A Stamp In Time

2010-12-06T09:34:00.000-08:00

Hello stamping people! Here is another realtor card sample I made this year, from a design by Andrea Walford. I printed her instructions and put the card together just as she directed, even the tricky ribbon pleating part! She is a wizard, I tell ya. I don't know how she comes up with her amazing ideas but check out her site at www.andreawalford.com. This card is from her 12 Weeks of Christmas 2010, week #3. There was a video presentation also which took you through the ribbon pleating procedure. I'm glad I watched it, as well as printing off the directions, because it was tricky to master just from reading it. I thought it turned out well though and it sure photographed well! Thanks George. On another note I just had a birthday yesterday, Dec. 5th, and I'm so close to old age pension time it's a little scary, people! And to think I'm still working. I seriously need to win the lottery and stop this work/job foolishness. One more year and I hope that's it for me. I'm slowly getting ready for Christmas but it's taking more time than it usually does. I haven't even got my cards out yet and I generally have them mailed before the end of the first week in December. I got a card from my daughter already! I guess I had better get my rear in gear before too many more days go by. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ...yikes, Christmas!

2010-11-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

This is one of 6 cards I offered my realtor friend as his client cards this year. This one uses that yummy Cherry Cobbler seam binding, scallop punches and dies Presto Patterns dp and sponging. He didn't choose this one but he did pick 3 others so they're just about ready for delivery. He gets lovely (blowing my horn!) handmade cards for his clients and I get more of my cards out there so it's all good. I ordered another roll of the CC seam binding but as you all know it's backordered right now. I'm hoping it makes it into the big catty in July and with lots of other colors too! It's so scrumptious and easy to work with. The stamp here is from Perfect Punches, a really useful and versatile set to have. A little SU silver cord (retired) finished it off. I added a piece of WW to the inside so there's somewhere to add a greeting and that was it. Very quick and easy.

Helloooooo???

2009-06-23T06:42:00.000-07:00

I know, I know....this long absence is inexcusable. I guess I suffer from thinking nobody wants to read my blog. It's been very busy over the past months, what with great grandbabies being born, grand-children graduating from high school, us buying a new truck and trailer to go RV-ing, dear friends passing away and so on. I promise to get some pictures on here of some of the above and also what I've been working on stamp-wise so bear with me. Thanks for looking in!

Hallowe'en Creations

2008-10-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of the Hallowe'en favours I made for my hairdresser to give her clients during the week of Hallowe'en. I usually do this holiday along with Easter and Christmas for her, making appropriately themed little gifts. Her clients really like them and they're fun to make. I do up 50 of each and fill each one with a chocolate treat. This time it's Twix and Nestle's Crunch bars with a few Kit Kat when I ran out of the others. I used the new Sizzix pillow box die in my Big Shot machine and finished up every scrap of my retired Creepy Crawly Hallowe'en dp. I really liked that paper which is why I bought about 4 packages of it when it first came out! I tied each pillow box with orange gg ribbon tied in a knot and piled all 50 of 'em into a basket lined with orange tissue paper. I know Marilyn will love handing them out as much as her clients like getting them. Happy Hallowe'en everybody!

Sparkly Birthday Card

2008-08-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a card I totally cased from my friend and upline, Kerry. Her blog is here at ehmazingstampers@blogspot.com She used the Birthday Whimsy set from SU which I don't have so I substituted Garden Whimsy instead. The butterfly is sparkled up with Rose Glitter Ritz 'cuz I didn't want to use the Cosmo purply-pink glitter. I thought it would overpower the Pink Pirouette cs which I just love. I also used whisper white and Pretty in Pink cs from SU. I used a couple of Pretties Kit flowers and a half-back pearl, secured with Crystal Effects and applied with a dimensional and I outlined the bottom right butterfly with a Sakura Gelly Roll silver marker. It sparkles too, as does the big butterfly, IRL. Doesn't show up that well in the photo. I made a similar card using Pacific Point and Tempting Turquoise cs and I thought they both turned out well. I'm really liking the new In Colors and can't wait to do more with them. So many ideas, so little time!

The New SU Catalog and Stuff

2008-08-09T10:06:00.000-07:00

Almost a month has gone by since I last posted, after being tagged by my good friend Kerry and adding my responses. I don't believe how time really flies. Now the new Fall-Winter catty has come out and is ready for release to our customers on Monday, the 11th. It's a great catalog, I think, one of the nicest I've seen so far with lots of new and exciting products. I am really liking the new In Colors too, especially the tangerine and pink, so I'm looking forward to creating some things with them. The new scallop border punch is like a prayer answered for those of us who weren't so keen on the corner rounder as scallop maker. It worked but sometimes was a little bit "off" which put ME off but it served a useful purpose I guess. Now the border punch is here and it couldn't have come any sooner to suit me! I like the square scallop and 1 3/4" circle punches too and I see there's a stamp set to go with the square in the RMHC Making A Difference set pictured on the inside back cover of the catty. It's cute and I think I'm going to order it, along with a ton of other stuff. (The only complaint I have about the new catalog is that some of the print, especially in the front pages, is in such light colored ink I found it very hard to read. But that's just my mature eyes I guess! ) I like the new Big Shot too but man, it's expensive! I'm sure I'll get one but that muttering under the breath noise you hear will be me, crabbing all the way to the cheque book. I'm off to Staples to get my book bound, wired and plasticized so it lasts until the next one and then I'm going to start putting my order together. Kerry and I are going to share some of the new Christmas stamp sets in an effort to make it easier on both of us so we have to collaborate our ideas before ordering. And then I'm going to wait patiently for the Holiday Mini. That's my favorite catalog of the whole year, I really look forward to getting it and I've never been disappointed. Now, if they would only bring back the 1/4" gold textured ribbon then my Christmas stamping would be complete! Bye for now and we'll talk soon.

I've Been Tagged

2008-07-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

My upline and good friend Kerry tagged me today, along with other bloggers, to provide seven little known facts about myself so I dredged up these gems:
1. I despise asparagus, above all vegetables, to the point that I can't even stand the smell of them cooking. I know, I know, you're supposed to love them but you'll have to count me out!

2. I was born in London, England and came to Canada as a mere baby of 10 weeks.

3. I lived in Turkey (yes, that Turkey!) for 18 months when I was 14-15 yrs. old.

4. I am blind in one eye. No, you wouldn't be able to guess which one.

5. I didn't get my driver's licence until I was 21 so I wouldn't have to ask anyone to sign for me. My Dad laughed when I asked him as a teen if I could get it.

6. Everyone in my family (my side of the family) was born on a Thursday.

...and finally

7. At one point in my secretarial life I could type over 80 wpm.

Now you probably know more useless trivia that you can't even use to amaze your friends.
Thanks for tagging me Kerry.

Sympathy Card

2008-07-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

My dh George has to go to the funeral of a co-worker this afternoon and he asked me to make him a card to take along. I didn't know this man but George has known him for many years so I really tried to put some thought into it. I used a 5" square ww base layered with Night of Navy and So Saffron and then another ww layer. I stamped the large image from Essence of Love with Versamark and embossed it with a garnet colored ep that comes out exactly the colour of Bravo Burgundy. I added the butterfly from Essence of Love in the upper right corner, the sentiment from the same set in the lower right and a piece of burgundy ribbon on the upper left. I used Bravo Burgundy for the stamping and I also put one of the Close as a Memory sentiments on the inside. I had some nice 5 1/2" square white envelopes to use that worked well for this card. It's never great to have to go to a funeral but I also had to go to one yesterday, of a co-worker's husband who died far too young due to cancer. Making a card for her and for dh's friend today brought home how fragile life is and how we shouldn't get so caught up in the day-to-day of it all that we forget. Hang on close to the ones you love!

Fresh Cuts Birthday Card

2008-07-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

I cased this card by Kerin Sylvester, at http://www.kerinstamps.com/. She has some great ideas for using the Fresh Cut stamp set and the cards that go with it; this one really caught my eye and I knew my sister-in-law would love it. The iridescent ice embossing doesn't show up that well but it sure looks pretty IRL. All the supplies are SU except the ribbon which is a spool from the M store. I love ribbon and can't resist buying ones I like. Take a few minutes and check out Kerin's site, she really does some great cards.

So Much Designer Paper!

2008-06-25T19:21:00.000-07:00

Since I seem to have so much designer paper on hand, and with a new catalog soon upon us, I thought I better use some of it up. I got four of these lovely tea tins from a lady at work which are perfect for this use. They're about 8" tall with completely flat sides which makes it super easy to apply the paper with SU glue sticks. Some grosgrain ribbon at the join with a little bow and punched scallops on the lids, and voila! Done. Both tins took less than half an hour which makes them great for a class. The paper is Jersey Shore, ribbon is SU Pumpkin Pie. I think I might do the other two tins with Christmas paper as I have lots of that, too! Hope you like them, I'll be back soon.

Scalloped Notes and Holder

2008-06-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

Here is a set of scalloped note cards and box I made from a tutorial by Andrea Walford. You can see her great ideas and tutorials at http://www.sunnystampin.com/ . As she pointed out, this is a great way to use up any left over dp and you don't have to make the box. I did but I wanted to try it out just so I could say I did it. I used up some of my Afternoon Tea dp and a little Soft Sky, Choc Chip and ww cs too. It's a great idea she had, using the slit punch to scallop the little cards, and her note about reinforcing the fold with a punched out word window is important. There's not much holding front and back together so making the fold stronger just makes sense. Anyway, it took about 1 1/2 hrs to make it all and then take and upload the picture so that's not bad. Hope you like it and please visit Andrea's site the next time you're looking around the stamping world.

Bon Voyage!

2008-06-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

This is me and the other couple that went with us on our Alaska cruise, on the day we left, May 25th. George is taking the picture of the three of us and, like a good wife, I'm holding his glass of Alaska Amber beer so it didn't fly off the railing! (This is 6:00 p.m. by the way) We were supposed to depart at 5:00 p.m. but what with late arrivals and such we didn't sail under the Lions Gate bridge until almost 6:30. What a sight that is. People stand on the bridge and wave at the passengers on the cruise ships because you're so close to the bridge deck.

No, I'm Still Here!

2008-06-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a long time since I last posted! So much time has passed I don't know where to begin. Let's see if I can pick out the highlights......our house is up for sale so we're hoping to find a bigger one with room to accommodate my stamping. We did have one offer but it fell through when the buyers couldn't sell their house. It's a waiting game for sure. We went on an Alaska cruise in May and had an absolute blast. I highly recommend it as a way to relax. You're almost forced to take it easy because everything is done for you. Waaaaay too much food, you have to be really careful or the pounds pile on. We went with Celebrity Cruises and couldn't have been more pleased. The service was great and we really enjoyed it. It's so beautiful up there, the coast of B.C. is amazing, the air is crystal clear, eagles are common as grass, whales and sea otters and seals, oh my! Go if you can, you'll love it. My granddaughter got engaged, getting married next summer. Another granddaughter is graduating this summer. They grow up so fast, it's hard to remember them as babies. George is swamped with Union business because of school closures and layoffs here, so that's keeping him in his office almost daily. And now......the new retired list is out and this new Decor Elements promotion has appeared. I want to start planning classes for the fall but I don't know if we'll be moving or not so I feel like it has to be on hold. On the other hand, if the house doesn't sell then I have to plan classes for here so I can't wait too long. And then there is the new catalogue launch in August to consider. Plus working 3+ days a week. No wonder we get stressed. I'll try not to let so much time go by before my next post.

Thank You Card du jour

2008-02-21T20:41:00.001-08:00

This is another of the thank you cards I put together for my co-worker in the Activities Dept. where I work. This time I used the new DP called Bali Breeze. Wow, it's so colorful, lots of turquoise and orange, so that's what I pulled in with the ribbon, scallop-punched detail and the base of the card. The flower, if you want to call it that, is 2 layers of DP and 2 layers of cs, one Purely Pomegranate, one Pumpkin Pie and then two layers of Bali Breeze DP. I cut into the scallops to make "petals" and then punched through all four layers, adding a brad from the Pretties kit. Then I put the ribbon on, one strip each of orange and turquoise and then a little knotted piece, the "Thank You" from Artfully Asian ( I adore that stamp set) and it was done. I tried to fluff up the petals but I was afraid of tearing them so I didn't go crazy with it. I added a line of scallops from Purely Pomegranate that I punched out with the slit punch. I like the effect from that punch since it's quite large, moreso than the corner rounder punches. I ventured into rub-on territory on the turquoise half of the card and I think it looks great; finishes it off sort of. All in all not a totally shabby effort, she said!

Thank You Cards

2008-02-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted for a verrrrry long time but, you know, life just gets in the way. In any event I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that the weather isn't bringing anyone down. Hasn't it been awful? If it isn't more snow, it's rain, rain, rain. I guess if a person didn't have to go out in it, it wouldn't matter but when you have to go to work or get kids to school or even just do the day-to-day stuff like grocery shopping, doctor and dentist appointments and so on, sometimes the weather can really slow you up. But Spring can't be far away and since Easter is next month it's all uphill from here!

Seems like I'm in a "thank you" card place at the moment, having offered to make a supply for the Activities Co-ordinator at the nursing home where I work. She always has people to thank and I get lots of practice making cards for her.

This card has a Elegant Eggplant base with a layer of Always Artichoke and Confetti Cream. I used the Artfully Asian set from SU and stamped the design with Chocolate Chip craft ink; I then embossed it with SU clear embossing powder. The sentiment is just CC craft ink with no embossing. I colored the design in with SU metallic art pencils and added a length of SU Certainly Celery organdy ribbon which I think is now retired (rats!). Up in the left corner are three half beads from the Robin's Nest. They come in a little tiny bottle that the aforementioned activity girl spotted in a scrapbooking store we were in one day. There are red, green and clear beads in there, probably a hundred or so, so I thought I would throw them on there. They're actually quite pretty if you can get them to stay where you put them. I used Crystal Effects which seemed to do the trick.

I plan to post a few more of these thank you cards in the coming weeks and I will try to be more diligent about posting, period. The time just keeps flying by. Also, I'm having a problem with my left eye which the ophthalmologist says will have to be operated on in the (near) future. Something about a membrane pulling on the retina which is distorting my vision and creating little pencil eraser-size blurry spots. He would have operated already but since I can only see out of that eye, he is reluctant to expose it to the risks of surgery. We all know there is always a chance taken when we opt for surgery but in this case I don't think it's going to be a matter of "if" so much as "when" for me. I'll keep you posted. Talk soon.

New Spring & Summer Collection

2007-12-17T17:01:00.001-08:00

Can you believe it??? My catty arrived today! I can't wait to get five minutes to sit down and go through it uninterrupted by phones, shopping, doctor appts., emails, cooking, cleaning, etc., etc. It has been very hectic the past 3 or 4 weeks; I've had several classes, made dozens of cards and 3D items so it's been hopping. I hope to post some pics here soon, and I'm trying to get a watermark done but everything takes time because everyone is busy. So, have a very merry Christmas and, although I know it's impossible, try to take some time for yourself. Talk soon.

Lynn

'EH'mazing Stampers

2007-11-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

'EH'mazing Stampers

Bits 'n Pieces from Card Class

2007-11-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well I have one more official card class to go, on Nov. 22nd, with the most recent one on Nov. 1st. I've possted three designs from classes - the wreath card, the quotation/tree card, and the blue Noel card, along with one of a set of 12 I made for a customer of mine. The idea came from my 'ehmazing upline, Kerry, who's blog is at 'ehmazingstampers.blogspot.com. Go there and check out some of her great stuff. But I digress! (as usual) The wreath card is a take on one I made last year for my own card but uses Purely Pomegranate, River Rock and confetti cream cs and stitched ribbon instead of Really Red and Mellow Moss cs and red gg ribbon; also the wreath is much smaller and the Merry Christmas sentiment is from a newer stamp set, Season of Joy. The card beside it uses the new Sidekick Sayings stamp set, Dashing DP and River Rock, Really Red and VV cs. I also used one of the stamps from Snowflake Spot for the background. A little SU gold cord finished it off along with some glue and Dazzling Diamonds. The tree was colored with markers before the glitter was added. The blue card was adapted from a design of Kerry's as well, changing the colors and layout a bit. I was getting a tad overloaded with River Rock and Purely Pomegranate so I opted for Night of Navy and silver embellishments (embies?) instead. The sentiment is from Many Merry Messages and the silver stars are courtesy of Background Basics and SU Encore silver. The tree is embossed with Detail White ep on glossy white cs, the background was sponged/daubed with Night of Navy and the spritzer tool was used with a Night of Navy marker to add some bg texture. The sentiment was also embossed with Detail White. The silver stars were embossed on glossy white with silver detail ep and cut out INDIVIDUALLY!!!! 30 of them.....thought it would never end. They were attached with dimensionals cut in half.

The burgundy/sahara sand card came from an idea Kerry used for a card wherein she masked off the edges with an oval vellum template and stamped off with the tall evergreen from Lovely As A Tree. I decided to forego the template and just stamped off, using my SMJ to make sure the trees were all in a row and properly spaced. I had made a set of 12 cards using the same plan but with Mellow Moss and River Rock cs and Happy Holidays from Many Merry Messages. I had bought ribbon from Mike's some time ago and it was the perfect olive-y shade to go with that card. So I used it. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? But I digress again! That set of cards I sold to another customer who promptly showed them to this customer who promptly ordered a dozen for herself, but with a different color scheme. Women! Sheesh! She chose Bravo Burgundy and I chose Sahara Sand so I put 'em together and this is what I came up with. I sponged the edges and punched the corners and used another Mike's ribbon and SU gold cord to finish it off. This one's sentiment is also from Many Merry Messages. Now this same customer has ordered a set of a dozen of the blue Noel cards so she's helping my bottom line immensely.

Anyway, the card classes have gone well so far and have been a lot of fun. My ladies said the other night that they would like to try some 3D projects so my class on Nov. 22nd will be just that and in the meantime, one wants me to put on a class at her place in Aldergrove for her friends and rellys who don't want to drive to Mission. Sometimes I feel like I live in the farthest reaches of Nunavit when I tell people I live here. That's a very common reaction from those folks on the south side of the Fraser, believe me. In any event I said I would love to put on a class for the group, just pick a day/night and we'll have at 'er! I am very excited about doing it as it gets more ladies interested in SU and that's my goal. I just had to stress that I need an accurate number of people, no more than 10, and a rough idea of what they might want to do and if they're all newbies or not. Makes a big difference when you're teaching the totally uninitiated as opposed to the "oldies" in terms of what you can show them and what's just too much for them. Don't want to put anyone off right at the starting gate.

So, thanks for dropping in - we'll talk again soon.

Will October Birthdays Never End?

2007-10-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note with this card, made for DH younger sister who lives in Nova Scotia. She's quite crafty herself so I always stress about cards I send her. But what the heck, I'm crafty too so I just make 'em and send 'em, hoping she likes 'em. This was done with Perfect Plum and Pale Plum cs and a stick pin from the Pretties kit. This was an attempt at coloring the flowers with an aqua painter - big mistake. Do not try this at home unless you have many flowers to waste. I was trying for a dark center getting lighter towards the edges. I guess I was having delusions of being Monet or some other famous painter! In any event it ended up looking like a dead flower but I figured with pearls and sparkly things from the kit it wouldn't look so bad. No way was I throwing it out! So I stuck it on there with some SU organdy ribbon and a key tag punch with a sentiment from Hugs and Wishes in silver encore ink. I sponged around the edge of the tag as well to set it off. Sponged around the Pale Plum with Perfect Plum and that was that. Except for the flower it didn't turn out too bad. Maybe the sister-in-law will think I planned it that way. One more friend has a birthday this week so I have to get busy with that one too. Creativity, don't fail me now.

More October Birthdays

2007-10-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

This creation was for the husband of Joyce, one of our camping group. His birthdays is (I think) 3 days ahead of hers but I made both cards for the same day. His uses Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip cs and a really cute stamp set called Happy Camper. The sentiment is just the words from Fast and Fun notes colored with a Chocolate Chip marker. The campfire was colored with markers also - black, choc. chip, ruby red and more mustard - in an effort to make it look like flames. The trees were stamped off with Handsome Hunter and Chocolate Chip markers and stars were added with the silver Encore ink and the star stamp from Background Basics. I lightly sponged with Bashful Blue all over the BB cs just to give it a little texture and added some Antique SU brads to the right bottom corner. Again I tried a little presentation and DH took the picture, etc., etc. Malcolm liked it a lot, especially the envie which I stamped all around two edges with the hiking boot from the Happy Camper set. On Joyce's card I stamped a Sassy Stem on the envie which looked nice, too. I really enjoyed making these cards so I must have been in the groove or something. You know what it's like when you sit there, trying your best to be creative but nothing happens? Not today; today it all worked!

Birthdays Keep on Coming

2007-10-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

We go camping from Easter to Thanksgiving with four other couples, one of whom have birthdays just a few days apart. Perfect excuse to make cards, right? I had bought some Avon pink ribbon purse/cellphone charms that sent the proceeds to breast cancer research and so here was a reason to make a mostly pink card. I used Pretty In Pink textured and VV cs, adding two flowers from the Pretties kit that I colored with pastels and a sponge dauber. It works so great, the best way I've found to color them, and believe me, I've tried many different ways. I added a half pearl covered with DD and made a stem using Sassy Stems and a couple of markers. The sentiment is from Hugs and Wishes, the ribbon is SU pink organdy. I tried to "present" the card with an arrangement of the supplies I used and DH took the picture for me and posted it to the desktop so I could add it here (see previous post on my clueless self) so I hope you like it. Joyce loved it which was the whole point of the exercise!

Gone So Long

2007-10-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

I really have to apologize for not posting for so long but the reason is that I am so technically challenged where computers are concerned that I cannot, for the life of me, post pictures to my blog. At least, not until today. Before, I would scan in a card and save it to what I thought was a f0lder that was actually there, with a name and everything, but when I went to add it to my blog entry I couldn't find it :( That's the truth! I would search and search and try to add photos or scanned cards that I thought were saved and I would end up with entries that had to be deleted because they were the wrong picture, or the same picture twice, or blank spaces or whatever the error du jour was for that blog entry. Anyway, to shorten this a little, DH took the picture of the treats, saved them to the desktop and bingo! there it was when I wanted to add it to my narrative. I guess now I have to move it somewhere and get it off the desktop but at least it worked and I'll let DH worry about that part of it. Yippee, I'm blogging again. Thanks for looking and I hope to be back sooner, maybe before Christmas.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-13T11:42:00.001-07:00

One of the supervisors where I work asked if I would make some little Halloween treats for her staff and since I had just gotten a package of Creepy Crawly DP in my SU order I knew it wouldn't be difficult to come up with something. The little plastic bags were a perfect size and the card toppers went together in a snap. All supplies used are SU except for the bags which I bought at the dreaded "M" store because they were cheap like borscht and I need to make so many treats. She has quite a large staff, 30 or so give or take, and of course when other people at the place see the treats they want them for their kids, etc. So, the recipe is Only Orange cs, Creepy Crawly DP, All Year Cheer III (I know, I know, it's retired but I'm not planning to demo it anytime soon, trust me :) I also used the small oval punch, the M bags, staples and lots of snail adhesive.

Textured Thank You Card

2007-07-30T19:07:00.001-07:00

This little card, although it hasn't scanned very well is a real cutie. I used one of the new textured 3x3 note cards in Wild Wasabi; snailed on a slightly smaller piece of Ruby Red DP and then stamped on Shimmery White with Lines and Doodles and Just So Sayings for the flowers and stems. I shaded them in with SU Metallic Art Pencils, giving a little shadow behind and below each little flower. I added some bling to the centres, raised them with dimensionals and did some faux paper piercing in the lower left corner to complete the triangle thing. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out and can't wait to give it to someone. I think a lot of stampers are using the little flower from that set so it certainly isn't a new idea, I'm sure, but I still enjoyed putting it together. Welcome everybody (Ruth) back from convention - hope you had a great time and learned lots. The next downline meeting we'll all be waiting with breath held for your report! Enjoy the long weekend, whether you're going away or not, all you stampers, and pray for nice weather. We're off camping so of course we don't want it to rain. Bye for now.

Pinwheel card

2007-07-28T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hello!

This is another card in my series of realtor cards that i'm working on.

It uses my new punch - corner punch which makes 2 different sizes of photo corner holders.

I used the small tag punch to make the petals of the flower. I also used the Prints designer paper in Rose Red.

Have a great weekend!

Lynn

Punch Holder

2007-07-12T21:17:00.000-07:00

Well yahoo and yippee.....DH has got going when the going got tough, when the rubber hit the cardstock, and all that! I now have a very efficient, very compact, very versatile punch holder that he dreamed up in about 60 seconds. He stood in my stamp room, looked at the various components of the problem (i.e. size of punches, # of punches, available space, available supplies and urgency of the situation - me whining nonstop) and came up with a solution. I don't think it would win any major design awards but it wins a super husband award from me. I don't give a worn out blender pen what it looks like, all I'm concerned about it whether or not it works, and believe me, it works! Now all my punches are off my work table and out of my oh-so-valuable work space, and there's room for many more if I need it. This reminds me of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" where the author states that men are problem solvers, that's what they do, what they're best at, and I guess this proves his theory. My solution was to talk it to death, his solution was to solve the dilemma. Yay George!

The Turquoise Card and the Barnaby Card

2007-06-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

Remember I said I wasn't sure what to do with the Turquoise card? Well, I thought and thought and finally decided to give it to my granddaughter for her graduation. The card was so pretty and turquoise is one of her favorite colors so without thinking it to death I just decided to do it. She was very pleased and liked the card as much as I hoped she would. As for the Barnaby card, you'll note that his name is spelled Barney on the version I added to my blog; rest assured that I changed it and the one we sent to him and his owner has his name spelled correctly. I didn't want anyone to think I made a huge mistake. I should have rescanned it with the correction but I didn't, probably because I didn't have time. I'm working part time again even though I retired in April. We're planning a trip to Fiji next March so every extra dollar will help to make it a really special trip. Our anniversary is in March, as well as our BFF anniversary, so we're tripping together. They won a trip for two but we're on our own, paying for it on our own, so that's why I'm working again. Whew! Big explanation. Talk soon.

Brianna's Birthday Card

2007-06-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

I made this card for my granddaughter's 16th birthday, using Ruby Red cardstock and a piece of K and Company DP that is sort of plaid on one side and a matching green on the other side. I used the Double Line Doodles and Doodle That sets and added Irid. Ice to some of the images that I colored with markers. I stamped the two chipboard images with So Saffron craft ink and added irid. ice to them as well. I added the happy birthday sentiment with Everyday Flexible Phrases and put a little bling in where the chipboard hole is. Fancied it up a little....I used my slit punch to attach the top layer of the card and called it a day! She liked it a lot and of course the birthday $$$ helped.

Barnaby Returns!

2007-06-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

At the nursing home where I work there is a group of pet therapy dogs that comes to visit the seniors from time to time. One of the dogs, a Bernese Mountain dog named Barnaby, got very sick about 6 months ago and we were worried that we would never see him again. Then, on Tuesday the 5th of June he showed up at the door, leading his owner who carries his water dish and follows him around the Manor as he visits his elderly friends. Barnaby is a loving, big, goofy, happy dog and everybody loves him back. Barb Stamelias, the activities co-ordinator, thought it would be nice to send Barnaby and his owner a "welcome back" card and asked me to make one for her. I did that very night and here it is. I used Yo Yo Yellow for the main card, along with bits of black and shimmer white. The stamp set is Loads of Love and the Accessories for it; I used a silver gel pen, black journaler, and various markers to color in the dogs. There is a silver brad from the Antique Brads collection, some yellow gg and black/white gingham ribbon for trim. I think it turned out pretty well and I hope Barnaby and his owner like it too. Welcome back Barnaby!

The Turquoise Card

2007-05-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

I partially made this card, while camping in the rain this past long weekend, by stamping, coloring and cutting out the "Doodle This" flowers. After we got home I assembled the Cool Caribbean cardstock by scoring and folding back half the front and using the corner punch to scallop the edge. I added a piece of designer paper first and hole-punched the scallops before adhering it to the front. I stuck the flowers on with dimensionals and raised the petals to give them more of a three-dimensional look. Then I used "Doodle This" again to add swirls to the inside right of the card. I stamped them with Taken with Teal and outlined them with a white gel pen. I haven't decided what sentiment to add but I think happy birthday, thank you, or thinking of you would all be suitable. All in all it was a little tedious but it sure helped to pass the time while it rained!

Iris Fold Birthday Card

2007-05-14T12:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a birthday card I made with the Iris Fold technique, something that looks a lot more difficult than it is. There is a template that is numbered and basically all you do is lay the folded strips down according to the layout. It's all done from the back so of course it looks messy but once you turn it over it's a real "wow" effect. I used Sarah designer paper because there are five different patterns, which I needed for this layout, and just because it's so feminine and pretty.

I used Noteworthy for the centre flower (with a little bling added to the centre) and for the corners. The cs is Almost Amethyst and Barely Banana. There's a webside you can go to, www.irisfolding.circleofcrafters.com where you can find lots of patterns and templates, copying them to your heart's content. They don't mind you printing them off as long as you aren't selling them, which is fair. I'm going to transpose mine to vellum cs so they last longer since I'd really like to try a few more. Give it a try and if you need a hand let me know. It really is a snap.

Doodle This Thank You card

2007-05-07T13:36:00.000-07:00

This is a card I put together yesterday. It took so long I couldn't believe why I kept working on it and didn't just throw it all out. I wanted to use my two ladybugs on a thank you card but couldn't come up with a knockout color scheme. Many thanks to Charmaine from Oodabug Alley for the ladybug idea. I tweaked her design, put them together a bit differently and covered them with crystal effects but otherwise the idea is all hers. Anyway, I stamped my Really Red cs with the Soft Swirl bg stamp and covered the left end with black/white gingham ribbon where the bg stamp didn't quite cover the cs. Then I cut out a piece of black cs, stamped it with Doodle This in craft white, attached a scalloped edge with 1/2 " circles out of whisper white cs and doodled around the edge with white gel pen. I hole-punched each scallop with my smallest hand punch to make it look more lacy and less solid. Then I covered two ribbon holders from Hodgepodge Hardward with black Stazon and let them dry. While waiting I made a scalloped oval using Coluzzle and the corner rounder punch. I also hole punched all around the edge and doodled with a black marker. Then I cut a ribbon slot in each end, threaded more black gingham ribbon through the slots, pulled the ribbon fairly tight and secured it with glue dots. Also, I attached the ladybugs with dimensionals and added gel pen antennae. The oval is sponged around the edge with Real Red.

Getting Some Expert Help

2007-05-06T11:32:00.000-07:00

My upline, Kerry Schwenneker, is going to show me how to upload photos, etc. so maybe things won't look so blank after that! Keep standing by......

Brand New

2007-05-02T14:11:00.000-07:00

So this is my first effort but with any luck, not my last. I'm basically stumbling around in the dark here since I'm new to blogging and such, but once I figure it out, and learn how to post pictures from the digital camera then I'll be away. Stand by for now and bear with me!