Pinterest WIN! Chandelier Wreath for Valentine's Day

I saw this on Pinterest -liked it a lot, and decided I could make one and probably do a pretty good job of it!

This is my creation!  Once I started making it, I found a few differences.  The original Pinterest pinner must have used a selection of precut packaged hearts because they were all the same size.  They also had all the same cut outs, and were just presented in different colors.

 I used a metal wreath base, and red ribbon with white lace over the top.  I also used a large wired polka dotted ribbon for the top to disguise the S hook I bought to hang it.  Works pretty well, actually!   I do feel I could add more ribbon to the wire wreath base, and will do that next year before I hang it again.

Here you can see a better close-up of the hearts I cut..... 3 each to make it look fuller, and different sized down the red/white twine hanging pieces.  I then used the bow maker my dad made, double bows tied to the very ends of the twine for 2 reasons.  1.  to weigh down the twine so it would hang better.  2.  to give it a more finished look, using the same ribbon for the bows as I did for the ties around the top of the wreath.

Stampin' Up Design Series Papers, Hobby Lobby paper, Paper stacks from my stash.  All ribbon from Hobby Lobby, and the twine is from Stampin' Up.

As I said, I believe it's a Pinterest WIN! :) 

Commissioned Crosses

The cross project for Christmas gifts went over quite well!  One of my high school classmates asked if I'd make one for her, and then I had a request for a 2nd.

These are the crosses I came up with.  They are almost identical.  I haven't found a reason to work with any other paper stacks yet.  The Modern Medley DSP (black and vanilla)  and Mocha Morning DSP (ret.) make them look so elegant in my opinion.

It's rather a long process, but so much faster when I had only 2 to make!
Paint the canvas backing, tea stain the hymnal page (after the decision on which hymn), paint the edges of both crosses and cover with DSP.  Sand the edges and then ink to finish the look.  Adhere the hymnal page to the canvas, and adhere both crosses.  Finish with a center medallion.


They turn out so beautifully - it's definitely worth the amount of work.

My Friend Melissa.....

Hey!  Today I have something VERY different from my regular craft style - a project my dear friend Melissa made on one of our Saturday crafting days.

She needed a retirement gift (I should say 'wanted to make') for a close family relative.  Just as the flip flop wreath, we had lots of opinions and placement suggestions to help make the project even better.

 You know how it is when you're crafting - so many ways to place something, and lots of trial and re-trial to get it just right.

 So many little details!  Here you can see the first 3 panels.  Clips, ribbon, hairpin, brads, stickers, etc. etc. etc. 

And here's a view of the last bit of the project - the flower is so beautiful! 

Please leave a comment below and send my friend some craft love!  Her creations are always fantastic!

Please enjoy!

CKC Tulsa Make and Take

I bought my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers just one year ago at the CKC show in 2012 after looking at the alcohol markers and what they  can do for quite awhile.

I ran over to the show Friday afternoon quickly to do just a little shopping at the vendor fair, and I saw this Make and Take available.  Love those $2 Make and Takes!

 Since I already have the markers, I was looking for some advice and a little confirmation that I was using them to the best capacity.

We used 3 colors, and blended, blended, blended!  I got to talk with a local lady who was working at the booth and another girl that came to sit with us for the tutorial.

Gotta LOVE the effect the alcohol markers create!

A Bookmark for Me!

Most of the time I make cards and projects for other people.  That's actually 99.9% of the craft work I produce.

I was looking around online and saw these handmade bookmarks - I made some in plastic coverings a few Christmases ago... but never made one for myself. 

 Lately, I've been spending lots of time waiting......  and I can nap only so much. ;) ;)... SO I started picking up books and novels to read while I've been doing this waiting.    The only problem I've had is that I'm using bits of paper, book receipts from the purchase, or adverts I've torn out of the center as bookmarks!

After I saw one of these online, I decided to make one myself. :)  The backing is Wild Wasabi,  DSP mini polka-dot paper, and 2 1/2 by 8 inch piece of whisper white, with 1/4 inch added to the dimensions of each of the backing pieces.
The ribbon was a scrap that was just long enough not to go to waste.  Whew! :)

Colors:  Pink Pirouette and Blushing Bride for the small flowers.  Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry on the top flower,  Daffodil Delight and Crushed Curry for the bottom flower.  The leaves?  Pear Pizzazz and Wild Wasabi.
I then took these colors in the markers, and wrote READ all over the front.

Talk to you soon!!

Opening Day of the XXX Olympics in London!

 After seeing the rings on TV, I thought I'd give them a try from my crafting supplies.

I'm not usually the patriotic one in the family... that's Mom - she's the Red White and Blue Queen!!!  This top card with the rhinestone additions will go to her for sure!  I know she's going to love it - we always watched the Olympics - summer, winter - didn't matter!

 The hardest part of making these was actually gluing them together.  Making the rings was a cinch!  Use the 1" circle punch, cut out a circle leaving enough room to punch around it... you need just a little space.  Then use your 1 1/4" punch lining it up so there's an equal amount of cardstock border showing and punch! 

Cut through the yellow and green circles once, and link the rings... glue 'em up, and have fun!

I admired this font set from the CardMaker magazine, and since I'm no good at anything freehand, I traced them on Vellum, and colored the backs.  It's a stained glass technique, just used a little differently.

I hope everyone enjoys the Olympics as much as I do!  I'm especially looking forward to all the little interest pieces they'll do on the UK.  AND the opening ceremonies, of course!!

Your comments are always appreciated!

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The Lemonade Stand: A Rite of Passage???

 I know a little girl that is always coming up with "business" ideas!  She always comes up with very creative ideas - and this was one of her more feasible ideas for her age level.  After some lengthy discussion, we (her parents and I and the little girl) decided this was something we could do with little "overhead" and time.

Fortunately, we were able to set up at a Farmer's Market so there was lots of traffic.

I had a GREAT time making the poster!!!!!  See below to find out our results!!!

Doesn't it look GREAT?

Here's a closer view.  Can you see the sparkly ice cubes??

Here's a close-up of the saying I found.

Here's a close-up of the title.

 I used 3 different Cricut Cartridges on this poster!
Calligraphy Collection, Just Because Cards, and Block Party

Even in the 90 degree heat (we were under a canopy) it looked AMAZING!!!  I used my Crop-A-Dile to put eyelets on each corner, and they worked fabulously well for hanging the sign.... no rips or tears.

Now..... How did we do????   We SOLD OUT!  We ran out of water about an hour before the farmer's market closed.  I'm sure that now that she's begun, she will continue and reach her goal quickly.  It's a brand new Farmer's Market, so word is barely getting out about it.  It's going to go quickly once it heats up here, I'm sure!!!

One VERY cool thing - When the vendors sign contracts for this farmer's market, I've been asked to make the signs for their booths!!!!  SO SO cool!  I'm thrilled!


Your comments are always appreciated!

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Miscellaneous cards - All kinds of occasions!

This card was for a relative's birthday - a very special order. 

I'm trying to remember what I made this card for.... I remember clearly....  die cutting, watercoloring, cutting the layers, and popping them....  I just can't remember who I made this for!!!  Ugh!  :)

My dear friend, and old boyfriend had some surgery, and since he loved to play with Hankie, he got this card to hopefully help him on his way to a full recovery.

Your comments are always appreciated!

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2 Special Cards; Confirmation & Sympathy

I had these two cards pending in addition to some other projects I'm working on... and had to get them out in the mail!

My cousin's wife was just confirmed this past Sunday, and this is the card I sent.


here's the inside view. I embossed both crosses with black embossing powder. The cross on the front got some color added with my SU markers, and the cross on the inside was ornate enough to need no other embellishments.


My dear friend from High School's mother died recently, and I made this card for her. Lots of pastel marker work, some Stickles highlights, and some pretty purples finished out this card for her.





Your comments are always appreciated!
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Kitchen Sink Crew Challenge #28 - Part 2 Matchboxes

I bought the matchbox die this past month, and finally had time to play with it today while I'm enjoying our vacation time.

I used the 3 step Pumpkin stamp set and dimensionals to help the pumpkin vine trail down the side of the matchbox stack. I got my new Memento inks today in the mail, Thanks, Maria, and I had to play!!



Here's a better view of the top of the matchboxes. I used Cantaloupe, Tangelo, and Tangerine SU ink to stamp the pumpkin, and 3 colors of the Memento ink to stamp the vine: Pear Tart, Bamboo Leaves, and Cottage Ivy for the tendrils. I really love that sparkly pumpkin cardstock from DCWV, and had a few 'scraps' to use. This project was perfect! I think I'll add a few pumpkins popped to the base.


Here again is a better view of the top pumpkin and vine trailing over the edge. It really is cute! I think I'm going to send this one to my Mom. She'll LOVE it!!


Your comments are always appreciated!
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Kitchen Sink Stamps - My New Stamp Set!

Well, one of many, at least!!!

I was able to attend the Kitchen Sink Stamps workshop in Houston, TX over the weekend of October 8 and 9... and had absolutely the BEST time!!!

I learned lots of new techniques, and ways of using inks I would have never thought of, THANKS Maria, and the team!!!



I loved the harvest set as soon as I saw it, and was able to purchase it at the workshop. Here's my very first stamping made into a fall/harvest card. Wait until you see the apples! They're really amazing in the bushel baskets!

Don't you think the hay bale looks real?


Your comments are always appreciated!

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Stamp-A-Stack August 13, 2010

Friday night our regular card club got together, and made some extra cards! We had some new people join us, and some ladies I haven't seen in a long time. It was really great to have everyone together!!

So, here are the cards we made... 2 of each for a total of 12 cards... and we worked from about 6:30 until almost 10:30!! I got home just as Leno was in his monologue! Too bad we can't do this more often!


This card comes from the Trendy Trees set. SO cute!!


Gotta LOVE the yellow and black combination! We had lots of fun with our punches!!


Doesn't this card look GREAT? It's a 'fake' emboss technique, and everybody OOh'd and AAAh'd when we were making them. I love the purple, white, and black colors together.


I really HAVE to get the Top Note die!!!!!


What pretty colors!!!! I love the purples so much... and Stampin' Up has discontinued all the lighter purples!! I don't know what they're thinking!!


Your comments are always appreciated!

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A Special Anniversary Card!

Over on the Kitchen Sink Stamps blog, I found a card sketch from CPS #176 {Card Positioning Systems} (a link from my blog too) and needed an Anniversary card for my sister! What great timing.

I used the Roses stamp set from Kitchen Sink Stamps, and stamped the outside roses in:

Pink Pirouette,
Pretty in Pink,
Melon Mambo,
and Rich Razzleberry.


For the inside of the card, I stamped these roses in:

Riding Hood Red,
Rose Red
Purely Pomegranate
and Rich Razzleberry.

All the leaves are stamped with: Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, and Old Olive.



I used the Melon Mambo and Pretty in Pink to ink the edges and add color swirls to the white cardstock so it blended nicely with the different pinks I used for background.

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New Baby Card

One of my coworkers just had a baby girl yesterday! I speak to her quite often, and wanted to let her know I wish her the very best with the new baby.






This card measures 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 inches - The outfit is cut out of DCWV paper from the Sweet Stack at 3 3/4 inches. I used a solid dk. pink cardstock to cut the hanger and flower center.



The Love background stamp is a commissioned stamp I had made from Lisa Ehmke (see links to her shop on the right side of this page!) at StampOutOnline for another project. It is inked and stamped on the background with Versamark ink. I also used a Rollagraph heart stamp wheel (Candy Hearts) I bought online with lots of great hearts for 2 rows on the front of the card, and to cover the entire inside of the card. If you look closely, you can see those adorable hearts!



The Congratulations stamp comes from the new Stampin' Up catalog - and their new clear stamp line. It is stamped with Melon Mambo to match the dk. pink on the front shadow pieces.

I also used a white and sparkle pink Glaze pens to highlight the wording.

All the edges of the cardstock inside and out as well as the hanging baby dress is inked with the Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid ink. It gives everything a very pretty glow.



As always, I love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment!!



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What a Difference a Week Makes!

I kept telling my husband we were having more snow this year.... of course, he wouldn't believe me - and he works for the weather service! I was cheering when I heard we were having snow - but the timing was a little off. It was the 2 last days of our Spring Break!!! I had to take the opportunity to take some pictures of my spring flowers having to deal with the snow. We ended up with 4 1/2 inches of snow on Saturday, and by Sunday afternoon, the majority of it was gone! I would have liked it to stay a little longer even though spring is my very favorite season.

Please enjoy!!
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Name for our door!

There is an amazing lady I work with... when we moved into our new office room, I already had my name done with this cartridge. Last weekend, I spent a few hours working on getting her name done so it would be on our door as well.

I've gotten lots of compliments from others that pass by the door... (there are also some other Cricut cuts on the door from Home Decor) but our names in this 'font' get the most attention.

The letters are cut at 4 inches, all have a black shadow, and have some type of 3D gel pen work and stickles to make them look GREAT!!!

The big trick is always the apple for the period. I have to use real-size, and do some size calculations... otherwise these are pretty straight-forward.

Please enjoy!


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This weekend I...

This wreath comes from an Origami projects from activitytv.com One of our students showed his entire class this awesome project! I wanted to try it with some of my patterened paper, and this is what I created. I added some extra embellishments as well as my new Stampin' Up Delightful Decorations stamps and the punch. And, any wreath must have a bow! This shiny red ribbon I had was just perfect!

This Christmas light is from the Very Merry Tags cart (Limited Edition) and is cut at 5 1/2 inches. Yes, way too big, but it was my first cut, and I needed the smaller solid pieces for a tag book. I decided to use these Christmas bulbs as the tags. They're the perfect size for adding pictures and journaling in the book. :) I didn't want to waste this cut, so I added lots of stickles! Gotta LOVE stickles! (Platinum, Diamond, and Purple)

I also worked on storage solutions for my Nestabilities - someone had an awesome idea for storing them neatly with magnets! An inspired idea... pictures coming soon!

Your kind comments are always welcome!

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Very Merry Tags!

I've mentioned before about how I just don't "get" the tags craze. To me, gift tags were just a necessary evil you needed to mark who gets which package.

Yes, I broke down and ordered 2 of the 3 limited release carts... and after I saw the Very Merry Tags cart with the Christmas Tree (my great weakness) and the Christmas Tree light (my 2nd great weakness) I just HAD to have this cart!!

About a week after I received it - I actually had a chance to play! Scraps were the word of the day, and look what GREAT things you can make with scraps!

I used 3 colors of stickles on these; Holly, Crystal, and Christmas Red. The peppermint ribbon is from Hobby Lobby - isn't it adorable? After I used it on the Christmas tree pop-up cards, these peppermint tags were the perfect fit for this ribbon.

Your comments (about my work) are always welcome and appreciated!

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