RUFFLES HAVE RIDGES........

Is that still the saying for the Ruffles brand potato chips? Or am I dating myself again? Anyway, I think this scalloped card looks like ruffles ---- what do you think? The paper is from the retired Sweet Always DSP pack and the only stamping is the sentiment from Well Scripted. It is finished off with some chocolate chip satin ribbon. This was CASED from Andrea Walford here. She is a very talented stamper, so check it out. I really like her big scallops (made with the Tasteful Trim Bigz SL die, which I do not have right now but may have very soon), but I used my Scallop Border Punch. If I could redo it, I think I would arrange the strips differently. This was a quick and easy card, so I will probably CASE it again (& again...).

It was made for my friend Beverly's birthday. She is another very talented stamper --- check her blog out here. I hope she had a great birthday and was pampered all day long!!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!!!

JUST A LITTLE SLOW..........

Okay, I am a lot slow. I do have the best of intentions, but the worst of memories. And, for some unknown reason, I always seem to forget my nephew's birthday. It's not like it doesn't come the same time every year --- October 6th. I swore this past year was going to be different. And it was --- I was even later than normal getting him his card (I gave him his card at my daughter's birthday party on November 13th). Aaarghhh!!!! I don't know if it is school starting or soccer season getting under way. Whatever, I really need to get much more organized.

I really liked how his card turned out, though. I cased it from the Splitcoast Stampers website here. I used the retired Older & Wiser stamp set. Don't you just love this turtle? The paper is from the current Celebrations DSP pack. Great colors - Pacific Point, Pear Pizzazz, Bashful Blue and Real Red. The Pacific Point ribbon is also retired. You have to keep the guy cards simple, you know.

I am really planning on doing better on having his card completed on time this year, but we shall see.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!!!!

HAPPY 2011!!!!!

It's a brand spanking new year. Endless possibilities. This could be your best one yet. You just never know.....

I haven't stamped a thing in the new year. I surely hope that is not an indication of the rest of the year. I went to my craft area a couple of times with the best of intentions to clean it up, get it more organized. But I was just too overwhelmed by the enormous task that lay ahead of me that I went back downstairs and read a book on my new Nook (a Christmas gift from my hubby). I have read 3 books total since Christmas day. I think that is more than I have read in all the years since I had my first kid (she's 12 now). Can you say "addiction"?

But I do have a project to show you. This is the birthday card I made for my MIL and was CASED from the very talented Becky Roberts here. It uses the Pun Fun stamp set, which is one of my all time favorites. The DSP is from the retired Summer Picnic and the sentiment is from the retired Riveting stamp set. I used my aquapainter to watercolor my animals and tied it all together with a little bashful blue bow.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day and a very Happy New Year!!!!

GETTING PUNCHY.........

I love my punches. No if's, and's or but's. Well, there is one small "but"...... But I do not have the imagination to come up with the cool punch art that a lot of the talented ladies out in the blogsphere have (and will) come up with. This card is a case of one of those very cool ideas. I found it here. I used the retired Ski Slope DSP. I made this for a friend for her birthday and I hope she enjoyed it. I love the retro look the linen thread on the lampshade and the "wallpaper" in the background gives it. I could be walking into a parlor of yesteryear. I did try to stamp the sentiment (from Stem Sayings) directly onto the DSP, but it did not show up very well at all. So, I stamped it on the Whisper White cardstock and cut it out, placing it over the failed sentiment and raising it with Stampin' Dimensionals. I really need to practice my whiskers --- I did terrible trying it freehand.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!!!

RUBBER BABY BUGGY BUMPERS......

Or something like that. This card was made for a cousin of my DH who was expecting her first baby. I was unsure of whether it was to be a boy or girl, so I played it safe by using the soft subtle colors from the retired Delicate Dots DSP. The only stamping is the sentiment from the retired Whimsical Words set. I ran the So Saffron cardstock through with my Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder to make my baby buggy. I trimmed it with some white cardstock punched with the Scallop Edge Border punch. The finishing touches are a couple of Certainly Celery buttons for the wheels and a trio of gold brads up the side for a little extra flair.

Since it took me so long to get this post together, she has had the baby --- a little girl. Congrats to the mom and dad on their new little miracle.

MERRY CHRISTMAS --- CARDS...........

Finally, I finished the few cards that I send out for Christmas. I did a couple (or really 3) different versions of the card for several reasons. The ones we would be hand delivering have the bow tied to the front where the ones to be mailed do not (it makes the envelope too bumpy). So thats versions one and two. The third version came to life when I ran out of the Crumb Cake cardstock that I was using for the base. Out of Crumb Cake??? You must be kidding me!!!!! I will have to place an order very soon. Anyway, when this tragedy happened, I switched the base to Soft Suede cardstock.

I love this image from the Merry Crittermas stamp set out of the mini catalog. The sentiment is from the same set. I cased this card from one on Splitcoast Stampers here. I changed up the color combo to Old Olive, Bravo Burgandy and Crumb Cake/Soft Suede. I colored it using my ink pads with one of the blender pens. Now, those that know me know that normally I would have watercolored this, but some of the spots to color were really tight. One of my stamping sisters (Hey, Cindy!!! --- check out her blog here) swears by these pens, so I figured I would give them a try. Oh my goodness!!!!! I love these things!!!! I don't know if I will ever go back to the aquapainter. Okay, that is a bit extreme, but these pens are just wonderful, especially when you are working with the smaller spaces. And especially if you are coloring on the Whisper White cardstock. If I had colored this with the aquapainter, the paper would have bubbled up from all of the moisture.

I also used the Northern Flurry embossing folder and added one of the shiny, sparkly rhinestones to the center of the big snowflake. To get the border on the Decoative Label Punch, I followed the instructions here. Super simple. Here is one with the bow on the Crumb Cake base:

And one without the bow and on the Soft Suede base:

So, from my family to all of yours

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

ALL WRAPPED UP.........

I, again, was stalking --- oops, I mean, following Mary Fish's blog and ran across this card. I fell in love with it and had to try it for myself. I used the Jolly Holiday DSP again. I am loving that paper. I really do not see it as a Christmas paper, but this card could be used for a Christmas gift. I wrapped the Old Olive satin ribbon around my package. The three buttons were threaded with the Linen Thread and mini glue dotted in place. The sentiment is from the Best Yet stamp set (retired) and is raised on dimensionals. I included this card in with my shoebox swap gift from my last post.

Thanks for looking and have a Great Day!!!!!