In Honor of my Sister!

My sister Pam, the dental hygenist, FINALLY got the confirmation of her move-in date into her brand spankin' new condo!!! Boy, she has waited over a year with 3 delays! Talk about learning patience!
I made these cards for her at Christmas, I put them in her stocking with promises of more. Haven't made any more yet, but its looking like I'm going to make some "Welcome to my new home" party invites sooner than we thought! YIPPEEEE!

These cards are watercolored with SU! crayons and an aqua painter. Started with the ribbon I wanted to use for color and tried to create a soft hallo around them.

I had fun and she liked them so it all worked out! Happy house Pam!

Feeling like I'm back in kindergarten...

I've fought this one long and hard! COLORING!!! It is sooo time consuming that I really needed a GOOD reason to get started. Well, then comes the bellas and yes, I'm in love hook, line and sinker!

Last night I played with watercolor pencils and odorless solvent. After about 3 hours this is what I got done!

Whew!

Not a Single STAMP!?!?!?

Now, I know I love patterned paper but this is getting out of control!! (hehehe) I had total intentions to use a bride bella, forget her name right now, but ended up with no place to put her! Such a crime!

(I still like it)

A Few of My Favorite Things...

Patterned paper, primas & flowers!

This is another sheet from that stack-o-paper I bought a little while ago on 70% off. Thought the swirl in the paper was a good match with the swirl in the flower stamp but how to bring them together?

After searching madly for a ribbon with orange and green (I just plain felt like using orange, go figure!), watercoloring the image and choosing some primas, I am happy with the simplicity of the card.

It seems I'm finding odd colors appealing these days! I wonder what color will end up on my walls next! lol!!!

Tag, I'm It!

Funny stuff, all this tagging going on! So, ok Sherrie, I won't be a party pooper this time! I'm supposed to list 7 random facts or habits:

1) I am totally addicted to travelling! Those who know me well probably have figured this out already, but almost all of our extra money goes to the next holiday or to pay off the last one! I've been to Palm Springs, California (3 times), Oregon (2 times), numerous weekend trips into Washington, Florida, New York, Montreal and 3 cruises in the Carribean! We are heading to eastern BC, Montana & Idaho this summer and are in the beginning stages of planning a trip to Thailand in a couple of years! Yahoooooo!


2) I was thought to be my daughters sister when she was in kindergarten. Yes, I had a weee bit of late blooming rebelion and really didn't look much like a mom!


3) I crack my nuckles way too much! But it feels good and I don't want to stop! hehehe


4) My craft space has become my personal therapist. Therefore, considering what I would pay to go see a therapist I think I am saving us money by purchasing stamps and supplies!!!


5) I have an amazing family! Hubby, going on 15 years, loves, adores and takes care of me. Daughters, 12 & 7, going up way to fast, full of humor and so easy to love!


6) I also live with my parents. We have purchased a home together and they live on 1 of the 3 floors. We are so thankful to have them in our lives, to care for each other and be wonderful grandparents to my daughters!


7) Last, but the most important, I have found true JOY in Jesus! Unconditional love, saving grace and the perfect example of who I want to be!


Blessings to you all and don't forget to look for some JOY in your day!

Cuttlebug MANIA!!!

I bought a Cuttlebug from a friend a while ago but realized pretty quickly that the real investment is buying all the cuts and folders that I'd like!!!

Fortunatly for me, she has been out of town this last week and has let me borrow her boxful of cuts and folders!!! I have been coming up with all kinds of ideas to use paper I hadn't been using and making them into something new!

This one is positively my fav!!! The textile folder. Here I used it over the stamped background Filigree. It is stamped with white craft ink on blush paper. I need a couple wedding cards, wanted to show off the paper and put together this simple layout. The velvet ribbon gives it just another touch of richness. The stamp is from Micheal's 1.50 bin and I glazed over the church.

Enjoy!

{Patterned Paper}

*** Note to self: when uploading images, end with the one you want to see first!!!

Ya, it took me a little longer than the usual to upload these photos because I had to delete them and do it a second time. But, I think it was worth it! I really wanted to make sure you could see my paper cutting on the petals. I layered matching red paper behind the cuts to sort of give the feel of another layer on the petals.

I started with one the papers I bought the other day and just couldn't stay away any longer! This is one of those really big patterns on a 12 x 12 which takes the longest to figure out how to best use the whole sheet. But let's face it! I only really wanted to use the 3 flowers and cut exactly where I wanted to.

Yes, it pains me to feel like I've waisted such amazing paper, but trust me, I'm sure I will find something to use the scraps ons!!!

(Basic Grey pp, misc red cardstock, jewels from a decorative cd sticker/cover thingy, Micheals $1.50 stamp, precision scissors & glaze)

What FUN I had!!!

These are 3 of the 4 cards we did in my last class! What a fun group of women I had the pleasure of being with!

Each card featured a different technique: stamping, paper piercing, distressing and layering (the card not shown here).

I am having so much fun planning, preparing and presenting these classes!

Anyway, it was a great way to demonstrate some very different looks with the same patterned paper. Great fun!!!

(3 Bugs in a Rug & Prism paper, primas, brads, buckle punch, edge scrapping tool, piercer, SU! & Amuse stamps and jewels)

{Flowers & Flourishes}

More often, than I want to admit, my cards end completely different then I had seen it in my head when I started. This is one of these times! I started with a patterened ribbon that I decided doesn't really match at all. So, I changed the ribbon, changed the primas and now that I look at it, totally forgot to bring in the green mat into the flowers somewhere! Hahaha!

Looks like I might have to adjust it again!!!

(Bazzill & SU! cardstock, Rhonna Ferrar Elegant Flourishes, SU! Big Blossom, versamark, white craft ink, primas & flower brads - hmmm, maybe I will see if I have green ones!!!)

I Did It!!!

A card with NO patterned paper! This is for you Sherrie! (I've got a couple more done too!!!)

Lately, it seems I have not been able to make cards without using patterned paper. I guess you could say I've been stuck in a rut. But I've got to say, being in a patterned paper rut isn't a bad place to be stuck! I LOVE the stuff, and can't get enough of it.

Unfortunatly, my amazing selection of stamps gets neglected then! So, I made sure I did not look in my pp drawers and forced myself past it. I did have to at least start with a patterned ribbon though! Is that cheating?!?!?!

(Bazzill cardstock, Rhonna Ferrar Elegant Flourishes, Autumn Leaves Botanicals, ribbon from Micheal's, SU! sentiment, Marvy file punch and misc. brads from Joanns)

Have you run the blog trail?

It's funny sometimes....
I spent 6 months this last year stuck at home, healing from an accident, very thankful for my laptop and cruising around too many blogs to remember. But it took until today to find a string of them from girls I graduated High School with!
So weird! I left a comment only on a couple of them (the ones I thought would remember me) but thoroughly enjoyed seeing pics of their fams, their interests and all kinds of things!
Who knows, maybe I'll leave more comments saying hello or at least I'll be thinking about them and holding them up in my prayers for the day!
Now I'm off to my next project.....

I've got the Barbella (a special request from a friend) & new flourishes stamps that I NEED to get dirty and that wack-o-paper that is calling me to cut into it from my shopping the other day! Enough surfing for today!
Blessings to you all!

What Have I DONE?!?!?

Today, I went shopping with a friend to purchased supplies for wedding invitations she was asked to make. Well, let's just say I fell for the good ol' 70% off sale!!!
Yes! All "Christmas" paper was marked down. Thankfully, Basic Grey has a ton of paper that is called Christmas yet is so versatile for just about anything! 55 sheets later..... I HAD to add a set of Rhonna Ferrar Elegant Flourishes!!!
We had a great time, found all her things and came home looking forward to all the ideas my head is spinning with drooling over this paper!!!
I hope your day was filled with drool too!

Stylin' Bellas

Oh these bellas are the bomb!!! So fun to work with, so easy to use, so many different ways to show them off etc. etc. etc.

This one is another sample for a class I'm teaching. The emphasis being to learn some ideas to use them without feeling like you need to be good at watercoloring. I am teaching these classes in a fairly new shop and working really hard at using the products she has available. So I'm a wee bit limited. I'm finding her pp wonderful, primas are always great on cards but I'm wondering what are your favorite things to use on your cards?

The shop owner is looking forward to her store growing and I would love to be able to suggest some popular embellisments!
Looking forward to your ideas!!!

(Prism cardstock & Polar Bear Express pp, I love the diagonal stripe and tried to emphisize it with the sentiment)

Poor Bella!!!

This poor dear bella sure looks the part! I've been finding that I can spend sooo much time coloring that I don't get many cards done, so I've been trying to color a focus area and with this poor sickie I thought having it a little on the dull side would probably also work.

(Cool Carribean & Blush SU! cardstock, Blush, Basic Grey pp, Canson watercolor paper, watercolor pencil crayons & a blender pen to color, Marcy file and flower punches, Ranger ink to sponge all around!)

My first Swap

I've been looking for new ways to use my creativity in making cards. I found teaching classes and now I'm trying a swap.

The focus was to make a pop-up card. Seen a few different ways to make one but ended up with a self-standing version.

I used some Asparagus paper given to me as a trade for cleaning/organizing a friends stamping room. (Still have more to do!) I left space to write a note, used brads to add primas and will send it to the person I've been given. We are sending the cards blank for them to use if they want to.

Also, for mailing is folds down and hopefully it will pop back up when needed!!!

Watercoloring Bellas!!!

Oh, am I a sucker for these amazing stamps!!! I've bought a bunch from Stamping Bella but if you live in Abbotsford or anywhere near they are also being sold at Urban Trends Scrapbook Co.

And now.....

I've got the great pleasure of teaching a couple of Bella classes!!! In my first one, April 23rd, we will be watercoloring, using wonderful Basic Grey papers, and a few embellies to pull it all together.

These two cards are showing a wee little sample of 2 different coloring styles. In Getwellabella, I used a soft yellow to create a shadow around the image then used one color to focus on the flowers on the quilt.

In Cakabella, I colored the whole image keeping a light source in mind also to show a shadow effect but a different way.

Either way, these are so fun to make!!!

For the Love of Roses!

I'm soooo pleased my mom knew exactly what I wanted for my birthday!!! (Thanks to me purchasing it for her:) I've had these wonderful stamps for a month now and I'm finally getting to use them.
They are pretty simple but I hope they speak for themselves! I had some fun doodling dots to match the pp!
(All SU! pp, cardstock, punch & stamps, ribbon & brads from Micheal's)