Beading It!

I'm today's hostess for the Splitcoaststamper's Ways To Use It challenge and I chose to challenge folks to use beads.  I have lots of beads that are just collected dust. Finally, I have them out and have used them a bit.  These microbeads were really fun and I used them to fill in the perimeter of my Verve butterfly!  

I also used a Mojo Monday sketch to kick start my card.  I tried to pull all three colors from my little microbead collection. 

Happy Thursday, thanks for stopping by and I hope you will think about playing with me today!

(Sorry for the short post today, my daughter is home and is anxious to paint my nails!)

Details - Stamps: Chicks Rule (Verve), Fluttering By (Verve); Paper: Whisper White, Rich Razzleberrry, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz; Ink: Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Flutterby die (Verve), Loopy Blooms die (Verve), crystal effects, microbeads, pretties kit, Sakura clear star gel pen, stampin' dimenisonals, Rich Razzleberry ribbon, pear pizzazz seam binding, pool party ruffled ribbon, glue dots, scor-tape.

A Blue Monday

But, it's not blue like you would expect it to be.  I'm not sad or anything...it's just time for another challenge with the Friends of Speedy TV.  Today's challenge is to make a winter card or a mostly blue card.  I have had my fill of the holidays (and they were quite enjoyable!) and wanted to do something a little different.  I decided for a mostly blue card and came up with this.  I decided to try to make a mirror that looked a cracked to go with the sentiment rest of the sentiment which reads, "But, you are still in one piece!  Happy Birthday!".  I have a couple of girlfriends who appreciate funny birthday cards every once in a while. 

My card was pretty simple once I decided on how to make my mirror.  I embossed and sponged the background a bit and then devised the "wallpaper and the doily".  The lovely lace came from my Friends of Speedy TV team mate Melisa Waldorf.  Thanks Melisa!!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a fabulous Monday!

Details - Stamps: Background Fun (Mark's Finest Papers); Paper: Soft Sky, Soft Suede, Brushed Gold, Afternoon Tea dsp; Ink: Soft Suede, Soft Sky, Going Gray, Versamark; Accessories: Nestabilities, large oval punch, scor-tape, lace, corner chomper, stampin' dimensionals, gold ep, heat tool, sponge dauber.

Using Digis

It's Thursday again and that means it is time to Use It!  Hannah has us going digital today and that left me a little bit limited.  I'm behind the times and don't have many digital images to choose from.  I was too lazy to search up any freebies and went for some Verve images I did have.  I think these were eventually made into stamps, but I swear these are digi images!  With all the holiday prep going on right now, it's important to give yourself the gift of relaxation and enjoyment.  Won't you sit down and stamp a bit?

I hope you are having a fabulous Thursday!  Thanks for stopping by!

Details - Stamps: Winter Mittens digi (Verve); Paper: White, Basic Black, Night & Day Specialty dsp; Ink: Pink Pirouette; Accessories: Copics, Nestabilties, sponge dauber, paper snips, M's rhinestones, stampin' dimensionals, Sakura clear star gel pen.

A Furry Happy Birthday

Today's card is brought to use today in the name of something other than Christmas.  I'm not tired of Christmas, but I just don't need another card for this weekend.  What I am short of is birthday cards, so I decided to whip one up.  Touch Twin Markers & More is hosting a "Furry Friend" themed challenge.  I found these to Gina K cuties and stamped and colored them.  After I die-cut them out, I found a great sketch to work them into.  The clean and simple stamping blog posted this sketch last week and I have had it printed out since then.  I'm really glad that I got a chance to use it. 

I think I will make this brief, as my darling daughter is napping upstairs and I want to get a little more stamping done today.  Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a great Wednesday!

Details - Stamps: Warm and Fuzzy (GKD), Garden Silhouettes (GKD); Paper: Pool Party, Chocolate Chip, GKD white, Crate Paper Mia; Ink: Early Espresso, Rich Cocoa; Accessories: Touch Twin Markers, Copics, Nestabilities, scor-tape, pool party ruffled ribbon, stampin' dimensionals.

Friends of Speedy Go Clean

We are going Clean and Simple this week over at the Friends of Speedy TV.  I broke out this fabulous poinsettia wreath by Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company.   The set Christmas Wreath mini contains both the image and the sentiment.  I combined those with a little embossing a mat and some gold cord.  Voila, a Christmas card. 

I have read recently about households being ravaged by flu.  I missed the last two days of my work week due to what had to have been a flu that my daughter had.  My husband had an annual party that he hosts to complete on Saturday, so that left me to care for her.  I have never used so much Lysol Disinfecting Spray in all my life.  My daughter had a raging fever and was vomiting and I did not want it.  The good news is that she is better now and I think I have just about passed through the time period for incubation of a germ and may have escaped!  Cross your fingers!  Sorry about the grossness of the last paragraph, but that will explain my absence on my blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

Miniature Winter Wonderland sketch challenge

I hostessed a challenge over this weekend at VSN (Virtual Stamp Night).  My challenge was called Miniature Winter Wonderland and it was a sketch challenge.  This was the very first sketch I have ever drafted.  I think I did okay for a first time.  I based my sketch on the idea of a snow globe.  My little girl keeps snow globes on her desk all year long.  I can hardly blame her, they are magical.  So for my card, I added a fabulous frosty guy, colored up lightly and dotted the whole globe with my Sakura Stardust gel pen.  Of course, it's hard to see in the photo, but in real life, it really sparkles!  I recently saw this older designer paper used on a winter card and thought it was totally appropriate.  I love that design looks like multicolored snowflakes.

I hope everyone is having a Happy Tuesday and thanks for coming by!

Details - Stamps: Warm Winter Wishes (Flourishes), A Season of Celebrations (Flourishes); Paper: Whisper White, Sahara Sand, Delicate Dots dsp, Certainly Celery dsp; Ink: Stazon Jet Black; Accessories: Watercolor pencils, SU jewels, Sakura Stardust gel pen, white taffeta ribbon, Nestabilities, stampin' dimensionals, glue dots.

Christmas with Speedy TV

Happy Monday!  It's time for another Friends of Speedy TV challenge with Mark's Finest Papers A Heinrich Company.  Today, we are making Christmas cards.   I opted to go relatively easy with my card today.  I was inspired to make this card by one of my fellow hostesses at VSN this weekend.  Michelle offered up a challenge to create a winter scene type of challenge and made a black and white sample with a pop of red!  I was hooked and new immediately what kind of Christmas card I was going to make.  Despite the few layers, this one was pretty easy to make.  I stamped and sponged one layer and embossed another. 

I'll keep this short and sweet today!  Hope you have a great day!

Details: Stamps: Country Church mini, Greetings of the Season mini; Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Real Red; Ink: Basic Gray, Tuxedo Black; Accessories: sponge dauber, red satin ribbon, M's black rhinestones, score-tape, stampin' dimensionals. 

We Are In A Winter Wonderland

A VSN Winter Wonderland, that is.  We played five challenges tonight and have all kinds of challenges for players tomorrow.  I hope you can stop by and take a look or play a few.  It's really quite fun!  This challenge was the first one out of the gate.  The Amazing Lydia led us off with an inspiration challenge of sorts...create a card about what gives you the warm and fuzzies.  I opted for the smell of cookies baking and some snuggle and reading time with my girl.  The current reading topic in Kindergarten is the traditional story and variations of The Gingerbread Man.  We also completed a family homework assignment to decorate our own construction paper gingerbread man.  Our gingerbread lady was complete with designer paper, embroidery floss, rhinestones, googly eyes, embossed lips, rhinestones necklace and earrings, chalk blush and Pearl Ex eyeshadow!  My girl had a fabulous time raiding Mommy's craft room. My husband even got in on the action trimming some designer paper shoes and adhering embroidery floss with 1/8" scor-tape!

Anyway, I hope to see you at VSN tomorrow.  It's sure to be a ton of fun.  Thanks for stopping by!

Details - Stamps: Got Treats; Paper: Whisper White, AC Merrymint; Ink: Versamark, Creamy Caramel; Accessories: Nestabilities, paper snips, stampin' dimensionals, sponge dauber, clear ep, heat tool.

Stencils for Thursday

Today it is my turn to hostess the Ways To Use It challenge on Splitcoaststampers.  My challenge, Stencil Love, is all about getting out those stencils and putting them to work.  For my card, I used the stencil function of Spellbinder's Nestabilities.  I die cut my snowflakes and then sponged some Soft Suede ink onto my snowflakes.  Then, I covered each flake with Versamark and embossed with sparkling embossing powder.  Other than that, my card is super simple. 

It was finally a busy day today for me.  Soooo....that means I have to get busy and ready myself for the Winter Wonderland VSN main event. It starts tomorrow at 2PM EST and is sure to be fun.  I hope to see you all there!

Thanks for stopping by!

Details: Stamps:Meet Me Under the Mistletoe (Flourishes); Paper: Soft Suede, Whisper White, Christmas Cocoa dsp; Ink:  Soft Suede, Versamark; Accessories: White ep, Iridescent Ice ep, heat tool, Nestabilities, stampin' dimensionals, corner chomper, sponge dauber.

A Merry Little VSN Card

Yup, this little card is from the last VSN mini.  Since the main event is coming up this Friday and Saturday, I thought I would show you a little VSN love.  This card was for Kelly's challenge called Jingle Bell Rock.  Kelly challenged crafters to make a card representing your favorite holiday song.  For Kelly's challenge you were to use at least two layers and two embellishments.  I fudged a little and used two different colors of Stickles.  The VSN police didn't come after me, so I assume it was okay.  I had a hard time choosing a favorite song.  So when I spied this little sentiment and I was off to the races!

I use sketches almost exclusively when I play along with VSN so that I can make the time limit.  I was inspired by this Fall To Layout for today's card.  I say inspired because I didn't stick to the sketch exactly.

Happy Wednesday folks!  Thanks for coming by!

Details - Stamps: Ornamental Christmas (Verve); Paper:  Whisper White, Island Indigo, Old Olive, AC Merrymint; Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive; Accessories: paper snips, Stardust Stickles, Lime Stickles.

Silhouette Monday

That's right, silhouette Monday with the Friends of Speedy TV.  Today's challenge is to use a silhouette on your card.  I couldn't resist this new image from Ice and Snow.  This is a set that will be released this month by Mark's Finest Papers, A Heinrich Company.  Isn't it gorgeous, don't you just wish that you could take a stroll down that moonlit lane with your sweetie and hot beverage of your choice?  It's doing it for me!!!

I sponged my sky first and masked out my moon.  Then I stamped my trees and lined the path and some branches with my Versamark pen.  Finally, I embossed the Versamark with some Iridescent Ice embossing powder to give it that magical sparkle that snow really does have.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will play along with us this week!

Details -  Stamps: Ice and Snow (MFP), Greetings of the Season mini (MFP); Paper:  Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink: Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, Tuxedo Black, Versamark; Accessories: Iridescent Ice ep, heat tool, scor-pal, stampin' dimensionals.

In case you are still with me...I wanted to add a proud Momma moment.  My mother and I took my daughter Christmas dress shopping and she was less than patient.  However, we did end up with a cute dress.  I goofed up the photo a little, but I also like black and white photos.  In real life, the sash and a third of the sparkling polka dots are red.  The other two-thirds of the polkas are silver and the rest of the dress is black.  She will finish the rest of her ensemble off with a black velvet shrug and some "Dorothy" shoes.  Thanks for indulging me!

Guest Designing with Scor-pal!!

In October, I made a couple of treat boxes for my daughter's kindergarten teacher and her classroom aide.  I submitted it as part of Scor-pal's Guest Designer Challenge for that month.  Lucky me!  (My husband always says I should be a lottery ticket!)  I was chosen to be December's Guest Designer and this month's theme at the Scor-pal blog is "last minute gifts".  This is surely 'the challenge' for me, as I do lots of things at the last minute.

This covered notepad is really quite easy to do.  The first time I made one of these, it took me less than 45 minutes.  I'll break down the steps for you here.  You'll need a 5" x 8" junior legal pad, 3 pieces of card stock (8 1/2" x 11", 5" x 8", and 2 1/8" x 5"),  your Scor-pal or Scor-buddy and some strong adhesive.  I used Scor-tape on my project here. 

 

Step 1:  With your 11" side of the 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of card stock on top, score at 4 1/8", 9 1/4" and 9 1/2".  Place the 8" side of your card stock on the top and score at 1/2".  Trim off the shaded portions above.  

Step 2:  If you prefer to stamp the base, now is the time to do it.  Then, burnish your score lines.  

Step 3:  With the 2 1/8" side of the 2 1/8" x 5" piece of card stock on top, score at 7/8" and 1 1/8".  (I used my Scor-buddy and scored at 7/8", then slid that score line over to the 1" groove and then scored at 1 1/4").

Step 4:  Burnish the score lines on this piece and adhere to the top of the junior legal pad with the 7/8" section on the front of the pad.  (This photo shows how you are covering up the label on the legal pad).

Step 5:  Adhere the 1 1/2" x 8" section of the largest piece of card stock to the back of the legal pad.

Step 6: Fold flap up and adhere to the next section on it's right (which measures 5" x 8").  You have now created a pocket and the front cover of your note pad.

 Step 7: Adhere your 5" x 8" piece of card stock to the back of the notepad for a finished look.

Step 8:  Embellish as desired.

I want to give credit for this design as it is not my own.  I first encountered this covered notepad through Virtual Stamp Night on Splitcoaststampers.  It was featured in a May 2009 Virtual Stamp Night challenge.  The design is originally credited to Julie Ebersole. 

Thanks for reading all the way through my first tutorial.  I hope you enjoyed it and have a fabulous day!

Details - Stamps: The Artist In You (Unity Stamp Company), Blue Skies (Verve); Paper: Whisper White, Basic Black, Thoroughly Modern dsp; Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black, Rose Red; Accessories: Black Satin ribbon, Black Lace, Black Grosgrain ribbon, SU tag sheet, Sakura Clear Star gel pen, sponge dauber, glue dot, stampin' dimensionals.