Delighting in Life

Today is one of those days that have been delightful. One big reason is talking on the phone to best friend, Beckie. That always puts a smile on my face! Beckie has such a way of making me feel like I am the bestest. She has probably just led a very sheltered life! Besides, SHE is the bestest.
So in honor of being in a great mood, here is my eye candy for the day. I used the stamp set, Delight in Life from the SAB catty. Using my favorite colors helped make this card a cutie. The card base is Lavender Lace layering is with Certainly Celery. I used the slit punch for the scallops again. It is really easy to do and I love the detail. For the main flower, I stamped in Lavender Lace, then masked a stamped again, turning the stamp a bit, with Certainly Celery to give the look of leaves. I stamped the little flower separately and cut out; attaching with a dimensional. I also used Almost Amethyst for the dotted background. This is a very simple card, but it makes me happy. I'm always in awe of cards with a lot of detail and embellishments, but I can never get that look myself. So sweet and simple it is!
I hope you take the time to talk to your best friend today, too!

I'm Tickled Pink

Isn't this little piggy adorable? I can't resist him. He's one of eight super cute stamps in the Very Punny set in the Sell-A-Bration catalog. The two background papers are in the Winter Mini. I don't usually like to get line art stamps. Mostly because they are just more work. All that coloring in, ya know. I tend to be drawn to the solid stamps and two-step stampin'. I love to just use a few ink pads and voila! So I decided to step away from the comfortable and try out this set. All of the images really are super cute! I made the large scallop with the slit punch and did paper peircing at the top of the card and around the focal image. I tried a little watercoloring under the piggy to "ground" him. I guess I shouldn't have used whisper white paper though. Just a little bit of water and the paper was pilling and breaking down. A better choice would have been watercolor paper or Simmery White. I never seem to think of that ahead of time though. At the bottom of the card I put the sentiment on white paper and punched with the word window punch. Then I added a soft subtle brad for a touch of color and to fill up that extra space. Oh yeah, I also raised the focal image up with dimentionals. So there it is. A cute piggy card. I think I may sample this one a workshops this month. I'm also in the planning stages of a Stamp Camp. Send me a message if you want to make sure you are included on my invite list. Oh...and please leave me a comment now and again. I'm feeling a bit unloved. Poor me. LOL

Proud to be an American

This flag background stamp is from Rubber Monger. The sentiment is from an old Stampin' Up! set called Liberty for All. For the background I used Night of Navy and Bravo Burgundy Markers. Ribbon is Navy Grosgrain Ribbon from SU! I used my Coluzzle o cut the ovals. Paper is Night of Navy, Bravo Burgundy, and Very Vanilla. I made a couple of cards using these stamps today. One will be sent to a special family who has recently lost a beloved nephew in Iraq. My heart pours out to all of the many families who are missing their loved ones while they are serving. Especially those who have lost those they love. I am thankful to have a brother who has served two tours in the Middle East. And all the more thankful that he has come home safely both times. God Bless!

Marvelous Mailboxes

Well, I couldn't resist. I was at Target and I found these adorable mini mailboxes in the Dollar Spot area. I bought 6 of them to cover with paper and embellish. My kids think they are great and they each want one of their own. They could make a super cute container for a gift. With the first one I used the Love Me patterned paper from the Stampin' Up! Winter Mini Catalog. I embellished with the Accents & Elements found in the same Mini. On the front of the mailbox I used everyday Flexible Favorites to stamp My Sweet Valentine. I also used Stampin' Up! ribbons around the flag and around the front and back covers of the box. At the front I left a loop of a half-inch or so to use as a handle.
One the second mailbox I used the Recollections Designer Series Paper from the 2006-2007 Idea Book and Catalog. I embellished with stamps from the Sell-A-Bration Catalog called Delight in Life. I used my Coluzzle to cut the ovals on the front and the flag. For the flower on the flag, I layered it and cut it out, using a stampin' dimentional to pop up the small flower on top of the big one.
You can see tons of samples of these great little mailboxes on Split Coast Stampers. I am delighted with how quick and easy they are to cover. I think I'll use a couple for birthday gifts for friends and also for a drawing at a workshop or stamp camp.

Sweets for a Sweet

Here you have an adorable. handmade package for Hershey Nuggetts. I downloaded the pattern from Split Coast Stampers which was provided by Chris. Thanks, Chris!! For this box I used Confetti White paper as the base. On the lid I stamped the Canvas Background in Regal Rose and then sponged a bit in Rose over that. For the top layer on the lid I used Glossy White Paper and brayered with the Cotton Candy Spectrum Pad. I then stamped the heart and "love" from the All about U set in Rose and Cocoa, respectively. And as a last thought I stamped "for you" from All Year Cheer I. That glossy piece was layered onto Regal Rose paper. For the SWEET part on the nuggetts. I used address labels for the computer to wrap the candy. First I stamped the labels with the Canvas Background in Rose and then stamped the letters from Pure and Simple Upper in Close to Cocoa. The whole thing is tied with a pink ribbon that I also stamped "for you" onto. You can find the pattern here: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=190469&highlight=nuggett+box
These boxes are actually quite easy to make. Give it a try and surprise that special someone with a Valentine treat. Or maybe even just because!

Love is in the Air

Well, it's time to start thinking about Valentine's Day. So here is my first offering. I was determined to use my new patterned paper from the Winter Mini. The cardstock is Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Tempting Turquoise and Whisper White. The small hearts in the background are from Petite Patterns and the main image is from happy Occassions. Love is part of a larger stamp from All Year Cheer I. I used a marker to ink just the portion of the stamp that I wanted to show. This is called omitting. I also used Bold Bright Brads and my white signo-gel pen to doodle stitch marks on the turquoise piece. And I thought a little glitter would really help the focal image. So I applied the glitter using a 2 way glue pen. I used fiskars decorative edge scissors to cut out the focal image.
It took me three days and several attempts to get a card that I was happy with. I guess my creative battery was recharging. Sometimes that just happens. I had to get up and walk away from my desk. I looked for inspiration in magazines and online at Split Coast Stampers and on various blogs. (See my list of blogs I like to visit). Finally I was able to go back to my desk with a fresh perspective. This time I got results I was happy with.
Life is like that sometimes, too. Problems can't always be solved the first time to try to figure it out. By taking some time to sort out the situation and meditating and/or on several options will often lead you right to where you need to go. Who knew that stamping could be a metaphor for life?

Popcorn Treat Wraps

I wanted to make something cute to give to friends I plan on visiting this week. I got the idea of giving popcorn from my friend Christine, who gave me a gift of popcorn this month. I love this stamp set, Treat Yourself. I made three masks of the popcorn pieces with post-it notes to make the popcorn look all piled up coming out of the top of the container. For paper I used: So Saffron, Real Red, Basic Black and Whisper White. The ribbon is Red Gingham and the tag says "Treat yourself to a wonderful day". The yellow is just a half sheet of paper cut lengthwise and then taped shut around the popcorn holder. I also cut out two pieces of popcorn and popped them up with a dimentional.

These were pretty quick and easy to make. I love to give a little something as I go visiting. Little things like that always make my day when they're given to me. Hopefully during this new year of 2007 I can do a better job at showing my friends and family how much they mean to me and that they are of great worth, not only to me but to our Father in Heaven.

Album in a Box

The other night I went to a class on how to make an Album in a Box. It was so easy! And it doesn't tke very much paper, either. So I used a Simply Scrappin' Kit from Stampin' Up! It is the In Full Bloom kit. The lid and the outer most layer of the box are done in patterned paper from the kit, as well as the solid papers. I love the kits because they include great die-cut sticker embellishments also. I have only begun to embellish this box. I haven't even started the journaling. But all of the pictures are of my daughter, Meagan, from 2006. Meagan turned 13 this year but she acts like she's going on 25. She is very responsible and helps around the house without even being asked. She also loves to have her picture taken so it wasn't difficult to round up twelve pictures of her.