I'm a retired Legal Assistant, married to Garry for the past 32 years, and mom to Ashley who's married to Blake and the mother to my grandsons, Brecken and Brenner, and Amy, an intern for CRU at WSU. I love most paper crafts, but especially rubber stamping and card-making. It is, for me, exactly what the title of my blog says - therapy, it's cheaper than the real thing. I also love to laugh, travel and play BINGO!
Hi Peeps!
I’m back again today to share a card that I made in response to the most recent Tuesday Trigger Challenge over at the Moxie Fab World Blog. How delicious and beautiful is that gingerbread snowflake?!!
It totally inspired me to ink up one of the new Hero Arts holiday cling stamps that I got called Big Snowflake. I stamped it using Fresh Snow ink onto Cajun Craze CS (that really IS rust colored CS, despite the photograph), and then heat embossed it with White ZING embossing powder. I love how the snowflake really pops off the page when embossed. I added the doily because every gingerbread snowflake cookie should be served on a doily, right?!! The background was stamped using another Hero Arts cling stamp called Canvas Stripes and Cajun Craze ink. I love tone on tone backgrounds. The scallop border was created with an EK Success border punch. This card also satisfies the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge (FTTC95) - to use a doily!
There’s still a bit of time if you want to play along with the Tuesday Trigger Challenge, too. I think the deadline is Sunday, December 5th. Do it! Thanks for stopping by today. I’ll be back real soon!
I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with the part of my family that were here in AZ. My kids celebrated with the other half of my family in WA, so they were sorely missed . . . especially my sweet little Brecken. But we were grateful to have the family that we did have here, and celebrated our gratitude for all the blessings that we enjoy in our lives. I hope that your Thanksgiving was just as precious and fulfilling as mine!
So it’s Stampavie week at ABC Toys & Crafts. My sweet DT sisters will all be sharing their favorite Stampavie image with you all, and I’m starting the week off with my fave Sarah Kay stamp called “Sabine Watching Snow Fall.” Is she not the sweetest thing ever?! And check out that sparkly snow!! That’s White Liquid Applique and Dazzling Diamonds applied while still wet, then heat set with my embossing gun. I am so in love with the effect that the heat has on the White Liquid Applique – it just pops right off the page and adds some amazing dimension, don’t you think?
I stamped Sabine onto cream cardstock using Tuxedo Black ink. Then I colored her with my Copic Markers – I haven’t had those babies out in a while and it felt good to play with them again. I cut the image out using Classic Rectangle Nestabilities and my Cuttlebug. The sentiment came from a new Hero Arts holiday set called Merry Christmas Trees (currently out of stock)– isn’t it pretty? The layout is a SHAMELESS CASE of a card I saw on Julie Lacey’s blogHERE. I even used the same DP and everything! The only changes I made were the image and the sentiment. I’d been feeling a little under the weather all day yesterday and my brain just wasn’t working right. Julie’s work always inspires me so thank you, Julie, for helping me knock this out.
So, did you all do any Black Friday shopping? Not me, folks! I did that last year with my daughter, and it took me three days to recover from it! LOL I did, however, venture out on Saturday for a hair appointment AT THE MALL and feared that I’d never find a parking place! I was pleasantly surprised to find a spot right out front of the salon, so I had me some PARKING KARMA!! LOL Anyways, I plan to do a bit of “Merry Christmas to Me” Cyber Monday shopping – how about you?! ABC Toys & Crafts is having an amazing sale, offering EVERYTHING IN THE STORE at 25% OFF!! Wow, how cool is that?!! Oh, and just so you know, Santa has already delivered some of the brand spankin’ new Slice Elite’s to ABC Toys & Crafts. AND rumor has it that there is going to be a pretty hefty price increase on the Slice Elite as well as it’s accessories in the very near future, so if you’re on the fence about buying any or all of the Slice products, you might want to take advantage of this sale NOW!! The sale ends November 30th – just click on the blinkie below to shop, and use Discount Code BFCM2010. Come on – you deserve to treat yourself!! I heard you’re on the “Nice” list. Hehehe
That’s it for me today, chickies!! I’m so appreciative of your visit today, and hope that you’ll stop by again real soon!
Hello Again! Yay, two days in a row!! I got to spend a glorious day yesterday crafting and finishing up this project that I started at the crop on Saturday. I created this for the current Moxie Fab World Challenge, which is called All Zipped Up! Zippers in crafting is a new trend that I find really fun and interesting. I love taking an everyday item and incorporating it into my crafting, don’t you? And leave to it Cath to discover what those trends are. She’s brilliant, really.
So I figured that most people playing along will create a flower out of a zipper and incorporate that into their design. Don’t get me wrong – I think that the zipper flower trend is super cute and innovative! But I wanted to do something different. I’m kind of the “black sheep” in that regard. Get it?! Black Sheep?! LOL Oh, I just crack myself up!! I envisioned the zipper curled around to create the curls of the sheep’s wool. What do you think?
The layout was inspired by Kim Kesti’sGo To Sketch on pg. 94. The sentiment (hysterical, right?!) is from a My Stamp Box set called “Whatever.” I free-hand cut the word bubble. The body of the sheep was created by die cutting a scalloped oval from white felt. I then cut down a 36” white zipper, twisting it into curls, and stitching it down with a needle and thread. I then painted the teeth of the zipper with a white paint pen. My sweet friend, Kim, free-hand cut the sheep’s head and legs, and that stubby little tail for me. I can’t draw a straight line with a ruler. LOL I had some fabulous direction from my amazing cropping friends, and I am so stinkin’ happy with the end result.
I have one more idea for this zipper challenge that I hope to implement before the December 6th deadline. So keep your eyes peeled for that! LOL You should play along, too – Cath’s challenges are the best!
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I’ll be spending the rest of today at the grocery store – ugh! Have a great day!
I’m back today to share a card I made using a super cute and trendy Penny Black stamp set called Thinking of You. This set contains some really sweet images, but I was especially enthralled with the Eiffel Tower image. That’s one place I hope to visit some day. But in the meantime, it’s such a symbol of romance for me. After all, it’s where Tom Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes, right?! LOL
I stamped the Letter Background stamp on the Kraft CS using Tuxedo Black ink, and then stamped the Worn Damask Background in Versamark over the top of the text. I heat set that to cure the Versamark. Then I stamped the Eiffel Tower image in Versamark, and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I love how it just pops off the page, don’t you? I then used some distressing ink to create the “halo” effect around the Eiffel Tower. Sweet, right? The sentiment was stamped in Tuxedo Black ink onto cream cardstock, and die cut using Classic and Scalloped Oval Nestabilities. Some black seam binding and some stitching and you’ve got yourself a thank you card! I think I’ll send this off to a sweet friend who hosted the crop that I went to on Saturday night – super fun group of girlies and lots of laughs.
That’s it for me today, folks. I hope to get a bit more crafting done before I have to jump into my pre-Thanksgiving chores. But I wanted to remind you that the ABC Toys & Crafts “Sew Special” challenge is still going on, and you still have a little bit of time left to submit a project that includes sewing. You can get all the deets by clicking on the blinkie below. Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you’ll drop by again real soon!
Yes, I've returned from sunny Cabo San Lucas, and can say without a doubt it was the trip of a life time. I have lots of photos to share with you. But for now, I wanted to let you know that we have a new Friend of ABC Toys & Crafts - Nikki Schmaltz. She's super talented and creative, and we feel very blessed that she's our friend. Please, please, please drop by the ABC Toys & Crafts DT Blog and check out her beautiful projects, as well as the really cute and fun answers she gave to our kooky questionnaire. I have no doubt you'll love her as much as we do!
I'm off to a crop/potluck with some sweet crafty friends. I hope to have something to share with you very soon, but at the latest on Monday. I hope you'll come back to visit then. Thanks so much for stopping by today - I've missed you!
That’s my lame attempt at recalling the two weeks of Spanish that I took in high school. Yeah, foreign languages are not my forte’. LOL But I’m going to venture a guess to say that I’ll be much more fluent in Spanish after our trip to Cabo – tomorrow is our last day here. I’ve pre-posted this entry as my husband and I are celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary floating on a floatie and sipping frozen drinks with umbrellas in them. Mmmmm . . . heaven, I tell ya – HEAVEN!!
STAMPS:Four Framed Snowflakes (Hero Arts), Get Merry (Hero Arts) INK:Versamark (Tsukineko), Jet Black StazOn (Tsukineko) PAPER: White CS (Neenah), Pure Poppy CS (PTI), Sno Cone CS (Poptone), Christmas DP (Martha Stewart Crafts) ACCESSORIES:3D Dimensional Dots (EK Success), Self-Adhesive Red Gems (Icons), Pure Poppy Grosgrain Ribbon (PTI), Embossed Scallop Border Punch (EK Success), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers), White Embossing Powder (ZING/American Crafts)
Today’s ABC Toys & Crafts design features another of the Hero Arts Holiday 2010 cling sets called Four Framed Snowflakes. I stamped three of the four images in Versamark onto Sno Cone CS, and then heat embossed them with White ZING Embossing Powder. I cut them out and then rounded two of the four corners with a Corner Chomper. I added red self-adhesive gems for a little color pop and backed the snowflake images with Pure Poppy CS. The designer paper is some new Christmas DP from Martha Stewart that I picked up at Mike’s on my last shopping trip. Super cute patterns and designs! I wrapped some Pure Poppy Grosgrain Ribbon around the bottom of the card base and stamped the sentiment from Get Merry in Jet Black StazOn directly onto the ribbon.
That’s it for me today, peeps! Be sure and stop by the ABC Toys & Crafts Design Team Blog every day this week as the other DT geniuses will be sharing more Hero Arts goodness with you! Oh, and don’t forget that there’s a super fun challenge going on over at the ABC Toys & Crafts Challenge Blog – get your sewing machine out! LOL Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!
I’m probably one of the few people you know that loves Mondays. But I really, really do. It’s the day that I usually get the whole house to myself. This week, of course, is the exception to that as my kids and grandson are here visiting. But it’s still a good day, as I’ll get to spend the whole day with them . . . and that makes for a great day, too.
I’m back again (third day in a row – Woohoo!) today to share another sample that I made for the ABC Toys & Crafts November Challenge – to include sewing on your project. I used a new Hero Arts set called Wishes Come True as my focal image. I stamped the main image twice using Tuxedo Black ink – once on white CS, and again on Blueberry Sky CS. I colored the winter house with my Copic Markers and then cut it out.
To create the look of snow, I added some White Liquid Applique to the roof of that sweet house. Once it was applied, I heated it up with my embossing gun. That creates some kind of funky reaction – the White Liquid Applique begins to puff up!! Super fun to do and watch!! I intended to add glitter to the White Liquid Applique before I heated it up, but I forgot. How fun would that be to have sparkly snow on your roof top?
I stitched the sides of the image panel, as well as the polka dot designer paper with my Janome Sew Mini. Easy peasy!!
The November ABC Toys & Crafts Challenge just started yesterday and lasts until November 27th. We’d love for you to play along with us, and of course, there’s a great prize available for the winner. You can get all the details of the challenge, see some awesome inspiration, as well as upload your projects to Mr. Linky if you click on the blinkie below.
That’s it for me today, peeps! My hubby and I are on our way to Cabo San Lucas tomorrow to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary. Yes, someone has put up with my nonsense for 30 years!! LOL I’ll have limited internet access so may not be able to upload very often. If I can, I will. If I can’t, I’ll see you as soon after the 16th as I can get something made to share with you! At a minimum, I’ll be preposting my ABC Toys & Crafts project for you next Monday.
I know, I know . . . projects TWO DAYS IN A ROW!! LOL I’m dropping by today to share the project that I created for the November ABC Toys & Crafts challenge, which is to create a project and incorporate SEWING – hand stitching, machine stitching, faux stitching – sewing any way that you can think of!
I’m a very literal challenge player, I’ve discovered. You can see from my project that I not only created a project with a sewing theme, but I also used machine stitching in my design. Pretty clever, huh?!! LOL I stamped the dress form image (from the Hero Arts Sew Artsy clear stamp set) onto some canvas that I picked up at my LSS using Rich Cocoa ink. I stamped the dress form image a second time onto cream cardstock, and then fussy cut it out. I cut out the main part of the canvas dress form, and paper pieced it onto the CS dress form.
If you click on the picture, you’ll notice that I’ve used fabric on my project instead of designer paper. When I was at my LSS, they’ve now rearranged the store so that half the store contains scrapbooking materials, and the other half contains quilting supplies. OMGosh – freaking amazing stuff, I tell ya!! I picked up several coordinating fat quarters and couldn’t wait to use them on this project. I used my Classic Oval Nestabilities to cut out the cream colored polka dot fabric, which I adhered to a cream CS panel. The pink frame was cut with Scalloped Oval Nestabilities. The back panel was created by cutting out two coordinating fabric panels and then stitching them to the kraft CS panel. Oh and check out that little skirt that I created and attached to the dress form!! That’s just a scrap of one of the coordinating fabrics, folded in half, stitched on both sides, and then turned so that the seams are on the inside. I then stitched a basting stitch at the top, and pulled the lower thread to make a ruffle. I then wrapped the ruffle around the dress form and added a bow with a glue dot. I was tickled pink with how this project turned out. I hope it inspires you, because we’d be thrilled to pieces if you’d play along with us!!
We’ve added some new features to the ABC Toys & Crafts Challenge, changes that I think you’re really going to like.
We’ve moved the challenge AND Mr. Linky to a new ABC TOYS & CRAFTS CHALLENGE BLOG. We thought his would make it easier for you all to find the most current challenge without scrolling through all the daily posts on the Design Team Blog.
You now have 3 weeks to enter our challenge as many times as you like. This challenge ends on November 27th at midnight (CST). The winner will be announced on Thursday, December 2nd.
The challenge will now be JUDGED rather than using the Random.org selection process. We want to see your best work!!
The winner will receive a $20 store credit to ABC Toys & Crafts.
The winner will earn an additional $5 store credit (that’s a total of $25 store credit!) if they’re DISPLAYING our CHALLENGE BLINKIE (you’ll find the HTML code for our Blinkie on our side bar).
Are you ready to play along with us?!! Well then click on the blinkie below, and that will take you directly to the new ABC Toys & Crafts Challenge Blog, where you’ll find the current challenge, Mr. Linky for uploading your projects, as well as more sweet inspiration from the rest of the ABC Toys & Crafts design team. What are you waiting for – now get to stitching!
That’s it for me today, peeps! Believe it or not, I’ll be back tomorrow with another sample for the challenge. Hope you’ll stop by to see me then! Have a great day!
Popping in really quick to share with you a couple of projects that I made for the latest challenge over at the Moxie Fab World. You all know how much I looooovvveeess me some Moxie Fab Challenges . . . Cath just knows how to get my creative juices flowin’, I tell ya! LOL And her Diggin’ on Damask challenge is no exception!
I have two projects to share with you today – both using the same focal image. I nearly lost my milkshake when I saw this amazingly beautiful damask ornament in my latest trip to the Impress store. Isn’t it just divine?!! So sweet, yet so elegant, right?! For my first project I stamped it in Versamark onto dark brown cardstock and heat embossed with my yummolicious White Zing embossing powder. When I did that, it changed the color of the EP, making it more creamy rather than stark white. I wanted to create a more folksy look, so I stamped the Hero Arts Plaid Background onto the Raspberry Fizz cardstock. The sentiment is from another Hero Arts Set called Get Merry. The Zva pearls (thanks, Kim!) were added to give a little elegance, but I think still leaves it with that folksy feel, don’t you? A little Rustic Button Twine and a brown button, and we’re in business!!
My second project is a very similar design, but with a few different details. This time I stamped the ornament in Versamark onto Sweet Blush CS and heat embossed with dark brown Zing EP. The panel behind the ornament was dry embossed using one of my fave QuicKutz embossing folders. The sentiment is a Fancy Pants rub on. The background panel once again uses the Hero Arts Plaid Background stamped in brown. But I also added a watermark over the top of that using a Distressed Damask background stamp that I found at Impress on that same little shopping spree. It’s subtle, but I think adds a perfect finishing touch.
Okay, ladies, that’s it for me today! I have my whole fam-damily coming over for a BBQ later today, so I’d better get a move on. I’ll be back tomorrow with the latest ABC Toys & Crafts challenge, so I hope you’ll come back to see me then!! Thanks so much for stopping by today – have a great day!
I’m popping in really quick to share another ABC Toys & Crafts tools project. I was totally on a mojo roll last weekend, and when that happens, I just keep cranking. Does that ever happen to you?
Today’s card features the recently released Mitten Shapeabilities. OMG – are they not so stinkin’ cute?!! I have so many ideas to create with these babies! (Oh, and please forgive the quality of my photo. My photo “studio” was in the same room that my grandson was sleeping in. We DON’T disturb Brecken when he’s sleeping! LOL)
I die cut the mitten twice using felt – once in brown and once in pink. Then I used a ric rac die to cut through both the pink and the brown mitten. Then I alternated the pieces to create the zig zag. Cute, right?! So I actually have alternating pieces enough for two mittens – BONUS!! LOL
The mitten was adhered to a circle created with my Classic Circle Nestabilities, and then layered with a Lacey Circle Nestabilities die cut. All layers were bumped up with 3D Dots.
Before I forget, the Pink Slice is on sale at ABC Toys & Crafts for 20% Off! Whoa!! I love my Pink Slice, so if you’ve been eyeballing one for yourself, now’s the time to get it!! You can find them HERE. (Sale ends November 24, 2010.)
That’s it for today, friends. Our kids are here visiting us in AZ – and we are thoroughly enjoying our time with them, especially our sweet little Brecken. Thanks so much for stopping by!
I had such a great weekend! I hope you had the same!! I got to stamp all day on Saturday, so that just makes my heart go pitter patter. I stamped until 1:00 a.m. – yikes! LOL But I was in hog heaven. I got caught up on all but one of my DT projects, and added a few extras in there to share with you very, very soon.
Today’s my day to share an ABC Toys & Crafts project with you. This week, the ABC Design Team is focusing on any and all of the tools that ABC Toys & Crafts carries. Well, I know you all know how much I LURRRVVEEE my Pink Slice, especially now that I can use my Hands Free Kit. Well, my love of this machine was bumped up once again when the new Noel Layered Design Card popped into the store. OMGosh . . . amazing!! The new Noel Layered Design Card now creates images that can be layered upon each other. So it’s not all silhouettes like the previous design cards. It can do amazing things, I tell ya!
So I’ve created a card featuring one of the many beautiful snowflakes that are included in the Noel Layered Design Card. I layered the two designs together with a felt snowflake (created with the new SU die cut), button and some yummy gems – the Hero Arts Gemstones in Teal and Citron. And, of course, my handy 3D Dots were used to pop all the layers up to create a super dimensional snowflake. What do you think?
The sentiment is from a new Hero Arts Clear Stamp Set called Get Merry. Awesome set, people!! No stamp collection should be without this set, as the sentiments are so versatile and useful for any and all holiday cards that need to be made. Get it for your collection – you’ll thank me later. I promise!! LOL Of course, I finished off the card with my sweet little Janome Sew Mini. The DP is some new Bo Bunny that magically appeared on my front door (shhhhh! LOL) one day. The embossed snowflakes were created using the new snowflake embossing folder from SU – I just ran some vellum in the embossing folder through my Cuttlebug.
Well, that’s it for me today, chicas! I have a fun day of shopping with Grandma Debbie in anticipation of Baby Brecken’s arrival on Wednesday. Woohoo!! I have missed that little munchkin like nobody’s business! Cannot wait to hold him in my arms again. Mmmmmmm. We’re also going to friends’ for dinner. Should be a great day – hope yours is the same!! Thanks so much for stopping by!
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