TSG156: Vacation....yes please!

Monday, May 14, 2012

Good morning! 

I hope all the mother's out there had a lovely day! I was lucky enough to be served breakfast in bed and a couple of sweet cards. My mum still lives in Australia, so Syd and I sent her a Mother's Day video of us signing the words 'Happy Mother's Day'. My mum is deaf so it's not as easy as picking up the phone and saying the words, unfortunately. She enjoyed it and Syd got to learn a few more signs! 

With summer vacation right around the corner for the school kids in the Northern Hemisphere, this week's There She Goes challenge #156 is all about vacations! It just so happens that this week is also TSG (Again!) week and this time we're showing a little love towards a few sets that are vacation themed. One of those sets is Life's A Beach!

Don't you just want to be whisked away to some island that looks like this? Fiji perhaps? I know I do! This set was one of the first sets I played with as a guest designer for TSG wayyyyy back when! I made this card with it and it's still one of my favorite cards. I put so much work into making those posts look realistic! lol This card however, was a quickie! I borrowed Jen's SFYTT for May for my layout and used some newish papers from K&Company called Edamame. I used raffia ribbon for the horizontal panels and a Spellbinders Labels Four nestie for my bottom panel. All of the panels had their edges sponged with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. The main image and the coconut were colored with my SU reinkers and aqupainter brush. I used Cool Caribbean for the water, Pumpkin Pie for the sky, Old Olive for the palms, Creamy Caramel for the sand and Chocolate Chip for the hut, tree trunks and coconut.

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a card or project using May flowers, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (May 21th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

 

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :) 

 

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG156 so we can check out your beautiful work!

 

 Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

 

 

Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'Life's A Beach'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Cool Caribbean, Pumpkin Pie, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen'

Papers: Kraft Cardstock, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, K&Company Edamame collection

Access: Spellbinders Labels Four and Circle Nesties, Raffia, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Search Not For A Friend...

Saturday, April 21, 2012

 Hi everyone! I felt bad about being absent most of the week, so I quickly whipped up something for you today! Don't say I don't do anything nice for you! ;)

My inspiration for this card came from some paper I bought yesterday. I spied the toile paper at Michael's and knew it had to come home with me! Why? Because it just so happens that today, There She Goes is sponsoring the challenge over at Crazy 4 Challenges and the theme - is to use black cardstock. Phhft! I can do that in my sleep! :)

So I grabbed Jen's Deconstructing Sketch #48 (EDIT: And I just realized that I goofed up the sketch - I forgot the vertical strip up the side....does stitching count?!), the toile paper and went to town! I kid you not - I whipped this baby up in under 2 hours! Laugh all you want, but that might be a record for me! (Is that sad?!)  On with the details, shall we? I sponged the edges of the toile paper (from Recollections) with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink, matted it with black cardstock then machine stitched them together. The vertical banner was made with some very old Crate paper, which I machine stitched to black cardstock and sponged the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink. I did the same thing with the Labels Four die cut panel, which was made with some paper from the La Creme collection (DCWV).

For the main panel, I used this endearing sentiment from the TSG Dream A New Dream set. It was perfect for the toile paper! I wet embossed the sentiment with Versamark ink, StazOn Jet Black ink and clear embossing powder. Next, I cut out the sentiment with an Oval Nestie and lightly sponged the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Then I matted it with more black cardstock and machine stitched the two together. I don't use a lot of embellishments (you could say I'm embellie-challenged) but I do like my buttons! So I added a couple and for the last element in Jen's sketch, I used some ruffled black lace (which I got at my LSS).

Now head on over (or back to!) the C4C blog to check out the inspiration there! Thanks so much for putting up with me this week! :)

Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'Dream A New Dream'

Inks: Versamark, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap and Black Soot'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Black Cardstock, Bazzil Basics - Vanilla, PP - Crate Paper 'Crate Avenue Collection - Trendy', Recollections 'Toile' and Die Cuts With A View 'La Creme' 

Access: PTI Buttons - Black, PTI Rustic Button Twine - Cream, Spellbinders Oval and Labels Four Nesties, Sponges, Stampendous Clear Embossing Powder, Black Lace, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

TSG151: Ribbon Challenge

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Good morning!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I think I've finally got over my jetlag. I took a nap Saturday afternoon and took it easy on Sunday. I don't think the long hours helped, but I'm glad to be back on my regular routine, that's for sure!

One thing I did do on Sunday was make a card for this week's There She Goes challenge. Corinna McGregor is our Trendsetter of the week and she has issued a ribbon challenge!

I finally got my hands on the Fairy Good Day set the other week, so I was itching to color this set in!

TSG is also sponsoring Jen's Sketch For You To Try Challenge this month, so of course, I had to use it this week! (And probably next week too!)

I have used these MME and Crate papers sparingly since I bought them, but at some point, you just have to let them go, right?? I thought they looked good together and I was trying to avoid going with a lot of pink - which typically would have been my first choice!

Do you notice anything different about my card?? No sewing!! Not a lick of stitching anywhere! Shocking, I know. And it was EXTREMELY HARD to resist getting my sewing machine out! But I managed to put the card together, put it on my card shelf and actually like it! :) (That's a big step for me!) As always, I colored my the fairy with my SU and Distress Ink reinkers and an aquapainter brush. I used Pool Party and a tiny bit of Tempting Turquoise on her dress and layered Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo for her hair. SU's Creamy Caramel was used for her skin and Pretty In Pink for her cheeks. The flowers and belt were colored with Rich Razzleberry and Regal Rose.

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a project using ribbon, and then go to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (April 16th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG151 so we can check out your beautiful work!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Fairy Good Day'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Pool Party, Tempting Turquoise, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PP - MME and Crate Paper 'Paper Doll Collection'
Access: Twine, PTI Button - Cream and White, Seam Binding Ribbon, Spellbinders Scalloped Circle Nestie

TSG150: Use Metal

Monday, April 2, 2012

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you had a lovely weekend! I was flat out busy all weekend getting ready for my trip this week. By the time this post goes live, I'll be on a plane bound for Sacramento, California! It's a work trip, so it won't be that much fun, but at least it'll force me to slow down since I'll have nothing to do distract me in the evenings! I'll be there until Friday morning, so I plan on making the most of this down time.....resting (and commenting)! ;)

Before I packed my bags on Sunday, I made this card for this week's There She Goes challenge which is being issued by this week's Trendsetter, Candace Pierce! She wants us to use metal somewhere, somehow on your projects! Seriously Candace?! You really know how to issue a challenge! lol

I raided my embellishment drawer and sifted through all the flowers, pearls, chains(?!) until I found the one metal thing I have A LOT of.....eyelets!! I have more than any card maker needs, but I rarely use them! So out they came and this is what I came up with! Love that donkey!

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a card or project using this sketch, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (April 9th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG150 so we can check out your beautiful work!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I have a whole week of scheduled posts lined up so I hope to see you back tomorrow! Take care.


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Ba Donkey Donk'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Going Gray, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PTI Kraft Cardstock, PP - Crate Paper Brook Collection
Access: Eyelets - Pewter, PTI Rustic Button Twine, EK Success Corner Punch, Spellbinders Rectangular Nesties, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Farm Fresh Eggs....and a bunny!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Good Morning!

Have you ever been so busy that you've totally misread something that was clearly stated? I did that this week with my ATS card. I was meant to make a card using Amy Young's Sweet November stamps, but instead, I made this card...no Sweet November stamps in sight!

Bugger.

But not all was lost because now I have something to show fans on the ATS blog today instead! It all worked out for the best in the end. Phew! ;)

I've been inspired lately by all the wonderful cards the ATS girls have been making with their March release stamps...talk about talented!! So I decided to create a layered card using Bunny Fufu from the Spring Has Sprung set and the sentiment from the Spring Logo's set.

To make this card, I first stamped out the egg image a few times onto a strip of Strathmore Bristol Vellum cardstock and colored them up with a bunch of SU reinkers. Then I stamped out Bunny FuFu onto some scrap paper and colored her (him?) with my Going Gray SU reinker. Next, I cut Bunny Fufu out and popped her onto the main panel with dimensionals. To make the base, I pulled some (very old!) Basic Grey paper from their Oh Baby! Girl collection and matted it to some plain Georgia Pacific cardstock and a kraft cardstock base. The egg panel was matted with the same GP cardstock, which was trimmed using some small scalloped scissors. Then it was matted again with kraft cardstock, which was punched with EK Success's scalloped edge punch. I made the tag using one of PTI's Half & Half dies, sponging the edges with Tea Dye Distress Ink and matting it with Bitter Chocolate cardstock by Bazzil Basics. And that's it! A pretty simple card, but then again, that Basic Grey paper was soooo busy, it didn't need much else!

Thanks so much for popping in today! I hope to see you tomorrow!

Supplies
Stamps: All That Scraps 'Spring Has Sprung' and 'Spring Logo's'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Going Gray, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Apricot Appeal, Lavender, Certain Celery, Morning Marigold, Really Rust, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Tattered Rose and Victorian Velvet'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Georgia Pacific, Kraft Cardstock, PP - Basic Grey's 'Oh Baby! Girl - Sophie' Collection
Access: PTI Half & Half Dies, Fiskars Decorative Edge Scissors, EK Success Edge Punch, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

ATS March Release Sneak Peek - Day Two!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Hi everyone! I'm so thrilled you're all enjoying the sneak peeks!

It's day two of the All That Scraps March releases and we've got another set of cuties to share with you all that are perfect for any spring-themed card! The set is called Spring Has Sprung and it's designed by ATS owner and illustrator, Christine Wooden.

There are three adorable images in this set but today, I'm sharing just one of them with you. Meet Lambie!! I'm a bit partial to sheep since I was born in the land where sheep are far more common than people...can you guess where?! Hint: The country is made up of two islands!

She is just the sweetest thing! I wanted to make her center stage, so I used Jen's Deconstructing Sketch (DS41) for my layout. It worked beautifully with these papers from Jillibean Soup, Memory Box and Basic Grey! But it wasn't so easy to pick them out. I am not going to lie to you - I was having a bad paper-picking week when I made this card! Well, not this particular card, but the two others I made before this one! They were not springy enough for Lambie! Soooo thankful these papers came together just in the nick of time!

I colored in Lambie with my SU reinkers and water pen, then cut her out with a Spellbinders circle nestie. Then matted it with some Bitter Chocolate Bazzil Basics cardstock. For the base, I machine stitched the Jillibean Soup 'Old World Cabbage Stew', Basic Grey 'Wisteria' and Memory Box 'Valise' paper to some more Bitter Chocolate cardstock, and used EK Success's edge punch on the horizontal strip. Then I added some twill ribbon, made a bow and adhered it to the card. See that ticket?? It's another stamp from the Spring Logo's set being released this week! I've never used a ticket on a card before....but you can bet I'll be using one again! I loooove the look of them!

If you want to see what the other images are in the set, then head on over to the ATS blog! You'll see cards from the rest of the design team AND if you leave your name in the InLinkz at the bottom of the blog post, then you have a chance to win yourself the set! Just by leaving your name! How easy is that?!

I have one more sneak peek tomorrow for you, so I'll see you then!
Thanks for stopping by today!

TSG146: Tag! You're It!

Monday, March 5, 2012

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. This was the first weekend in months that I've had no visitors or guests or any agenda of any kind...and it was sooo nice! On Saturday, I took the Little Ray of Sunshine to her dance class, then slept the afternoon away. I had a nagging neck/headache that refused to go away (anyone else ever get that?). On Sunday we all went grocery shopping, then went to see the new Lorax movie (which we all loved!), then it was chores for the rest of the evening. Not a bad way to spend the weekend, right?! :)

This week's There She Goes challenge TSG146 was dreamed up by one of our newest Trendsetters, Kim O'Connell! She's challenging us to create tags instead of a card! I hope you'll help us welcome her by playing along this week!

I couldn't decide whether to go with a simple one or a fancy one...so I did both!

Here's one I made using the Bon Appetit set and some scrap October Afternoon paper (Modern Homemaker), the Spellbinders Labels 8 Nestie for the base and some ric rac ribbon. Easy peesy!

This one took a little more time, but I loooove the look of it! I used an oval and scalloped oval nestie for the base, then the Labels 8 Nestie for the main panel. The sweet star and swirls are from the Bit of Stardust set. I stamped them in Milled Lavender Distress Ink and sponged the edges with Antique Linen. I couldn't resist added a little twinkle to the middle of the star! ;)

This tag was especially inspired by the latest addition to the MacLean family! My husband's cousin and his wife welcomed their first child via adoption last week and I couldn't be more happy for them!! Welcome Baby A!!

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a card or project using the sketch as inspiration and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (March 12th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG146 so we can check out your beautiful work!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

TSG145: Owl-ways There For You!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Good Morning!

I hope you all had an awesome weekend. I had a jam-packed one myself...and mine started last Thursday! We said farewell to my brother and dad who had been staying with us since the start of February (I was a complete mess!), then picked up my two stamping besties for a whirlwind weekend of sightseeing, stamping and Twilight watching! Add a lot of driving, a stomach bug and three cards...I'm a wee little bit physically and emotionally drained today! But I'm glad I got to spend time with my favorite people. :)

I'll definitely share a photo or two with you later this week, but before this post gets any longer, here's one of those cards I worked on yesterday! This week's There She Goes challenge #145 is my favorite kind of challenge - a sketch!


It's a good one and I know you'll want to play along with us this week!

For my card I pulled out the You're A Hoot set because those cute, little owls fit perfectly in a rectangular panel! (No one said this was rocket science!) ;) I colored them with my reinkers and aquapainter brush, then cut them out and mounted them on the sky panel that I sponged with SU's Cool Caribbean and Rosie's Roadshow Cloud Template. Then I just used some scrap paper from MME and Crate Paper to create the rest of the elements. Added a little ribbon, a sweet sentiment, also from the set, and I was done!

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a card or project using an animal theme and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of the challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (March 6th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities.TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated! :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG145 so we can check out your beautiful work!


Thank you so very much for popping in today! See you tomorrow!

Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'You're A Hoot'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Curry Crush Morning Marigold, Really Rust, Soft Suede, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Peeling Paint'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, Kraft Cardstock, PP - MME Scrap, Crate Paper Scrap
Access: Ribbon, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Fiskars Corner Punch, Rosies Roadshow Cloud Template, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Paper Piercer, Dimensionals

Best Wishes

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Good Morning and Happy Valentines Day!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. We were very busy with the family again. On Saturday, The Man took my dad and brother on a tour of some breweries in the Vermont area, while the little one and I went to her dance class. Then we spent the afternoon making pulled pork and Mac 'n' Cheese for dinner. Sunday we went out for breakfast, then my In-laws took my family to visit the Yankee Candle factory in Massachusetts. Oh, and I made a couple of cards too. :) This week they're headed to NYC on their own then we're taking them to Boston on the weekend. It's amazing what you can squeeze into a three week vacation! lol

One of those cards I whipped up this weekend was this one for this week's There She Goes Challenge #143. It's a color challenge and the colors are: Olive, Rose and Razzleberry.

This super sweet image is from TSG's The Fairy Best set. Isn't it adorable?! (Edit: And it's on sale this week!!) I love coloring in little critters and mushrooms! As always, I colored in the image with my reinkers and aquapainter brush and punched it out with the deckled oval die from Spellbinders. I then carefully matted it with some more white paper. It's a little painstaking, but it's worth the effort. The layout is this week's sketch, DS38, from Jen's Deconstructing Jen's sketch challenge.

Since my coloring medium of choice is to watercolor, I have a big stash of SU's reinkers to choose from, but what I don't have is a lot of SU cardstock. In fact, I think all I have is a pack of their 2008 In Colors, and that's about it. So whenever I play a color challenge, I have to try to color match my Bazzil cardstock collection to the color combo and make them work for the challenge. So, if you're like me, and don't have an SU paper store in your craft room, work with whatever you've got! :)

I just so happened to pick up this piece of Basic Grey's Sweet Threads patterned paper this weekend and it wasn't until I got home that I realized it matched the colors perfectly! Score! Love it when that happens! I matched it with some scrap American Crafts paper and went to town!

This week on the TSG blog, it's the There She Goes (Again!) week, where Jess shares past projects using some much loved sets, then on Friday, the Trendsetters will have a bunch of new cards to share with you using the same sets. So, if you need some new inspiration for your Let's Get Together, Special Delivery or Slow and Steady, then head on over to the TSG blog and soak up a little inspiration!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'The Fairy Best'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Rich Razzleberry, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics - White, SU's Old Olive, PP - Basic Grey's Sweet Threads' and left over American Crafts paper

Access: Spellbinders Deckled Oval Nesties, PTI's Half and Half Die and Beautiful Blooms #1, PTI Rustic Button Twine - Cream, PTI Button - White & Cream, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Wishing Every Birdie...

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Good Morning!

Now that it has stopped snowing and raining around the New England area, we can get back to doing our Fall chores! We have a few 100 year old maple trees on our property, so you can imagine the amount of leaves they shed every year. It's a lot! This past weekend was all about raking them up, cutting back the wildflowers, mowing the lawn one last time and generally cleaning up before Winter hits. Every muscle in my body aches right now! Too much work in a short space of time. But it had to be done because who knows if we'll get a chance to tackle it again - this crazy New England weather has a mind of it's own these days!

One thing I did do over the weekend that was fun was make a card for this week's There She Goes Challenge #130. It's a recipe challenge this week and one that I think you'll like! Jessica is challenging you to create a card using a bird, a snowflake (it must have both images) and at least one kind of ribbon or button.

Not a hard recipe right? It's really easy if you have two sets particular sets from There She Goes! I used the cute little bird from Birdie Wishes and those almost transparent snowflakes were from the Stick Together mini set. I borrowed the layout from this month's Sketch For You To Try and the paper is from Memory Box.

I created the irridescent snowflakes using some Versamark Ink and some Crystal Snow Embossing Powder from Stampendous. Then I added some Crystal Twinkles to the center of the snowflakes to make them stand out a little.

To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card using the recipe, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of the challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (November 21st). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG130 so we can check out your beautiful work!

Thank you so very much for stopping in today! Check back in on Friday - I feel a redo coming on! ;)

Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'Birdie Wishes' and 'Stick Together'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Cool Caribbean and Real Red, Versamark

Papers: PTI Kraft Cardstock, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PP - Memory Box

Access: PTI Rustic Button Twine, PTI Button-Brown, Stampendous Kaliedescope Embossing Powder, Crystal Twinkles, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

Warming The Heart

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Good Morning!

I hope you all had a great weekend. I really didn't do much, but that was OK with me. Especially after last weekend's efforts! :) I have a hard time getting myself off the couch lately. I think it's a combination of our deep, comfy couch and the wood stove! But even though I'm 'vegging' out, I still manage to stay somewhat productive. I've been working on another cross stitch, which keeps my hands busy when I'm watching TV. I never just sit still. Just can't do it!

So I didn't get much done over the weekend, but I did work on a card last night. This week, There She Goes is sponsoring the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge, and I love a good sketch!

Since it's getting colder around these parts, I pulled out the Wonderful Winter Wishes set, some fun patterned paper and whipped up this cozy little card! These colors aren't your typical winter colors, but I thought the season needed a little warming up! Actually, I was inspired by a card I did a long, long, long time ago! Have you ever gone back to look at the cards you did when you first started stamping? I almost shudder at those now, but I love to see how my style has evolved!

I created the base using some paper from Crate Paper's Snow Day Collection. I used the largest Labels 8 Nestie to create the cut out down the right hand side. Then I matted the left hand piece of patterned paper with some white cardstock and used my decorative scissors to create the border. Next I matted the two pieces to some Bitter Chocolate cardstock and machine stitched them together. The horizontal strip was done with a Labels 4 Nestie and the same decorative scissors. The cute little kids from the Wonderful Winter Wishes set were colored with my reinkers and aquapainter brush, then I sponged the edges of the panel with some Antique Linen Distress Ink. Lastly, I added the ribbon and some tiny crystal twinkles to finish it off.

If you'd like to play along with this week's Tuesday Morning Sketch Challenge, then head over to their blog for all the details and give it a go!

Thanks so much for stopping in today!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Wonderful Winter Wishes'
Inks: Staz On 'Jet Black', Distress Inks 'Antique Linen'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PP - Crate Paper "Snow Day Collection"
Access: Spellbinders Labels Four Nestie, Spellbinder Labels Eight Nestie, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Crystal Twinkles , Ribbon, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Hi Friend!

Friday, November 4, 2011

Happy Friday Everyone!

I came down with a cold last weekend, which I tried to ignore because I had a bunch of things on my to-do list that needed to get done. I spent most of Sunday doing a grocery run, laundry, hemming pants and baked about 100 cookies! The Man wanted to take some of my Snickerdoodle cookies to work since he'd raved about them, and the Little Ray of Sunshine had a Halloween party on Monday, so I had to make some ghost-shaped sugar cookies for the treat bags. I also ended up making some Mummie Dogs for the party. All of which pretty much wiped me out! So the last thing I felt like doing was staying up late in my craft room sneezing all over my paper! Ewww!

But I did feel a little better yesterday so I made this card for you!


One of my favorite sets from the recent There She Goes release is the cute, little FriendBot set! I have a bit of a thing for robot images and Torico really knows how to play up their cute factor!

I started this card by cutting a piece of PTI kraft cardstock to a standard 4.25"x5.5" size. Then I cut a piece of Sassafras Lass 'Apple Jack' patterned paper for the base and matted it with some black cardstock. Next, I cut a smaller strip of another piece of coordinating paper and also matted it with black cardstock, but this time I used my small scalloped decorative scissors and trimmed the edge. The bingo piece was cut using a Labels 4 nestie and lightly sponged with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I punched the lined red paper with a corner punch and also matted it for more presence. Then I punched out a piece of graph paper from the same Sassafras Lass collection with my PTI eyelet lace border die and adhered it to the horizontal strip. Then I added the New Leaf Bakers Twine from PTI and tied it up with a button and a simple bow. Last, but not least, I colored up the two Bots with my SU reinkers, cut them out and popped them on the card with dimensionals.

If the layout looks familiar, you're absolutely right! It's this week's layout from Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge #141. Love her layouts! :)

Thank you so much for stopping in today! Ooo! By the way, if you love TSG stamps, I will have a scrapbook page to share with you tomorrow on the TSG blog!

Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'FriendBots'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Going Gray, More Marigold, Really Rust, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Regal Rose
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PTI Kraft cardstock, PP - Sassafras Lass 'Apple Jack' Wee Bundle
Access: PTI Bakers Twine - New Leaf, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Spellbinders Labels 4 Nestibilities, PTI Button - Black, PTI Eyelet Lace Border Die, Dimensionals

TSG125 Sketch Challenge...Happy Haunting!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Good Morning!

We had the most gorgeous Fall weekend ever! The weather was scorching (80deg in October is scorching for us!) and I basked in it for as long as I could stand. Actually, at one point, The Man thought I was nuts because it was so hot and I was standing in the sun, in my jeans, sanding cabinets! Even though I was overheating just a little, I couldn't bring myself to go indoors because I knew that sunshine wasn't going to stick around forever! I know some of you are with me on this one, right?? :)

This week's There She Goes Challenge TSG125 is brought to us by Trendsetter Jackie Rockwell and she has a fabulous sketch for us all!

If you got your hands on the Worlds Best Die set from the recent release, then it's going to come in handy for some of the elements on this sketch! If you didn't, then not to worry, you can easily create the same look with a pair of scissors and some circle punches.

I adore Halloween! So much so, that I usually skip decorating for Fall in September and break out my Halloween decorations instead! Fall decorations can wait until after October, as far as I'm concerned.

Which is why created a Halloween card this week - I've been in the mood for over a month now! :)

I broke out some of my coverted Graphic 45 Halloween paper from last year, as well as the Bugs and Hisses and Hauntingly Delightful sets and went to work! The banner tags and the medallion were created with the die from the Worlds Best die set. I stamped the cross onto one of them, then I added glitter to the edges of the banners by dipping them in glue first. I used my pinking shears to create the 'string' that holds up the banners. I added black buttons tied with a bit of PTI's Rustic Button Twine to add a bit of detail (and to cover up the overlap).

I sponged the base with Distress Inks (Tea Dye and Vintage Photo), then distressed the edges with my scissors, then sponged them again to get rid of the white edges. Then I matted it to some black card stock and machine stitched them together. I stamped the large cobweb from the Bugs and Hisses set in the corners and curved the Happy Haunting sentiment to mimic the 'string'. Loooove that acrylic stamps let us do that! Lastly, I stamped the little ghost from the Hauntingly Delightful set onto white cardstock, colored in his treat bag, then cut him out and popped him on the medallion with some dimensionals.

Here's a peek at what I did to the inside of the card....

Think you can do something with this sketch?? Well, here's what you need to know for this challenge...

To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card using the sketch, and then go back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of the challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (October 17th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG125 so we can check out your beautiful work!

Thanks so much for stopping in today!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes Bugs and Hisses, Hauntingly Delightful
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Going Grey and Really Rust, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye, Antique Linen Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain'
Papers: White and Black cardstock, PTI Kraft Cardstock, PP - Graphic 45
Access: TSG Worlds Best Die Set, PTI Buttons and Rustic Button Twine, Pinking Shears, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Good Morning sweet friends!

Did you have a good weekend? I hope it was sunnier in your part of the world than it was in mine. We had nothing buy clouds and rain all weekend. Part of me didn't mind because that meant putting off raking all those leaves in my yard! :) But the part of me which adores Summer, really didn't take it too well. Winter is too long here in the Northeast, so I hang onto it for as long as I can!

Maybe that's what inspired my card today?! Hmmm...

This week's There She Goes challenge is a color one - GREY and YELLOW. Funnily enough, I just finished painting my living room/dining room a nice warm gray (is it grey or gray?!) and the new tv stand is a harvest yellow color!

Since it was raining outside this weekend, I immediately gravitated towards the Under The Weather set, illustrated by Melyssa Connolly. And if you're saying you just saw me use these papers in my last card, you're absolutely right! The only papers I had in my stash that have the color combos I needed were in Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934! I swear I didn't see the challenge until only a couple of days ago!

They say that gray is the new go-to nuetral, and I happen to agree! Grey can be warm and soothing in the right shade. Pair it with yellow and it's adds a fun pop of color! So that's what I tried to create with this card. I used black as my other nuetral, as the challenge required (lets just assume white isn't a color, ok?!) The little girl was colored with my SU reinkers and aquapainter brush and I paper pieced her umbrella with some more scrap from the CC paper pack.

I've just realized that I buggered up this month's Sketch For You To Try! Can you see where?? Should have sketched it out somewhere, like a good little stamper. Oh well. You live and you learn.

Here's a close up for the layers on this card. If you spotted a bit of red peeking out from under the umbrella, you're not mistaken. I was going to paint it red, but decided against it at the last minute. It would have detracted from the rest of the card.

So does this challenge seem like something you'd love to have a go at??

To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card using the inspirational colors (yellow, grey, +1 neutral) from the picture, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (October 10th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG124 so we can check out your beautiful work!

Thanks SO MUCH for stopping by today!!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Under The Weather'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, More Mustard, Really Rust, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye, Frayed Burlap and Black Soot'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Bling, Bazzil Basics, PP- Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934
Access: Fiskars Corner Punch and Decorative Scissors, Scissors, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Harvest Of Love

Friday, September 30, 2011

Happy Friday Everyone!

I should have known this week was going to be one of those weeks by what I managed to accomplish last weekend....absolutely nothing! I procrastinated on just about everything and this week wasn't much different. I had good intentions of painting the rest of the stairway and making a fall banner and a card or two....but none of that happened. I think I'm coming down with a cold or something. For two weeks now I've been struggling with a congested ear and it's starting to get on my nerves! No other symptoms have presented themselves, just an ear that refuses to pop. A cold, I can deal with, no cold and a stuffed up ear...not so much! Grr!

Since it's still looking a lot like Fall around here (I'm hanging onto my summer as long as I can!), I made this Thanksgiving card to share with you all.


I used the cornucopia from the TSG's Bountiful Blessings set and paired it with some different papers this time around. I'm still all about using up what I have, so I pulled out some of Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934 paper which worked really well with the yellows and oranges in the image. I can't decide whether I love the character sets or the realistic sets from TSG's - they're both great for coloring up! Even with my medium of choice - watercoloring! The image was colored up with a bunch of SU reinkers. The base was done in Sahara Sand and the blue around the image was Cool Caribbean. Each panel was sponged with some Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress Ink and machine stitched to some cardstock.

TSG is sponsoring this week's sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches, so if you want to win yourself a gift certificate to the TSG webstore, then get cracking and whip a card! My layout is based on this week's sketch.

I promise (ok, I really, really hope) to be a little more organized next week and have a few things to share with you...including another project I worked on for the house!


I hope you have an enjoyable weekend and stay warm my friends!

Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'Bountiful Blessings'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Regal Rose, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Sahara Sand, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen and Tea Dye'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PP - Cosmo Cricket 'Circa 1934' and a scrap of MME
Access: PTI Rustic Button Twine and Cream Button, Ribbon, Fiskars Corner Punch, Spellbinders Oval Nestie, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

TSG Follow Your Bliss/BOL Holiday Additions Blog Hop!!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Welcome to the first TSG Blog Hop for the October releases!!

We're also celebrating TSG's 3rd birthday, so you know this is going to be one, HUGE party!! I can't wait for you to see what Jessica and the girls have in store for you all!

Di has created another gorgeous addition to her wildly popular Build a Scene stamp sets. With stone and ivy walls, gorgeous little puppies and kitties, and uplifting, heart-felt sentiments, this stamp set is fabulous alone or paired with any of the other Designs by Di stamp sets.

Follow Your Bliss is a 4x6 sized stamp set that includes 19 images and will sell for $15.

This is is so sweet! And the best part is that this set works so well with all of Di's sets! I can just picture this with the little bear from Back In Ten or the fairies from The Fairy Best, can't you? For this card I used six of the stamps in the set to create this scene. Di's stamps lend themselves so well to my medium of choice - watercoloring! I love that!

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Acorns, leaves, pumpkins, gingerbreads are just some of the gorgeous images added to the "Buckets of Love-Holiday Additions" stamp set. Coordinate the bountiful holiday images with the different buckets from "Buckets of Love" to create gorgeous fall and winter holiday décor. Torico’s additional sentiments will be sure to finish off your creation perfectly!

BOL Holiday Additions is a 4x4 sized stamp set that includes 14 images and will sell for $10.

Not only does this set work in tandem with the Buckets Of Love set, I wanted to show you how well it works with some of the other sets from TSG. I used the Just For You set to create this little centerpiece on my card. My favorite thing about the TSG sets is that they all work with at least a couple other sets, so you get more value out of each set.

Would you like to win the Follow Your Bliss and BOL Holiday Additions Stamp set? Here is what you need to do- visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in this blog hop challenge and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Follow Your Bliss / BOL Holiday Additions Blog Hop Challenge post. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday September 24th with the winner being announced during the release party chat.





Supplies
Card 1
Stamps: There She Goes 'Follow Your Bliss'
Inks: SU's Creamy Caramel, Going Gray, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap'
Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics, PP - My Minds Eye
Access: Spellbinders Labels One Nestie, PTI Button and Rustic Button Twine, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Card 2
Stamps: There She Goes 'BOl Holiday Additions' and 'Just For You'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU Creamy Caramel, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Regal Rose, Morning Marigold, Going Gray, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap'
Papers: Kraft Cardstock, Bazzil Basics, PP - Basic Gray 'Jovial Collection'
Access: Fiskars Decorative Scissors, PTI Bakers Twine, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...Fall!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Good Morning!

How are you all this week? Good, I hope!

We had another jam packed weekend with birthday parties and company picnic's to attend. Syd bought herself some Lego sets with the money she was hoarding from her birthday and had a lot of fun building with them. Hubby scraped, spackled, sanded and painted more of the living room. We didn't notice until after we moved in that one of the previous owners did a horrible job painting the walls. They left 2-ft long drip marks above all the windows and painted over unsanded spackle! We couldn't spend our hard earned money on paint only to leave the walls this way, so we've been repairing them as we go. So it's turning out to be a longer project than we anticipated but I remedied that yesterday. I invited our old apartment neighbor over for dinner Friday night! Nothing like a deadline to get things moving along! Haha! We just work better under the gun. ;) I also managed to finish off a project I should have started at the beginning of the summer. I'll share it with you all on Friday.

On top of all that, I made it back into my craft room again! Woohoo! Go me! :D
Since Hurricane Irene passed through these parts, the Maple trees on our property have dropped a lot of their leaves, so we've gone from mowing the lawn every weekend to blowing and racking the leaves every weekend! Yay....not. I keep telling myself it's all part of the charm of living in the New England area. Some days I believe it. Anyway, this is what inspired me to use the Autumn Mosaic set from There She Goes for this card.

Basic Grey's Pryus Collection reminds me a lot of Fall, so I grabbed some of it as well as this week's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #134 and got to work. I watercolored the tree with some SU inks and my aquapainter brush, then cut it out with a nestie from the Labels Two set, then sponged the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink. Then I matted the panel with some Bazzil Basics cardstock in Bitter Chocolate (my go-to color). The horizontal strip another piece of the Pyrus paper, sponged and machine stitched to some cardstock which was trimmed with some small scalloped decorative scissors. I used some lace for the scalloped part of the sketch and tied it all together with some jute rustic twine from Papertrey Ink. Lastly, I added the two buttons and spritzed the whole thing with some of my favorite glimmer mist from Tattered Angels.

I hope you're having a wonderful week!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Autumn Mosaic'
Inks: Cool Caribbean, Old Olive, Really Rust Dusty Durango, Creamy Caramel, Moring Marigold, Antique Linen
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, Basic Grey's 'Pyrus Collection'
Access: PTI Rustic Button Twine and Buttons, Spellbinders Labels Two Nesties, Fiskars Decorative Scissors, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist 'Pearl', Lace, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

TSG93: Supply Challenge

Monday, February 7, 2011

Good Morning Everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I know I promised last week that I would post a couple of pics of my trip to Buffalo last week and I didn't follow through. I had every intention to, until I found out that my flight home had been canceled! So instead of relaxin in my hotel room writing up a blog post about my experience in a freezer, I was frantically calling around trying to get myself and my collegue on another flight home! Luckily we were able to get a really early flight and got home sooner than we had originally booked for - phew!

Anywho, so that's why I wasn't around much last week, and I apologise for that. But this week, I promise you, will be a little different. Why? Because it's my turn as the featured Trendsetter over at the There She Goes blog! Which means I'm hosting the TSG Challenge today!

And my challenge to you all is to create a card or project that uses the following:

3 patterned papers

2 buttons, and

1 sparkly element!

Here's what I whipped up!

Cute right?! I love these little whimsical houses in the new Day or Night set! As always, I like to borrow a sketch and this one was from Karen's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #103. I then got to work by stamping out one of the houses and the sun from the set. I colored it up with my reinkers and aquapainter brush on Strathmore Britsol Vellum (It's not really vellum! That just describes it's surface texture!) Then I added some sparkle to the roof, dangling heart and the sun with a glitter pen from Sakura. One element down, two to go!

The papers's are from one of my favorite paper company's - Crate Paper. It's from their Restoration collection and its full of eclectic patterns! (Second element met!) Then I added some rustic twine from PTI to the horizontal panel and this time, instead of having the twine pulled together with a button, I chose to add the buttons to the Labels One nestie panel instead. It was begging for something! And that makes three!

To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card that utilizes the previous supplies, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (Feb 14th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)


Hope you have a great Monday and thanks SO much for popping in!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Day or Night'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', More Mustard, Really Rust, Close To Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Cool Caribbean, Distress Inks 'Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PTI Kraft Cardstock, Georgia Pacific, PP - Crate Paper 'Restoration' Collection
Access: PTI Rustic Button Twine and Buttons - Chocolate, Spellbinders Labels One Nesties, Post-It Notes, Sakura Glitter Pen, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals