Back to Scrapooking

I finally was able to get back to scrapbooking now that all my christmas cards are done and mailed out. I'm waaayyy behind on Natasha's 2 yr Album! With a bit of an inspiration push from Heather, I finished a dbl page layout over the past couple of days of Natasha's photos from Canada Day.

I used Summer Picnic DSP (such a sweet summery paper!), Real Red and my Circut to make the title. I think I used Printing Press and the function to make it tall. I did not add a lot of embellishments, instead keeping is simple by just doing a scalloped border and adding some buttons. :0)

Colouring Class

Jess asked in comments:

Jessica said...I love it! Your colouring looks great :D So do you prefer the Aqua painter over the Blender Pen?

So I thought I'd do an entry on watercolouring, sort of. :0) When I started getting addicted to Stampin' Up (I was actually not a fan of stamps hah! in the beginning) I loved all the stamped images that people watercoloured. I wanted to be able to do the same thing so started searching crafty blogs to see just exactly how they did it. What I learned most people used was one of the following:

- Aqua Painter + SU Markers
- Aqua Painter + Watercolour Wonder crayons
- Aqua Painter + Watercolour pencils

Or for those willing to pay a little extra - Copics! I looked into copics and found them well out of my budget (because I could not be content with just buying one or two at a time, I'd need all the most used colours! all at once) and not worth the investment for something I felt I was not going to use on a daily basis.

So then I started scouring the internet for every Tutorial I could find. One of the better ones I found was over on Julie's Blog - No Copics? No Problem!! Of course seeing how easy it was to do did not necessarily mean putting it into practice would be easy! And of course everyone has their way of doing certain things, which may not necessarily work for you.

When I became a demo I bought the complete set of SU Markers (I tried cheaper ones from Michael's as well as Marvy's and they just did not work well IMO.) and the watercolour wonder crayons. I would say I definitely use the Markers + Aqua painter the most. I also have the blender pens but I just find I can move the ink around on the paper better with the AP. I pretty much use my AP for any colouring. The few times I've used my blender pen is when I want to colour with an In Colour ink on non-watercolour paper, which of course SU does not sell as markers.

What I've also learned is that it takes patience. Something I can be lacking in at times. I was ready to actually give up having my images look like the ones I see on other people's blogs, but after practicing a lot and developing little things that worked for me, I think I've finally started to be able to watercolour. :0)

Key things that worked well for me:

- Make sure you use a very heavy weight watercolour paper, the 90lb stuff does not cut it
- Wipe your AP off a lot as you are moving around the colour or removing colour. Some use their jeans, some their fingers or paper towel. I prefer paper towel. :0)
- Keep your AP that happy medium between not too dry but not too wet. Too wet of a brush is going to cause "splotches/fuzzy" spots on your paper. I learned this rather quickly. Once you fuzzball your paper you pretty much need to start over. You've "torn"away the paper and there is no way (that I've found anyway)that can fix it.

I think I'm all Christmas Card'd out..

For those keeping track, I did 20 cards at the card workshop, I created another 20 cards on top of that plus I've made about 8 others (which I ended up giving to my mom). Last week while I was addressing and stuffing I came up short 10 cards. I thought I had counted correctly but apparently my card list magically grew since last yr.

Since I'm a sucker for punishment, I decided to do a card that involved water colouring. Why I do this to myself when I have to mass produce a card is beyond me. I think it was because I'd just received my new stamp set Holiday Line up and my eyes were so glazed over by the cute little snowmen that I did not think through the idea that I would have to colour 10 of the stamped image. hah

My "colouring" skills are still a bit sub-par, but I would definitely say they are improving with time and practice. I did learn this time around though to do any lighter colouring first, then do the darker shades. If you accidentally get your aqua-painter into the darker shade that is next to the lighter shade you might as well start over, its extremely hard to 'paint out' the darker shade that is now in your lighter shade. Although I seem to be complaining a bit, I did have fun making these cards. I also got to use some of my Riding Hood Red ribbon which I just love. SU makes the best ribbon, even if it is pricey!



Recipe:
Stamps: Holiday Line Up, Snow Swirled
Paper: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Ski Slope DSP, Watercolour paper
Accessories: Riding Hood Red Ribbon, Paper Piercing, Stampin' Up markers, Aqua Painter

Time for Retirement.

Can it really be that time already? This cattie season seems to have gone so quickly! These stamps will still be available from Dec. 9-Jan 18th 2009 (while supplies last) but after that they are gone. Shop now before your favourites are gone! :0) To sweeten the pot, SU! is offering 10% off all retiring stamps (see discounted price list here) AND free shipping on orders over $100 from December 9-23!

You can view all the stamps that are retiring Here.

Gone Shopping.

While my mom was here I showed her the Christmas cards I made. She liked all of them and asked if she could have them. I figured I had enough made up between Morgans card workshop and the 20 I had done up for an exchange I'm in. As it turns out, I'm exactly 8 cards short, the exact number as it turns out of cards I gave my mom.

While mom was here I also made a visit to the local scrapbook store and bought this stamp by Penny Black. I stamped her on watercolour paper an dfor the first time in a while used my SU Wonder crayons to colour her. I forgot how fun and easy it is to use the crayons. I've left them out on my craft table so I don't "forget about them again.

5x5" chipboard album.

A while ago I posted the 5.5x7 chipboard calendar I made for my mom for Christmas. I had "planned" to do a second one for my MIL, but the first one was so time consuming and honestly, it as a bit monotonous due to the time it took to make it, that I decided to go with plan B for my MIL. I bought this Maya Road 5x5 Coaster Chipboard album at my local scrapbook store and embellished it. Then I added photos from out photo session back in September. I don't really "love" the rings on it. It was not until after I'd used my exacto knife to re-cut them through the chocolate chip paper that I had the brain wave that I should have just left them hidden by the paper and used my zutter to bind the coasters together. :p I guess that's an idea for the next one?

I'm super happy with how it turned out and I like it so much that I almost do not want to send it off to the MIL and FIL for Christmas.









Recipe:
Paper: Ski Slope DSP, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze
Stamps: Flight of the Butterfly
Accessories: Big/Small Star Punch, Scallop Edger, Flim Strip Punch (I cant remember it's real name!), Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Blue American Crafts Ribbon, Felt Fusion II Flowers, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Maya Road Chipboard album.

Busy Busy Busy!

I've not spent much time crafting over the past week. My parents arrived on the 28th of Nov. and I spent as much time as possible with them. We also had a little party to celebrate Natasha turning two! I posted the treat boxes that I gave out. Today I sat down and made a thank you card for everyone that came. I did not think up this myself, I cased it from someone, who I unfortunately forget! It was definitely from a blog I read, not on SCS, although they may have posted it there.

I've had this set (Flight of the butterfly) for a while now due to my love of Butterflies, but I've not really done a lot of stamping with it. The funny thing is I never noticed before that the set included a thank you greeting with it. heh I think in my older age I'm going blind!

Anywho, I think they turned out well. :0)

Sold Out Items of the Holiday Extravaganza

I can't say I'm surprised, but I learned this morning that the "All in the Family" Bundle is now sold out! You can still purchase each item in the set individually, but Stampin' Up has sold out of the Bundle.

It's such a cute set! I bought this set in my first ever stamp order from Stampin' Up. I love the little stick figure ppl and there are some some cute ideas to do with this set on SCS. This year for Christmas I'm doing a name plaque for my sister and matting/framing it. Of course I'd include arms on the whole family. heh

A little trick I learned for this set is to definitely own a Stamp-a-ma-jig. Then I cut out vellum in squares the size of the plastic square that comes with the SAMJ and stamped each stamp in a corner and then stored those in my AITF stamp set. Awesome idea eh? Then you have them and when you are doing a 'family protrait' you can just use your vellum instead of having to continually wipe the corners off the square that came with your SAMJ. I can't remember where I saw the idea? Maybe over on Julie's blog Paper Pleasing Ideas?


The embossing buddy has also Sold out. I do some embossing, but not a lot so did not add this to my cart, I already own most of the set. It was another great deal and a great way to get into embossing though for a great price.

I hope everyone is staying warm today. I'm off to start making a stew and then start on Natasha's cupcakes for her birthday party tomorrow. My parents are also returning (they were visiting friends) around noon. When they get back I have to follow my dad so he can drop off the rental car. Oh and I have drywall being delivered this morning so my Dad and Owen can finish the basement walls. No black friday shopping for me! lol

Sweet Treats!

It's hard to believe, but my "baby" turns 2 on Sunday! I can't believe how quickly she's growing up. I know it sounds completely cliche but it's true!

In celebration of her turning Two, we have invited a few of her little friends over for some cake and to play. So in preparation for her little party I decided to make these treat boxes as the 'take away gift' for all her friends. I considered board books or something that was 'non-candy' but I could not come up with anything inexpensive so I thought these little boxes created by Schwooo! were perfect! The assembly of it is actually super quick and easy and I also got to use my favourite die, the ever popular Top Note!

For the inside, I've baked Animal Cookies using the Animal Cookie cutters from William Sonoma. I found a really amazing recipe and the cookies almost melt in your mouth they are so good! When I saw the cookie cutters on the WS site I just knew I had to have them. Natasha loves animal crackers and I figured when she's a bit older it will make for a fun afternoon of baking for us. :0)

The colours for the treat box are a bit bolder then I would normally pick (Tangerine Tango!) but when I saw the DSP Hawaiian Papaya, I knew I had to use it. Chocolate chip seemed too dark and Kiwi Kiss just was not doing it for me, so TT won out.

The ribbon is a pretty Satin Ribbon from SU, Kiwi Kiss that Heather sent me in one of her downline update letters. I love it and it fits just perfect for this project. I do not have any shredded paper, I imagine I could get some at Michaels but I figure that will just be messy for the kids (they are all 1.5-2.5 yrs old) so I just used a cello bag instead.

Recipe:
Stamps: Deer Friends (hostess lvl 2)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Hawaiian Papaya, Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Ribbon, Top Note Die, Scallop Punch, Circle Punches, Jumbo Pewter Eyelet, Crop-o-dile, 1/8" Handheld Punch.

Tomorrow I need to make the dough for the cookies (I made a batch last week to 'test' them out and O, N and I have pretty much devoured them hehe), then Friday bake up the cookies and her cake.

Holiday Extravaganza!

WOW!! Check out this flyer for the holiday Extravaganza Stampin' up has going on from now until Dec. 1! Click on the flyer for a larger view. :0)

Feel free to email me at carleycat@gmail.com or shop online at www.shelleyweldon.stampinup.net (click the shop now in the upper right hand corner) if you'd like to purchase anything from this amazing sale!

Boho Baby

It all started with the hat. When the Boho Baby fall collection came out at GAP I fell in love with the Hat and this coat. I managed to resist the coat though since Natasha owns more then I do, but I did get the hat. Then, while I was in France I stepped into a GAP store and found the coat, it was on the sale rack and marked down to 15 Euro. Since I also was able to use my employee discount in France, and it was on sale I could no longer resist. :p

A couple of days ago I was exploring new blogs and The Scrappy Chick had used this layout from a sketch to scrapbook halloween pictures. As soon as I saw the paper used and the stamp set I knew it would go perfect with [strikethrough]my[/strikethrough] her favourite coat. I'm really pleased at nicely the pages turned out and I just love these captures I took of Natasha on that cold wintery day a couple of weeks ago.


Recipe:
Paper - Kraft, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss, Hawaiian Papaya DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Kiwi Kiss
Stamps: Season of Friendship.

Tyrell Museum - March 2008

If I was a smart person, I would simply buy the Stampin' UP Simply Scrap'n kits and do pages/albums for Miss Madelyn's scrapbook in that matter. Instead I'm nutso and spend days and weeks sometimes searching online for inspiration for each page, picking out the DSP and then finally designing it and finishing it off. To add to my punishment I make double page layouts out versus just doing single pages. Just call my crazy. :p

This page is from waaaayyy back in March. We woke up one Saturday morning and decided it would be fun to spend the day at the Tyrell Museum in Drumheller. I had not yet visited since moving to Calgary in 1998 and Owen had not went since he was a kid, probably around 13 or 14 years old.

Natasha had just started walking a few weeks before (I think) so she had a cute wobble but was determined nto to be in her stroller and to walk through the Museum. heh It was quite fun actually to see all the dinosaur bones and we plan to go back again when Tash is a little older so she can better enjoy it all. You can not see it well in this photo but she looks so confused in the centre photo. She had a look on her face like "Mom why in earth did you stand me by this big huge bone??" She seemed so tiny next to it!


For this page it's a hodgepodge of SU product and other product. I used Old Olive for the main page, Dinosaur Collage by Karen Foster Designs for the DSP, More Mustard for the title and photo and then some random grey paper I picked up the same time I bought the Karen Foster paper.

ooo Copics and Other Goodies!

Check out Debbie's blog for a chance to win some sweet blog candy, including SEVENTEEN Copic markers!!!!! Such a generous Blog Candy Give Away! She's celebrating over 10,000 hits to her blog. Congrats Debbie!

HO HO HO

Just before Halloween Heather did a cute card using her Top Note. I saw it and instantly thought of making a cmas card the same way. When I originally started working on my card, instead of a jumbo eyelet and ribbon, I was going to use a tiny magnet or velcro to adhere the flap closed but after digging through my craft drawers none was to be found. I wanted to use the velcro/magnet and then use my scallop punch and a Deer Friend stamp. I planned to overlap the Scallop punch out and adhere the velcro/magnet to it and the card. Since it's cold out today and I had zero ambition to leave my cozy craft room I ended up using a Jumbo eyelet and ribbon instead. :0)

I chose one of the photos I took of Natasha last week when she decided she "forced" me to play outside in the cold with her.


I think it turned out really well even though in the end I did not have the supplies I wanted for my original "plan". I love this hat and coat, so fall/wintery! I bought it in a size 3 but I don't think it will make it to next fall.

Recipe:

Paper: Baja Breeze, Always DSP
Stamps: Headline Alphabet, Bold Snowflake Jumbo Wheel
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Top Note Die, Big Shot, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Jumbo Eyelet

Earlier this week my Big Shot and Top Note Die finally arrived. While patiently waiting for them I have seen some really cute and amazing ways that people have used this die. This project was inspired by The Fat Cat Stamper (Danielle) who used it to make a cute little tag. Her Tag inspired me to make one as well.

I think it turned out really well. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for yet, probably a gift exchange parcel or such? Another cute option is to do this, but use the Postcard stamps from the Holiday mini that has the stamp To/From. I keep eye'n that stamp set bc I really like the Reindeer in it but I've not bought it...yet. heh

Recipe:
Stamps: Deer Friends (sick of this set yet? :P), Warm Words
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Paper: Snowy Day DSP (I think it's called that?), Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, Whisper White
Accessories: Scallop punch, 1/8" punch, Kiwi Kiss Ribbon, Top Note Die, Big Shot

Sweet Treat

Everyone remember how almost 3w ago now I spent the entire day at Morgan's house for her card workshop? Remember how I said I made 20 cards plus tags and planned to use the cards for an exchange I was in? Well a few days ago I was thinking that most of the ppl at the workshop were in the same exchange. I decided that I wanted a different card so I came up with this one. The paper combination was inspired by another card I saw, but I changed the layout, stamp(s) used, added a double row of ribbon, paper peirced and added the greeting. :0)

I think it turned out really well! The paper is Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Kraft and my beloved Ski Slope DSP. The stamp set is Deer Friends and Snow Swirled. The only thing I realized as I was cutting the paper for 20 of these cards was that next time I'd not do so many layers when I had to make so many of these cards.

The other cards I've been working on I'm going to send to family/friends as well as the ones I did at Morgan's workshop. :0)

Also, for those interested, here's some time lines on when the all important "lists" will be coming out. hard to believe we are almost ready for a new Catalogue eh?

Winter IB&C retiring stamp set and accessories lists:

Tuesday December 9th, 2008 - The retiring stamp sets will be announced
Monday January 5, 2009 - The retired accessories list will be announced

Accessories, including wheels, will be available only while supplies last

Key Dates for the conclusion of the Fall Winter IB&C
Sunday January 18, 2009 - Last day to place orders (OEX) from the Fall Winter IB&C (Note - phone orders cut off earlier)

Still in the Christmas Spirit. :0)

For some time now I've read/admired Kwernerdesign. Every Monday she has a MACM video and although her cards are very simple and cute, I've never tried one. Then last night while I was waiting for some crystal effects to dry, I decided to try an acetate card from one of her MACM's. She used acetate cards from Hero Arts, but since all I had handy was some overhead sheets (which is the same thing) I cut it to size, used my scorer and it worked just fine.

I think it turned out pretty cute! I used my SU Snowfall Set and used White Stazon ink as per KW's directions in the video. It actually dried super quickly. I then used some of my Ski Slope DSP and Be Merry set. :0)

The Chocolate band of DSP goes all the way around the card so it hides my tape runner, pertty smart eh? Again KW shared that or else I probably would have just let the tape or glue show on the inside. heh. You can see her video here for this card. Hers is slightly different in that she used Hero Arts for the title and some embellishments.

While I was working on the above card, I was waiting for the ornaments of this one to dry. The frustrating part is that after they dried I did not like how they turned out and did not end up using them. Over on Blogging Jen's blog, she did this card. I thought the idea of using crystal effects and glitter was a cool idea, so that is what I was going to do, however my end result was not that great and I just ended up with glitter all over me as well as Crystal effects. hah!

So I did it sort of halfway. I stamped the ornies in Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss using the snowflakes and the tree from Snow Swirled (like Jenn did). I then punched them out using my 1", 1 1/4, 1 3/4" circle punches, used some tape to adhere them to some scrap paper. Then I used my versamark and clear embossing powder. While it was still tacky I used some iridescent glitter and heated it again. :0) They are not as shiny or sparkly as Jenn's, but I still think they turned out ok.

The 'hangers' are silver twine I found in the ribbon section of Michaels. I used my piercer to pierce a hole at each point that I wanted the ornaments then I drew the ribbon through and tied it in a bow. Each Ornament is raised slightly using dimensionals. I used Ski Slope DSP for the background and Chocolate chip as the main part of the card. :0) The greeting is from the stamp set Warm Words. When I first bought that set I got it mostly for the "Be Merry" greeting but I use all the other greetings a lot as well! It's definitely a great greeting set to own. :0)

I hope everyone is keeping warm today. There is about a foot of snow on the ground here and it's a bit chilly outside. I'm glad I have no errands to do today and can just keep warm inside enjoying my hot chocolate and doing some crafts. :0)

Mr. Twigster has arrived!

Ms. Brown showed up on Friday (unfortunately w/o my Big Shot or Top Note Die boo-urns, they arrive next week) and I was super excited bc no only did she have a ton of paper for me that I'd been waiting for, I'd also ordered some new stamp sets and was itching to try them out.

Of course first on the list was Mr. Twigster. This little guy is showing up all over the blog-o-sphere and even though it was not love at first sight, he and his little Charlie brown tree grew on me the more I saw him on all my favourite blogs!

Its not super noticeable from the photo but I added Crystal Effects to the string of lights as well as the christmas balls. :0) I also put a little white liquid applique on the ground at his feet and the tree for some snow. The Whisper White looked a bit 'harsh' so I sponged it with some chocolate Chip!

With my latest Christmas card kick and my new christmas stamps (Jolliest time of the Year, Snow Swirled, Mr. Twigster) I just might end up with enough Christmas cards that everyone will receive a different card this year. :0)

Also, one bit of news is that you can now Shop Online! I finally got my SU site up and running so if you (Canadians only, sorry!) ever want to place an order with me you can just click here and shop any time of day or night. Cool eh? Stampin' Up has had it up and running for a couple of months now but I just finally decided to join the fun. :0) If you still prefer to contact me via email or phone to place your order with me thats awesome too. :0)

Recipe:
Stamps: Mr. Twigster (Holiday mini), Perfect Presentation (Lvl 2 Hostess '07)
Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Chocolate Chip, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White, Frosty Day DSP
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Various SU Markers (colouring)
Accessories: Circle Punches, Twine, Chocolate Chip Grosgrain Ribbon, Liquid Applique, Crystal Effects, Stamp-a-ma-jig (to get the string of lights just perfect! I use to scorn it but now I use it quite a bit to make sure I get straight greetings and the like)

Serene Spring

It certainly is not spring weather here! Natasha walked across the street with me before lunch to get the mail and then decided she was going to punish her poor mother by wanting to play outside. I will be the first to admit that as soon as we have that first snowfall and it turns cold, the last place I want to be is outside! But, being the good mother I am, I put something on my feet other then slippers and we played in the backyard for a bit before I decided it was time for lunch and just too darn cold to stay out there any longer.

I decided to take a quick break from my Christmas card making and do up this cute little card for a friend. She's been awesome over the past week. I also saw over on Beate's blog (I can't link it bc bloglines is down and I have no idea anyone's blog addys, I just read them through bloglines!) she had posted a Christmas card that has this layout for her Workshop and linked to a neat little tutorial on SCS. It shows you how to make a scallop square using your scallop edger punch if you do not own any nesstibilities. I own some, unfortunately my CB broke just as they arrived in the mail so I've not had a chance to use them! Anywho, it was super easy to make this scallop square.

The stamped image is on water colour paper. I used my SU Markers (Love em!) and my aquapainter. My water colouring skills are still sub-par but I keep trying at it. :0)

Recipe:
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Water Colour Paper, Bella Rose DSP
Stamps: Serene Spring (Hostess lvl 2), Swirly Jumbo Wheel
Ink: Pink Pirouette, Riding Hood Red
Accessories: Kiwi Kiss Satin Ribbon, Scallop Edger Punch, Aqua Painter, SU Makers

I don't think I've ever shared any photos of my daughter, here are a couple from this past week. Ignore my wall in the first one, I'm in the process of painting the upstairs hallway, bc you know, I do not have enough projects on the go. Its Benjamin Moore Sea Urchin in case you are curious ;-)

In the backyard today while I froze, she played!

She LOVES wearing hats and headbands. These ears are from Easter. A couple of days ago she decided she was going to wear them all day. She even napped in them! hehe

I also do not think I've ever mentioned on here that I work PT at GAP, hence why my daughter is so much more of a Fashionita then her mother. Between buying her clothes and my craft addiction, I do not see much of my pay cheque. :p

JOY

Ho Ho Ho! I just love my Deer Friends set! Like Heather loves Mr. Twigster and is using him a lot, I've been using my Ski Slope DSP (good thing I ordered another pkg!) and Deer Friends set a lot lately.

I know I have the 20 cards I did at Morgan's workshop but I'm trying to add a little variety to that by doing up some of my own. :0)

I had some ribbon under the scallop punch and the "JOY" but Owen thought it looked too 'busy' with the stripes in the background. It's some cute ribbon I bought on sale at Micheals over the weekend that says "Seasons Greetings" in Red and Green on white ribbon. I'm determined to use that or my Joy ribbon on a card so you'll probably see it soon enough!

I once again got out my Liquid Applique to puff up Santa's hat and beard. I love the stuff and will probably need to get another tube before Christmas is over!

Recipe:
Paper: Ski Slope DSP, Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Whisper White. I'd love to share dimesions but I always just eye ball the sizes needed. heh
Stamps: Deer Friends (Hostess Lvl 2 '08), Perfect Presentation (Hostess Lvl 2 '07)
Accessories/Techniques: Heat Embossing (Santa's Beard/hat), Paper Piercing, Scallop punch, 1" circle punch, 1 1/4" circle Punch, 1 3/8" circle punch.

Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!

I've been reading this blog for a while and while I might be crafty when it comes to papery pursuits, I have to say I will never ever sew as well as she does!

She has amazing talent for creating clothes and costumes alike!

Simple Simple, Simple

I created this card yesterday. It started out with me partially casing another layout I saw over at SCS but it did not turn out as I wanted it to, so I ended up creating this card 100% from scratch.

I may have a lot of stamps but my christmas collection seems to be all snowflakes, not a snowman or Santa in the bunch! Luckily this week I'm receiving my SU order which has Mr. Twigster and Jolliest time of the Year in it. :0) Of course now I'm lusting after Season of Joy as well! It never ends.

I know I did all those cards at the workshop but I decided to still make a few different ones to throw into the card exchange I'm in.

Either way, if though this is not what I initially planned for this card, I'm really happy with how it turned out. :0)

Recipe:
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, Ski Slope DSP, Kiwi Kiss
Stamps: Perfect Presentation (Hostess lvl 2 '07)
Ink: Kiwi Kiss
Accessories: Very Vanilla Ribbon

Happy Halloween! Buzzz Buzzz buzzzz...

So I'm what? 9 days later? heh I also won't mention that the only other pages completed in her 2nd Year Scrapbook are January, February and April. So I skipped quite a few months to make this double page layout. But you gotta do whatever inspires you eh?

I got the idea for page 2 of this double layout from this SCS poster. I also did the same as her, I made my own 'road' and I hand drew that tree. When it came time to make a fence and I realized I did not have enough SU Basic Black left and that the logistics of it were a bit more complicated then I wanted to get into, I decided to omit having a fence. hehe I have the "Frightful Fence" Jumbo wheel but it needed to gradually get smaller and I was just not up to the task of messing around with it. I think both pages turned out really well!


I used non SU DSP for the background. I did not have any ghostly greetings on hand so this is some stuff I picked up at the local Scrapbook store at 35% off the day after Halloween! I also got the lettering at the same 35% off, so one really can't beat that. :0) The only thing I might add to the page is a 4th Trick or Treater. Those three guys look a bit lonely eh? :0)

Recipe:
Paper: DSP of some maker I can't remember hah!, SU Basic Black, SU Elegant Eggplant, Whisper White.
Stamps: Booglie Eyes
Accessories: SU Markers (Colouring), Scallop Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1/8" hole punch, Dimensionals.

Not that I needed another outlet...

I noticed on Julie's blog (Paper Pleasing Ideas) that there is a new forum out there in the crafting world. It's probably been around forever and I'm just that daft that I've missed it all this time. heh It's called Paper Craft Planet. It's very much like Facebook, only it's paper craft-centric. You can join groups, add applications, photos of your stuff, videos. I've been playing with it off and on all day and it's pretty neat.

Go check it out and if you care to, add me as a friend!

Tomorrow I should have another project to post. I've been diligently working on Natasha's 2008 Halloween page (never mind that May-Sept are not even started) and hopefully I'll finish it tonight. Why I get myself into such elaborate pages I'll never know!

I'm on a roll. ;P

During the big pre-order for Demos I snatched up a couple of hostess sets I knew I had zero hope in ever obtaining since I do have many customers. I became a demo bc when I worked out how much money I was spending on crafting supplies over a 4 month period, I learned I'd actually save money by being a demo with the 20% discount.

Anywho, because I'm a 'hobbiest' Demo, ever obtaining enough sales to reach the required amount for a Hostess set lvl II or III is near impossible (ppl sell them on ebay for $60+ which is crazy!). The Fall/Winter Catalogue just so happened to contain 2 stamps in lvl 2 and 3 that I loved, this level 3 set being one of them. It's called "Window Dressing" and it's sooo cute! I love it and have been dying to use it, but when I went on my crafting haitus it sat there in the box not even mounted.

Last night I got it together, mounted it and then today while my daughter enjoyed the Little Einsteins at my feet (I let her use her portable DVD player), I did up this card. I have to say I'm rather pleased with how it turned out! Usually I picture these things in my head and they turn out nothing like I imagined.

It was a lot of work though! You can't really tell from the photo but it's "stacked" up on tons of dimensionals. I popped up the snowmen, the DSP, the little girl, her cat AND I re-stamped cut out the shutters and popped them up on the exsisting ones. For the windows I used my exacto knife and chose some 'wallpapery' looking Ski Slope DSP for the background. I would have loved to put a tree behind her like I've seen on other cards but I'm lacking a good tree stamp. Luckily I just ordered Jolliest time of the Year so I'll have a snowman and tree soon enough. :0) Oh and on top of all that I dug out my Aquapainter and watercoloured everything. Yes I was rather ambitious!

I'm so proud of my card I'm not sure I can even give it away now. hah!

Recipe:
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ski Slope DSP, Watercolour paper
Stamps: Window Dressing (Hostess lvl 3)
Ink: Aqua Painter, Black Stazon, SU Markers - Bashful Blue, Chocolate Chip, Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun, More Mustard, Pretty in Pink, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: Liquid Applique (snow), Dimensionals.

My First Card Box!

Last week Heather posted a little class planner/project that she was going to sell to the first 6 ppl that emailed her. Part of the proceeds she made from them were going to help families at Christmas by providing them with gift baskets of food. (I think I got that right?)

She used her Mr. Twigster stamp set (Mine is on order!) and part of that card set was the cutest little card box! At last check on her blog she still had 3 left to sell so if you want Mr. Twigster drop her an email!

Anywho, I loved the box, but already have Mr. Twigster placed in one of my order so I went on over to SCS and started searching the template forum. It's crazy the amount of different boxes that people have created! After searching off and on for a while I found this awesome little template. After doing a test run, I ended up with this. I even let go of my attachment issues with my DSP (I buy it, love it so much I don't want to use it!) and used some of the very purdy Ski Slope DSP.

I'm so proud of myself for making such a cute little project! Hopefully over the next few days I'll finish up some cards that I plan to put in it. This cute little box is going to be part of a gift I'm doing up for a Christmas exchange I'm in.

Recipe:
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Baja Breeze, Ski Slope DSP
Stamps: Window Dressing (Hostess lvl 3)
Accessories: Aqua Pen, Scallop punch, 1/8" punch, Twine, Chocolate Chip Ribbon

The Mini Calendar That Went Big.

What seems like Eon's ago now, Danielle over at Fat Cat Stamper created a calendar for a Pretties challenge she was in. I saw it on her blog and thought "Wow, that's pretty cool, I could do the same thing as a Christmas gift, but instead of using Cooper and Sophia stamps, I could put pictures of my daughter from that specific month of 2008. I figured my mom would love it (probably use it as a desk calendar at work) and I also "assumed" that I'd whip it up in a weekend. I was sooooo wrong.

I started my calendar at least 3 months ago. A least! I just finished it last night. And I can't even really say it's finished because I have not added the photos for Nov. and Dec. because I'm waiting for my daughter's birthday party and am going to put a photo of that on the November Page.

Now that I've finished it, I have to say it is lovely and I know my mom is going to just love it! I almost do not want to give it to her. I think I need to add a clause to her gift that says "Upon completion of the year 2009, calendar must not be thrown out". hah I really can't print her new months of the year for 2010 to just stick on because I used permanent tape on them and the embellishments are also stuck over them. Since it's pics of her grand-daughter I'm sure she'll keep it forever and ever right?

Here are a few photos. Each photo is 2x3. I think I did 2.25x3.25 for the "mat" under each photo.




I think mine is even a bit bigger then Danielle's. The front and back cover (not shown, the front just says on it "year of 2009" on some coordinating paper) are SU Board Basics - Small. I *think* (I am to lazy to check my catalog) it's 5.5" x 7.5". I then binded it together using my Zutter and 1" O rings. The chipboard is nice bc it allows the calendar to stand on it's own. The "mini" calendar months I used a free program called Red Castle. Danielle had posted it on her blog or I probably would never have figured out how she did the months of the year!

The rest of the calendar is mostly SU papers/supplies. Some of the ribbon is Dots, Dashes and Checks from Michaels bc I do not have a huge stash of SU ribbon.

I had "planned" to make two of these, but it was so much work for this one, I doubt I could finish a 2nd one. So instead I think I'll do my MIL a waterfall scrapbook that was posted on Heather's blog last week. It looks a lot faster/easier to do! Or, I could do her a smaller version, the coaster calendar that I saw over on Stamp'n with Di. It would definitely be a lot faster then this one was..or so it would seems. Of course bc it's smaller it probably would not fit a ver big sized photo of Natasha. I think I'll just stick to a Waterfall Scrapbook for her.

Recipe:
Paper: Always DSP, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Chocolate Chip, Pink Pirouette
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpking Pie, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette (I sponged the little calendar months, Danielle owns an airbrush!)
Accessories: Felt Fusion I & II (flowers), Boquet Buttons, some SU Ribbon (Real Red, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie), Dots Dashes, Checks Ribbon, Amercian Crafts Elements Ribbon, Zutter Bind It All!, Pewter Brads, Pink Brads, Twine.

Christmas Shaker Box

A few days ago Heather posted a photo of a cute little Halloween Shaker Treat Box that her mom created and sent to the kids for a Halloween treat. I saw it and thought "That's cute!" I bet I could switch it up a bit and make it into a Christmas-y treat box as well.

Feeling really confident after my foray with the reindeer shaker card, I figured how hard could the box be? hah! The actually making of the box was really easy, it was making the "shaker" part of it using a coaster (well part of) that was the difficult part. I'm sure Heather's mother used the puffy tape stuff, but I went ahead and used a coaster like I did for my card. The problem came when I realized how "little" coaster I had to tape so that the beads/glitter would not fall out.

Needless to say I spent way more time then I wanted to hunched over the shaker box using tacky tape to seal it up so none of the beads would come out. Lesson learned: IF I do another shaker box, used the puffy tape stuff (I forget it's name) and for other cards, stick with the coaster.

Recipe:
Paper: Ski Slope DSP, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive, Real Red, Whisper White
Stamps: Deer Friends (Hostess lvl 2)
Punches: 1", 1 1/4", 1 3/8" circle punches, Coluzzle
Accessories: Tacky Tape, SU super sticky tape (again I forget the exact tape name), Crystal Ball microbeads, Real Red grosgrain Ribbon, Liquid Applique (Santa's hat/beard)

Annual Card workshop.

Every year (well for the last 3) my friend who is also a SU Demo hosts several Christmas card workshops. She designs all the cards (usually about 10), you pick what ones you want to do, then just show up on the day you chose and assemble. She does all the prep work for you, which I simply love. I'm a demo myself, but to be able to go and chit chat with my other friends, have my cards all prepped for me so I just have to glue, stamp and assemble really makes my life easier.

This year I chose 2 different cards and also a set of card tags (something she did for the first time this year). I was super slow this year though for some reason and I spent from 9am until 5pm making a mere 20 cards and 12 gift tags.


The sad part though, is that all 20 cards I made are all going out as part of the card exchange I signed up for with some other people, so I still need to make about 15-20 more cards for my family/friends!

I'm still here.

I spent most of yesterday cleaning out my craft room and doing a massive re-organization. Of course, 24hrs later, it's stuffed full again. :p We set up my daughter's new twin bed today and had to move her crib into my craft room. This was only my room temporarily to begin with, but I was getting quite comfy in here. Things should be back to normal in here again after my husband and I re-assemble the crib (There will be more room with it assembled and less chance of dings/scratches etc. if we keep it apart. Plus we have no where to store it) and perhaps move the change table out and put in our room for now.

Anyhow, the mass re-org was spurred by the fact that I felt it was time to get back into my crafting. It's been months since I have crafted a single card/scrapbook page or anything for that matter. What better way to start off then by casing one of Heather's cards from Festive Fridays. :D I feel completely drained mentally and I love the "Deer Friends" set (which she used) and wanted to try her way of doing shaker cards so it seemed like a great idea.

The first issue I ran into was that I do not yet own the 1 3/4" circle punch, so I used my Coluzzle instead for the bigger circle. It worked great. Also, I learned that my tape runner tape is not strong enough, so ended up going out and getting stuff called "Tacky Tape" from the scrapbook store, which work great. My only other complaint is that Microbeads suck to work with. :p Next time I think I'll use chunky glitter.


Stamps: Snowburst (I think? I own too many snowflake stamp sets :P), Deer Friends (Hostess lvl 2), SnowFall (Happy Holiday words)
Ink: Riding Hood Red
Paper: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: Coluzzle (I think the circle I used on it is around 2"), 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1" circle punch, scallop edger punch, crystal ball microbeads, Real Red Grosgrain Ribbon,

Spooky Nights.

As soon as I saw these two stamp sets in the mini occasions cattie I got this idea for a card. :0) Of course I've spent all working on it in between house work, playing with my daughter and running errands but I finished it! Originally I did not sponge the sky in because normally it's not something I'm that great at, but it looked way too stark to have a white background, even with the brown edging, so I just went for it.

My only disappointment is that the title is crooked. I just hate that when I stamp directly on the card and get it crooked. I should really use my Stamp-a-ma-jig to get it straight or get a better eye! :p


Recipe:

Stamps: Frightful Fence, Halloween Frights, Season of Friendship
Ink: Creamy Caramel, More Mustard, Really Rust, Basic Black, Navy, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray, So Safaron
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Autumn Vines DSP