Little Girl Birthday Card

We went to a birthday party for little Anna this past weekend, and she was turning 3! Well, I had to break out the cute Alphabet set from Penny Black. It is a clear stamp set, and for anyone that knows me as a stamper, I'm very reluctant to use clear stamps. I never really have gotten a great image. So, I took this adorable alphabet, and I roughed it up a bit! That definitely made a difference! The image came out really well after a couple of tries. So, I will look differently at quality clear stamps from now on! (you can teach an old dog new tricks!)

Today is my husband's 38th birthday, and he is feeling a bit reflective today, especially about his own mortality. I know to some that 38 isn't very old, but when you are just turning that age, it may seem a little daunting. In addition, his brother had surgery to remove a tumor from his brain at Duke University Medical Center. The surgery went well, but now it is just a waiting game to see what the outlook is. This is his second surgery to remove the tumor as he had one about 5+ years ago. The whole situation just rocks us to the core, and we are praying harder than we ever have before.

Sorry to get off the crafting topic, but sometimes you just have to write it out to let it out. Hug your husband, child, mother, father, sister, brother, and whomever you love today for me!!

Where Have I Been?

Well, I know that I've been MIA for a little while, but I just wondered if anyone else noticed that I was missing? Maybe not, but I'm back regardless! I was busy and having a bout of stamper's block! It happens sometimes! I made two variations of the same card. The original was for SC208 on Splitcoast (the bottom card), but I didn't think I could make 12 copies of it for my stamp club monthly swap. Making 12 of anything can present quite a challenge!! So, here they are, and here are the details!

Stamps: French Script BG, Always, and Warm Words all by Stampin' Up

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Chocolate Chip, and Creamy Caramel by SU

Accessories: SU Ribbon, SU oval punches, and the Top Note die by Sizzix for SU, brown embossing powder

Ink: Versamark, Riding Hood Red, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip to sponge

I'm making a concentrated effort to stamp a bit more, but my parents will be here for a few days, so that may pose a challenge...we'll see how well I do.

Thanks for stopping by and checking things out!

ALERT!! More Awesome Blog Candy!

I heard about some more blog candy! This time it is from Starving Artistamps!! This is my first glimpse at them, and they are adorable! Hopefully someone I know will win something!!

Pretty Pressings' Stampavie Blog Candy!!

This is a great one! There will be three winners!! That is awesome!! Here is the link!!

OK...I lied!!

Yesterday was not my last Christmas card! I forgot to post this one! I made this card to send to 4 ladies in my Magnolia-licious Yahoo Group as part of our Raining Cards group. We sign up, and each month four ladies are chosen to have cards sent to them...I sent mine a little late, but I think that they will get there before the end of December. Next month I will be earlier! Here are the details of the card:

Stamps: Merry Christmas Garland (Tilda) by Magnolia Stamps, Holly Leaf by DRS Designs

Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black, Summer Sun for sponging

Coloring: Copic and spica markers

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Black, Wassail by Basic Grey

Accessories: Ticket corner punch, circle punches, Organdy ribbon

Thanks for stopping by for a quick look!! Have a great day!

My last Christmas Card...for now!!

I took a bit of a break over the holidays! I hope that everyone had a very blessed holiday. We had a quiet one for the most part. In fact, I didn't leave the house from Tuesday night to Saturday morning! That was a bit heavenly! We had my husband's entire family over on Christmas Eve for mostly appetizers, and of course, we ate way too much. Our daughter received the Paula Deen's kids' cookbook from her grandmother, so we have been making a lot of food lately. Today, we tried the homemade soft pretzel recipe. It was a group effort and they came out very yummy. Anyway, I digress...off to the stamping!

I won my first ever blog candy from Claudia Rosa's blog Pretty Pressings. She has so many beautiful cards and projects over there! I won a stamp from Sarah Kay called The Joy of Giving, and I decided to make a card to show off my new stamp! Here are the details:

Ink: Adirondack Pitch Black

Coloring: Copics and spicas (the clear spica to embellish a little glitter on the packages)

Paper: Black, White, Wild Wasabi, Real Red, SU shimmer paper

Accessories: Silver cord, Cuttlebug embossing folder, black grosgrain

Other: This is for SC202 from Splitcoast

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you are surviving the after Christmas hangover!

The Snowman Family

This is such an adorable stamp from DRS Designs! My friend let me borrow it when I was trying to craft a special Christmas card for my BIL, SIL and their two children. My original intent was to use the All in the Family set from SU and put Santa hats on each one, but I tried stamping the images, and after the 6th failure, I gave up. I would get three figures, then screw up the last one. In Charlie Brown's immortal words, AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!! So, this stamped popped up, and I had to use it! It's a cutie!

I colored the images with Copics and I used Twinkling H2Os for their bodies. I always have such a difficult time with all white images. My coloring addiction makes me want to color it somehow, and this is a nice compromise. In addition, I used liquid applique to pop up the snow and added a white gel pen to the trees for a little extra. The paper is Real Red, Wild Wasabi and Real Red DSP all from Stampin' Up. The ribbon is Wild Wasabi also. I think that I have about worn my ticket corner punch out this season...why do I love that thing so much?

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Stamp Something Challenge Card - Christmas

I found out about this challenge from Dawn (yes, I mention her a lot as she is my friend and lives so close!). It is found at the Stamp Something challenge blog. They have teamed up with DRS Designs to offer some great blog candy! You need to check it out! I've been behind the eight ball to get my Christmas cards done, and this one put me over the hump, so to speak! I love the DRS stamps...their images are great and very coloring friendly!

For this card I used all DRS Designs stamps, SU cardstock, and a bit of SU patterned paper. For the dove and olive branch image, I painted some twinkling H2Os (Oyster and Moss Green) to give some shine, and I stamped the background stamp in Old Olive to give a tone on tone effect. The red is Riding Hood Red, and I used black also. The shapes cut in the center of the card are from the MM Slice, and it is from the Noteworthy cartridge. To finish off the card, I used a silver pen from Creative Memories because I love the intense silver ink that it gives.

Thanks for stopping by to see my latest, and definitely check out this challenge!

Chins Up!!

I love this little guy!! I had him last year, so I dusted him off and made a new card for this Christmas! The image is from Firecracker Designs, and he is just so cute I can't stand it! I colored him with copics and twinkling H2Os for the shimmery effect (I know...I've got to get some real shimmerz!). In the background is some Rose Red DSP from Stampin Up, and I paired it with some Wild Wasabi ribbon.

I'm almost done with my Christmas cards...I now need to make individual ones for our families. Hopefully I can finish them quickly as some need to get in the mail! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my cards!

Nancy

Noel...no stamping required!

I recently purchased a Making Memories Slice, and I have been diligently playing with it (is that an oxymoron?). I also have been playing with my 6x6 pad of Basic Grey Wassail paper. I wanted to combine the two, and I found a card that didn't require much work. However, since the machine only cuts one thing at a time, mass producing can be a problem (I only made 4 of these). The "Noel" is from the Falala cartridge, and it is a cute one! The base of the card is Cranberry Crisp and some Always Artichoke thrown in from Stampin' Up.

This is just one of the many Christmas cards that I have been slaving away on...why did I wait so long? I've had to mail them out in shifts because I can only make so many in one sitting. I should post a picture of my craft room...it really looks like a bomb went off in there! I actually can't wait to clean it, so that I can have some semblance of order in my life. The best thing in there is my sign that says, "Welcome to my loose interpretation of clean!" That is an understatement. The holidays are in full swing, and hopefully, I'll have all of my Christmas cards delivered by then. I was even so desperate as to go searching the gallery on Splitcoast for cards that I could case. Needless to say, I won't be posting a picture of that one!!! (but, it was really pretty!) Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to browse my little corner of the world.

Nancy