I really wanted to say something from the "love bandit", so I wrote it small on the ric rac border. I like it, actually! What do you think about this week's share?

I will see you next week. I am off to The Crafty Scrapper to teach today!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Fluttering By!

2012-01-27T11:43:00.000-06:00

Hello! I have a card to show you today! Woo Hoo! There is a lady at my church who is turning 90 and they wanted everyone to bring a card for her on Sunday. Yes, I do have many already made that I could give her, but I decided to make one instead. At least that way, I have another post for you! So, let's get to it! Enjoy!

I got to use a new set of papers, a new flourish die and a butterfly from the set I am teaching with this week at The Crafty Scrapper. The set is one of the Hero Arts sets that has matching dies that cuts out the stamp after it is stamped and as you can see, it does I great job! The funny thing about this set, is that Carolyn, the owner at the store, said I could just use one of the sets for my classes and not have to buy it. But guess what? After using this set, I want it!! Maybe she knew that would happen! In the set, there is even a smaller size butterfly that I really love. I used the middle size on my card today. The layout is a recent sketch that I had planned to enter the challenge on, but I didn't get to it, but I could just see these elements working with the sketch. Here is the pic of the sketch. Better late than never!

What do you think? It really is a great sketch ... which made such a pretty card!

Recipe:
Paper - My Minds Eye Six by Six Vanity Fair, Cardstock White, Pale Green, Wine
Stamps - Sentiment from Rubbernecker, Butterfly from Hero Arts Stamp & Die set
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - MFT Die-namics Fancy Flourish, Spellbinders Classic Circles & Classic Scalloped Circles, Cuttlebug Musical Flourish embossing folder
Other - Rhinestones & Pearls by Queen & Co., Ribbon by My Minds Eye

I will see you tomorrow for the Saturday sketch share!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Happy 50th!

2012-01-25T09:00:00.001-06:00

Hello! A very good friend of mine and her husband celebrated 50 years of marriage a couple of weeks ago. I was hoping to see her at the last stamp convention, so that you could see my card here last week, but I didn't get to give it to her until this last weekend. Now, I can show you! My other friend, Eileen, gave me the idea to use the birdcage die in gold. (thanks Eileen for the great idea!) I did just that and made a joy fold card, as I figured any couple that can make 50 years, is definitelyy a Joy! I have several pics to show you, so let's get to it! Enjoy!

Front with card closed

Opening card

Card Opened

I love how the whole card came together. The sentiments were printed on the computer. Sometimes, you just have to do it that way! I wasn't sure at first about using the pattern paper on the front, but I could not find enough of the gold cardstock to make it work. In the end, I love the contrast and I think it totally makes the card. How do you like the card? Oh, one more thing ...Congratulations Virginia and Bill!

Recipe:

Paper - Die Cuts with a View Luxury stack, Cardstock White, Gold Glossy Stripe, Gold Shimmer
Stamps - My Favorite Things Contempo Cage set
Ink - Memento Black
Tools - Spellbinders Hearts & Labels 4, My Favorite Things Contempo Cage and Tab Die-namics, Stampin' Up border punch
Other - Rhinestones

I am not sure if I will have anything else for you for the next couple of days, we'll see how it goes, but I will be back for sure on Saturday for the Sketch share.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S. Quote of the day: "What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind". - Buddha

Make Today a Beautiful Day!

2012-01-24T09:06:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am right in the middle of prepping for my classes at The Crafty Scrapper this week, but I promised I would do a couple of posts for cards that were sent but I haven't shown you. So, today I have one, and I will do a post for the second one tomorrow. The first one I made for a friend and I used a sketch from My Favorite Things which I need to link up soon as the deadline is in a couple of hours. So, let's get to it. I will show you the card and the sketch. Enjoy!

Sorry the sketch pic is fuzzy. I don't know why it did that. But, I think you can see it enough to see how it matches my card. You can see the link here on Splitcoast if you want. I have had this Pure Innocence girl for a while but had not used her. The sentiment I am using this week on the calendar class card. A perfect sentiment for a calendar I think. I really want to paper piece this girl (I know, no surprise!) but to do that, I figured out that I was going to have to cut out the flower she is holding. Wow, that was major ... not for the faint of hand (hand instead of heart, as in the hand that cuts ... hee, hee!) But, the end result was worth it! What do you think? Pretty card?

Recipe:

Paper - My Minds Eye Six by Six called A Happy Heart, Cardstock Cream, Black
Stamps - My Favorite Things PI Sunflower Girl
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - My Favorite Things Die-Namics Upsy Daisy Flowers
Other - Rhinestones by K & Co., and Queen & Co.

Check in with me tomorrow for the other card I have to show you!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S. Quote for today: "If you want to be happy, be". - Leo Tolstoy

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2012-01-21T12:20:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am a little late getting this post done today. Truthfully, I have been on the computer all morning, but that pininterest thing has sucked me in again! Love looking at all the ideas, especially the card and papercraft ideas. Enough about that, let's get to the important stuff for today. Donna is participating this week, so I have three cards to show you. I will show you mine, then Debbie's, and then Donna's, and of course, the sketch we all three used. All the cards came out great. I know you are ready to see ... enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card (love how the balloons colors perfectly match the paper ... fun!)

Donna's Card (used technique of inking over images stamped in Versamark ...cool!)

The Sketch

I want to note one thing about my card. Do you see I changed where I put the oval at the top? Leaving it on the right side would have covered up my bunny too much, so I moved it to the left. Originally, that was the only change I was going to make and I planned to leave the ribbon tie and tag on the right. Leaving the ribbon on the right seemed more normal to me and gave the card, in my opinion, balance. But, then I was thinking maybe the sketch creator was trying to do different, so I moved it to the same side as the oval. It created an out of the box feel for me, which is always good, as it allows me to try different. And I actually like the result! I also want to note, that my coloring was done with Copics ... shhhh! Don't tell anyone! Now, I didn't do much shading and blending, but I like it. I have bought just a few to kinda see what I think. On one of the blogs, I saw how instead of coloring the bunny, they simply outlined the bunny with a beige marker, and that is what I did ... love the result! The stamp, from The Cat's Pajamas, I have had for a while but had not inked up. I hope you love it because I have several more card ideas to create with it!

That's it for today. Next week, is my class prepping week, but I have at least two posts to get done so you can see a couple of things that I made and sent. And who knows, maybe the class preps will go good and I will have time to make some more cards to show you. I have a bunch of Valentine ideas, and I have yet to make one... less than a month away ... I better get busy! Have a great weekend and GO CREATE something! You deserve it!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Celebrate Good Times!

2012-01-20T15:06:00.000-06:00

Hello! I bet you have wondered what happened to me this week. I have been out in my shack to create and have made a couple of cards, that got sent, and also my swap card that you will see tomorrow. Sometimes that happens, where I make cards but I can't show you because the recipients follow my blog, so I have to wait until the recipient has it in hand. But, I do have one that I finally got finished that I can show you. This one I made for my hubby's grandson who is turning 15 on Sunday. (I am safe because he does not follow my blog!) All week I have been thinking about what stamp I could use. First, because it's a card for a boy, second because he's a teenager, therefore,cutesy images don't work ... anyway, I finally decided to ink up the truck from Deadbeat Designs. Pretty perfect image for him, as he will be getting his learner's permit soon, and he is a cowboy type kid, where trucks are some of his loves! I can't believe I didn't think of it first! Let me show you my card. Enjoy!

I had to get my hubby to help me take the pic of the sentiment that is behind the tailgate. I have a few of the sentiments from Deadbeat Designs that I bought to use with the truck, like "Thought you might need a little pickup" or "Life's a Ditch". But, these would not work for this particular card. Will use them next time! I did find several simple Happy Birthday sentiments that were small enough. But, I stopped looking when I found the "Celebrate Good Times" from Verve. I liked it because it was very bold. I kept thinking about the quote "Let the good times roll" ... truck rolling down the highway. Anyway, that was my thought process. You know I very rarely make a card without a sketch. So, for this one, I went with one you can see here. And speaking of sketches, in a blog post that I saw today from Jen delMuro, she talks about using sketches that I found very interesting. You can see her post here. The part about the sketches is toward the bottom of her post. O.k. back to my card ... I kinda wanted to put his age somewhere but the truck is so big, I didn't think I would be able to. But in the end, I added the two stars with the rub-on numbers! How fun is that? What do you think of my truck card?

Recipe:

Paper - My Minds Eye Lime Twist Out of the Blue 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock White, Red, Green
Stamps - Deadbeat Designs: Truck, Outside Sentiments by Verve from Birthday Bash, Inside sentiments from Hero Arts
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Stampin' Up Square Lattice Folder (on right side of red panel), My Favorite Things Stacking Stars Die-namics
Other - Number Rub-Ons from American Crafts, Glossy Accents on tail lights, side mirrors, and rear view mirror (hard to see in photos)

I will be back tomorrow with the Saturday sketch share. See you then.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2012-01-14T09:00:00.001-06:00

Hello! I am back today with the Saturday Sketch share between Debbie and I. Her card is very wintery and mine? Well, I am ready to move forward to springtime! But, it is still winter and that makes Debbie's card very pretty. Let me show you ... here is my card, Debbie's card and the sketch we both used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

I have a confession to make about my card. The stamp I used is one I got this last weekend at the stamp convention and it is by Whipper Snapper which is one of the last remaining wood mounted stamp lines to have color indexing. Well, I totally colored my caterpillar and flower almost exactly like the color indexing. Cheater! Oh well, it still came out pretty darn cute, wouldn't you say?

Recipe my card:

Paper - Floral paper by The Paper Studio called Doodle Flowers (this is from my stash and it is a text-weight), Lime Dot is from Cosmo Cricket backside of Bloomin Babies, Cardstock White, Purple
Stamps - Whipper Snapper: name on stamp "Hugo" (odd name for a caterpillar?), Hello sentiment from Hero Arts
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Tim Holtz bracket die, EK Success scallop border punch
Other - Ribbon from Creative Impressions, Rhinestones

O.k. I am off today to the second of the two stamp conventions for the month. Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S. I have been forgetting to add the quote of the day. And the last couple of days, they have been awesome, so here is my share:

Live with intention.
Walk to the edge.
Listen hard. Practice wellness.
Play with Abandon. Laugh.
Choose with no regret.
Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn.
Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is. (This is one to keep and look at often).

Act happy, feel happy, be happy, without a reason in the world.
Then you can love and do what you will. (Love this one too)!

It's Magic!

2012-01-13T12:21:00.000-06:00

Hello! This is my second post right in a row, and it uses the same stamp too! The card I am showing you in this post is a "CASE" of a card I saw and loved. And probably, why I purchased the stamp set! I almost always get ideas from other cardmakers but not often, do I case a card so closely to the original. Case stands for copy and share everything and that is exactly what I have done here. The original card was made by Jen del muro, which is one of my favorite blogs to go to, plus I had the privilege of having her teach when I had my store. So, let me show you my card. And then I will give you the link to hers. Enjoy!

Go here to see Jen's original card. No, it's not exact, but it is pretty darn close. I think her curtains were made with a die from TCP. Mine I made with a large scallop die from Sizzix. I also used a Spellbinders Label die for the sentiment! But, I love my card and hers! Thanks Jen for the inspiration!

Recipe:

Paper - No Pattern paper! Cardstock White, Red, Black Yellow
Stamps - The Cat's Pajamas Presto!
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Spellbinders Labels 20 & Petite Oval, Sizzix Large Scallop Border die
Other - Rhinestones

I will be back tomorrow with the Saturday Sketch share. See you then.
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Presto! Over the Hill!

2012-01-13T11:59:00.000-06:00

Hello! Today I will have two posts to show you. I had planned on doing one yesterday and one today, but I didn't get to it, so this is the way I am going to do it. Both posts use the same stamp, one that I got a while back but haven't had a chance to ink it up with all the holiday cardmaking. This first card was made for my hubby's son who is turning 40 this weekend! Wow. Seems crazy because Gary is only 57, but that is what happens when kids have kids! Anyway, because it is the 40th, I wanted to do an over the hill something! I decided my new little bunny magic stamp and the word presto would go perfect with the words "you are old". I have a LOT of stamps, but I could not find this sentiment anywhere. Yes, I could have either done it on the computer or used some alphabet letters but when I came across a clear sticker with the sentiment, "over the hill", I went with it. Let me show you. Enjoy!

And the inside:

The sketch is from Sketch For You To Try for January. Remember last year I did all 12 sketches which entered my name into the big prize on Christmas Day. No, I didn't win, but that doesn't mean I don't want to try for it again. Besides, I love all of Jen's sketches, and by doing them, I have many more ideas to go back to when I am at a loss for a layout. Here is the sketch:

Often times when picking out what papers to use, I go for a collection of papers so that all the color tones match, but sometimes, like this card, you just have to pick and choose, as all three papers are from different lines. But it worked! What do you think, do you like how my card turned out?

Recipe:

Paper - Dots with black bkgd by My Minds Eye Lime Twist - Out of the Blue 6 x 6, Red tiny stars by Pink Paislee Hometown Summer 6 x 6 collection, Dot by Bo Bunny Paprika, Cardstock White, Black
Stamps - The Cat's Pajamas Presto!, Inside: Circle birthday wishes by Endless Creations, Happy by Hero Arts (sentiment read Happy Birthday, but I just inked Happy)
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol (Note: I colored the bunny gray, thinking of gray=old!)
Tools - Spellbinders Circles
Other - The Paper Studio Clear Sticker, Rub-on numbers by Making Memories for the 4 0 !, Pearls by Queen & Co.

I am now going to work on my second post with the same stamp so look for that one!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Whisking You The Best Day Ever!

2012-01-10T15:15:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am back today to show you a little gift item I made for a friend. She is a fabulous cook so originally I was thinking that I could make her a little recipe holder for the kitchen, but as it evolved it became quite glitzy and probably not the right colors for a kitchen. But, she can use it on her desk to hold notes too. I think she liked it. I really enjoyed making it. Let me show you! Enjoy!

Here is what it looked like on the backside:
I added pattern paper on the back and around the edges, I added Lumiere Paint (from ex-Imprints stash ... it was a little thick but I added a touch of water and it helped. I was just glad I had a color that went with it!)

And a few close ups of the front:

I popped the penguin up with some pop up dots. The border was created with the tape from Elizabeth Crafts and their glitter called Glitz Ritz. It is very sparkly and it feels like velvet to the touch. I then added a rhinestone in the middle of each circle for more bling. And the penguin's coat also has rhinestones!

I made magnets from a matching sticker sheet. To make the stickers thicker, I adhered them to cardstock and cut around the shape. Inexpensive magnets from Wal-mart worked perfectly. I love the saying that says "scum-didily-umptious"!

This is the close-up of the tab I added on the right side!

Now, I have one more thing to show you and it goes with the title of the post! It is the card I made to match!

In the same line of papers, there is one with recipe cards overlapping all over the whole 12 x 12 sheet. I cut this paper so that in the background you would see a recipe card with a cupcake. And then added my "whisking ..." sentiment right on top! Perfect. By the way, this "whisking" sentiment is part of the clear set I used from Inky Antics that is actually a holiday set, And the sentiment actually reads "whisking you a sweet holiday". I knew when I got the set, that penguins are not just for Christmas cards, so ... I cut the "whisking" word off of the rest of the sentiment. Now, I can use it alone or with the sweet holiday part. Knowing I would not be using the rest of the sentiment meant that I had to go find something in my stash that I could use to finish my "whisking" sentence. Hero Arts to the rescue! At the end, I also added another stamped sentiment in the corner, also by Hero Arts, to partially cover up a printed cake that looked out of place since the rest of its recipe card was cut off. So, how do you like my little whisking penguin?

Recipe:

Paper - Bo Bunny Sweet Tooth Line, Cardstock White, Aqua (card)
Stamps - Inky Antics Baking Penguins set, Hero Arts Birthday set (card)
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Lumiere Paint
Tools - My Favorite Things Dainty Dots Border & Tab Die-Namics, Elizabeth Crafts Be Creative Tape & Glitz Ritz glitter, Spellbinders Classic Circles & Ribbon Tags
Other - Rhinestones, Pearls, Velvet Ribbon by My Minds Eye

That's it for me today. I hope to be back soon with another creation. Until then ...
Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S. Quote for yesterday's post (I forgot): "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?" - Satchel Paige
And today's: "Like a new bud, each day unfolds in Splendid beauty." (that is a springtime quote to me!)

Happy Bird-Day!

2012-01-09T11:33:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am back today to show you one of the birthday cards I made for a friend last week. The week after Christmas the store I teach at had a store wide sale and this die and stamp set is one of the things that came home with me! For this card, I mostly used the die set and just used one of the sentiments from the stamp set, but I will be doing more cards where I will make sure I use more of the stamps too! Since I the set was My Favorite Things, I am also using their current sketch for my layout. Let me show you my card and then the sketch. Enjoy!

Didn't it come out great? Yes, I went back to one of my favorite go to 6 x 6 pads so all the colors would go together. I love the sketch too. I know I will do this one again!

Recipe:

Paper - My Minds Eye Gertie 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock Pale Yellow, Dark Brown
Stamps - My Favorite Things Contempo Cage
Ink - Memento Black
Tools - My Favorite Things Contempo Cage, Upsy Daisy Die-namics, Spellbinders Classic Circle, Cuttlebug Musical Flourish
Other - Twine, Pearls & Rhinestones

Tomorrow I will be back with the other birthday card and gift I made and gave last week. In the meantime, I hope to play with some of my new "stuff" I got last Saturday at the stamp convention. I had a great time, especially seeing and visiting with so many of my "ex-customers"! So many told me how much they missed my store. And lots asked if I miss it. And my response? I miss the people but not the store! That is the absolute truth! There is a second one this weekend, and there will be more people to visit with, however, the one last weekend, is the one I see more people I know, because it is the one that was closest to where my store was. A lot of the same vendors stay around and have booths at the second show too. Which could be good for my pocketbook since I spent my "wad" last weekend. It will give me time to really peruse the samples and get more ideas!

On another note, I was talking with a friend at the convention, and she was telling me about this pininterest thing. Well, I had heard of it, but didn't really get it! Well ... I think I do now and I can see it is going to be addictive. I haven't "pinned" a lot yet, but I know I will. On the right side of my blog I am going to add a link to my pininterest boards, so you can see what I am "pinning"! To really get started, you need to have someone send you an invite. Email me and I will send you one ... if I am going to be addicted, you might as well join me! I am just in the learning stage at this point. I have yet to figure out how to put all my sample cards on that are taking up room in my computer, but that is definitely on the list. If anyone out there knows how to do this, email me please.

See you tomorrow!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2012-01-06T22:42:00.002-06:00

Hello! I am back today with this week's sketch share. We are still working our way through Mojo Monday's sketches from 2010. Let's get right to it! I will show you mine, Debbie's, Donna's and the sketch we all used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

Donna's Card

The Sketch

I kinda like this sketch. What about you? And I love my card! This is one of the stamp sets I got back in the midst of all the holiday cardmaking so I was glad to get a chance to ink it up! I know you will see this one again soon. Oh chute ... you will just have to be o.k. with that! Hee Hee! By the way, the set I used is from The Cat's Pajamas and the papers are from one of those 6 x 6 pads from My Minds Eye.

I am on my way to the first of two stamp conventions which are on back to back weekends. So, I will have new ideas coming your way soon! Have a great weekend. I will be back early next week to share with you some birthday items that I made this week. See you then.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S. I got one of those daily calendars with wonderful quotes, so if I can remember, I think it would be fun to share the quote of the day on my posts. Today's quote:
"Never let a day pass that you will have cause to say, I will do better tomorrow" Brigham Young
Love that one!

January Class Share!

2012-01-05T09:59:00.000-06:00

Hello! I have been working on my next class creations for a couple of days and I finally got them done so I wanted to share them with you. Remember back in December I showed you the planners I made for my stamping friends that matched the desk calendars that I made them early last year? Well, right after that, I was teaching at The Crafty Scrapper, and I brought mine for a little show and tell. The ladies in class loved them and asked if they could make them in the next class. So, of course, I said yes. I have been to at least 6 Dollar Generals to make sure I have enough of the calendars, memo pads, and pens for each person. I love how both of the projects came out. First up is the desk calendar. And then the planner. Enjoy!

And a Close-up of the front:

And the planner open:

Didn't they come out great? The desk calendar flowers (My Favorite Things Prima Donna Petals ) are die cut from felt. I just love this look! The stamps used on the planner are one of those cool Hero Arts stamp and die cut sets. So pretty! Also part of the class, will be a surprise Valentine card or something. When I decided January was the month for these, I also thought about that it would also be the month for Valentine creations. So, I am adding a surprise project. (I have some ideas, but even I haven't decided yet exactly what it will be!) Here are the details for the class, if you are interested.

Calendar, Planner, and Surprise! Wed. January 25th 11:00 a.m. or Sat. January 28th 2:30 p.m. $25

This class is by special request. You will create a desk calendar and a pocket planner. The calendar and pocket planner will feature products from Hero Arts and My Favorite Things. Included in your class fee is a memo pad, a post it note pack, a twelve month printed calendar, and a pen. Both of these creations will help you get you a little more organized or they could be a great gift idea. Oh, and the surprise? A Valentine creation just in time for Valentine's Day! Please bring your adhesive of choice, plus specialty adhesive to include either 1/8" Red line tape or 1/8" Score tape (1/4" also would be helpful, but not a have to have), Foam Tape (by 3M), and small glue dots, scissors, and your preferred coloring medium (Copics, colored pencils, etc.) All other supplies provided.

I have really worked my way through my "to makes" list for the week. I have two more birthday cards to make, but I won't be able to show you those until next week, after they are received. I know I will be back on Saturday for the share. Donna is participating this week, so you will have three looks with one sketch. See you then if not before.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Happy Birthday ... Mojo Style!

2012-01-03T09:10:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am back already with another card creation. On my "to make" list for the week, is a birthday card for Gary's oldest daughter. Well, yesterday when I was going through my blog reader, I found a sketch challenge for Mojo Monday. You know, these are the ones that Debbie, Donna, and I work with for the Saturday sketch shares. We are working our way thru the 2010 sketches. They continue to have new sketches, like the one I used today, and it seems like I have gotten out of the habit of doing new ones. And I like doing the new ones. So, as one of my resolutions, I am going to try to get back into doing some of the new ones. Maybe I should make a goal of doing at least one current challenge per week, either from Mojo Monday or MFT or somebody. Let's get to today's card. I will show you my card and then the sketch. Enjoy!

I love the paper I used! So soft, so pretty. It is actually a Christmas pad, but I didn't think there was anything Christmasy about the papers. But actually, if I look very close at the floral pattern, I can see very faint snowflakes, but they are so faint, I don't think they will be an issue, but then again, it is still winter, right? The sketch was kinda fun I thought. Of course, it helped to have such pretty papers that all flow together! What are your thoughts? Do you like it?

Recipe:

Paper - Fancy Pants Designs Winterland 6 x 6, Cardstock Pale Green, Lt. Olive Green (both from ex-Imprints stash ... the cardstock colors are odd but they work here!), White
Stamps - Verve: Sentiment from Fancy Florals Remixed, and Flower from One Person
Ink - Versafine Crimson Red, JudiKins Detail Clear embossing powder (I embossed it to give it some brightness).
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Circles, MFT Leaf Die
Other - Pearls: Pink from Fab Scraps, Blue from Recollections

While I was working on this card and the Saturday sketch share card, which you can't see until Saturday, I was knowing that I was supposed to be working on my class samples. So, that is next. See you soon with those!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Ahoy, Matey!

2012-01-02T12:25:00.002-06:00

Hello 2012! I got out to my room yesterday with a list of "to makes"! First on the list had to be a birthday card for the youngest grandson who's birthday is on Thursday. It's now ready to send with money inside! Last year I know he was into the pirate theme, but even if it's "old hat", as he is getting older, I hope that he will still enjoy his pirate card! I got this stamp months ago with him in mind and I figured now is the time! When I knew I was going to use this stamp by My Favorite Things, I went to their blog to see what their current sketch was, so that is what I used here, with very little time to spare, as the sketch deadline is tomorrow morning. The main image is taller than the panel shown in the sketch, but I went with it anyway! So, I will show you my card and the sketch. Enjoy!

I gave you a look at the inside since I added an additional sentiment from the set ... ARRR! I love the stars dies. This is something else I got a while back but haven't used yet. I love this set! Well, what do you think about my card? Matey, do you like it?

Recipe:

Paper - Stars and Dots from K& Co. Confetti Mat Pad, Cardstock White, Red, Lime Green
Stamps - My Favorite Things Ahoy Matey, Inside circular sentimernt from Endless Creations
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - My Favorite Things Die-namics Stacking Stars, Ticket Tab, Dainty Dots Border, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder
Other - Baubles from Stamping Bella

I am back to the "shack" to work on the "to makes". A couple are for friends that I won't be able to show you until next week until after they get them, but I should be able to show you a couple of other things, like my next class samples. So, see you in a couple of days!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

My 2011 Favorites!

2011-12-31T20:40:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! I have been planning all week to go through this year's blog posts and pick out my favorites! I really thought I did a lot less posts in 2011, than in 2010, but guess what? Last year, I did 200 posts. This post will make number 203 for 2011! In going through the posts to pick out my favorites, I also realized, I did make a lot of cards! Last year, I just couldn't narrow it down to just 12, well ... this year is no exception! Last year, I showed you my top 36 and that is exactly what you are getting from me this year! Let's get to it ... my top 36 favorites each with a link to the original post. (Just click on the title under the pic to go to the original post). Enjoy!

I Heart Ewe!

The Top 10 Reasons I Love You!

Don't Forget I Love You!

Whale You Be My Valentine?

Pretty Floral Prayers!

Everything Beautiful!

Celebrate Spring!

O Lord My Glory!

Chicks Rule!

Some Bunny Loves You!

Together 'Til We Croak!

Chickadee, Chickadoo!

To One of My Favorite Peeps!

You're So Tweet!

What A Blast!

Crazy for Daisies ... And You!

Life's A Breeze!

Count Your Age by Friends!

Ready ... Set ... Blow!

You're Our Top Dog!

Good Things Come To Those Who Bait!

I'm Bananas For You!

Happy Birthday To You!

Got Lemons?

Popping By To Say Hi!

With A Cherry On Top!

Reindeer Holiday Cheer!

Season's Tweetings!

Sending You A Little Christmas!

Santa's Little Helper!

Wishing You Peace, Joy, & Cheer!

Wow! That is my 36 favorites ... in cards. But, I think I must add a pic and link to my favorite 2011 project! Enjoy!

Shadowbox Gift

We had family here visiting this week, but I did get time to do a little cleaning in my shack. Boy, did it need it. It is now clean and ready for me to start again! And I will be doing just that. So, hopefully, I will be back in a few days with some new creations!

Hope you get everything you hope for in 2012!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-12-24T09:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Christmas Eve! Traditionally, my family (my parents, my mom's 5 sisters and their hubby's, and me)always got together at my aunt's house on Christmas Eve, cooked the big dinner (turkey and dressing with all the trimmings), and opened all the presents. And then on Christmas, Santa came at my house, and then we were back to the aunt's house for leftovers and enjoying the day together. As a grown up, some years, the tradition continued where the main Christmas celebration was on Christmas eve, but this year, the celebration will be tommorrow with family, Gary's daugter and son, the son n law, and two of the grandkids. A small group but a great dinner planned: spinach salad with strawberries, steaks, twice baked potatoes, and asparagus ... yum, yum!

O.k. let's get to today's share. I will be showing you my card, Debbie's card and the sketch. This is Donna's week to participate, but she got a "pass" because her son is home this week and this will be the last time she will get to see him before he leaves for Afganistan in March. He is a Marine. And my Godson, who I am very proud of! Today's cards ... enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

Yes, I went with a square this time. I wanted to do a little take-off of one of the tags I made in my tag class, and I knew I would need a bigger space for my reindeer to fit, so I had to go with the square choice. The sketch has a square where the main image goes. I contemplated about putting a square here that would cover up so much of the paper, but in the end, I love my idea of adding the vellum square, embossed in snowflakes behind the reindeer! Don't you?

Debbie and I are taking next week off of doing the shares, but I will be back one day next week to show you my favorite cards I made in 2011!

I hope you have the merriest of Christmases!
Tina

P.S. Happy Stamping!

Pink & Greeen!

2011-12-23T09:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Day before Christmas Eve! I can't believe Christmas is just about upon us. There are a few things to be done here before the family comes, but I wanted to share two more cards I made. Pink & Green, yes those colors you could say are two of my favorites, but when I think of the color pink by itself, I think of my mom, her favorite! And then green, well, that is definitely my hubby's favorite. Both cards were put together with no sketch in mind, which as I look at them now, is probably why I really am not crazy about either one. They are o.k. and they will have to do! Let me show you and you can be the judge. Enjoy!

Another card with my favorite 2011 set. This time I used a couple of the embellishments for the ornament. I like this one pretty good. What do you think?

Recipe:
Paper - Ornaments were Imaginisce (in my stash, I think from last year), Pink is from Pink Paislee Snow Day line (backside), Cardstock White, Red
Stamps - My Favorite Things Ornament Set, Mom is from Verve
Ink - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Barn Door Red
Tools - Spellbinders Scalloped Oval, Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss Folder, Stampin' Up Tag Punch
Other - Ribbon, Dot Sparkler Stickers from Stampendous, Rhinestones from Queen & Co.

Next ...

This is the one I am not that crazy about. I think the candy cane girl is cute, though! I love her in her lime green coat! I added the jingle bell embellishment that's fun, but doesn't really go with the theme of the card. The green stripe on the card is actually a vertical stripe just like the red is, but I turned the paper and cut it so the stripes would appear diagonal. The problem with what I did is that I made my panel too small, so instead of redoing it, I added the bigger white panel behind. Not sure I like it. What do you think?
Recipe:
Paper - Both Striped paper, red and green are from Canvas Corp, Cardstock Green, White, Silver Glitter Paper
Stamps - A la Mode Candy Cane Kisses from My Favorite Things
Ink - Memento Black
Tools - MFT Scalloped border die, Spellbinders Labels 18 & Petite Oval, Jingle Bell die from Memory Box
Other - Rhinestones from Queen & Co., Ribbon from $1 bargain bin at Hobby Lobby

Here are a couple of pics from Christmas at my house:

This is my Santa collection. If I don't get out anything else, I must get out my Santa collection.

And the next pic is our tree, all lit up.

Pretty, huh?

I will be back tomorrow for the Saturday share. Both Debbie and I have a Christmas card for you. I am kinda happy to say, it's the last Christmas card for this year! Next on my agenda, sometime next week, I have to clean up my room. It looks like a tornado hit it! And, I can put all my Christmas stamps and papers away for another year. That makes me happy! Because that means, I can stamp other things, like a bunch of sets I have acquired in in the last few months, that have been sitting and waiting for me! All the new got put on the back burner, when there were so many holiday cards to make for the last 3 months! Plus, the first two weekends in January, there are two stamp conventions, so you know I will pick up new things to show you from those! And, if I have the time next week, I need to get my next class samples done. I have been asked to teach the desk calendars and planners like the ones I made and gave to my friends.

See you tomorrow! Happy Stamping!
Tina

Gift Money Holders with Tutorial!

2011-12-22T12:11:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am still running behind but at least now I can say the Christmas decorations are out of the boxes and the tree is in the house and decorated and the cards are in the mail. Woo Hoo! I had some time to spend in my room last night finishing up the four money holders I need for the grandkids. Two were sent in the mail yesterday to Arkansas, which I did the day before. When I was working on the last one, I took some pics with my camera so I can give you a quick tutorial. Let me show you. Enjoy!

I love these as they look just like a little gift package. Before I get to the tutorial, first I need to give credit to the blog I found this great idea on. You can see the post here. And I believe in her post, she gives credit to who she got the idea from and you can see that one here. It was in this last one that I got the actual instructions, so if my instructions are confusing, you might check hers out! That is what I love about "blogland"! So many ideas!

Tutorial:
1. Cut cardstock to 4" x 11". In horizontal position, score at 4', 5.5" and 7". Valley fold on the 4 and 7 inch score lines, and mountain fold on the 5.5 inch score line.

2. Flip over and add adhesive so that the V will be adhered together. I have used score tape in the pic below to show where your adhesive will be.

3. Flip back over and add adhesive to form a pocket. In below pic, when the adhesive tape liner is removed, and it is folded over, a pocket will be formed.

4. For the present top, cut card stock to 3" x 4 1/4" and score in half in the vertical position at 1 1/2" and fold. Add scrapbook paper to the front of the topper and to the underside that will show when card is open.

5. Add adhesive to the inside back of this piece and attach to the back of the card base. It is a very good idea to make sure it not only will fit at the top of the base fold but that it is straight before adhering. (don't ask me how I know this, and also how I know that score-tape is hard to pull up without taking cardstock with it when you don't like how you adhered it!) First pic shows tape before adhering and next pic shows the top on.

6. You will want to open the card back up, and finish the inside. I added some paper on the inside top panel where the pocket is and also the sentiment panel on the inside bottom.

7. To create the package "faux" ribbon, I used two sizes of Spellbinders Petite Oval dies and ran them thru my big shot at the same time to create these open ovals. I saw in the blog instructions, the lady used two different size oval punches, but I don't have them so I used what I have! I debated on whether the ovals were too big looking for my box, but I decided it was o.k. and went with it!

8. At this point, all I did was overlap them and glue dotted each oval to the one before to create my faux ribbon loops. And then I added more glue dots on the backside and stuck the formed ovals to the front at the top. And added a 1/2" x 1 1/2" red strip on top to cover it and then a big bauble on top of that.

9. One last thing, I added a Basic Grey magnet under the "top" and the front of the base "present" for a closure. I normally would have added them under the paper where they wouldn't show, but I decided since I was making these for "kids", that are not going to care one way or the other, I would simplify it and just do it the easy way!

Even though it took me 9 steps to show you, these were super simple to make. They could be used for anytime of the year and would also hold a gift card perfectly! Would love to hear what you think of them and let me know if my tutorial was helpful and made sense!

I am working on cards for my mom and hubby, so I will try to post those to show you tomorrow. And then on Saturday, I will have another sketch share ... and the last Christmas card!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Wishing You Peace, Joy & Cheer!

2011-12-19T14:19:00.000-06:00

Hello ... again! I promised myself that Sunday (yesterday) would be my last day to make cards. And that no matter, if I felt I had more to do or not, I would stop and do my other holiday duties which I put on hold, like decorating the house, wrapping gifts, etc. So, this card is it! The card count from the last post was at 43 and when you add the 8 I made of the card I will be showing in this post, it makes the total 51! Not the total I hoped for, but not bad either! Normally, I make one religious design, and I was thinking I would still do that, but no, I am stopping! I still need to make some kind of money holder to send cash to the grandkids in Arkansas and if I do anymore cards I won't have time to get these done too! Now, let me show you my card. I absolutely love it ... I hope will too! Enjoy!

Before I give you the details on this card, I want to tell you about how I almost didn't get to create with this new set I got. Remember I made a tag with this set when I first got it? See it here. I took this set of stamps to show my friends the day I taught my class, then when I got home, I searched high and low but couldn't find my stamps. Well, thanks to a very good friend, who also bought the set, but didn't think she was going to be using it for this year's cards, sent me her set! Another friend has since found my set in her stuff from the class, which solves the mystery! Yea! And, I got to make a card with the set! And I am so glad I did. On the tag I made, I used several of the stamps to create stamped patterns on the ornaments, but this time, I just used the die cuts to die cut pattern papers for my ornaments. And speaking of papers, you know how there are so many lines out there, so that often times, your card gets made with papers from all the same paper line, well, for this card, different paper companies were combined to make my card come together! I had picked out the stripe paper (see it on the small panel at the bottom of the card) and found all the other papers to create the ornaments to match. I accidentally flipped over the stripe paper panel, and it showed the holly leaves, and I thought, oh my ... that goes really well, too, so I switched gears, and created the card using both the holly and the stripes! The only disadvantage was that it took more paper, thus yielding less cards. But I do love it, how about you?

Recipe:
Paper - October Afternoon Holiday Style line: Snowflake Ornament is backside of City Sidewalks, Holly and Stripes from Holly Jolly, the two other ornaments were from Echo Park Holly Jolly Christmas 6 x 6 pad, the light blue background panel behind ornaments is backside of Bo Bunny from Blitzen line, Silver Shimmer Cardstock for ornament toppers, Cardstock Cream, Rose Red, Olive Green
Stamps - My Favorite Things Ornament Stamp & Die Set
Ink - Memento Black
Tools - My Favorite Things Ornament Die Set, Oval Tab, Martha Stewart scallop border punch
Other - Gelly Roll Glitter pen, Linen Thread from The Cat's Pajamas, Sheer Ribbon from May Arts, Rhinestones from Queen & Co.

O.k. that is all from me you are going to get today! I will be back in my room later making some money holders and I will show you those tomorrow or the next day! Thanks for reading the 5 posts I had for you today! Now let's go enjoy some holidays!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Santa's Little Helper!

2011-12-19T13:25:00.000-06:00

Next ... Yes, I am on blog post number four for today, showing you my holiday card creations. For several of my cards this year, I have used either images I have stamped off or die cuts that I borrowed from a friend's haul! Love my friends and love my friends who share my addiction and let me borrow their stuff! Today's image is one of the new images from Verve this year. Let's get to my card, so you can see! Enjoy!

The day I was doing all the stamping off of this cute image, I also stamped off on some green dot paper originally thinking that I would paper piece his front middle section, but then when I actually got down to creating, I didn't like the way the green looked. So, I went looking thru my papers and came up with a 6 x 6 pad I got last year and knew it would be perfect. It just goes to show you that it is very hard to decide on coloring until the layout is created and the papers picked. Because I was working with a 6 x 6 pad, I had to use a few different paper combinations to be able to make as many cards as possible, but all are similar to this one. Did you see the jingle bell die I added as an embellishment? I originally thought of stringing the whole line across the top of the card, but in the end, I decided to just add a piece for an accent. I really love this card! What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - Basic Grey Jovial 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock White, Red
Stamps - Verve Stamps
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circle, Classic Circle, Memory Box Jingle Bells die
Other - Ribbon by My Minds Eye, Rhinestones, Ranger Stickles Red

Christmas card count: Total 43! I was so happy I got 8 out of this 6 x 6 pad!

Look for another post ...coming!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Rejoice in the Spirit of the Season!

2011-12-19T11:40:00.000-06:00

Hello! Next card creation is here! On the Saturday share, week before last, I used a swirly tree die cut I borrowed from a friend. Here is a link to that post as a reminder. I found I still had 4 more trees die cutted out so I decided I had better create something with them, as I figured they would get lost by next year. I know I could have just done more of the card that I had done before, but I thought I would do something more simple...yea, right! It took more time to create a new card, and it is that simple? Not really, but it is pretty! Let me show you! Enjoy!

I decided the sparkly die cut tree need some sparkly papers, so I pulled out the left over scraps I had when I made the treat box for my December class at The Crafty Scrapper. The tree was die cutted from some glitter paper I got at the store. I used the same paper, this time in red, to die cut the border. And then to pull it all together I used some shimmer cardstock in green from my stash. I like the way it turned out, how about you?

Recipe:
Paper - Stripes by Best Creation Inc., Cardstock White, Shimmer Green, Red, Red and White Glitter Paper (I don't know you makes this - but the glitter does not come off! It is very shiny and the glitter is made into the paper itself - I guess that is why one sheet of 12 x 12 is $2.50! What's the saying ... you get what you pay for?)
Stamps - Sentiment by C.C.'s Designs (stamped off from a set borrowed from a friend!)
Ink - Memento Black
Tools - Tree Die by Memory Box, Border die by My Favorite Things Die-namics Open Scallop Border die, Spellbinders Labels 10, Petite Oval
Other - White Liquid Pearls, Glitter Rhinestones from Hobby Lobby

Current Christmas Card Count: 35! Be back shortly to continue!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Sending You A Little Christmas!

2011-12-19T11:12:00.000-06:00

Hello! This is the 2nd post of the day, with 3 more to go! Woo Hoo! For this post's card, I used a stamp I got a while back from My Favorite Things. I know this has become one of my favorite companies. I just love their line of Pure Innocence girls. I love to paper piece their clothes, however, this one time, I did not do that! I know ... don't fall out of your chair! LOL! I thought since I have so many cards to get to, it would save a little time, if I just color and embellish! Let's get to it and let me show you my card! Enjoy!

Remember how I used to say, I don't like when they slant panels on cards? Well, I guess I can say I have changed my mind, because I did it and I like it! How about the die cut flower? It is also from MFT and it actually has another flower shape to add to this, but I saw on one of the blogs where they did it like this to more resemble a poinsettia. Look here to see what the die looks like. I will be using it next year with all the pieces when I am not doing holiday cards. The papers I used were simple designs, but I think it works. Do you like how this one turned out?

Recipe:
Paper - Dots is from my stash, on the opposite side is snowflakes, and I know that it was from last year and I think it is by Bo Bunny, Stripes are from paper pack by Recollections that I got at Michaels, Cardstock White, Red, Green
Stamps - My Favorite Things Pure Innocence Sending You a Little Christmas
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - My Favorite Things Die-namics - Prima Donna Petals & Oval Tab
Other - Quicky Glue Pen, Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter, Stampendous Dot Sparkler Stickers

I made 5 of this one so that makes the Christmas card count ... 31!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Happy Holidays Skatin' Bunny!

2011-12-19T10:18:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am finally ready to take the time to sit down at the computer and do some posts for the Christmas cards I have been busy making for the past week. Since I tend to blab alot about each card, I am doing individual posts for each one. The first one, which I am showing you in this post, was made for a very special reason. Remember, that every month this year, I have participated in Jen delMuro's Sketch For You To Try Challenge. Just to remind you, she made a year long challenge, where there would be one sketch for each month and that if you participated every month, you would get into a drawing for a prize package worth over $200! I don't know how many people did all 12 months, but I know I did ... and I am quite proud of it! After I show you my card and the December sketch, I will be linking all 12 month's cards on this post. That is the requirement to get in on the prize package. There has been some wonderful sketches, so you might follow my links too, and look back and see them. But first, let me show my card and the sketch for December. Enjoy!

I have just a couple of comments about this card. First, this darling bunny stamp, I had stamped off from a friend last year, but didn't get a chance to make it into a card. So, now I have and I love how it came out! The sketch appeared to be a square layout, but I decided to squeeze it down and make it an A-2 size. I like how I cut around his big ear and had it lay over the side of the rectangle. How about those dot stickers? I got them at the scrapbook store. They are kinda like the ones I have used from Stampendous but this package from Starform (?) has about 800 stickers on one sheet for $3...can we say bargain? What do you think about my skatin' bunny?

Recipe:
Paper - Bo Bunny Snowfall 6 x 6 paper pad, Cardstock White, Aqua, Brown
Stamps - The Cat's Pajamas Deep Breath, Sentiment by Hero Arts
Ink - Memento Black, Versafine Vintage Sepia, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Circle,
Other - Quicky Glue Pen, Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter, Art Institute Crystal Glitter, Large Glitter Baubles, Starform Stickers

Time to link the first 11 months of my SFYTT challenge cards:

January - Hit Me Cupid!
February - Take It Easy!
March - The Road to A Friend's House is Never Long!
April - You're So Tweet!
May - Count Your Age by Friends!
June - What a Blast!
July - You Make My Heart Sing!
August - Start Each Day with "Whee"!
September - Hey Lil' Monster!
October - Witchly Wishes!
November- Holiday Cheer!
December - this post.

No one will care what the titles to each month's posts are, but I added them because I think it is fun to look back and see them! Wish me luck, now!

I only had 4 of this bunny stamped out, so that is how many I made toward the 2011 Christmas card count: 26 now! Continuing the count ...working on the next post for you shortly!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-12-17T14:13:00.000-06:00

Hello! I told you I would be back with card creations as I finished each design, but, I know, you have not seen me. So, now I have a least 4 posts, not including this one, I want to do to show you what I have been busy creating. I don't feel like I have been in my "shack" all that much, but if you look at my house, you would think so, as we got a fresh tree a few days ago and it is still propped up on the front porch, ready to be brought in and decorated. The same is true with the house decorartions. The boxes were brought in from the shed, but that is it! I know I said I wasn't going to fret if I don't get all my cards made, but I still have 2 or 3 more ideas and if I do those, I think I will have them all done! So here's the count so far: I started with 9 cards that were created for classes I taught, I made an extra card last month when I did the SFYTT challenge, and I made 3 of the card I showed you last week with the lights border die and 9 of the card I will show you today. (Total: 22).

So, let's get to today's sketch share. I will show you my card, Debbie's card and the sketch. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

It is really hard to tell in the pic, but my card has a unique opening, as the left side is cut to open separately from the right side. A couple of months ago, I taught a class with this opening and as I was doing the prep work for the class kits, I found that I had cut too many of these base cards, so I just put them aside, thinking that maybe sometime later I could make use of them. When I saw this sketch, I knew they would work perfectly! I do want to show you that on the other 9 I made one change I like better. The one above I made specifically for this challenge, because in the sketch, the right side panel does not go all the way to the edge, and I wanted to make my card match this. I see Debbie's does go to the edge, which is perfectly o.k. to do, as it is the whole point of showing how different people interpret the same sketch. So, here is the pic of the change I made for the ones to send and also a pic showing how the card opens. Enjoy!

Just FYI: The paper I used was from Pink Paislee - Snow Day Line. A perfect match!

I will be back soon with another post to continue the count!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share (On Monday)!

2011-12-12T09:18:00.000-06:00

Hello! I bet you were wondering what happened? You know that tag class I taught twice last week, and was doing the class kit prep work for the last time I posted? Well .... and that is a "deep well" ... a totally did not realize how much time it was going to take to be ready for the class, so everything else in the week got put on the back burner. Next year, if I do tags again, I definitely need to remember 10 tags is too much. 4 or 6 would have been plenty. In between the two class days, Wed. and Sat., I went back and did a bunch of steps to make the class go faster and it was still a lot! On top of how the class week went, this weekend I dealt with some personal issues. So, today I thought, better late than never! Let's get to it! I will show my card, Donna's card, Debbie's card, and the sketch. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

I kinda like this sketch. I will try to remember it when I have a vertical image but want to do a horizontal card! How about you? Do you like this one?

Because time is running short, my friends are trying to talk me into either sending some store bought cards out, or putting some cards off and making New Year's cards. Or cut my list! This week will determine what I pick. As I get creations made, I will share them here with you.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Sparkly Wishes!

2011-12-07T09:00:00.001-06:00

Hello! Last weekend when my friends & I got together, many of us spent the night stamping off some of the stamps the other's had brought with them. You should have seen the haul of stamps and dies one of my friends brought with her! Woo Hoo! Love my friends and love my friends who spend money on stamping stuff and then share what they got! So, today's card is one of the images I stamped off and added a die from the same company - C.C. Designs. I have never had their stamps in my hand ... so fun! Let's get to my card. Enjoy!

Isn't this reindeer cute? And what about that die? Wow! I have that one coming for me! So, I die cutted a black strip, a red strip, a yellow strip, a blue strip, and a green strip and then cut just the bulb part off of the color strips, put it thru my X Xyron and placed it onto the black. I then added Glossy Accents and sprinkled on a little crystal glitter while it was still wet. On the stamped bulbs, I just went with the crystal glitter by way of a quicky glue pen. Love how it came out! How about you?

Recipe:

Paper - Die Cuts with a View 12 x 12 pad (last year's bargain find), Cardstock White, Black, Red
Stamps - C.C. Designs stamps
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Art Institute Crystal Glitter, Ranger Glossy Accents
Tools - C.C. Designs Bulb Border die, Spellbinders Labels 18
Other - Ribbon From Hobby Lobby ($1 roll)

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Joy & Peace Tag!

2011-12-06T10:41:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am in the middle of making my class kits for my Treat & Tags class this week. I know when I am preparing for a class, you usually don't see me, but ... yesterday, during a break, I was doing a little computer surfing, and I came across a Guest Designer Contest with My Favorite Things with the theme being "Play Tag"! Oh my goodness, I thought, that is exactly what I am doing right now, as I am using My Favorite Things tag die cut to cut all my tags for my class. And then ... my hubby brought me a package that came in the mail! And what did I get? A package from My Favorite Things of some items that my friend and I ordered on the Black Friday weekend! Woo Hoo! Yes, I know I buy MFT stamps and dies all the time from The Crafty Scrapper, but these were brand new! Anyway, you know where I am going ... I took time from all the big shot cranking to make a tag with my new stamps for this contest! And here it is ... enjoy!

I am so thrilled with this stamp and die set! So, fun! My friend was planning on ordering just the dies and not the matching stamps, but I talked her into getting the stamps too! And, like me, I know she will be glad she did. I still used pattern paper, but the stripes, the swigly lines, the tiny snowflakes, and of course the words were all from the coordinating stamp set. You can see the set here. I have several card ideas which I will get to, as soon as I finish my kits for my class!

Recipe:

Paper - Die Cuts with a View 12 x 12 pad, Cardstock White, Red, Silver
Stamps - My Favorite Things Ornament Stamps
Ink - Versafine Satin Red, Versafine Olympia Green
Tools - My Favorite Things Dainty Dot Border die, May Favorite Things Ornament Dies
Other - Rhinestones, Linen Thread from The Cat's Pajamas, Grosgrain Ribbon

I do have another card I made this weekend. I will set that one up for you to see tomorrow. And, now I have to hurry and get this post onto Splitcoast Stampers to get entered into this contest. Wish me luck. I love MFT and use them so much, it would be awesome to win this opportunity. But, no matter what ... I love my tag I made today!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Gift Planners to Share!

2011-12-05T12:15:00.000-06:00

Hello! Remember I told you I was working on a little project for my stamping friends that I meet once a month? I was able to give them out last Friday and I think they all liked them. They knew I was making something, but they didn't know what! Last year, in January, I made desk calendars for all of the girls. They were all the same design, but all 8 (that is 7, plus one for me ... couldn't leave myself out!), used different papers. The little calendar pages I got from Dollar General last year, so ... this year, I was off to find the new 2012 calendar pages, so we could continue using our desk calendars. And right next to them, were these really colorful "to do lists", and a light bulb came on! I bought 8 of them, immediately thinking about making some kind of planner. But, then when I was thinking about what stamps to use, I really wanted to use the same Pure Innocence girl I used on the 2011 desk planners, but I didn't know if I should, and then ... another light bulb moment! I decided I would get the girls to tell me which calendar I made for them and I would make a companion piece with the same papers for each, well, as much as possible. After all, it has been almost a year. But, you know what? I was able to find enough to make them all work. That just goes to show you how far one scrapbook piece of paper can go! There are a lot of pics to show each one, but, well, here goes, I am doing it anyway. If it seems repetitive, just scroll down because I do have a few pics on how they came together toward the end. Enjoy!

For the last group, I don't have a pic of the original desk planner to show you. My friend sent me a copy of it, but it doesn't show up that good, but with all the others, I know you get the idea! Speaking of the last group, can you believe how good the store bought list pad goes with the scrapbook paper colors? That happened again on the group right above this one. I was almost to the making of the last planner before I realized I should be showing you some pics of the steps I took to make one. So, as I was making the last one, which is actually, the 2nd to last grouping shown above, I took a few pics to give you some insight!

This pic shows how I scored a strip to hold the pen (also got at Dollar General!), and added red liner tape on the edge of each score line. By the way, the planner is 9 x 8 1/2 inches. With the scoring on the 8 1/2 inch length.

Now, the strip is secure. And the pen can have a place to rest in the centered score lines.

Red line tape is added to the base and the ribbon is adhered.

I added a pretty heavy piece of chipboard to the backside of the memo pad, again with the red line tape.

Adding more red line tape to secure it to the inside right panel of the planner. On the left panel side, I added a piece of white cardstock so that side would appear more finished. On top of that is where the panels with the pockets are that you see in the group of pics.

I punched with a Martha Stewart floral border punch and trimmed these pieces down to 1 inch total to be added to the top of the inside pockets as well, as the top of the bottom panel on the front.

This shows how the inside pockets were made. Yes, I used Foam Tape! The scotch tape you see in the pic is how I attached the above strip to the stripe panel, as I wanted it to be just at the top of the panel.

I got the original idea here. But, I changed mine so that I could have two pockets instead of one, and mine would hold a pen. I have to say, they were not difficult at all to make, and when I got to the adding the flowers and the baubles, I was in pure heaven!

Thanks for sticking with me in enduring such a long blog post. I will be back tomorrow to show you a new Christmas card creation that I worked on yesterday. Which is good, but bad too, because I should be working on the kits for my Treat & Tag class that I have to have ready by Wed.! Yikes ... better get to it!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-12-03T09:00:00.001-06:00

Hello! I am back today with the share. Let's get to it! I will show you my card, Debbie's card, and the sketch we both used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

This sketch was pretty easy, probably because it is one I have "conquered" before! I had this Cat's Pajamas bunny stamped out on cardstock in my stash from last year when I borrowed it from a friend. I must borrow it again, as I love how my card came out. I paired him with the new Bo Bunny 6 x 6 paper pad that I recently purchased that I knew would be perfect with the bunnies. And, it is! Debbie's card is great too! I love how she cut the slit to add the ribbon so that it wouldn't totally cover up her image. Great idea! Hope you enjoyed the cards today.

Have a great weekend. Happy Stamping!
Tina

Thinking of You In this Time of Loss!

2011-12-02T10:33:00.000-06:00

Hello! Today I have a card to show you but for a very sad occasion. I have talked about the little local scrapbook store out here that the owners, a mother and daughter duo, run out of their garage. In fact, I was just there for a card class on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the daughter, Lisa, who is in her 40's, passed away. She has had previous health problems but this was very unexpected. And, I am very sad. Lisa was one of the most generous and kindest people I have ever met. So, when you say your prayers, please pray for this family. Mae, Lisa's mom, had a very tight bond with her daughter, as did Nicki, Lisa's daughter, who graduated from high school last summer and is now attending college in Athens. I have even met the hubby, Bubba, also a very kind person. There are, of course, more family and even the family of scrapbookers. There little store had that feel, the feel we all look for: when you walked in, they made you feel like family. My hope is that Mae will continue the store, as Lisa loved it so. But, prayers are definitely needed to give this family strength to go forward. Now, here is the card I made. Enjoy the card...

I left it blank on the inside and wrote a note. I used a sketch I have done before. Actually, the other cards I made with this sketch were sympathy cards as well. Which is kinda weird. It is such a great layout. I really should do a fun birthday card or something, instead of only doing sympathy cards with it. The cross was a stamp I got forever ago. It is a clear individual stamp from Stampendous. It was a perfect fit. But, then I still thought the panel needed something so after the sentiment was stamped and the cross added, I tried stamping a swirl design in Versamark, but it did not show up on the cream, so I went to plan B, and added the black corner sticker. It worked, and then when I added the larger corner stickers, I felt it all came together. What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - My Minds Eye Mabel 6 x6 pad, Cardstock Cream
Stamps - Sentiment by Impression Obsession, Cross by Stampendous
Ink - Versafine Black
Tools - Classic Scalloped Circle, Classic Circle Spellbinders
Other - Ribbon by May Arts, Pearls by Queen & Co., Corner Stickers by Magenta

I will be back tomorrow with the Saturday sketch share. I also finished the gift project I have been working on to give to my stamping friends that I crop with monthly. They will be receiving them tonight, so I will work on a post to show you what I made. They came out great. Wait until you see!

Also, thanks for being here to listen in sad and happy times!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Holiday Cheer!

2011-11-29T16:11:00.001-06:00

Hello! I am here today with one last November post! Every month, I have participated in the year long challenge at Sketch For You to Try, where to enter in to win the big gift basket, you have to do Jen delMuro's sketch every single month. I have done all 10 up to now, so there is no way, I would skip out now. But, I sure did make it close, considering I only had today or tomorrow to post it and link it up at her blog! But it is done, and here is my card and the sketch. Enjoy!

I have looked at this sketch for a few weeks, thinking it looked like a hard one. Not! Now, that it is done, I love it! I used the same set of stamps on today's card that I used on the Center Step Card that I recently taught at The Crafty Scrapper. To remind you, here is that card ...

I was thinking that I would do several more of these for one of my Christmas cards, and I think I still will. But, I was also wondering about how it would turn out as just a regular card. So, that is how today's card came about. Going with the sketch, the center panel which is the focal point, had to be smaller than the center step card, but I still like it. How about you? I'll have to figure out which card, the step card, or the regular A-2 takes more of the pattern paper, and that is the one I will go with for the card to send out. Because after teaching, I have very little left over paper. I do also have a 6 x 6 pad though, that could be used, the patterns would be smaller. You know that could be good for the A-2 card. I will check it out!

Recipe:

Paper - Jillibean Soup - Christmas Eve Chowder Line: “Salt & Pepper” (both sides), “Dried Green Onion” (both sides), Cardstock White, Dark Brown

Stamps - Hero Arts Reindeer Stamp & Die Cut Set
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Reindeer Set, Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Oval Cuttlebug Dot embossing folder
Other - Rhinestones, Quicky Glue Pen, Crystal Glitter

Oh, one more thing, I forgot to talk about his sweater that I created. You see the stamp is not an open image that you usually would need to paper piece. Here is the reindeer stamped out:

So, what I had to do to create the sweater was to stamp the middle part of the reindeer on a piece of cardstock and cut this out, so I could create a template. I adhered the template to the pattern paper and cut out around it and then adhered that over the polka dot sweater part. I purposely left the sweater bands and colored them in to make sure it kept the sweater "look". I hope this makes sense. I can see this is where a visual tutorial would help! Maybe in the future! Speaking of tutorials, I realized I have not done one on the Center Step Card for the blog. I know I will be making this card for at least one of my holiday cards. I promise to give you a full tutorial at that time!

That's it for me today. I will see on Saturday for the share.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-11-26T10:58:00.000-06:00

Hello! I am here on the right day ... woo hoo! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did. Now, let's get to today's cards. Both Donna & Debbie are giving you one last Thanksgiving creation and me, I am onto the next holiday! Here is my card, Debbie's card, and Donna's card, plus the sketch we all used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

Donna's Card

The Sketches

As you can see, it is one of the weeks, that we got a choice between the square or round card. Did you see all the cutouts on my card: holly, leaves, etc? I just couldn't resist getting this new Tim Holtz die from Sizzix. It was a little bit of a challenge putting all the pieces together to make it look good and not a jumbled mess. But, I think it came out alright! Debbie's card is a small square -4 1/4 x 4 1/4, which is a nice size, but something I never think about doing. And I love the fall tree that Donna used on her card! Great job girls!

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend.
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:00:00.001-06:00

Hello! I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! I am actually writing this on Tuesday night, as tomorrow my hubby & I and the pups are heading up to his daughter's, who lives in St. Joe, for a few days for Thanksgiving. I am not sure if we are coming home on Friday or Saturday. I am telling you this because it could affect when you see the Saturday sketch share. So, if you are here and it's Saturday, check back later today or Sunday. Now, I do have a card to show you today. It is my Thanksgiving card that I made for a few. I love how it came out. Let me show you. Enjoy!

And here is the pic of the "parts":

Yes, I did some major paper piecing! But, the end result is soooo cute! I added the pumpkin shape first, then the arm and then covered that up with the dress. The tip is just to remember what is in front and place the pieces that way so it looks realistic.

Take a little time today to count your blessings. I am blessed as I know you are too!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-11-19T10:17:00.000-06:00

Hello! I was very, very long winded yesterday, but today this will be short! I am back today with the share. First I will be showing you my card, Debbie's card and the sketch we both used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

Just a couple of notes on my card. Can you see the embossing folder I used in the background? I picked it up recently at the little scrapbook store out here ... .love it! It is by Cuttlebug and it is called Musical Flourish. So pretty! The other thing is I think this is the first time I have ever combined twine and ribbon on a card. Love the look! I liked this sketch. Kinda fun! What do you think?

Have a great weekend!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Excuses & Chit Chat, A Couple of Tips, & A Couple of Cards!

2011-11-18T13:49:00.000-06:00

Hello! I want to start out by saying this is a long post. Lots of chit chat. Thanks in advance for reading! I can't believe it is already the 18th and this post marks only my 5th for the month. That is so awful! Yes, you always get the Saturday sketch shares, and tomorrow will be no different, but I am speaking of all the other posts you usually get in between! And the crazy part to me is that I feel like I have been out in my stamp shack non-stop. It's those classes ... not complaining, just stating the facts! The prep always seems to take so much longer than I think it will. Take this week. On Sunday, I spent about 3 hours getting the class kits ready, Monday about 6 hours, Tuesday about 8 to 9 hours. And then Wed. morning I was up at 7 a.m. to put all the pieces into each clear envelope for the kits, which took another couple of hours. Yep, it does take time. But, once I am there at the store and enjoying the company of the ladies, I totally forget about all the prep time! Last year, I made a bunch of different Thanksgiving cards so I could have each one on the blog for a different day. This year, with time constraints, I am making one card x 20. I will show you that card, but it will probably be next week, before I do. I am using the MFT girl holding the pumpkin with some great paper piecing. (You know that is my favorite thing to do!) So, I have been cutting out different pieces while watching t.v. I finished all the cutting last night and so I am now working on the card bases. Next on my list to get to, is a mini gift project for my stamping friends. Last year, I made desk calendars for them and this year I am making a companion item to go along with that. The fun part is that I had on my computer the desk calendars I made last year and so this year I found out which one I made for each person, as they were the same design but different papers. So, I will be making the companion piece in each of those same colors. I scouted out my paper drawers yesterday and I think I found enough scraps for each to make my idea work! I am not going to elaborate any more than that, as "they" read my blog! The Monday after Thanksgiving I have to do more prep work for two cards that I am teaching at the little local scrapbook store out here. This is the second time I have taught a class there and only the second time they have ever had an outside teacher. So, let me show you those cards ... enjoy!

Both cards use the same set of stamps and as part of their class fee, they get the set of stamps to take home. The store's classroom is set up in the middle of the store, and they have room for 6, but she sold 9 kits! So, I guess, some will be sitting at a card table! Reminds me of my first store location! Anyway, you can see the first card is similar to the one I am teaching this week at The Crafty Scrapper, but the sketch layout is different on the front of the card. At the store, I picked out this group of papers to use from Bo Bunny called Blitzen, but then when I was home, I had a lot of trouble with the colors, because the designer paper doesn't have a true red or green that would match the inside honeycomb. In the end, I only used one of the papers along with the dot papers from Bo Bunny, the blue and the red. And then adding the green ribbon, which I think allows it to flow with the green inside. I added the black as an accent to get it to pop. Funny, how adding black, can work like that! The second card is called a Criss Cross Pocket card. I taught the card type a couple of months ago at The Crafty Scrapper. It is such a fun card. Maybe I will make one of those for Christmas and I can show you all the steps to make it then!

Also, on my list of to-do's is my Sketch for You to Try card by the end of this month, and one more class prep early in the week of 12-4. That will be my Treat & Tag class I am teaching at The Crafty Scrapper. Every year by Thanksgiving, it is a goal of mine to know what card I am making for Christmas or at least have ideas of what stamps you want to use. Thanksgiving is next week, and I don't know. I might repeat a couple of the class card ideas or ... well, I have to get my thinking cap on! I prefer not to mass produce, so I might try to make one card and make 4 to match. The problem is that week in Dec. that I am prepping and teaching, it is unlikely that I will have to time to create too. But even so, there are still 20 days, give or take, before Christmas cards need to go in the mail, so surely 12 of the 20 I could make a design. I was also thinking of making a couple of gifts, but that might not happen. Enough of my yada, yada, yada, excuses,etc.! Let's go on to something else ...

I have a couple of Tina tips to share! Woo Hoo! The first is about making the honeycomb pads go further ... I recently found out that I could get more stamped trees out of one honeycomb pad if I flipped the pad over and stamped the tree upside down. The key is just to make sure that the horizontal arrow that is on the clear stamp is going the same way as the arrow on the pad. Here is a pic of the trees stamped on the honeycomb pad (part of the pad is cut off)...

Tina tip two is about when you are die cutting and you need the die cut to stay exactly where you put it while you are running it thru the machine. I used to use tape, but it was kinda of a hassel, so I recently saw this trick and tried it and liked it ... use a post it note! Easy to grab and it works! Here is a pic:

And last but not least, sometimes you need a very slim strip of paper and your paper cutter dosen't allow you to get a straight cut when you are doing such a small piece. See the strip on this card under the nativity? Here is a pic ...

A lot of the border punches will give you this strip after your border is punched. The punch I am showing you is made by Fiskars, but many others will do the same.

O.k., well I still feel bad about not doing more blog posts, but I feel somewhat better just knowing that I have let you know what is going on in my little stamping world! I will show you cards and projects as they get finished. And, I will be back tommorrow with the Saturday sketch share. See you then!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-11-12T13:55:00.000-06:00

Hello! Sorry I am a little late in posting today. Better late than never ... I have three cards to show you from Donna, Debbie, and I, plus the sketch we all used. Let's get to it! Enjoy!

My Card

Donna's Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

I actually like the sketch this week. It really has a lot of layers and pieces that make it very interesting. What do you think? I do want to make one note about my card. I love the little pumpkin I made with 3 Spellbinder ovals, an embossing folder, a hand drawn stem, and then I used a MFT Dasiy die to create the leaf. So creative ... I love stuff like this!

I have to be honest and tell you that next week is my class kit making week, and so that means I might not have too much time for my random cardmaking, which is what gives me most of my blog posts. We will see how it goes. Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

December Class Share!

2011-11-08T09:00:00.001-06:00

Hello! Yesterday, I showed you November's class. Today, I want to show you my project and tags for my December class. I wrote the class description before I started working on the samples. In my class description, I put that the class would include 10 tags. But, oh my goodness, when I started working on them, I thought .... 10?... what was I thinking? It was like creating 10 different cards, mini yes, but still 10 different ones! But, I did it and I love them all! So, let me show you what you will be making in the class... Enjoy!

Are you saying "wow"? First, everyone will make the treat box. For those of you that can't come to the class, I will give you the directions and measurements after the class is taught, around the middle of December. All 10 tags were made from a die from My Favorite Things and all tags are similar to the above backside of one of the tags. I love how they all came out! I tell you, this is a class that is definitely worth paying for because every tag used a different piece of DP, as well as lots of embellishments. If you happen to be interested in either coming to the class at The Crafty Scrapper or getting a class kit, here is the description and details:

Treats and Tags - Wed. Dec. 7th 11:00 a.m. and Sat. Dec. 10th 2:30 p.m. $25

In this class, you will make a treat box to hold handmade goodies for gift giving and you will complete ten very creative and unique tags for your holiday packages. Your completed treat box will hold all your tags to take home. Stamps from our favorite stamp companies will be used, along with lots of holiday papers and supplies. Please bring adhesive, small pop-dots,detailed scissors, your preferred coloring medium (Copics, colored pencils, etc.). Also, we will be sharing Barn Door Red Distress Ink, so if you have one of those, it would be helpful if you bring it. All other supplies provided.

Even though I haven't been doing a lot of blog posts, I have been out in my room a lot. Yes, it is true, all these card classes take time, and they do take away from my random cardmaking that constitutes the daily blog posts. You know you will see me on Saturday for the sketch share, but I hope I can get time in the next few days so I can have a blog post before that.

Happy Stamping!
Tina

November Class Card Share!

2011-11-07T12:09:00.000-06:00

Hello! I finally have all three card samples made for my class at The Crafty Scrapper for next week. I got the third sample made yesterday, as I having been waiting for the store to get in the Hero Arts Reindeer set. I picked it up when I was there on Friday. I am hoping that me not having the third class sample done has not kept the ladies from signing up and if they were on the fence, I am hoping the third sample will get them to sign up now! It is my favorite! And, I might just have to make more of them for some of my own Christmas cards! Let me show you. Enjoy!

The first card is another one of the Honeycomb pop-up cards from Inky Antics. Wow, I love the tree pop-out, don't you? For my second card, I redid my favorite Christmas card I did last year, this time, with cute polka dot papers from Pink Paislee. The third card is the one I talked about above. It is a Center Step Card. I have seen this type of card on lots of blogs but I had never looked at the instructions, thinking it looked difficult! It is not! Two cuts, six small scores and it is done! After the class next week, I will give you detailed instructions here on my blog. I do have to borrow a different type of paper cutter to make a bunch of these easier though. I only own a guillotine cutter. I do not own one of those sliding type ones, but that is definitely what is needed here. I made my card sample the old fashioned way ... with a ruler, pencil, and exacto knife. And it works, but I will be borrowing Donna's to make my class kits! Here are the class details, if you are interested:

Holidaze Card Creations - Wed. Nov.16th 11:00 a.m. and Sat. Nov. 19th 2:30 p.m. $25

Christmas cardmaking would not be complete without cards from our favorite stamp companies. In this class, you will complete three very creative and unique cards, including a Christmas honeycomb pop-up card, a darling card using one of the Pure Innocence girls, and a card using a new Christmas Stamp and Die-Cut set from Hero Arts. Please bring adhesive, small pop-dots, an X by Xyron (if you have one), a glue stick, a pencil, detailed scissors, and your preferred coloring medium (Copics, colored pencils, etc.) All other supplies provided.

The class participants will also get a bonus card, if they want to do it. I had an idea for a religious card but I wasn't sure if I should make this one of the three cards, so I am making it an optional bonus kit. And, I am not showing the card here ... just a sneak peek ...

I love all the cards for this class. It is so fun to share my cards with class takers and class kit takers! I also finished my samples for my December class, but I will wait until tomorrow to show you. See you then!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-11-05T09:00:00.001-05:00

Hello! I bet you wondered what happened to me this week. I think on Monday I said I would be back in a day or two to show you my class shares. And I did not come back ... you see, I am short one card for the first class. I have been waiting for the store to get in their Hero Arts order. Well, they got it in and I got the stamp set I need for the third card last night, so I will be working on that sample. In the mean time, I was busy in my room this week getting the second class samples done. I promise to have both class shares, cards for my November class, and the project for my December class (wait until you see!), on my blog early next week. Both classes are the ones I will be teaching at The Crafty Scrapper. Now, that I have given you my excuses for being absent this week, I will get to today's share! I will show you my card, Debbie's card and the sketch. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

I like this sketch, but I thought my card needed something, but I never figured out what, so I just went with it! Did you see ... I did a fall card ... I guess it is a kick-off! Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S. Reminder "fall back" on daylight savings time Tonight!

No Tricks Here - Just a Real Treat to Share!

2011-10-31T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hello! I guess I could have saved one Halloween card for you today, but they are all done and I even put away all the stamps and supplies. So, instead ... today, I will be showing you the project I made for my friend Donna for her birthday. I gave it to her on Saturday on her birthday and she loved it! It is a shadowbox about friendship and I filled each cubby hole with all kinds of stuff. I loved creating it. It was so much fun. I have a bunch of pics to show you. But, let me first give you a couple of links so you can see what I started with. (Yes, I should have taken before pics, but I didn't!) The box is a Tim Holtz product that you can see here, the tissue tape is also his, seen here , and the metal feet, seen here. (Note, I used Scrapbook.com for the links, but I didn't order my products online, I got them at The Crafty Scrapper, but I wanted you to have a visual.) The set of papers I used were from Bo Bunny, seen here. Let's get to my pics. I have close-ups of every angle and every cubby hole. Enjoy!

Closer View

Side View

Back View

Next Pics are Close-ups from Left to Right, Top to Bottom:

I used a little acrylic piece that I had at my store to hold price tags ... gotta think out of the box!

Flower & Butterfly are dies from My Favorite Things. Tim Holtz Memo Pin holds sentiment.

Life is good was a brad embellishment and bottle has pretty glitter!

Butterfly is held in place with 10 round pop-up dots behind it! More embellishments from my stash!

Middle sections. The Banner is a die. And the letters were made with Rub-Ons from Making Memories.

Close-up (even though I don't like my pic), look at the creativity of adding the photo instead!

Clear beads added to bottle, with flower and memo pin. Friends circle was a snap embellishment.

A clipboard I cut smaller and attached to a wood block for support, a few embellishments from my stash and a music die from My Favorite Things.

Tiny Spools I added twine to, Word Beads and Mini Scrabble Letters from my stash, Butterfly die from Stampin' Up.

I made a box to put her real gift in (small set of butterfly dies from TCP). I am thinking she can use it as a hiding spot. Butterfly die from Stampin' Up.

I also want to note that all the sentiments I did on the computer and cut out and adhered to cardstock. My cardstock is too thick to run thru my printer so this is how I do it. I have to check who makes that banner die, as where I got it escapes me right now. I will check and let you know. I hope you enjoyed all the pics! I would love to hear from you, so add a comment and let me know what you think!

I will be back in a day or two with my next class share. See you then!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-10-29T10:08:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am back today with three cards from Debbie, Donna, & I for this week's share. Let's get right to it! I will show you my card, Debbie's card, Donna's card and the sketch. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

Donna's Card

The Sketch

I just want to say that I think this sketch was a hard one. I actually did it for a challenge when it first came out. And I wasn't all that crazy about then and I don't think I have changed my mind this time around. However, I do think that all three cards are a good interpretation of the sketch. What do you think?

Remember the project I told you about earlier in the month that I was making for a friend? Well, that friend is Donna and I will be giving her gift to her today for her birthday, so that means, that early next week, I will be back to show you a bunch of pics of what I made. So, look for that post! Until then, I hope you have a Happy Halloween weekend. We are doing a haunted hayride tonight put on by our local volunteer fire department. We did it last year, and it was a lot of fun. Not too scary, which is good for me. As, being scared is not something I enjoy! On another note, I want to say we are saddened by our Texas Rangers losing in the last game of the World Series, but I for one, still love them, and am grateful for the great year we had! Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Halloween ...2 More!

2011-10-28T10:41:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have two more Halloween cards for you today. Both were made for specific people in mind. The first one I made for a friend that I have known for almost 40 years ... that makes me feel old ... anyway, she loves the vintage look and a while back I picked up a paper that had this little scene on it of vintage Halloween kids, thinking maybe I could create a card with it. I didn't quite know what to put with it, so I ended up just using it as a printed panel, and then added my Halloween part to it. Let me show you so you can see what I mean ... enjoy!

It's kinda different, but I actually like it! The stars on the panel were a perfect place to add some ghosts. What do you think?

The second one I am going to give to my hubby. I have this 6 x 6 pack of Halloween paper from Best Creation, and in it was these two decorated big round scallop circles that I originally thought about making into a big round card, but I decided it wasn't heavy enough cardstock to really make it work, and in my creating process, I got an idea and cut it in half, immediately realizing that if the new idea didn't work, the original idea was now gone forever. So, guess what? I made the new idea work! The circle cut in half was too large so I cut it down more and ended up using two halfs on a square card. Adding my little vampire stamp with a sentiment on his cape and we are happy. Let me show and you can be the judge! Enjoy!

What do you think? I like it, square card and all! Inside, I used the sentiment "Boo-Frickety-Hoo" and added under it "I-Love-You"! It rhymes! Fun!

Recipe Card #1:

Paper: Vintage panel by Jenni Bowlin Studio Halloween 2011 Mini Pattern Sheet, Orange Dot by The Girls Paperie (my stash), Cardstock White, Black
Stamps - Sentiment by Rubbernecker
Ink - Versafine Black
Tools - Halloween die by Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circle, Classic Circle, Martha Stewart iron gate border punch
Other - Gelly Roll Glitter pen, Ribbon by May Arts, Black Pearls by Queen & Co.

Recipe Card #2:

Paper - Best Creations Inc. 6 x 6 Paper pack, Black Spider paper by unknown from my stash, Cardstock White, Black
Stamps - Vampire Dude and Sentiment from Rubbernecker
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Copic for skin
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Circle
Other - Ribbon by May Arts, Rhinestones, Gelly Roll Glitter pen

Tomorrow I will have my last Halloween card to show you for the Saturday Sketch share. I have to say that I have totally enjoyed making all these fun Halloween cards! And, I don't need to buy anymore Halloween paper next year ... yea, sure ... you know that will happen!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Witchly Wishes ... #2!

2011-10-27T10:17:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have been busy in my room this week working on more Halloween cards and my class samples! I realized that I have not done a card for the Sketch For You To Try for the month. Remember, this challenge is a year one, where you must complete a sketch for every month of the year. I have done all the months so far, so I don't want to stop now with only this month and two more to go! The sketch had a vertical rectangle panel, so I decided I would just stamp my cute witch again, as I really wanted to do another card with her anyway! Hence, #2 in the title of my post today! So, let's get to it. First I will show you my card. And then the sketch. Enjoy!

At first glance, I thought this sketch was kinda boring. But, after seeing it put together in a real card, I like it. It's definitely a go to sketch for when you need a simple one. What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - Recollections paper pack, Cardstock White, Orange, Black
Stamps - Witch from Recollections set, Sentiment from Rubbernecker
Ink - Memento Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Copic for skin
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circles, Classic Circles, Martha Stewart border punch (don't know the name ... wrought iron? got it at Ross a while back ... bargain!)
Other - Boo Ribbon from old stash (sorry, can't remember who it is from), Baubles from Stamping Bella (only had 2 orange ones, but I kinda like the yellow in the middle!)

I will have two more cards to show you tomorrow ... Halloween, of course. And then the last one on Saturday for the share. See you tomorrow!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-10-22T11:20:00.000-05:00

Hello! Well, this is one of the week's that the choice is for a square card or a round card. I almost always do a round card. But, not this time! This time I went with the square choice. My card was made to send to Debbie for two reasons, one for the share, and second because yesterday was Debbie's actual birthday. Worked out great for me, as one card served two purposes. Debbie was also getting into the birthday spirit, as she also made hers with a birthday theme. So, let's get to our birthday cards for the week. I will show you mine, Debbie's, and the sketch. Enjoy!

My Card Front

My Card Inside

Debbie's Card

The Sketches

I just had to show you the inside of mine, since the sentiments were so fun! I hope Debbie liked her card, even though it's a little more on the cutesy side than she usually does for her cards. It just that when I saw the sketch, I immediately thought of the monkey square, so I went with it! I love the size of Debbie's square card ... great idea! What do you think of this week's share?

I should be back next week, with more creations for you. Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

It's Time For A Little Brewhaha!

2011-10-21T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have another Halloween card for you today. The inspiration for most of my Halloween cards this year has come from the two Halloween stamp sets I got back in the summer at the Rubbernecker booth. You have seen many fun sentiments, and today's sentiment is no exception! Yes, it is true, most times you start with an image stamp, and then find a sentiment to match. But, this time it was just the opposite, as I love the brewhaha stamp, and found an image of a cauldron to go with it! Here is my card ... enjoy!

I have to say one of the things I like about not having a store anymore, is that I can combine stamps from different companies and put them on the same card! When I had the store, I never did that. Each card was made to promote a specific company. My card today has stamps from three different companies! Fun, fun, fun! What do you think? Do you like my little brewhaha card?

Recipe:

Paper - Background Paper from $1 Target -from stash from last year, Dots from Reminisce, Cardstock White, Orange, Black
Stamps - Cauldron from Inky Antics Halloween Honey Pop set, Swirls from My Favorite Things (Halloween girlfriends set), Sentiment from Rubbernecker
Ink - Versamark, Judikins Black Detail embossing powder, Memento Black (sentiment), Gelly Roll glitter pen
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Circles & Scalloped Circles
Other - Dot Sparkler Stickers from Stampendous, Orange Baubles from Stamping Bella

I will be back tomorrow with the Saturday Sketch Share. Today is Debbie's birthday! So, this week, we both made birthday cards to show you! See you then!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Trick or Treat!

2011-10-20T14:07:00.000-05:00

Hello! I know you are thinking ... where is she? Sorry, I forgot I had not written my post and set it up to automatically post with today's card. Duh! So, it is now the afternoon, instead of the morning, but I still have a card to show you. Here it is ...enjoy!

I had colored this little pumpkin girl about a month ago, but had not added it to a card. I know Donna used the same stamp on one of the Saturday sketch shares, and I wanted to do a card with her too! I used that fence die again. It just perfect for Halloween cards. I kinda like the the card. What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - $1 Target pack from my stash, Cardstock White, Orange, Black, Lime Green
Stamps - Pumpkin Girl from Rubbernecker, Sentiment by Recollections (a clear set I got at Michaels)
Ink - Versafine Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Fence die by Taylored Expressions, Spellbinders Classic Circle & Lacey Circle
Other - Button by Doodlebug Designs, Ribbon, Linen Thread by The Cat's Pajamas, Pearls by Queen & Co.

See you tomorrow!
Happy Stamping!

Tina

Boo-Frickity-Hoo!

2011-10-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

Hello! I am back today with two of the four Halloween cards I made last weekend. I am happy I finally got this idea on to a card, as it is one that has been in my head for a while. A few weeks ago, on one of my hubby and my outings to Tyler, (it is a little less than an hour from here, but it is a town that has lots of chain stores and a mall ... wow! Remember, I am out in the country!) I went in Marshalls and I found a Martha Stewart punch and stamp set of little tombstones ($3.99 ... a deal!) and I immediately thought of the fence die I have and thought together it would make a cute little Halloween scene. Here is my card. Enjoy!

The paper had the spooky tree printed on it, so I used it as my background. I added the cat, making it look like she is sitting on the fence. And, of course, every scene needs a ghost! Especially, it you have a fun sentiment like Boo-Frickity-Hoo to use! It came out pretty cute! What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - Dots is from a pack of paper I got at Michaels (it said Recollections on it), Purple with Tree paper from Best Creation Inc. Happy Haunting 6 x 6 glitter paper pad, Cardstock White, Black
Stamps - Ghost and Sentiment from Rubbernecker, Tombstones from Martha Stewart, Cat from Studio G ($1 stamp I got at Walmart)
Ink - Versamark Black
Tools - Fence die from Taylored Expressions, Martha Stewart Tombstone punch
Other - Ribbon by May Arts, Rhinestones by Queen & Co.

I am off today to teach my Christmas card class at The Crafty Scrapper. But tomorrow, you will see me again with not a Christmas card, but another Halloween card! See you then!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

No Bones About It ...

2011-10-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am happy to say that I did get some more Halloween cards made on Saturday. Inspiration is such a funny thing, though. You see, I was out in my shack right after lunch, and no inspiration. I just sat and stared at my stamps for quite a while. And when does the inspiration come? Oh, about 2 hours before I wanted to come in to see the Ranger playoff game. In fact, I had to stop in the middle! I finished two of them yesterday, so now I have four new cards you ... one for today, and three more for Wed, Thurs., and Friday! Here is the first one ... enjoy!

I am showing you the inside because it completes my sentence of "no bones about it...". How do you like this one? Pretty cute, huh? I decided to make my little skeleton do a little jig! I have all these great Halloween sentiment stamps, but not the bones one, so I stamped it out with one of my old alphabet sets. I think it came out pretty good. And, then I just had to add those googly eyes ... what a hoot!
Oh, and does the sketch look familiar? It is one of the ones from the Saturday Sketch days, Mojo 139. You can see that post here.

Recipe:

Paper - From a $1 Target pack I got last year, Cardstock Line Green, Black, White
Stamps - Skeleton and inside sentiments from Rubbernecker, No bones sentiment from alphabet set from Hero Arts
Ink - Versamark Black, Grey Tombow marker (just to highlight bones)
Tools - Spellbinders Labels 8, Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder
Other - Twine by The Twinery, Button, Ribbon, Googly Eyes, Pearls by Queen & Co.

See you tomorrow.
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-10-15T09:26:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am back today with the sketch share with our participants, Debbie, Donna, and I. This week's sketch was a fun one but it was a little busy, as they were many elements on the one small space and that is why, I think, Donna changed hers to a square card, and Debbie used her creative license to change hers up a bit. So, let's get to it, so you can see what you think. I will be showing you my card, Debbie's card, Donna's card and the sketch. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

Donna's Card

The Sketch

That is it for me today. I am working on some more Halloween creations, and hope to get them done so I can show them to you next week, as next week will be a busy one for me because it is the week I will be preparing my class kits and teaching at The Crafty Scrapper.

Have a great weekend! And GO RANGERS! (Just had to sneak that in!)

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Got Pink, Dorothy?

2011-10-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

Hello! Warning, my card today has lots and lots of PINK! Today is my mom's 96th birthday! And, she loves pink. I realize I could have just given her any card in my stash and she would not have known. But, sometimes, I feel that my cards are like a gift from my heart, so I decided to make one just for her. It is pink, but there is a lot of details too! Let me show you ... enjoy!

I decided to make this one an easel card, so she could leave it out on her table. See all the detail? There is a lot of stuff she can take apart! She has disassembled cards I have given her in the past. But, I think that might not happen now, as she doesn't get up and around without help now. She has been having a lot of confusion, as her Alzheimer's has definitely advanced. Every time I go to the nursing home, I have my fingers crossed that it will be a day that she knows me. But, it is hard, as conversations are less and less. That is why I think she deserves a pretty card and the pretty pink flowers I will be picking up at the florist on my way! Happy Birthday, Dorothy, aka my Mom!

Recipe:
Paper - My Minds Eye Lost and Found Two Blush 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock Pink
Stamps - My Favorite Things Crazy for Daisies PI (I don't know if you happen to notice, but the flowers she holds on the stamp are taller, I made the daisy bunch smaller ... accidentally cut too close, when I was trimming ... but for this layout, I think I like the bunch smaller ... can we say, happy mistake?), Birthday sentiment on easel by Printworks
Ink - Versafine Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Copic for facial
Tools - Marvy Corner Rounder, My Favorite Things Die-namics Double Scallop Border, Upsy Daisy die set
Other - Rhinestones by Queen & Co., small pearl for dress, Grosgrain Ribbon

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Just a Little Halloween Humor ...

2011-10-12T11:01:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am back today with another Halloween card, this one with a little Halloween humor. The two sets of Halloween stamps from Rubbernecker that I got at the last convention, had the funniest sentiment stamps included. In fact, that is pretty much what sold me on the sets. So, let me show you my silly card ... enjoy!

Can you see the sentiment ... "Everything was fine til that house fell on my sister." ? Oh my ... that just makes me laugh. I had a few different house stamps but I didn't like how they looked with the feet and the other problem was they really were not the right proportion. So, I decided I would just create "the look" of a house with some cardstock. But then, there was all this white space open and that is when I decided to start adding embellishments. Even after I thought it was all done, I decided it need one more thing ... the glittered bat! I will have to figure out who should get the card for Halloween, as it will definitely need to be someone with a sense of humor. What do you think of my card?

Recipe:

Paper - Stripes from Recollections Halloween pack, Cardstock White, Orange, Black
Stamps - Witches shoes from Recollections set (in this set, the feet were in the middle of a sentiment that said something about smell my feet, but I only wanted the feet, so I cut it apart ... Tina Tip: don't be afraid to do surgery on your stamps to make them work for you!), Sentiment from Rubbernecker
Ink - Versafine Black, Prismacolor Pencils
Tools - Spellbinders Labels 8, Marvy Corner Rounder, Cuttlebug Halloween die
Other - Twine by The Twinery, Button, Rhinestones by Queen & Co., Black glitter by Doodlebug

See you tomorrow!

Happy Stamping!

Tina

Count Your Life by ...

2011-10-11T11:55:00.000-05:00

Hello! I will have a couple more Halloween cards for you this week, but I will also be sneaking in a couple of birthday cards too! And, a birthday card is what I have to show you today. This one I made for a friend and she got it last week, so it is safe to show you! Here it is ... enjoy!

This is a past sketch from one of the VLV challenges. You can see the original sketch here. I haven't been participating in the challenges for a while now, but that doesn't mean I can't use their sketches to create wonderful cards, like this one! I love all the papers together, don't you?

Recipe:

Paper - Crate Paper Farmhouse 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock White, Orange
Stamps - Unknown (it is an unmounted stamp I got at one the conventions)
Ink - Versafine Black
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circle, Classic Circle, MFT Die-namics Butterfly trio, Upsy Daisy set, and Dainty Dots Border
Other - Pearls by Queen & Co., Rhinestones

I will be back tomorrow with a Halloween card creation. See you then!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-10-08T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am back today with another share between Debbie and I. I really thought this was a fun sketch, and I hope you will enjoy our two looks! I will show you my card, Debbie's card and then the sketch we both used to create our cards. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

I am hoping to work on some more Halloween card creations for you and I am also working on a creative project for my friend, Donna, who participates in our Saturday shares, every other week. She is having a birthday later this month. I can't give you any more hints about the project, as she looks at my blog. I already let it out of the bag, that I am making her something .. that is enough! So, I will back next week with more card creations. Have a great weekend! (Go Rangers! ... Just had to slip that one in!)

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Happy Boo To You!

2011-10-05T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am back today with another Halloween card with a stamp from the same set I used yesterday. I had colored this little vampire guy a couple of weeks ago, so I figured it was time to get him added to a card! Let me show you. Enjoy!

The inside of his cape, I had already colored red, but when it came down to picking out papers to got with him, my choices for anything with red became very limited. This Halloween paper with the words had a touch of red and so that is the one I went with. I originally was thinking the pinking circle behind him would be red, but it just did not pop, so I went back to the purple. I like the colors I end up using. I think it works! Do you like how I tucked the little sentiment in under his scull pail? And how about those scull dies at the bottom? Fun, huh? I went with a Mojo sketch from 2009. I think it is #69. Here is the inside of my card ...

When I pulled out my Halloween papers, I found a bunch of these borders that I had punched out last year from a friend's punch. I thought it would be perfect for the inside of the card. I used to never put any papers at the bottom of the insides, thinking that you have to leave that area open for signing, but I am really liking this look. And there is still plenty of room to sign! What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - Green stripe by Bo Bunny Whoo-ligans line, Words from same line called Grrrr, Cardstock Black White, Purple
Stamps- Recollections set, Sentiments from Rubbernecker
Ink - Versafine Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Spellbinders Classic Circles, Pinking Circles, Cuttlebug Halloween die, Marthat Stewart graveyard border punch
Other - Dots by Unknown

Happy Stamping!
Tina

P.S. Congratulations to our Texas Rangers for winning the first playoff series! Woo Hoo!

Witchly Wishes!

2011-10-04T11:32:00.000-05:00

Hello! As promised, I am here today with the first of many Halloween cards for the month! I got the cutest set of Halloween images at one of the chain stores recently. So, to start us off, I am using the witch from the set. Don't be surprised if you see her again, as this is one adorable stamp of a witch. Here is my card. Enjoy!

My card is a pretty simple layout but I played around with a bunch of different ideas, and this is the one I finally went with. I like how it turned out. What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - Orange dot is the backside of Imaginisce Happy Camper (this is not a Halloween paper, but the orange dot was perfect ... tina tip: remember to look on the backside of all your papers when looking for certain colors!), Green writing is a set from Recollections (got it at Michaels), Cardstock White, Orange, Purple
Stamps - Recollections (also, got it at Michaels. Curious question from me: Is Michaels still making stuff under the Recollections name even though they have closed all their Recollections stores, or is this something that was left from when they still had their Recollections stores?), Sentiment is from Rubbernecker
Ink - Versafine Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Spellbinders Circles
Other - Button, Twine from The Twinery, Orange Ribbon - unknown (was sent to me in a package from The Crafty Scrapper ... obviously they sell it ... and I want some more of it! I will let you know who it's from when I find out!)

I hope to be back tomorrow with another card.
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Class Creations Share!

2011-10-03T11:04:00.000-05:00

Hello! On Saturday, I said I would be back with some Halloween cards to share, and I promise I will get to that this week. But, first, I thought I would share the cards I will be teaching in a couple of weeks at The Crafty Scapper. She got in some new products from Hero Arts including some stamp and die sets, and stamps with a matching embossing folder. You can see the new product on the Hero Arts site here. (when the page comes up, scroll down to where they show all the sets.) I loved a couple of the stamp & emboss sets that were for Christmas. And even though, she did not order the Christmas sets in the stamp and die sets, I used one of the sets called Frames with Sprigs and created Christmas cards anyway. Yes, I know what you are thinking ... Christmas? But, you have to remember, if I am teaching only one class a month, I only have October and November to give some good Christmas card ideas. December is almost too late for cards. And, I have something else in mind for my December class ... tags, which I think will be a fun idea. But, let's get back to today's cards first! Here are my cards. Enjoy!

The first card reflects more of my typical type card, but I did use the stamp and emboss combo on the holly background, as well as using the dies with pattern papers. The second card, also uses the stamp and emboss combo. I think if you click on it, you will be able to see the stamped and embossed paper. On this one, I also used the stamp and die cut set. But, because the die cut set I am using is not actually a Christmas stamp, I punched out the snowflakes to cover the little flower on the stamp. I also did a little "covering" in the third card with the trees! By the way, they call the second card a Tent Topper card. And the third card has a very unique opening, as only the left side of the card opens. I love learning and teaching different types of cards .. so fun! I hope you enjoyed my share and if you are interested in coming to the class, just call The Crafty Scrapper to sign up. Here are the details:

Chistmas Head-Start with Hero Arts $25 Wed. October October 19th 11:00 a.m OR Fri. October 21st 7:00 p.m. Come get creative with brand new products from Hero Arts. We will be using two of the of the new stamp and emboss sets and one of the stamp and die cut sets, to complete three very creative cards, including a tent topper card and a card with a unique opening. Please bring adhesive, small pop-up dots, detailed scissors, and your preferred coloring medium (Copics, colored pencils, etc.) All other supplies provided.

Hopefully, I will be back tomorrow with a cute Halloween card!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-10-01T10:23:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am back today with Saturday's share. Remember every other week, my friend, Donna participates, which is so fun because you get to see not two, but three cards using the same sketch. So many great ideas! Let's get to it. I will be showing you my card, Donna's card, Debbie's card, and the sketch we all used. Enjoy!

My Card

Donna's Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

Oh, how different all our ideas were for this one! I have actually done this sketch before, and I loved it the first time, and I still do. I was worried that the rose on my card would totally get smooched in transit, but I was happy to hear it survived! Donna has the right idea ... it is time to kick-off Halloween cards! Thanks Donna for the push! Look for Halloween cards from me next week! Enjoy the weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Sun Up to Sun Down!

2011-09-28T10:28:00.000-05:00

Hello! I am back today with the card I made for my stepdaughter for her birthday. My first thought for her card was to use my MFT bunny stamp holding the cake, but I realized by looking back at a blog post from a year ago, that I already made her a card with that stamp! Glad I remembered. So, I decided to go with one of the MFT girls instead. No, I am sure, you are not surprised, as they seem to be just about my favorite cards to make! Here is my card. Enjoy!

I have used the sentiment on other cards with birds, but since this Pure Innocence girl has a little birdie on her shoulder, I decided to add it to the front of this card. It reads "Hope your birthday is tweet from sun up to sun down!" Love that sentiment!

Recipe:
Paper - My Minds Eye Lime Twist Happy Go Lucky 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock Dark Wine
Stamps - My Favorite Things Pure Innocence Girl, Sentiment by Endless Creations
Ink - Memento, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol, Copic for Skin
Tools - My Favorite Things Scallop Ribbon Border and Upsy Daisy Die-namics
Other - Flower Rhinestones by K & Co., Circle Rhinestones by Queen & Co.

I am busy in my room working on class samples for my October class at The Crafty Scrapper. Hero Arts has teamed up with Sizzix to come up with some new products of stamps with matching dies, and stamps with matching embossing folders. So, I am working with the new stuff for my next class. Oh, how I love new stuff! If I finish my samples early, maybe I can get another card made to show you, if not, I will see you on Saturday for the weekly share!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Hey Lil' Monster!

2011-09-27T11:44:00.000-05:00

Hello! I have a very silly card for you today for a very serious sketch. And what I mean by serious sketch is that this card will be linked to Jen's Sketch for You to Try. To be entered into the grand prize at the end of the year, each participant must complete every month's sketch. I have done this so far, but, of course this month, I am dangerously close to the end of the month mark, which is very serious! It actually is a pretty easy sketch to work with, but I just never got it together before now. I used an uninked stamp set that I picked up back in August at Googly Eyes. I thought the set with the monsters were too fun. I am glad that I finally got a chance to ink up the silly guy! Let me show you my card and the sketch. Enjoy!

To complete my silly card, at the last minute I added those silly googly eyes! Silly but fun! What do you think?

Recipe:

Paper - My Minds Eye Alphabet Soup Line -boy, Cardstock Deep Orange, Pumpkin
Stamps - Hero Arts Monster Fun clear set
Ink - Versafine Black, Prismacolor Pencils, Gamsol
Tools - Marvy Corner Rounder, Spellbinders Classic Circles, Cuttlebug Polka Dots embossing folder
Other - Googly Eyes, Pearls by Queen & Co.

I will be back tomorrow with the birthday card I made and sent to my stepdaughter. See you then!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-09-24T09:00:00.002-05:00

Hello! Every fourth week, there is a choice between a circle or square card with the same sketch. I almost always go with the circle choice, but Debbie often goes with the square choice. This time, we both went did circle cards. So let's get right to it. I will show you my card, Debbie's card, and then the sketch we both created our cards from. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

The Sketch

I love how both cards came out, don't you? My card is pretty stinkin' cute! Hee Hee!

I should be back with some new creations early next week. Have a great weekend!
Happy Stamping!
Tina

Two New Cards for a Contribution!

2011-09-23T10:58:00.000-05:00

Hello! Remember me? Even though you haven't seen me here, doesn't mean I haven't been busy in the stamp "shack". Monday and Tuesday of this week, I spent almost all day, making kits for my class - it takes a while to cut all the pieces for 20 kits. And, Wed. and then again tomorrow I will be up in Waxahachie to teach. Now, I am NOT complaining because I am lovin' this teaching gig, but once again I feel like it takes away from my stamping play time of just making cards for the blog. On a good note, I have two cards for you today. Woo Hoo!

I recently joined a little Methodist church down here. Next month, they're having a Lords Acre to raise money to help the shelters, food pantry, etc. They are planning to sell raffle tickets for lots of miscellaneous items, mostly, I think gift certificates to restaurants, but I do know there is a handmade quilt, so I told them I could add some of my cards for my contribution. Not knowing what my cards might look like, I think the one in charge, was slightly unsure. But, I am thinking, and hoping, that once she sees my cards, she will think they are a good added contribution! I told them I would donate 12 cards. I found 10 cards that I have previously made that I am contributing that I think are a good fit. I think all 10 have spiritual sayings on the front of some kind, and I added sentiments on the inside, either for birthday, sympathy, thinking of you, etc. I decided to make two new ones to add to the group. I wanted one that would be more of a birthday card and one that would be more masculine. However, the masculine one, is borderline. I think it could be sent to a man but it is still on the feminine side. It is extremely hard for me to make masculine cards. Why? Don't know! Anyway, let me show you my two cards. Enjoy!

What do you think? I love how they both came out! Of course, my favorite of the two is the birthday one, pink ...duh! No, really, it is all of it, I just love the layout and all the elements. This was a Mojo sketch from 2009, seen here. It was a joy to make! Do you see I got both a scripture and the birthday sentiment on the front of the card? One the inside, the sentiment reads "a day to celebrate". What are your thoughts about the second card ... do you think, it could be sent to a man? I tried to go with simplicity with the colors and elements. I like it and I think it will be a good addition to the group of cards. Speaking of the group, here is a picture of them ...

Recipes:

Birthday Card:
Paper - Music by Bo Bunny Et Cetera line (I ended up using the back side of the paper because the music was printed in lighter tones than on the front side.), Stripes by Bo Bunny Sweet Tooth line (the stripe colors matched the music paper, which allowed me to add color for my card), Cardstock colors: Natural White, Hot Pink, Black
Stamps - Sing sentiment by Our Daily Bread Designs, Birthday sentiment by Impression Obsession
Ink - Versafine Black
Tools - Music embossing folder by Crafts-Too?, My Favorite Things Music Die-namics
Other - Pearls by Queen & Co., Ribbon by May Arts

Cross Card:
Paper - My Minds Eye Stella Rose Mable 6 x 6 pad, Cardstock White
Stamps - Sentiment by Verve -Joy for the Journey set
Ink - Versafine Black
Tools - Cross Collection by Spellbinders (it is a set of 4 crosses, unfortunately, my set only has 3 crosses, because a while back, I dropped one and I have never found it: frown!), My Favorite Things Open Scalloped Border Die-namics
Other - Rhinestones by K & Co., Ribbon by My Minds Eye

I will be back tomorrow to show you Saturday's sketch share. My card came out pretty darn cute. So, stop back by for that. I think I was a little bit long-winded today. Thanks for listening and thanks for your support of me and my blog!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Saturday's Sketch Share!

2011-09-17T09:46:00.000-05:00

Hello! Well, I bet you were wondering where I have been and if you would get today's share. Of course, you always get the Saturday share, but I tell you, I have been in some kind of non-creative funk. The card that I will be showing you today, I normally make on Monday or Tuesday, well, I worked on ideas for my card Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and finally got it done on Thursday! Unbelievable. And the crazy part is, there was absolutely no reason for a funk. I guess it is just like that sometimes, but I surely do hope my creativity juices pick up the pace soon! Now, let's get to the share. This is an even number sketch, so that means my friend Donna is participating this week, so I will be showing you my card, Debbie's card, Donna's card, and the sketch we all used. Enjoy!

My Card

Debbie's Card

Donna's Card

The Sketch

I love how all three cards came out. I actually really like the sketch, and even though I had a hard time creating my card, I think it is one I would like to do again. I really don't think it had anything to do with the sketch, it was just me!

Next week, I will be preparing kits for my two classes at The Crafty Scrapper, but if I feel creative in between, I will be sure to make some cards to show you. I actually have been thinking a little about Halloween. I got some really cute images at the last stamp convention and also some recently at one of the chain stores. So, I might make a few Halloween cards for you, and see if that helps the creative juices! Have a great weekend!

Happy Stamping!
Tina

Class Creations Share!

2011-09-12T12:06:00.000-05:00

Hello! Today I am sharing my class cards for my next class at The Crafty Scrapper. For one of my cards I used a Pure Innocence girl that she had on the shelf so that card sample got made a couple of weeks ago and that was the one they were using to advertise my class. I was waiting to get my other two samples made, once the Inky Antics order arrived at the store. And that happened last Tuesday. We were gone a couple of days to visit my stepdaughter and family, so my cards did not get finished until yesterday. They came out pretty darn cute. Enjoy!

As you can see, there are two Honeycomb pop-up cards and one Criss Cross Pocket Card with the Pure Innocence Pumpkin girl. The inside sentiment on the Criss Cross Pocket Card, I added was from Rubbernecker. It was my attempt to make the card more of a Halloween card instead of a fall card. You see, I thought I was doing two Halloween cards and one card using new product from Hero Arts with matching stamps and dies, but the Hero Arts order didn't come in in time, so I switched gears and did two of the new sets from Inky Antics, their new Halloween and their new Thanksgiving Honey Pop sets. So, this month, is a little Halloween and a little fall! And that is why I am calling this class Pumpkins and Caldrons!

In case you are interested, here are the details:
Wed. September 21st 11 a.m.. and September 24th 2:30 p.m. $25 Pumpkins & Caldrons - There are brand new Honey Pop stamp sets for the upcoming Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays. You will complete three very creative and unique cards, including two cards with the honeycomb pop-ups, and a criss, cross pocket card using a darling pumpkin stamp from My Favorite Things. Please bring adhesive, small pop-dots, an X by Xyron (if you have one), a glue stick, detailed scissors, and your preferred coloring medium (Copics, colored Pencils, etc.) All other supplies provided.
Call the store to sign up: The Crafty Scrapper 972-923-3151

I hope to get back out to my room this week, so I will have some new creations for you.
Happy Stamping!
Tina