Ahoy, Matey!

Yesterday we went and saw Madagascar 2 and then my Mom, Step-Dad and Sister came over to my house and we played one of my son's games called "Pirate's Cove". We didnt' get a chance to play it on Thanksgiving like we had planned, so we promised him we would play it soon. Let me just say...It is a really fun game and it is really well planned and put together. I love all of the details throughout the game. Anyway...it inspired me to make a Pirate card so I knew that whatever Jen's sketch challenge would be, I would make it into a Pirate card. Who would have known it would work so well? You can check out her sketch and card over at http://www.iheart2stamp.com/ . I used the "Ahoy Matey" stamp set and coordinating wheel from SU! I also paired it with the much beloved "Muirfield" DSP. I colored the wheeled image first using copics and prismacolor markers and from there, the color palette was created. I was thrilled that the "Muirfield" DSP worked perfectly. I sponged, distressed, and tore the edges for a time-worn look. I had a lot of fun with this! Thanks for fluttering by!

******NOTE****** Here is the link for the instructions to the quilt: www.thimblesandthread.blogspot.com/

Supplies:

Ahoy Matey, Matey's Map

Paper: Kraft, PTI White, Muirfield DSP

Ink: Black Jumbo Cartridge, Pallette Noir, Walnut Ink and Vintage Photo distress ink by Ranger, Copic and Prismacolor markers

Accessories: Vintage Brads, Distressing Tool, Marvy circle and scallop punches, foam squares

To You and Yours

Did everyone have a great Thanksgiving? I hope so. I know that I did. It was nice to be with family, have yummy food and think of all we are thankful for. I hope that you aren't sick of this stamp set, yet...because I know I'm not! LOL! As if you couldn't tell! I wandered over to the Card Positioning Systems website the other day and fell in love with this week's sketch. It worked perfectly with the oval overlay I had done on Monday's card. I decided to use the same paper and stamps to work it into the sketch. You can check it out here: http://cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com/ For my Christmas cards, I usually mass produce one design, but I have so many that I have made so far, I think everyone will be getting a unique card. Who knows, though, I may come up with a design in the next week or so that will *have to be the one*. I usually send my cards out around the 15th of December. I don't know why, I just do.

Thanks again for all of your sweet comments. It really means alot to me!

Supplies:

Stamps: To you and yours

Paper: Wassail from Basic Grey, PTI white, kraft

Ink: Vintage Photo by Ranger, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Wassail Buttons, Linen Thread, Sewing Machine and Thread, Oval Punch, liquid glue, martha stewart crystal coarse glitter, sponge, riding hood red taffeta ribbon, glue dots

Just Because I Care

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has a beautiful day filled with family, friends, love and laughter. Today's card features a retired SU! set called "Gentler Times". I have used it quite a bit since I started my blog, so I hope I am not boring you by using it again. I also have a tendency to pair it with purple, too. I bought quite a bit of ribbon the other day at the craft store because it was all half off and this purple satin was among them. Now...I have quite a few spools of purple satin ribbon, but this one was just the perfect shade. It matches perfectly with Lavendar Lace which is an often neglected color at my house. I was thrilled to be able to use it. I used my textile cuttlebug embossing folder for the main panel which has been neglected, too. I colored the images with blender pens and ink refills. I added diamond stickles to the main panel and finished the corners off with the ticket punch and SU!'s Ice brads in the corners. I love the hostess set "Best yet" from SU! and it worked perfectly for my card and fit nicely into the oval punch. Of course all of the edges are sponged. I had fun making this and I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for fluttering by!
P.S. The week really got away from me, so I will be posting Blog Candy next week~
Supplies:
Gentler Times stamp set, Best Yet stamp set
Paper: PTI Vanilla, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Mellow Moss, antique linen by Ranger
Ink: Paletter Noir, Lavender Lace, Almost Amethyst, Mellow Moss, So Saffon
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Textile embossing folder, Diamond Stickles, corner rounder, ticket punch, oval punch, sponge, Ice Brads, Satin Ribbon

Victorian Christmas

I guess this is where Parisian Summer meets Winter Post. When I first got the Parisian Summer DSP, I thought it would also work well for a Christmas card. Today's Sketch Challenge over at SCS gave me the perfect opportunity. The layout worked well for the images included in the "Winter Post" Stamp Set from SU! I sponged all of the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink from Ranger (love that stuff) and added a large glitter snowflake that I picked up from Michael's last year. I also added a strip of Pink Pirouette that has been scalloped and embossed with my crop-a-dile.

Also, as promised; Here is the rag quilt that I have been working on. I think it turned out super cute and I can't wait to give it to my friend. There are quite a few funny stories regarding this blanket. I almost lost a finger, a sewing machine and the quilt. When I sew the strips together, I pin each intersecting square to get a them to line up perfectly. So...my daughter was fascinated with the whole process and watched every step. I stopped the sewing machine to remove the pin, and you need to go slowly because at each intersection there is alot of fabric. Before I know it, my sewing machine is going a million miles with my fingers right at the needle. I was so disoriented and confused and then I saw my little daughter standing full throttle on the foot pump. I was *really* mad. Now I can just laugh about it because the quilt is done and no one was hurt. Also, when I was clipping each seam to get the *rag* look, my daughter informed me that my friend wouldn't like it because it was all cut up! LOL!

For those who don't know, I have another blog called Thimbles and Thread and I will be uploading a few basic directions on how to make a rag quilt if you are interested. Check back after Thanksgiving and I will post a link their if I get it all uploaded. Thanks for fluttering by!

Horn of Plenty

I finally finished the baby blanket last night! My husband and kid's went to the library to check out new books and ended up bringing home a DVD as well. I sat at my sewing machine while they watched the movie and ate popcorn. That is one reason why I love my craft area where it is; I can be there, but doing something else so I don't seem so *stamp crazed*! LOL! I love having my sewing machine right there, too. The quilt is in the washing machine, so I will have to post it when it is dry.

Today's card features some of the new stamps from The Saltbox Studio which can be found here: http://www.amuseartstamps.com/ I used some of my new paper salon paper, too. I love this image and had fun coloring. I didn't even color the bird blue! ****shocker***!!!LOL! Anyway, I have every intention of playing in today's color challenge when I get a minute, but I will probably post that tomorrow!

P.S. I am a copy-cat. I love how Julia S photographs her cards laying down, so I decided to try it! Thanks for the idea, Julia! I Love your stuff!!!!

Merry and Bright Gift Card Holder

Hello! I hope you all had a great weekend! I sure did! I went and saw "Twilight" twice! I really liked it and I thought they did a good job following the book. My headache finally went away, too, which I had all last week. I was getting worried. I think I just needed rest!

I was able to play along in today's TLC over at SCS. I needed to make it quick, because I have a To-Do list a mile long today. You will probably notice alot of the same elements on this that are on my new blog banner. I used Basic Grey's "Wassail" line that I got from Ellen Hutson's online store last week. I just want to say that she is super fast! My order shipped within the hour and I had it two days later! You can check out her store here: http://www.ellenhutson.com/servlet/StoreFront I am impressed!!!!! Thanks, Ellen! Plus, she included a fun thank you as well! Great service!

I stamped the house image twice, once for the back layer and punched the second one with my large oval punch. I sponged both edges and popped the oval one with foam squares. I used liquid glue for the outside edge of the card and sprinkled Marth Stewart coarse glitter all over the edges. It is finished off with some of the great "Alpine" ribbon from SU!

Thanks for fluttering by!

So Glad We're Friends

I loved Jen's sketch this week which can be found here: http://www.iheart2stamp.com/ . I don't know how she does it each week! I really wanted to use this "Autumn Vine" DSP from SU!, but I don't have any stamps that *match* necessarlily. I decided that this bird from the "Always" set would work pretty well. I decided to add a little glitter to the bird, which I am now regretting. I guess this is an example where glitter really doesn't make it better! LOL! Shock!!!! I also wanted to thank all of you who left comments on yesterday's post. It is so nice to know that there are people *out there* if you know what I mean. I appreciate every comment that you leave. There are those that are so sweet and leave me comments every day! Thank you!

I also went fabric shopping yesterday to make my baby blanket I was telling you about. I really wanted to find fabric to match the gift ensemble that I made on yesterday's post, but I didn't find exactly what I wanted.

The fabric I chose does, however, match the outfit pretty well. I am almost halft done with the blanket and I will post it when I am done. It is turning out quite cute!

Bundle of Joy

What is it about baby cards that are so fun to make? I am so glad I got the opportunity to make a baby card for one of my friends in the neighborhood. It is just as much fun to go shopping for baby gifts, too. I bought her a darling little outfit from Gymboree with a racoon on it. Now...I was really wishing I had some type of cute racoon stamp, but I didn't. I decided to use my "Punches Three" set that hasn't seen ink, yet. I paired it with the yummy "Muirfield" DSP. I thought it worked well for a baby boy card. Now...for the layout. I guess I am a sketch challenge junkie lately so I decided to try my hand at Beate's weekend sketch challenge which can be seen here: http://beate.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/I had a lot of fun making this card.

I also decorated a large gable box to put the present in. I don't have great light yet to take a picture of the box, so I just photographed the tag. I am seriously in the mood to sew, so I think I will be heading to the quilt shop today to get some supplies for a baby blanket! Stay tuned and I will post it if I get it done! LOL! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I think it is time for some BLOG CANDY! Stay tuned next week for a fun giveaway!!!!

Live Simply Inspiration

The other day I was visiting Amy Rohl's blog-Inkaboutme, and loved her post which can be read here: http://inkaboutme.blogspot.com/2008/11/happy-holiday-inspiration.html I love what she wrote. I love finding inspiration in the world around me. The other day I was telling my Mom that I don't do that as much as I used to. It seems that either I am too much of a home-body these days or that I am in too big of a hurry when I am running here or there. Amy's post reminded me of all the inpspiration that I *used* to find! LOL! I guess her post really stuck in my head because the other day when I was cleaning up after dinner, I looked down at my dish towel and thought, "Hey...I have all of those images in stamps from The Saltbox Studio and I could create a cute card along these same lines." My dish towel was given to me by my Mom and it is a darling Deb Strain towel with cute primitive images. Of course my Saltbox Stamps would be perfect. I had *so*much fun creating this scene and I couldn't resist the sentiment; it works perfectly. I used quite an assortment of Saltbox images all of which can be found here: http://www.amuseartstamps.com/ I colored the images with Copic and Prismacolor markers. Thanks for fluttering by!

One of a kind Friend

Todays' Ways to Use it Challenge was to incorporate pearls into our designs. I have had these darling self-adhesive pearls in my stash for some time and have only used them once, so I thought today would be the perfect day. I still had all of my supplies out from yesterday's card, so I decided to use them again. This "Parisian Summer" DSP from SU! lends itself for a design using pearls. Can I just tell you how much I love this paper? It is beautiful! Anyway, I used my "One of a Kind' stamp set from SU! that I love as well. I have used it quite a bit since it came out. The thing I love about it, is that it has a matching punch so it is easy to make a lot of flowers in a short amount of time and with minimal effort. I sponged all of the edges for a vintage look. Thanks for fluttering by!

STamps: One of a Kind, Fundamental Phrases

Paper: PTI white, SU! ultrasmooth white, bravo burgundy, Parisian Summer

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Bravo Burgundy, So Saffron, Antique Linen by Ranger

Accessories: Boho Blossom punch, foam squares and dimensionals, self-adhesive pearls by Kaiser, Pink Pirouette grosgrain ribbon, crop-a-dile, ticket and tag punch

Parisian Dreams and Ho Ho Ho!

Yesterday, Mr. Brown brought me some great new SU! DSP including Parisian Summer. This has been one that I have wanted since the catalog came out, but kept putting it off. It is finally here and it is positively scrumptious. I haven't seen much done with it, but who knows, maybe I am just out of it? LOL! Anyway, I thought it would work well with today's sketch challenge over at SCS. I also paired it with "Dreams du Jour" Stamp Set. The flowers in this paper reminded me of the flower from this set. I did minimal sewing because I am lazy today! LOL! Anyway, I thought the sewing that I did worked well with this design to mimic a quilt square. I colored the images with a blender pen and ink refills. I also added some pink taffeta ribbon. Yummy! Of course it couldn't be complete without a little glitter, so I added some diamond stickles.

My second card started out as an attempt at yesterday's color challenge, but I decided I wanted it to not be so bright red; more vintage. So...I pulled out some of the Paper Salon paper I picked up the other day at Hobby Lobby and started creating. I realized after I was done that this card looked familiar. This is almost the exact same layout I already used for this exact santa for my Design Team assignment. I CASED myself! LOL! This santa and sentiment are from The Saltbox Studio which can be found here: http://www.amuseartstamps.com/ Thanks for fluttering by!

School Days Mini-Album

My daughter started Kindergarten this year and I wanted to make a mini-album for her that I could showcase photos and keepsakes of her school days. I made this at the beginning of the school year, but hadn't shared it here. I handmade the album myself and used the fantastic "School Days" set from TJ Designs which can be found here: http://www.tweetyjill.com/ I also used papers from "The European Collection" from TJ Designs. I used embellishments from my stash including buttons, ribbon, glitter and lace to complete the cover. I had a lot of fun making this and I can't wait to fill it with memories!

Mr. Brown is on his way to my house delivering all kinds of fun SU! goodies, so stay tuned in the next few days for some fun new designs.

Game On!

Tomorrow is my son's last football game for the year. They are playing an awesome team that will really give them a challenge. It will definitely be exciting. I wanted to make a card for my son to let him know how much fun we have had seeing him play, how much we love him and last but not least, GOOD LUCK! I know our team will do well, just as they have all season. When I saw Jen's sketch for this Saturday, I knew it would be a perfect fit for all of the elements that I wanted to incorporate into this card. I loved the 3 circles on the side that worked so well for other sentiments and images. I absolutely love playing in Jen's sketch challenge. She always does such a great job. You can check her stuff out at http://www.iheart2stamp.com/ I used the retired "Sporting Goods" and "Stamp of Authenticity". I also used my small stack of DSP that had garden green in it that is one of our team's colors. It has retired as well. I did, however, use the current "Sporting" stamp set. Sometimes you need to pull out the oldies but goodies. I have lots of those! LOL! Anyway, wish our team luck and I will let you know how it goes!!!! Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. The other day my son said, "Mom, where is the "Stud Muffin" card you made for me?" I told him that it was in his drawer. He had it displayed for so long, I decided to take it down and put it in his drawer. He said,"I really liked when you made that for me!" I felt so happy that even though he is a boy and he is 8, he really appreciates what I do for him. I hope that he appreciates this card, too!

From our House...to Yours!

****ETA**** Did you notice the change? I put up a new banner for my blog to ring in the Holiday Season! I had a lot of fun making it and I hope it brings inspiration and *JOY* to your life!

Yes...another "Winter Post" card. This is just a little sneak peek into the project that I have been working on this evening. I can't photograph it until tomorrow, so you will have to wait. I used my delicious "Holiday Treasures" DSP again also. I am really loving it if you can't tell. LOL! I decided to color my skating couple image with copics this time and have to say that I don't like it as well as the blender pens. I am so limited in colors that I can't shade the way I would like. I took a trip to Hobby Lobby today to pick up something I needed for some design work that I really should be finishing and picked up a few other items. I don't know about you, but a few new goodies here and there really help me get in the mood to create. I picked up some fun stuff including "Vintage Photo" distress ink by Ranger. I did all of my sponging with that. It gave it just the right bit of aging that I was looking for. I also added a few buttons from my stash and some Martha Stewart glitter that I got from Michaels a year or so ago. It is a coarse glitter that I really like. Of course it needed some ribbon so I used some Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain from SU! for the finishing touch. I will be showing you the project I have been working on tomorrow and then I promise...no more Winter Post (for a few days at least)!!! Thanks for fluttering by!

Winter Post!

The one set that I *had* t0 have from the Holiday Mini was "Winter Post". It took me forever to finally buy it, but now it is here and I am loving it. This is my first creation using it. I also used the Holiday Treasures DSP which I love. They used it quite a bit at convention and I was so excited to get it. I colored the image with my inkpads and a blender pen. Normally I would just watercolor it, but since the image was so small, I didn't want to take all of that effort and then have the paper warp. I guess maybe it is just laziness on my part. LOL! I have bin M.I.A. in the stamping world as of late. Even though my stamp area is *right* there, sometimes it feels like a million miles away. It has been one of those weeks. Monday was definitely a *Monday*. I started 4 cards and didn't finish one. I guess that set the whole tone of the week, but I decided to salvage this little image that I started on Monday. I like the way the card turned out and it has the *feel* I was after. Thanks for hanging in there with me when I have a bad week! Thanks for fluttering by!

A Saltbox Sunday and Jen's Sketch for you to Try!

Say that 10 times fast! LOL! Jen has done it again with a fabulous sketch that I had to try! I decided to use two of the new sets from The Saltbox Studio; "Pumpkin Oak" and "Give Thanks". I absolutely love these pilgrims. I decided to use one of the large pumpkins from "Pumkpkin Oak" as well. What would Thanksgiving be without pumpkins? One of the things I love about both of these sets is the great sentiments and the fonts that they come in. I opted for the simple Happy Thanksgiving, but there are quite a few to choose from. All of the stamps can be found at http://www.amuseartstamps.com/ . I paired it with some old DS paper from SU!. I loved this paper when it came out and I still have quite a bit of it left. I thought it worked well with these images. Everything is colored with a combination of Prismacolor markers, Copics and a few SU! markers.

I know that I had mentioned before that Football was over, but we decided to do one more tournament so this week has been filled with more practices and then a game yesterday. Our team won, so we have another game next Saturday. The plan is that the boys will get to play at the Real SaltLake Stadium which is where SLC professional Soccer Team plays. I am really hoping the weather will stay nice. It was an exciting game, because we had never played this particular team and we didn't know what we were up against. Looking at the opponents, I could have sworn they were at least 2 or 3 years older than my son's team, but we played them anyway. You should have seen the boy my son was up against on the line! Eek! He was large! Anyway...they were big, but they went down hard and fast. The score ended up being 41-7. I think in the end, the other team just sortof gave up. GO THUNDER!!!!! Thanks for fluttering by!

Getting Organized!!!

Last night was the first stamp club I have had since July. I know...it has been a while. I love being organized for the Holidays, so I decided to create an organizer that could fit in your purse. I guess it depends on what size of purse you prefer to carry around. I needed to make it long enough to fit a business size envelope, because that is one of the items inside. I like having somewhere to put all of my Christmas receipts in one place so that if I need to return something or keep track of my spending (LOL!) then it is all together.The Riding Hood Red cardstock measures 8 1/2 by 9 1/2 and then it is folded in half at 4 1/4. I printed out a calendar in my calendar wizard program, stamped snoflakes on it and attached it to the inside. I also printed out a list that I attached to the envelope that had a place to write the name of the person the gift was for, the item that was purchased, how much it cost and which receipt number it was. I will be numbering all of my receipts as I purchase gifts with a number circled at the top for easy reference. I know...I am a little freaky. I also printed up a list that I stapled to the inside for lists. Next, I sealed a 3 by 3 envelope, cut a smidge off the top and cut a notch with my circle punch and adhered that to the calendar so that I could put coupons and such into. I get quite a few coupons from Toys R US, Bath and Body Works, Macy's, etc. that would fit perfectly into the envelope.

Now...you may be wondering,"Why doesn't she just show us the inside?" There is a great reason. Mine has many imperfections as I was ironing out the details to have my club make it. Let's just say mine has character!!!LOL! I have one left that I will make up and show you how the inside "should" look! The clip holds it all together and adds a little detail and a place to add some ribbon! Thanks for fluttering by!

Drawn From Nature

I was thrilled to play along in today's Featured Stamper challenge over at SCS. I decided to make a hanging cone using some of the great TJ Designs stamps that can be found at http://www.tweetyjill.com/ . I used "Songbirds" and "Design Elements" to create the stamped images for my cone. I also used the collage and scrapbook papers from TJ Designs as well.

I really loved the fern image paper because it worked so well with the "drawn from nature" stamp that I used. I wanted to take a picture of it hanging in my house, but it is overcast and raining, so I didn't have a lot of good light to use...so...imagine the key hanging down from the bottom rather than laying flat! LOL! I used my Martha Stewart butterfly punch to punch out the butterflies. I used more of the collage and scrapbook papers and added a Kaiser self adhesive pearl to the middle. I added a few buttons, lace and ribbon for embellishments. I had a lot of fun making this. Thanks for fluttering by!

Merry and Bright

It's Saturday and you know what that means...I will be trying Jen's sketch. You can check it out here: http://iheart2stamp.com/ I loved today's sketch because I knew exactly which image and embellishments I would be using. I am in love with the new Christmas set "To You and Yours" from the new Idea Book and Catalog from SU! I knew it was a must have as soon as I saw it. I love the sentiments that are included and the two images. I also love the new Ski Slope paper in the mini catalog. One of the striped pieces reminds me of the curtains I made for my stamp area. I loved the fabric I chose because it looked like the In-Colors from last year...but the stripes are as much Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze and Kiwi Kiss as they were Purely Pomegranate, Soft Sky and River Rock. In fact...I think they are more so this year's colors. Anyway...I will quit rambling about my curtains! I added a star brad and a little felt flurry and some striped ribbon. The felt flurry looked a bit naked, so I added a gem sticker from Making Memories. A gal showed us at convention how to pop the gems out of the SU! brads, but I wanted something quick! Othe rthan that...this card is 100% SU! I actually showed a few projects with this set, paper and embellishments at my workshop on Tuesday. Now that Halloween is over, I will be showing quite a few Holiday ideas! Thanks for fluttering by!