Snowy Moose Creations

Merry Snowglobe

2012-02-14T16:21:00.000-09:00

I took a break from playing in the snow and photographing the young bull moose thats been in my yard to play along with this weeks Merry Monday challenge. I honestly tried to work with the oval shape but everything I tried looked horrible, I just could not seem to get the idea in my mind onto paper, so I went with a square instead and used the Sweet Snowglobe stamp for a nice wintry scene.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Sweet Snowglobe, sentiments from Bright Hopes
Paper: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Naturals White, S.E.I. Cocoa Cluster

Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red, Garden Green, Metallic Silver

Accessories: Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder, Cuttlebug, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, Small Oval Punch, Round Corner Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, Dazzling Details, Glitter, Sweet Treat Cup, sponge, dimensionals

Simple Sympathy for Freshly Made

2012-02-10T13:29:00.000-09:00

I went with this very simple sympathy card when playing along with this weeks sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I don't like busy cards to begin with and when someone experiences a loss I like to keep the card pretty plain..... I guess a muted, right to the point kind of thing.

Check out the challenge and all the great cards by the design team, they are simply stunning!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Thanks For Caring

Paper: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Naturals White, Bella Bleu DSP

Ink: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Decorative Label Punch, Not Quite Navy Ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

Spotlighting Penguins for Friday Mashup!

2012-02-09T21:04:00.002-09:00

Hello and welcome to another Friday Mashup challenge, and it's time for me to host again!

If you've been by my blog before its easy to see that I love and adore moose. Well, I also happen to simply adore penguins! How cute are they? My house is filled with moose and penguin items, these 2 animals just always bring a big smile to my face. Today I'd love to see every ones projects that use a penguin image--it's winter(well, at least in this hemisphere!) and what better animal to create a project with when it's cold out? While you are at it spotlight the penguin or anything else in your project! I love the spotlight technique, I think its a great way to get an image to stand out.

For my card I went with some Christmas penguins. I love Christmas cards and make them all year long so I don't see a problem with jolly penguins in February :) I chose to spotlight the middle penguin and his letter "O".

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup blog to see all the great projects from the rest of the design team and play along with us! Also, our Fan Favorite Challenge is coming up so submit your idea for a Friday Mashup Challenge!!

-Make a project using the "Spotlighting Technique".

-Or Make a project featuring "Penguins".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project featuring "Penguins using the Spotlighting Technique".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Penguin Pals

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Holiday Treasures DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Ruby Red, Old Olive, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Dazzling Details, Simply Scored, dimensionals, brads

Jolly Santa for Merry Monday

2012-02-09T11:58:00.000-09:00

This week brings another new sketch over at Merry Monday! I had this all ready to post yesterday afternoon but ended up delayed until today.....some jerk HIT the bus that my special needs son rides...as it was turning into our DRIVEWAY!! Can you believe it? Thankfully my son and his driver and aide were all ok (and so was the guy who hit them, although I sure did want to hurt him!) but needless to say I didn't get near the computer the rest of the night since I was out with the Alaska State Troopers and such for an hour and a half, then had to make dinner and go to work. So here is a little public service announcement for people...when you come across a school bus the flashing lights and stop sign mean STOP, not "lets try and pass this bus because I want to be somewhere a minute sooner".

So here is my happy little Santa that brought a smile to my face yesterday! I used Dazzling Details and Frost White Shimmer Paint to give his outfit a little more sparkle but I kept everything else pretty simple!

Make sure you head over to Merry Monday and play along! Christmas cards are awesome to make no matter what time of year it is, at least I think so :)

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Jolly Holiday

Paper: Real Red, Baja Breeze, Naturals White, Candy Cane Christmas DSP

Ink: Real Red, Black StazOn

Accessories: Dazzling Details, Frost White Shimmer Paint, Paper Piercing Tool

Flowers and a Sketch for 2 Challenges

2012-02-07T14:23:00.001-09:00

Today's card combines 2 challenges.....

The first is from The Paper Players and Nance wants us to use a floral image on our card. That was hard for me, as I totally have winter on my mind and there is snow everywhere. I also discovered that I own more snowman stamps than flower ones, ROFL. I guess I love flowers in my yard but in my stamp collection, not so much! I ended up using an image from the "Easter Blossoms" set. I don't celebrate Easter so this flower image(and the little girl silhouette) were the only reason I bought the set.

Looking at my front yard this afternoon:

The second challenge is a sketch challenge from Scrapbook Essentials BC and it's from Lesley. Very nice and easy sketch, and although I am usually not too fond of circles I went ahead and used that shape. For some reasons circles just frustrate me, LOL.

Make sure you head over to both sites to play along with their great challenges!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Easter Blossoms

Paper: Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Always Artichoke, Watercolor Paper, Springtime Vintage

Ink: Rose Red, Crumb Cake, Regal Rose, Pretty In Pink

Accessories: Nestabilities, CB Swiss Dots folder, small oval punch, Dazzling Details, sponge, dimensionals

A Banner Holiday with Jingle Belles

2012-02-06T15:19:00.000-09:00

Yeahhh, I finally found some time to play with the current Jingle Belles challenge! I'm still riding on the high of the NY Giants Super Bowl win(I'm a lifelong fan of the G-Men!) and so I thought I'd better take advantage of this energy while I had it :0)

For this new year of challenges the ladies of JB, Lauren and Stef, made some challenges to the blog. One of these changes included a new banner with new graphics and colors. This is where this weeks challenge comes from---we are to use the new banner as inspiration for our project!

I love the bells going across the banner and the red that is used for the name and accenting on the bells, so I went with that for my inspiration. My favorite Christmas song is "Silver Bells" so I went with silver shimmer paper for my bells and red glimmer paper was used in the background as an accent. The bells were cut using my Cricut and the Joys of the Season cartridge.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: sentiment from Jolliest Time of Year

Paper: Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Red Glimmer Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper, S.E.I. WinterSong/Flurry Kisses paper

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Cricut, Joys of the Season cartridge, Silver Elastic Cord, dimensionals

Inspiring Hearts and Colors with Friday Mashup!

2012-02-02T21:21:00.003-09:00

Dang, its Friday again! Time is just flying by and since its the Friday before the Super Bowl I just have to say this....GO BIG BLUE!! I'm a huge football fan and have been a diehard Giants fan since I was a little kid so I am so excited for Sunday! Sunday also happens to be my 18th wedding anniversary so I told my husband he better make sure the Giants win as my gift or I want a divorce, LOL!

There is nothing sports related about this weeks Friday Mashup but it does involve a lot of heart and some great colors. Heidi is bringing a great photo inspiration and color challenge to us! The colors are Cherry Cobbler, Regal Rose and Whisper White and the photo is all about hearts.

I picked up on the snacks in the photo because I love sweet treats and that was my inspiration for making these little treat baskets. The tutorial I used showed Peppermint Patty's being used but I couldnt find any small ones to fit the baskets so I think I'm going to throw some Hershey Kisses in these bad boys and call it good :)

Make sure you pop over to The Friday Mashup and see all the other great projects the rest of the design team has come up with and play along with us! See where these colors and the photo can take your imagination!

-Make a project using the "Inspiration Photo".

-Or Make a project using the colors "Cherry Cobbler, Regal Rose & Whisper White".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "Inspired by the photo using the colors Cherry Cobbler, Regal Rose and Whisper White

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise stated)
Stamps: Filled With Love, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Regal Rose, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler DSP, Regal Rose DSP
Ink: Regal Rose, Cherry Cobbler
Accessories: Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Modern Label Punch, Slot Punch, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Big Shot, various brads, Cherry Cobbler ribbon, non-SU pink ribbon, paper piercing tool, Dazzling Details

Ch cha changes......

2012-02-01T15:35:00.000-09:00

This blog is going through some changes and if all goes well I'll be switching over to my new domain on Friday, with a brand new name and look to boot! If you have this blog bookmarked please note the new address that I'll be moving too:

http://snowymoosecreations.com/

And please be patient if there are glitches along the way, we all know how modern technology can be :0)

Merry Penguin for Merry Monday!

2012-01-30T17:14:00.001-09:00

After making the card with spring colors and butterflies earlier today I needed to make a Christmas card to fit in with my mood and the weather and what better way to do that than playing along with Merry Monday.

I went with one of my favorite sets, Polar Party. It's been snowing all day, a very pretty soft snow, like we're in a snow globe, and the circle on Lesley's sketch seemed perfect for a wintry scene that included a happy penguin. Maybe he is like me and doing a happy dance because there is snow!

It's a little hard to tell because of the flash but I used Dazzling Details under and around the penguin and trees and I put green Stickles at the top of the penguins hat. The penguin is also popped up with dimensionals to have him stand out a little more.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Polar Party

Paper: Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Naturals White, Holiday Treasures DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso, Tempting Turquoise, Summer Sun, Regal Rose

Accessories: Coluzzle, Snow Burst embossing folder, BigShot, Dazzling Details, Green Stickles, sponge, dimensionals, blender pen

Springy Sketch with Paper Players

2012-01-30T14:15:00.001-09:00

It was hard for me to make such a spring looking card as I watched the snow fall outside but I managed to do it, LOL! I played along with this weeks sketch over at The Paper Players and I hope its alright, but my sentiment ended up in the middle of the card instead of at the bottom. For some reason as I was making the card I had a few elements of the sketch altered in my head and well, this is what came out of that. I think you can still tell I was playing along though?

I have a better photo of the inside of my card but I thought I would post this one because it cracks me up. Notice the upper left corner? That would be my kitty Calliope, trying to eat the card as I take pictures! Silly cat!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Precious Butterflies

Paper: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Cottage Wall DSP(retired)

Ink: Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry

Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Big Shot, Decorative Lable Punch, Rhinestones, Whisper White Brads, dimensionals, sponge

A Sketch with a Touch of New for Friday Mashup

2012-01-26T21:02:00.002-09:00

Wow, it's the last Friday in January already?! Where the heck is time going? Seems like just yesteday we were celebrating the New Year.

Our last challenge of the month comes from Kim, and she is starting us off with a great sketch, and she also wants us to use something new from our stash. I used the sketch but I'm sad to say that I don't have anything new in my stash! Yep, its true..I bought just about everything in the Holiday Mini back in October and haven't bought anything since. I've got my eye on a bunch of stuff from the Occasions mini but just haven't placed an order yet soooo...no complete mashup for me today.

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup blog to check out all the great cards from the rest of the design team and make sure you play along with us! The projects we see each week from everyone are just awesome and I know *I* love checking them all out!

-Make a project using the "Sketch".

-Or Make a project using "Something NEW in your stash". (Stamps, ribbon, pretty paper...anything!)
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "using the Sketch & something NEW in your stash".

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Garden Green, Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip, Woodland Walk DSP

Ink: Garden Green, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: CB Argyle embossing folder, Cricut "George and Basic Shapes" cartridge, small oval punch, Chocolate Chip ribbon, Very Vanilla ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Freshly Made with a Color Combo

2012-01-26T12:54:00.000-09:00

For this card I used the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and this weeks color challenge over at Splitcoast, which is Basic Black, Poppy Parade and Lucky Limeade. I thought it was a pretty interesting color combo, definitely not one I would have thought to use, and I love how simple the sketch is.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Up, Up & Away, Aint Love Grand

Paper: Basic Black, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Naturals White

Ink: Black StazOn, Poppy Parade, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Swiss Dots Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Basic Black ribbon and brads, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Paper Piercing tool

Glitter Ornament for Merry Monday

2012-01-25T13:11:00.002-09:00

Time to play along with Merry Monday again!

This year my goal is to use my Cricut more often, and to use up some of the papers and supplies that I've gotten from companies other than SU, and also to get some of my retired SU papers out and used!

When I got my Cricut last summer I went crazy buying Christmas cartridges but I've hardly touched them! For today's card I decided to use an ornament from the "Joys of the Season" cartridge. To go along with the paper I was using I thought the red glimmer paper would be perfect.

I tried a couple of different sentiments and I finally went with this one because I didn't want anything too overpowering, since the ornament is so bold that's what I want to be the main focus.

Head over to Lesley's blog to play along with Merry Monday. One can never have enough Christmas cards :)

I added Dazzling Details to the inside of the snowflake, to give the cutout portion more of a kick.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: sentiment from Bright Hopes

Paper: Soft Sky, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, WinterSong/Flurry Kisses PP by S.E.I.

Ink: Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Cricut "Joys of the Season" cartridge, Snow Burst embossing folder, Big Shot, Dazzling Details, Dimensionals, sponge

Moose Sketch for Jingle Belles

2012-01-23T14:12:00.001-09:00

Whew, I am glad that the Jingles Belles blog now gives us 2 weeks to get our cards done because things have been so hectic for me that I havent had a chance to do much stamping!

The current JB challenge is a sketch challenge from Kirsty Vittetoe and it did throw me off a bit. I sat for a while trying to think of how I was going to bring all the different elements of the sketch together. I finally decided to break out a Cricut cartridge I had bought specifically for the moose, but hadnt used yet. If you've been to my blog before you'll know that I just adore moose and right now the moose are out all over the place because we've had so much snow around here. They come down into the lowlands looking for food and to walk along the roads and railroad tracks, because its easier for them than walking in the deep snow. If you have a moment check out this amazing story of a woman that saved her husband from a moose that was stomping him. It happened about 30 mins up the road from where I live. Moose are beautiful creatures but like any other wild animal can be very dangerous!

 I really like the way the card came out, I think I'll have to make another one, or two, of these!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: sentiment from unknown

Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red. Letters to Santa DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red

Accessories: Cricut "Give A Hoot" cartridge, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, Big Shot, Scallop Border Punch, Paper Piercing tool, Early Espresso ribbon, dimensionals

A (late) Card for Freshly Made Sketches

2012-01-23T13:58:00.000-09:00

I saw this great sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches last week and I wanted to play along, so I started this card last Friday. Well, then I got busy with the kids, work, going into Wasilla on Saturday and then Sunday I spent the entire day watching football( my team made it into the Super Bowl, GO BIG BLUE!!) and sooooo....I didnt get this card finished until this morning. Considering how CAS it is you would have thought I could have gotten it done sooner but what can I say, I'm easily distracted lately, LOL.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Little Friends

Paper: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Naturals White, Springtime Vintage DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Crumb Cake, River Rock, Not Quite Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Chocolate Chip, Perfect Plum, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories: Scallop Trim Border Punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, 1 3/4" scallop circle punch, paper piercing tool, Very Vanilla Ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Colors and Piercing for Friday Mashup

2012-01-19T21:05:00.003-09:00

Hello again! Time for another Friday Mashup and this weeks challenge is brought to us by Rita. Here is what she wants us to do:

-Make a project featuring "Paper Piercing".

-Or Make a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red & Early Espresso".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Riding Hood Red & Early Espresso with some Paper Piercing" .
I'm not into Valentines Day, so I try and steer away from making cards specifically for that day.I decided to continue my winter theme and changed it up a bit by stamping my snowflakes in Blushing Bride. During the winter in Alaska we get beautiful alpenglow and the mountaintops glow with gorgeous red and pink colors so as I was stamping my snowflakes that's the image I had in my mind. I like the sentiment " you inspire me" because it can mean so many things, and the card could therefore go to just about anybody important in my life!

I love paper piercing but am horrible with straight lines. I was doing good on this card until my cat decided to jump up on my desk and bump my arm, therefore making part of my piercing crooked. Oh well, just adds some character to the card right? My kitty Calliope didn't seem to mind, LOL.

Its hard to see in the picture but I added some Dazzling Details to the middle of the snowflakes and since I have lots of snow at my place, I added mica flakes as snow under the tree!

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out the great inspiration from the rest of the design team and then play along with us!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Season of Friendship, sentiment from Perfect Words

Paper: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Naturals White

Ink: Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride

Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Early Espresso Brads, Mica Flakes, Dazzling Details, Riding Hood Red ribbon, Paper Piercing Tool, sponge, dimensionals

Christmas Lodge Bells

2012-01-19T13:24:00.000-09:00

I found some time to play along with Merry Monday, over at Lesley's blog. I'm not a big fan of ovals, they always seem to throw me off, but I decided to go ahead and give it a try anyway and I'm actually very happy with how it turned out!

I used the Christmas Lodge set, I just love these stamps! I also used the Frostwood Lodge DSP, awesome paper! I really wish I would have stocked up on these papers, I just adore them. I used my Coluzzle to cut the ovals and the image was stamped using Early Espresso and Garden Green, and I used a blender pen to help fill it in. Crumb Cake was used to sponge the smaller oval, and Early Espresso was used on the outer oval.

I've had the mini jingle bells sitting in my drawer since the Christmas mini came out and havent used them once, so I thought today would be a perfect time. Growing up we had this decoration on the back of our front door....it was a wood heart with a saying on it, and there were strings across the heart. There were bells hanging from the top of the heart and when someone opened or closed the door the bells would hit the string and make pretty sounds. Thats what I thought of as this card was coming together. Funny what the mind remembers or draws inspiration from.

Go check out the other cards being submitted at Merry Monday, they are gorgeous! I'd also like to thank the players that commented on my last Merry Monday card, I appreciate it! I'm trying to comment on peoples blogs but am having problems, pages arent loading or they freeze, so please dont think I'm ignoring you!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Christmas Lodge

Paper: Early Espresso, Garden Green, Naturals White, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Garden Green, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Coluzzle, Mini Jingle Bells, DMC Floss #3031, sponge, dimensionals

Sharing Sorrow

2012-01-13T16:10:00.000-09:00

I hate cancer. I lost my dad to it in 2010, I have several friends, plus my stepmom, who went through a horrible time while battling breast cancer and now my stempm has lost yet another loved one to the horrible disease, this time her beloved aunt. I made this card for my stepmom and her mom, to let them know my thoughts are with them as the family deals with the loss. The sentiment is a little crooked but thats ok.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu DSP

Ink: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Top Note Die, Big Shot, Not Quite Navy ribbon, sponge

Friday Mashup Thank You with DSP

2012-01-12T21:09:00.001-09:00

Happy Friday! Hope you are having a wonderful day so far. Today's Friday Mashup is brought to us by Lesley and this time of year, when we are all winding down from the holidays, I think this is a great challenge. She wants us to make a thank you card, a project using DSP/patterned paper or mash it up and do both! Of course I went ahead and mashed it up!

It's funny, when I sat down to make this card I had a totally different idea in mind. I was going to make a card with a cute little spring scene, and bright, cheery DSP but when I looked outside my thoughts went in a completely opposite direction. It's currently snowing here, and since it is winter I wanted a snowman thank you card, and that is what I made :)

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to see all the other great cards from the design team and then be sure to link up your card to play along with us!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise stated):

Stamps: Snow Much Fun, sentiment from Delightful Dozen

Paper: Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, Naturals White, Wintergreen DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue, Early Espresso, Only Orange

Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Certainly Celery ribbon, Dazzling Details, sponge

Peaceful Christmas Card

2012-01-10T14:15:00.001-09:00

Yeah, I managed to get some stamping done today! Last week a nasty toothache knocked me out most of the week, had that pulled on Saturday and then we got hit by a snowstorm so I spent the rest of the weekend alternating between watching football( look out Cheeseheads, my G-Men are coming for you!) and playing outside. Needless to say all the intentions I had of getting some cards made went bye-bye :)

I had a free day today and I wanted to play along with a new sketch challenge that Lesley of Always Playing with Paper has going on now. Like she doesn't have enough to keep track of(she is a fellow DT member on Friday Mashup, is creator of The Paper Players and Freshly Made Sketches, works outside of the home, just to name a few!) she is now hosting Merry Mondays, where she gives us a sketch and we make a Christmas card with it! I will NEVER turn down an opportunity to make a Christmas card but I just have to ask: Lesley, do you EVER sleep? ;)

I decided to ink up a set from the Christmas mini that I didn't touch at all this past holiday season, Comfort and Joy. It's a very pretty set and I like that it's nice and simple. I used today's color challenge over at Splitcoast for the card...as soon as I saw the colors I immediately thought winter/ Christmas. Maybe I still have Christmas on the brain?

I didn't like the empty space between the main image and the sentiment and none of my ribbon seemed to look right so I placed some pearls in that space and I really like how it turned out. I was going to add some Dazzling Details to the main image but after thinking about it I thought that would detract from the effect the pearls give so sorry to my daughter who loves sparkly stuff, but I didn't put it on! LOL

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Comfort and Joy

Paper: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride, Naturals White

Ink: Baja Breeze, Riding Hood Red, Blushing Bride

Accessories: Big Shot, Snow Burst embossing folder, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Pearls, sponge

It's a wonder I could get my card photographed! I couldn't go outside because we're have 40mph winds, and so I went to my usual spot in the house, by our big dining room window. This also happens to be the window where my cats keep bird and moose watch and today my kitty Calliope did not want to give up her spot!

Friday Mashup Birthday Wishes in Pastels

2012-01-05T21:05:00.002-09:00

It's the first Friday of 2012 and I hope everyone has had a great week! Our first challenge of the year for Friday Mashup is from Holly and its a great one. Holly wants us to "create a birthday project, a project that uses pastels or mash it up and create a birthday project that uses pastels!"

I have to admit, I dont use my pastels(chalks) that often. They were one of those "I have to have them" items, and for yrs now they've just kind of sat in my drawer. I originally started with a birthday image that I was going to color with pastels and it just didnt work out the way I wanted, so I switched gears. I stamped the background image with Versamark, then I took a sponge dauber and put Sage Shadow chalk on it, and then sponged that on top of the Versamark. It's hard to tell because I used darker colors, but that's what my background is made up of, and not ink.

My oldest son turns 18 (holy cow, how did that happen?) on Saturday the 7th, so this card is for him! Happy Birthday Alexander!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes, Fresh Fillers

Paper: Sahara Sand, Sage Shadow, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, To The Nines DSP

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Versamark

Accessories: Pastels, Sponge Daubers, Sage Shadow ribbon, Chocolate Chip ribbon

Favorites for 2011

2011-12-31T19:44:00.000-09:00

I saw Rita over at Rita's Creations post her favorites tonight, and she mentioned she had seen other bloggers doing it also, and I thought, why not! Its a quiet night in our house...my boys are watching TV, hubby is already asleep because he has to be in the ER at 4am for work and the daughter is with her boyfriend, so I might as well go back and look at my cards and see which ones I liked the best :)

January:

This card was meant to convey a lot of emotion to my step mom, as we had just lost my dad to cancer in Oct.2010. I love the bright cheery colors I used and the birds make me smile. My step mom loves birds, as do I, so I knew this card would bring a smile to her face also.

February:

I love the color combo on this card and while I know a lot of folks don't care for this sock monkey stamp I get a big kick out of him. A nice CAS card.

March:

Yep, a Christmas card! I remember I wasn't too sure about the sketch when I saw it, but in my opinion this card turned out very fun.

April:

Yes, its another Christmas card. I adore Christmas cards and make them all year long, what can I say. This is one of my favorite stamp sets(I just used it to make a New Years card!). For me its the combo of the colors and the serene scene that just makes me love this card.

May:

If there was ever a card I made that screamed "THIS IS TOTALLY LISA" then this card is it. Moose, green, outdoorsy....yep, this card is totally me!

June:

Ok, I can hear you groaning, but I am choosing another Christmas card. I love snowmen, I love the colors I used...I just love this card!

July:

Hey, look, its not a Christmas card! LOL I remember liking how unique this Splitcoast sketch was, and I like the DSP and colors I chose. I gave this card to one of my closest friends and she loved it, which made me happy :)

August:

Dang it, I cant help myself. I adore penguins and I think this card came out super-fun and super-cute!

September:

This is a card I made for a Friday Mashup challenge. This card was so easy to make, between using the Cricut and SU products, and I was really pleased with how it came out.

October:

I made this card for Pink Week, and it was for my step mom, who is a breast cancer survivor. I like it because I went out of my comfort zone for it...I am not a fan of pink or "girly" looking cards, so when I do a card with those themes and it comes out nice I am pretty surprised, and happy!

November:

I love the DSP, the colors, everything. I think it might be my favorite card of the entire year.

December:

Since its December its safe to pick a Christmas card ;) I made my first real shaker card and I just love this little scene I created. Penguins, I just love them!

Bird of Thanks

2011-12-31T11:56:00.000-09:00

The days after Christmas are all about the thank you cards around here. I like to get cards made and sent out as soon as possible, so our friends and family know how thankful we are for them, and for any gifts that we received. My kids have had it drilled into their heads since they were little "thank you cards, thank you cards, thank you cards" LOL.

This particular one is going to be sent to my step mom, who lives down in FL, so I wanted it to have a spring-look to it, as she really isn't a fan of winter. It made me giggle thinking about that, as I stood outside in a temperature of negative 9, surrounded by snow, taking the picture :)

I played along with 2 challenges for this card. The first one was Stamping 411 and their sketch challenge, and the 2nd one was Shopping Our Stash, who wants us to use ribbon, twine, etc on our project. Go check out both blogs if you haven't already!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Language of Friendship, Petite Pairs

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, Watercolor Paper, Springtime Vintage DSP

Ink: Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Certainly Celery Ribbon, Oval Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Aquapainter, dimensionals, sponge

Jingle Belles Guest!

2011-12-29T21:30:00.000-09:00

Can I just say that I completely squealed with delight when I was asked by Stef and Lauren of the Jingle Belles challenge blog to be one of the guests for the first challenge of 2012? Anyone that knows me figures it out pretty quickly that I love Christmas and Christmas cards, so when I discovered the Jingle Belles blog I was instantly hooked...it was all about Christmas cards, creative challenges, wonderful owners and the people that play along are a friendly, talented bunch! What more could you want in a challenge blog? They also have something new for 2012....you now have 2 WEEKS to play along with their prompts!

So you ask, what does the first challenge of 2012 entail? Well, here ya go!

NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENTS

make a holiday card that incorporates GIFT WRAP: as a background, as an accent, or using motifs cut from your favorite wrapping paper

OR

make a holiday card with an image of present(s) on it!

For my card I went ahead and did BOTH of these things. I used some wrapping paper that I happened to have in my craft area as the background for the bottom half of my card, and I used one of my favorite stamps, which happens to be an image of a sleigh piled high with presents!

Make sure you head over to the Jingle Belles blog to check out all the great cards from this weeks guest stars, and then come play along! It's a great feeling when December arrives and you already have a nice pile of Christmas cards made up and ready to go!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Sleigh Full of Toys

Paper: Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Naturals White, wrapping paper

Ink: Black StazOn, Marina Mist, Pacific Point, Baja Breeze, Taken With Teal, Bordering Blue

Accessories: Marina Mist ribbon, Snow Burst embossing folder, Big Shot, Rhinestone Brads, Dazzling Details

Into the New Year with Friday Mashup!

2011-12-29T21:16:00.003-09:00

It's the last Friday Mashup challenge of 2011, where has the year gone? I hope you've enjoyed the challenges that The Friday Mashup has brought to you in 2011 and I hope you'll come back for more in 2012!

Today's challenge comes to us from Kasey, and she wants us to create a project that sparkles, a project celebrating New Years or mash them up and do both!

I mashed them up but not in a traditional sense. I chose to use the very serene scene from A Scenic Season, one I've used quite a bit these last few months. I just love this stamp and its a reflection of how my family and I will be ringing in the New Year.....at home, surrounded by trees and snow, our own winter wonderland. We'll reflect on the year that has gone by and wonder what we will encounter in 2012.

The trees are covered in Dazzling Details, so in the light this card does sparkle and looks quite pretty! I also used this weeks color challenge over at Splitcoaststampers for my color scheme.

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

-Make a project that "Sparkles".
-Or Make a project "Celebrating the New Year".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "Celebrating the New Year that Sparkles" .

Head over to the Friday Mashup challenge to see the rest of the inspiration from the design team and then play along with us! Also, don't forget that challenges 37 and 38 are open until Jan.4th. With the holidays we wanted to give everyone some more time to play along!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: A Scenic Season, sentiment from Seasonal Sentiments

Paper: Night of Navy, Bashful Blue, Whisper White

Ink: Bashful Blue, Real Red

Accessories: CB Swiss Dots folder, Dazzling Details, sponge

Snowman Sketch for Freshly Made

2011-12-29T14:27:00.000-09:00

Thanks to the holidays the time to get your submission in to the latest Freshly Made Sketch challenge was extended, and I got a chance to play along today, wooohooo!

I decided to make a card with one of the snowmen from the Snow Much Fun set. After the first half of December brought some horribly warm, windy(as in hurricane force winds, one of the storms we lost power for 16 hrs. Thank goodness for wood stoves and ovens that run off propane!) systems up from Hawaii(we're talking 40* in southcentral Alaska, thats just WRONG for December) it finally cooled down again and we got more snow. It started snowing on Christmas Eve and continued all the way through yesterday, Dec.28. We ended up with over a foot of new snow, and I couldnt have asked for a better Christmas present! I definitely have snow, and snowmen, on the brain!

Standing at the front door, looking down into the yard

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Snow Much Fun

Paper: Baja Breeze, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, AC Patterned Paper

Ink: Black StazOn, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Watercolor crayons, blender pen, Snow Burst EF, Big Shot, Simply Scored, Modern Label Punch, Dazzling Details

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T18:30:00.001-09:00

A very Merry Christmas to all of my crafty friends!

Friday Mashup Sketchy Watercoloring

2011-12-22T21:05:00.005-09:00

Thanks for joining us for another Friday Mashup challenge. It's Dec.23rd, Christmas Eve Eve :), so I'd like to take a moment to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. I hope your day is filled with lots of love and laughter!

Because so many people are busy with the holidays right now I wanted to keep this challenge pretty simple, so I think I have an easy challenge for everyone. I dont know about you but I always like a nice simple sketch to give me a starting point, and I also like to watercolor my images. I thought it would be great to combine 2 of my favorite things for a challenge that people wouldn't have to think too hard about, because goodness knows this time a year our minds are already getting quite a work out!

I hope you'll join us and I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with! Make sure to check out all the great inspiration from the design team! This challenge will also be open until JAN.4TH! Like I said, we all know what a crazy time of year this is so we figured we'd extend the end of the year challenges, so maybe you can sneak away from the hustle and bustle for a bit for some stamping :)

All of my Christmas cards have been done and mailed for a few weeks now but what does that mean? That I need MORE Christmas cards for next year of course :0) I grabbed the tree from the Christmas Lodge stamp set to make this card. I love this tree! I watercolored it with Garden Green and Always Artichoke, and added in some Early Espresso for an outline of a tree trunk. For a little extra sparkle I added ornaments with Stickles in red, green and gold(and boy, did that turn into a big discussion in my house...the hubby and daughter didnt want me to put it on, but I wanted too, and well, its my card so they were overruled HA!). I added in some Crumb Cake ribbon, some layers of Frostwood Lodge DSP and called it good.

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

-Make a project using the "Sketch".
-Or Make a project using "Watercoloring".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a project using the "Sketch & Watercoloring" .

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Christmas Lodge, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Flannel Plaid

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Watercolor Paper, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Garden Green, Always Artichoke, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Top Note Die, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Crumb Cake ribbon, Oval Punch, Stickles--Candy Cane, Gold and Green, sponge, Aquapainter

Distressed Chipboard with Friday Mashup

2011-12-15T21:03:00.002-09:00

LOL, that title makes it sound like the chipboard is having a mental issue! :)

Todays challenge is brought to us by Heidi and boy, did she pull me out of my comfort zone. I rarely use chipboard, although I have a ton of it. I see it in the store or the SU catalog and think "oh thats so cute, I could do this or this"....and then it just sits in my craft area.

Today I ended up grabbing some chipboard I bought from K&Company(like 2 yrs ago, see what I mean about not using stuff). I liked how these ornaments had an old-time feel to them, and the glitter accents were also appealing. To coordinate with the glitter on the ornaments I use shimmer mist on my cardstock, after sponging some Early Espresso and Cherry Cobbler along the frame. In the light this card really sparkles and looks so pretty. I sponged the edges with those colors to give it a distressed look, like the card had been around a while and colors were starting to fade or run together...not sure if I really pulled that off or not but that was my original goal.

I hate the way the card looks in the photo, because as I said above the card really shimmers nicely and the colors are much more warm and vintage looking in person. I guess I need to get my cards done earlier in the day. We only have 5 hrs of daylight right now and this card didnt get done until sunset so I didnt have much natural light to work with.

So here we go:

Make a project featuring "Chipboard (Precut or Diecut )".

Or Make a project using "Distressing (w/ ink, scissors or the Cutter Tool Kit)".
Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Distressed Project featuring Chipboard"

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup to check out all the other inspiration from the rest of the design team and then link up YOUR card. We want to see what you do with this challenge!

Snowman Fun with Friday Mashup

2011-12-08T21:04:00.002-09:00

I just love this weeks Friday Mashup challenge, which is brought to us by Kim! She wants us to create a project featuring a snowman and use the colors Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze and Basic Gray.

I love snowmen, even though here in my neck of the woods our snow is usually very dry, its not the wet snow that makes the perfect snowman or snowball. I compensate by having snowmen decorations up in the house all year long, and during this time of year my yard has many snowman decorations also. Snowmen just make me smile, I cant help it.

These colors arent normally ones I'd grab for a winter/Christmas card but after seeing them together I think they combine wonderfully for a great winter scene! I used one of my favorite snowmen stamps, from the Jolliest Time of Year set. I love how whimsical this little guy is! The layout is from this weeks sketch challenge over at Splitcoast. I'm also going to enter this card over at my favorite Christmas challenge blog, Jingle Belles...they are on hiatus until Jan but they have it so you can still link up any Christmas cards you might still be working on!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

-Make a project featuring "Snowmen".
-Or Make a project using the colors "Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze & Basic Grey".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Snowman project with the colors Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze & Basic Grey".

*With all of our Challenges that have a Stampin' Up! Color Combo, you may substitute any colors with similar ones you have on hand.

Head on over to The Friday Mashup to check out all the great inspiration from the rest of the design team and play along with us, we love seeing the way you all interpret these challenges!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Jolliest Time of Year, Bright Christmas(sentiment on front of card), Snow Flurries

Paper: Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Candy Cane DSP

Ink: Baja Breeze, Blushing Bride, Basic Gray, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, Aquapainter, Sponge, Dimensionals

Non-Traditional Christmas

2011-12-06T15:01:00.000-09:00

This week The Paper Players have a neat challenge....Create something Christmas (or holiday) with non-holiday stamps or colors. I don't know why but the minute I saw this challenge I immediately thought of the Aviary stamp set. Maybe its because I love to watch the birds in my yard all winter, but the Aviary set is different enough that it doesn't scream "pick me for a Christmas card"? I don't know, but that's the set I grabbed :)

I also used some DSP from last year called Candy Cane Christmas. For me these aren't very traditional Christmas colors, as I am more of the group that uses very rich, warm earthy colors for Christmas. Using a color such as Blushing Bride on a Christmas card is definitely not something I would normally do.

Go check out the design team inspiration, these ladies got very creative with this challenge!

Supplies(all supplies are SU unless otherwise stated):

Stamps: Aviary, Forest Festivities(front sentiment), Many Merry Messages(inside sentiment)

Paper: Naturals White, Blushing Bride, Baja Breeze

Ink: Blushing Bride, Garden Green, Real Red, Baja Breeze, Early Espresso

Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool, Dimensionals, sponge

Thank you with Freshly Made

2011-12-04T17:43:00.000-09:00

I haven't had a lot of time to stamp lately so I wanted to try and squeeze in this weeks sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. Why I chose Sunday, when my football team the NY Giants had a big game against Green Bay, is beyond me. I should have known better! Needless to say I spent more time jumping up from my desk and yelling at the TV then I did working on the card,LOL. The G-Men played a good game but alas, lost by a field goal to the still undefeated Green Bay Packers. Sure was a good game though and eventually I got my card done :0)

This is a busy time of year for me. Besides Thanksgiving and Christmas all 3 of my kids have their birthdays. My youngest just turned 13 Nov.20 and today is my daughters 16th birthday. They both received a card and gift from my step mom, so I needed to make a thank you card for them to send to her.

I went with the Forever Young set as I thought the male and female silhouettes would be perfect in representing my 2 younger ones.. The thank you sentiment came from All Year Cheer II.

Supplies(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Forever Young, All Year Cheer II, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Paper: River Rock, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Timeless Portrait DSP

Ink: Island Indigo, Versamark

Accessories: 1" square punch, dimensionals

Winter Shaking with Friday Mashup

2011-12-01T21:23:00.002-09:00

Welcome to another Friday Mashup, and we're now into December. I cant believe how quickly this year has gone by, it's just insane to me.

This week our challenge comes from Rita and she has a great one...a winter themed shaker card! Now as much as I love winter and snow you'd think that I do this type of card all the time...nope! I think this is only my 2nd attempt at a shaker card, and it was um, interesting, LOL. I had some issues with the foam mounting tape I used to create the shaker area, it didnt want to stick to my cardstock at all, so I think I'm going to have to play around with it and see what the problem is. I did get my card made though so woooohooo for that, LOL

So here we go:

Make a project featuring "A Shaker Card".
Or Make a project with a "Winter Theme".
Or "Mash it Up" and create a " Winter Themed Shaker Card. "

Shaker card tutorial can be found here.

Dont forget to head over to The Friday Mashup Blog to check out all the great inspiration from the rest of the design team and then link up your card, we want to see what YOU do with the challenge!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Polar Party, Teeny Tiny Wishes, Punch Pals

Paper: Baja Breeze, Naturals White, Acetate

Ink: Baja Breeze, Real Red, Garden Green, Black StazOn, Tempting Turquoise, Wisteria Wonder, Close to Cocoa

Accessories: Coluzzle, Modern Label Punch, Rhinestones, Mica Flakes, Dimensionals, Mounting Tape, Sponge

Winter Colors with Friday Mashup

2011-11-24T21:20:00.007-09:00

Happy Friday! Did everyone in the States have a nice Thanksgiving? I hope so! It snowed all day at my place, giving us about another 3" on top of the 20" or so that we already have, so between new snow and the great food and family time I had a great day!

We have a great challenge again this week at The Friday Mashup, this time from Lesley. It's all about Christmas(only 29 days away!) and some excellent winter colors....Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip and Whisper White.

-Make a project featuring "A Christmas Theme".

-Make a project using the colors "Aqua, Chocolate and White".
-Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Christmas themed project using the colors Aqua, Chocolate and White"

I mashed it up and did a Christmas card with those colors. I used the Stitched Stockings set from the Holiday Mini. I saw this set and just had to have it, but this is the first time its seen ink since I got it in October. I hate it when I do that! LOL When I finished I thought it needed a little more so I added some paper piercing and then used a white gel pen to create some faux stitching.

Head on over to The Friday Mashup blog and check out all the great inspiration from the rest of the design team, and then play along with us. I love seeing what people come up with every week!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Stitched Stockings

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Merry Moments DSP

Ink: Tempting Turquoise, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool, Stretch Silver Cord, white gel pen, sponge, dimensionals

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T00:08:00.002-09:00

To all my friends here in the States, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are surrounded by lots of family and friends and that your day is filled with love, and of course, good food!

I am so thankful for many things, here are just a few:

I am thankful for.....
my wonderful husband,
my 3 great kids,
the fact that I live in the beautiful state of Alaska,
the snow that covers the ground around me,
having a job I love,
my husband having a job he loves,
the good health of my family,
the moose that wander into my yard,
the birds that entertain me with their song,
the glorious mountains that surround the Valley I live in,
the wonderful father I had,
the wonderful stepmother I have,
all the friends and family that make my life so much better,
the internet, for it allows me to reach and see places I never would otherwise,
and for all the wonderful people I've met thanks to my stamping habit!

CAS with Paper Players

2011-11-21T15:14:00.000-09:00

I love this weeks challenge on The Paper Players blog. Its a CAS challenge with a color twist...you are to only use the colors Night of Navy, Whisper White and Silver. If you've been to my blog recently you'll see this is a color combo I have used before, I love it!

I also used a stamp set that I used recently, Wandering Words. I love this image of Santa and his reindeer, I think its one of the best that SU has ever put out. And speaking of Santa, did you know that on Christmas Eve you can track him thanks to the USAF and NORAD? It's true, they even have a Facebook page! I spent my teen yrs in the town that NORAD is in and loved tracking Santa as a kid(you know, the old fashioned way, calling NORAD by phone since there was no Net then!) and now I do the same thing with my kids. So anyway, just thought I'd share!

Back to the card...for my silver I used Silver Metallic ink for both the Santa images and the snowflakes on the larger Night of Navy layer. It sparkles and looks so pretty in the light! The white makes up the card base and the layer underneath the Santa image and of course, you can see how I used Night of Navy. I also used the Swiss Dots embossing folder to give the look of Santa's sleigh flying through snow.

Hmmm, after making this card I think I need to go play some "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" by Michael Buble :)

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Wandering Words, Snow Burst

Paper: Whisper White, Night of Navy

Ink: Metallic Silver

Accessories: Swiss Dots embossing folder, dimensionals

Paper Rosettes and a Sketch

2011-11-17T21:13:00.002-09:00

Are you ready for another Friday Mashup challenge? Its brought to us by Holly this week and I have to say, I had a few choice words as I was working on 1/2 of this challenge :0) So whats the challenge? Here ya go:

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

Make a project using "Paper Rosettes".
Or Make a project using "the Sketch Above".
Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Project with the Sketch using Rosettes".

Now I know that paper rosettes are all the rage right now but they just arent my thing. I did get mine made, because I always like to mash up the challenge, but I cant say that I'll be doing another one anytime soon, LOL.

Be sure to head over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out all the great cards from the Design Team and play along with us...we want to see what YOU come up with!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Pines and Poinsettias

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Holly Berry Bouquet DSP

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron

Accessories: Dazzling Details, Xmas Red Stickles, Simply Scored, 1 1/4" circle punch, glue gun, sponge, dimensionals

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

2011-11-17T13:54:00.000-09:00

Today's card combines 2 challenges....the new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the Ways To Use It challenge over at Splitcoast, which has the theme "Baby Its Cold Outside". I had to laugh at that because that's the EXACT name of the post I made on my Alaska blog the other day, when I woke to a temperature of -16. 300 miles north of me Fairbanks has been seeing temps of -45..yes 45 BELOW zero. Bet that makes your temps seem pretty warm by comparison :)

I used by Fireside Christmas stamp for this because when its that cold out our wood stove gets a good workout. So even though the stamp is a fireplace it portrays the same idea!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Fireside Christmas, Punch Pals, Merry Winter

Paper: Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Naturals White, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Versamark, Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Garden Green, Marina Mist, Elegant Eggplant, Bravo Burgundy, More Mustard, Always Artichoke, Basic Gray

Accessories: 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, blender pen, dimensionals

Christmas Carol with Paper Players

2011-11-14T13:30:00.000-09:00

For todays card I played along with this weeks challenge over at The Paper Players. It's a color challenge and we are to use the colors Riding Hood Red, River Rock and Always Artichoke.

I love the stamp set A Christmas Carol and decided to use that image for my card. I stamped it on Naturals White with Early Espresso to get a bit of an old-fashioned look, and I sponged the edges with Always Artichoke. Its a bit hard to see but I used River Rock as the layer underneath the Deck The Halls DSP. The sketch is from Splitcoast, SC353.

I didnt want to over-do the card so I just added some paper piercing for a little extra visual.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: A Christmas Carol

Paper: Riding Hood Red, River Rock, Always Artichoke, Naturals White, Deck The Halls DSP

Ink: Always Artichoke, Early Espresso

Accessories: Paper Piercing Tool, Sponge, Dimensionals

Santas Sleigh with Freshly Made

2011-11-13T17:32:00.000-09:00

I finally dragged myself in from the snow to play along with the Freshly Made Sketch challenge for this week.....well, that and my football team lost to my husbands fav team today. Its amazing how much stamping I can get done when I am ticked off, LOL.

I saw this sketch and knew I wanted to use Wandering Words. I sat down at my desk, grabbed the stamp and turned on the Hallmark Channel and guess what was on...The Santa Clause...a definite sign that I picked the right stamp to work with :0)

I really love the way the card came out but I hate the way it photographed. I sponged the edges of the Whisper White in Metallic Silver so the transition between the Brushed Silver and Whisper White isnt as severe as it appears in the photo. I also added some rhinestones...they are the sparkly stars that guide Santa and the reindeer along their route :)

I also eliminated one of the layers on the sketch...with this long image across the middle a layer underneath it just didnt look right. I hope thats ok!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Wandering Words

Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Brushed Silver

Ink: Night of Navy, Metallic Silver

Accessories: Rhinestones, Snow Burst Embossing Folder, Swiss Dots Embossing Folder, sponge

Getting Girly with Friday Mashup

2011-11-10T21:03:00.002-09:00

This weeks challenge at The Friday Mashup is brought to us by Kasey and here is what she has to say:

Last time I bought you a masculine sketch mashup so this time I thought I'd go all girly, it seems like I'm seeing a lot of Chirstmas cards starting to appear on blogs and challenges so here is your chance to get back to creating with lovely ribbons, lace, bling and pretty girly colours before you go all out on the red and green.

The mash up is to use your favourite technique, so if you like embossing, or using alcohol inks or shaving cream or rock n roll stamping, die cuts - Whatever it is, use it on your girly project and enter the challenge.

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

Make a project featuring "A Girly Theme".
Or Make a project using "Your Favorite Technique".
Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Girly project using your Favorite Technique

Well, Kasey did mention Christmas cards and thats what I went with, but although there is some red I think I went pretty girly with the addition of pink, pearls and scallops!I used some retired DSP and for my favorite technique I did spotlighting(and some watercoloring too).

I'm glad I got it done earlier in the week, in between snow storms, because right now I'm surrounded by a winter wonderland and I admit it, I would much rather be out in the snow than in the house stamping! LOL

Now dont be like me, ROFL...head over to the Friday Mashup blog and play along with us! We love seeing everyones creations every week!

My backyard right now :)

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Greeting Card Kids, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Riding Hood Red, Close To Cocoa, Watercolor Paper, Candy Lane DSP

Ink: Soft Suede, Riding Hood Red, Garden Green, Pink Pirouette

Accessories: 1" square punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Modern Label Punch, Pearls, sponge, dimensionals, aquapainter

Christmas Tree with Stamping 411

2011-11-08T11:35:00.000-09:00

I saw this weeks sketch over at Stamping 411 and was intrigued but I have to admit, when I sat down to actually work with it I had some trouble! I think it was the circle in the bottom left that kept throwing me off, I couldnt find anything I liked to go there. I finally went with some Old Olive embossed with the Snow Burst folder and I think going simple was the right balance against the tree!

I love this tree from the Christmas Lodge set. It makes me want to put up my Christmas tree right this second but we get a real Christmas tree, so it will be a while yet before I can get mine up. I'll just enjoy this stamp until then :)

I used Dazzling Details on the tree for a snow in the sun look, and the 2nd photo of the card I tried to get a good shot of the sparkle. This time of year though in my neck of the woods I dont get a whole lot of bright sunlight but I think I got enough of an angle and sun to show the pretty sparkle of the card!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Christmas Lodge, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Old Olive, Naturals White, Letters to Santa DSP

Ink: Early Espresso, Always Artichoke

Accessories: 1 3/4" circle punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Modern Label Punch, Paper Piercer, Dazzling Details, Snowburst Embossing Folder, sponge, dimensionals

Gratitude for Friday Mashup

2011-11-03T21:10:00.002-08:00

Greetings! My turn to bring everyone the Frday Mashup challenge again, where has the time gone? I cant believe its November already!
The last year has been a difficult one for me and during this time I have really learned the meaning of gratitude. Life passes us by so quickly...do YOU take the time to show gratitude to those that mean the most to you, to the people that take time out of their day to give you a simple smile or maybe a much needed hug? Do you look at your family and let them know you are grateful for their presence in your life?

This week I want you to create a card or project that you can give to someone to express your gratitude. It can be for a neighbor, a loved one, a complete stranger....just make something that says you are thankful for them or something they have done. While you are at it add in some heat embossing to give the project a little something extra!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

1. Make a project featuring "Heat Embossing".
2. Or Make a "Thank You (Grateful)" project.
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Thank You Project using Heat Embossing".
I mashed it up of course and made a card that I'll be sending out to someone special for Thanksgiving. Once again I'm using my new favorite, the Spice Cake DSP. I just cant get enough of this paper, which is odd for me! For the embossing part I heat embossed my sentiment with some copper colored embossing powder I've had for yrs. It looks really pretty in the light and goes great with the colors of this card.

Supplies Used(all supplies are SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Day of Gratitude

Paper: Very Vanilla,Soft Suede, Pool Party, Very Vanilla, Spice Cake DSP

Ink: More Mustard, Pool Party, Pear Pizzazz, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Suede, Versamark

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler brad, Very Vanilla ribbon, More Mustard ribbon, Copper Embossing Powder, Decorative Label Punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, sponge, dimensionals

From Santa

2011-11-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to use my new From Santa stamp and when I saw this weeks sketch over at Stamping 411 I knew the Santa image was perfect for it.

I used Early Espresso for my base and added a layer of Frostwood Lodge DSP. I love this paper so much, going to have to seriously stock up on it! I embossed some Whisper White with the SnowBurst embossing folder and then I layered that onto some Marina Mist. I stamped the image first in all Cherry Cobbler, then I stamped it a second time using Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso and Marina Mist and I punched out the inner circle, layering it on the first image I stamped. Added some Marina Mist ribbon and thats it, nice and easy Christmas card! (After I took the photo I remembered I had wanted to use Dazzling Diamonds, so some of that was added to Santas hat. I was too lazy to take photos again after I added it though, LOL).

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: From Santa

Paper: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Marina Mist

Accessories: SnowBurst Embossing Folder, Marina Mist ribbon, 1 3/4" circle punch, sponge, dimensionals

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T00:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween to my fellow stampers in blog land! May you have a BOO-TIFUL day!

Not A Creature Was Stirring....

2011-10-30T18:43:00.000-08:00

I was so happy to see this weeks challenge over at the Jingle Belles blog....Not A Creature Was Stirring.

We have been waiting all year for October ... the month that celebrates creatures, costumes & characters ... to schedule this prompt. Your creature might be an animal ... a mouse ... a bird ... a robot ... elves ... snow-persons ... or yes, even a monstah ... just have fun with it ... you can see we did.

I love Christmas, I love animals and (obviously) I LOVE moose! Moose are one of the best things about living in Alaska and I knew I wanted to make a Christmas card with a moose on it. I based this card on a previous moose card I had made, and just changed the scheme to a Christmas one. I must say I am really happy with the way it came out. The Frostwood Lodge DSP in the SU holiday mini was perfect for this card.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Pines, sentiment from unknown company

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Friday Mashup Renew, Reuse and Recycle

2011-10-27T21:01:00.002-08:00

Its time again for Friday Mashup and this week our challenge is from Heidi. Here is what she has to say:

Happy Friday, All! Welcome back to the Friday Mashup!

Admit it, once you start crafting, you tend to hold on to things... you know, packaging, string, ribbon, paper, fabric, cardboard... just in case you can use them on a project in the future. It always feels good when you get a chance to use up some of those bits and pieces.

So let's dig out those items we saved from other products and packages, and put them to good use! And if you are so inclined, mash it up with the following sketch.

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge :

Make a project using the "Sketch".
Or Make a project using "Recycled / Repurposed Materials or Supplies".
Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "Using The Sketch and Recycled /Repurposed Materials or Supplies".

I have to say, I'm really not one to hold on to a lot of things. I like to use what I have, and I try to use *the exact amount* so I dont have much ribbon, paper, etc left over. The main thing I have for leftovers is scraps of paper, and thats my reuse portion of the challenge. All of the cardstock/PP used is a scrap I had in my bin.

Head over to The Friday Mashup and check out all the great inspiration from the design team, and dont forget to link up your card and play along with us!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Out on a Limb, sentiment from Haunted Forest

Paper: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Garden Green, Whisper White, unknown PP

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, StazOn Black

Accessories: Sponge, Dimensionals, Coluzzle

Soft Falling Snow

2011-10-25T16:09:00.001-08:00

Whew, what a day to try and create a card about snow! A good portion of Alaska has been hit with a big storm coming in from the Gulf of Alaska and for my area that meant hurricane force winds that brought in warmer temps, so no snow, only rain. However the low will be sweeping through in a few hours and they are saying we'll be seeing snow overnight. With the wind blowing like mad I sat down this morning to make my Jingle Belles card and wouldnt you know it...the power went out! We just got it back on and let me tell you, it was interesting trying to create in the dark. Even though I have a big window in my bedroom the way my craft area sits I dont get much natural light at my desk, plus it was cloudy out so what light was streaming in wasnt very bright.

However, south of Anchorage this was the scene:
https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150887009895532

Lots of snow falling there!

Anyway, the challenge issued at Jingle Belles was to create a card with soft elements...."batting, velvet, fibers, denim, thick layers of embossing powder, soft silk flowers and snowflakes, pillow stickers & upholstered brads! Really, anything your brain can come up with that is SOFT, it doesn’t have to be only papercrafting products that you use, either! I encourage you to pull out those quilting, knitting, sewing, & flocking skills!

I ended up adding Fun Flock to my house for snow as my soft element, and maybe the quilted ribbon could be considered soft? I also added some Dazzling Diamonds for a sparkly snow-on-the-ground look. I used last weeks sketch from Splitcoast also(I think it was last weeks).

Supplies used( all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Christmas Lodge, sentiment from Forest Festivities

Paper: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Whisper White, Frostwood Lodge DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Handsome Hunter, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Snow Burst embossing folder, Fun Flock, Dazzling Diamonds, Cherry Cobbler Quilted Ribbon, Modern Label Punch

Clean and Simple Christmas

2011-10-24T15:32:00.000-08:00

And trust me, when I say clean and simple this weeks sketch is VERY clean and simple, and I like that!

I had a bit of a rustic, snowy day on my mind so I grabbed Crumb Cake cardstock and used some Sapphire embossing powder I've had for yrs on snowflakes from the Bright Hopes set. I love these snowflakes and I really like them embossed like this. For the sentiment I used Night of Navy and to keep the focus on the snowflakes I didnt emboss the Merry Christmas.

To give it just a bit of an extra touch I added the rhinestones between the snowflakes. I dont like the way it photographed...here in southcentral Alaska we're having a very windy and gray day and no matter where I took the photo it turned out a bit dark, ugh!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Bright Hopes
Paper: Crumb Cake
Ink: Night of Navy, Versamark
Accessories: Sapphire embossing powder, round corner punch, rhinestones

Friday Mashup Band and Twine

2011-10-20T21:01:00.003-08:00

** So much for scheduled posting...it doesnt work half the time! Sorry my post is late**

This week our Friday Mashup challenge comes from Kim and she says:

1. Make a project featuring "A Belly Band".

2. Or Make a project using "Twine".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a project "Using Twine with a Belly Band

Now I wont lie, I had no clue what the heck a belly band was and had to ask. My fellow DT members explained it to me and I went "ohhhhhhh", LOL. I guess I have never seen one before, and if I have I didnt pay attention to it!

I grabbed the DSP that I am currently enthralled with...Spice Cake! How beautiful is this paper? I am going to have to buy a bunch more of it and stock up for use throughout the year! I also MASHED it up and featured a belly band that also used twine!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Season of Friendship, Hand-Penned Holidays

Paper: Pear Pizzazz, More Mustard, Very Vanilla, Spice Cake DSP

Ink: Pear Pizzazz, Soft Suede, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler brads, twine, sponge

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out all the inspiration from the rest of the design team and make sure you play along with us.

Another Card for Pink Week

2011-10-20T16:12:00.001-08:00

I feel so bad because I told my friend Holly that I would definitely play along with her Pink Week challenge and this week just hasnt cooperated with me. I have physical therapy 3x a week, then have to come home, do household chores, the kids come home from school, the husband comes home, we eat, I go to work and on and on it goes. I know that most of you out there know what I mean! We need more hours in the day.

I dont have physical therapy on Thursdays so today I spent my afternoon doing nothing but stamping and got 2 cards finished! A card for Pink Week was at the top of my list and I also wanted to be able to play along with this weeks sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches so I combined the 2 challenges for this card.

I used some retired DSP, Candy Lane, and brought in some Close To Cocoa to balance out the pink. The stamp set Strength and Hope went along perfectly with this sketch!

This card will be going to my step mom, a breast cancer survivor!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Strength and Hope
Paper: Pink Pirouette, Close to Cocoa, Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Candy Lane DSP
Ink: Regal Rose
Accessories: Beautiful Wings Embosslits, Scallop Edge Border Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Punch, dimensionals, pearls

Clean and Simple Thankful

2011-10-20T15:57:00.000-08:00

I love this sketch over at Clean and Simple Stamping. Wonderful crisp lines and open space, but nothing too overwhelming!

I have completely fallen in love with the Spice Cake DSP, which is really weird for me. Normally I'm all about the Christmas paper but I am totally going to have to stock up on Spice Cake before the holiday mini ends Dec.31.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Always Thankful

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Spice Cake DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Early Espresso, Soft Suede, More Mustard, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green

Accessories: Brads, Blender Pen

Jingle Belles and Freshly Made

2011-10-16T17:16:00.001-08:00

Last weeks challenge over at Jingles Belles was one that is near and dear to my heart, but I was in vacation up in Fairbanks and didnt get to play along. I wanted to make sure and get this card made, plus I combined it with the current challenges at Freshly Made Sketches and Friday Mashup! Also, in honor of breast cancer awareness my friend Holly is hosting 'Pink Week' this week over on her blog. Head over there and link up ANY project, as long as its pink!

The Jingles Belles challenge was this:

in honor of our sisters, our mothers, our daughters and our friends who have bravely battled --or are still coping-- with this disease, we are eschewing the more ordinary Christmas colors of red and green this week in favor of PINK in all its glorious hues, shades, tints and tones.

My best friends mom died of breast cancer 3 yrs ago this past September, and just yesterday they were at the Grand Canyon releasing her ashes. Her breast cancer moved very quickly...went in to the ER July 4th for shoulder pain and was gone by Sept. Then there is my stepmom, who celebrated 5 yrs free of her breast cancer last year but then lost my dad the same year to another type of cancer. Cancer is a horrible, horrible disease and I hope a cure for it is found soon!

Here is the card for these 3 challenges:

Now, the current challenge over at Jingles Belles is to be inspired by a Christmas song. I smiled as soon as I saw this challenge because I LOVE Christmas music! I listen to it year round and have an extensive Christmas music collection. I immediately thought of this stamp, which is one of the new Christmas sets in the fall/winter SU catalog. When I see this picture I think of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" or "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" or even "Do You Hear What I Hear". I love this image!

Thinking of You

2011-10-14T15:59:00.000-08:00

I am in desperate need of stamping time, lol. I just received my order where I bought just about everything in the holiday mini and I just want to sit and play all day, but life isnt allowing it. I did make time in my afternoon though to play along with this weeks Freshly Made Sketches challenge. I just love the clean and simple sketches they are posting!

I whipped out the new Spice Cake DSP for this card. I love this DSP! Usually I'm all about the Christmas DSP but the Spice Cake paper is totally worth stocking up on...such pretty colors and designs! Because I picked out some of the papers with a busy design I wanted to keep my main image pretty simple. I love the Leaves Of a Tree stamp and originally started with that but it didnt look right with this paper, so I ended up using the very versatile tree from the Thoughts and Prayers set. I got this set a few months ago and it quickly became one of my favorites, as you can use it for so many things. The sentiment is also from the Thoughts and Prayers set and again, I kept it nice and simple.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers

Paper: Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede, Very Vanilla, Spice Cake DSP

Ink: Soft Suede, More Mustard

Accessories: More Mustard Ribbon, Decorative Label Punch, Scallop Edge Border Punch, sponge, dimensionals

Snowflakes and Easels

2011-10-13T21:04:00.002-08:00

Its Friday, and time for another Friday Mashup! The last week has been crazy and this is the first card I was able to get done...I need more stamping time!

This weeks challenge is brought to us by the talented Lesley. Here is what she says:

1. Make a project featuring "Snowflakes".

2. Or Make an "Easel Card".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create an "Easel Card featuring Snowflakes".

I cant lie, I saw easel card and groaned. I've never made one before and I get nervous with cards that make me have to think, LOL. Luckily Lesley shared the tutorial on Splitcoast with the design team and I used that to get the easel card portion of the challenge done.

The snowflake part definitely makes me happy, as we are getting some small snowflakes falling in my area tonight! We drove to Fairbanks last weekend and I saw some snow along the way but I want it in my yard! LOL I am hoping it snows hard but I dont think its going to quite yet, we're still a tad too warm during the days, hovering around the 40* mark.

I used some of my favorite retired DSP and paired it with a set thats in the Holiday Mini called Bright Hopes. I love this set, it has such a wonderfully classic and elegant look to it. My snowflakes are popped up with dimensionals and I used Dazzling Details on them to give a little extra pop. I also used some Dazzling Detail inside the card on the extra layer that helps keep the front of the card in the easel postion. Added a little silver cord for a hanger and ribbon and voila, done!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Bright Hopes

Paper: Sahara Sand, Ruby Red, Taken With Teal, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge DSP

Ink: Taken With Teal, Ruby Red, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Simply Scored, Scallop Border Punch, Elastic Silver Cord, Dazzling Details, sponge, dimensionals

2011-10-06T21:10:00.001-08:00

This week at the Friday Mashup Holly is bringing us a colorfully spooky challenge! Thats right, you have your choice of a color challenge using the colors Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade and Concord Crush, or you can create a Halloween project or you can MASH it up and do BOTH!

I went ahead and MASHED it up and created a little Halloween scene on my card. Holly let me borrow her Cricut cartridge Happy Hauntings and I used it to create the spooky tree on the front and the pumpkin on the inside, as well as the grass in front of the tree and gravestones. The gravestones, bats and sentiment were all created with Halloween punches from Martha Stewart! I used White StazOn along the edges of the gravestones to give it a look like moonlight shining on it, and I also added some blue metallic ink to the tree to also give it the same moonlit look.Its very subtle and hard to catch on camera but I really like the way it looks in person! The moon was punched out with a SU circle punch and I love it because it reminds me of the huge Harvest Moons we see here in Alaska(and Oct.11, my birthday, we're due to have a full moon.Is the universe trying to tell me something? LOL).

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out all the other great cards from the rest of the design team!

Paper: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade, Concord Crush, Ghostly Greetings DSP
Ink: Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Lucky Limeade, Metallic Blue, White StazOn
Accessories: MS punches(bats, graveyard, EEK!), Cricut Happy Hauntings, SU Circle punch, sponge, dimensionals

Peace on Earth

2011-10-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

This week over at the Jingle Belles challenge blog its all about peace. They say "our prompt for this week's card is to incorporate a Peace Symbol or the word Peace into your design ... or create a card that evokes Peace for you (snow, forest, etc.)."

Honestly, for me peace is a forest blanketed with snow, the scent of burning wood in the air and not a sound for miles. I love to snowshoe through the woods that surround my home and just escape from everything. There is a peaceful calm that overtakes me when I'm out in nature, just enjoying the beauty and wonder of it all.

This is what inspired my card. Its a gray, windy day here in southcentral Alaska and the card didnt photograph as well as I wanted it too :( Its so pretty and shimmery in person and I am really happy with the way it came out. I started with a card base of Night of Navy and then added a layer of Shimmery Silver that was embossed with a snowflakes folder. For my forest scene I used silver metallic ink, and I also used the same ink for the sentiment. For just a small pop of color I used Real Red to make a Red Cardinal flying through the sky. I then ran the whole scene through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder to make it seem like small snowflakes coming down.

Head over to the Jingle Belles blog to check out the challenge and play along!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Scenic Season, Peace To The World
Paper: Night of Navy, Whisper White, Brushed Silver
Ink: Metallic Silver, Real Red
Accessories: CB Swiss Dots and Snowflakes folders, sponge, dimensionals

Friday Mashup Fan Favorite Challenge!

2011-09-29T21:09:00.002-08:00

This week at the Friday Mashup we have a special challenge for everyone...its the challenge that won our Fan Favorite contest!

Lisa Runyon is the one who came up with the winning challenge and here it is:

1. Make a "Fall themed" project (it's right around the corner, people!).
2. Or Make a Project that uses "Brads...lots and lots of Brads".
3. Or "Mash it Up" and create a fun "Fall themed project that uses lots and lots of Brads".

Some of our trees still have leaves on them but we're supposed to have SNOW showers tonight! I'm so excited!

I pulled out a favorite set for this card, Lovely As A Tree. I watercolored the trees with Cherry Cobbler and More Mustard and used Crumb Cake for the ground. I only used 3 brads, so not lots and lots, but for me, it's alot! Nice and simple card, to the point, just like I like it :0)

Come on by the Friday Mashup and check out all the great cards by the design team and join us by submitting your own project!

Supplies(all supplies used are SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Lovely As A Tree, Season of Friendship, Plaid Flannel

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Naturals White

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, More Mustard, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Brads, Scallop Edge Border Punch, sponge, aquapainte

Taking a Sleigh Ride

2011-09-27T00:26:00.001-08:00

I haven't played along with the Jingle Belles blog in a bit but when I saw the challenge this week I couldn't resist. We're to get inspired by the great song " Suzy Snowflake" by the very talented Rosemary Clooney. I collect Christmas music and this is one of my absolute favorite songs of all times. If you haven't heard it before take a listen:

Lovely isn't it? My favorite part of the song is about the sleigh ride and that was the inspiration for my card. This is a retired set but its one of my favorites and I still use it all the time. I wanted to keep the card clean and simple, like a sleigh ride across the snow.

Christmas Circles

2011-09-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

I thought this weeks layout over at Clean and Simple was intriguing so I inked up my Jolly Bingo Bits set to make a Christmas card. That set was one of the ones I just had to have, and yet this is the first time I've used it!

The card size is the standard 4.25x5.5 and I used the 1 1/4" circle punch for my circles. I did try backing them with some Riding Hood Red cardstock but didnt like it. I like the circles just as a single layer much better.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Jolly Bingo Bits, Bright Christmas
Paper: Naturals White
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Marina Mist, Soft Suede, Elegant Eggplant, Always Artichoke
Accessories: Riding Hood Red ribbon, 1 1/4" circle punch, dimensionals

Friday Mashup Masculine Squared

2011-09-22T21:02:00.002-08:00

Only one more Friday left in September! Where has the time gone? In just over a week I'll start decorating for Halloween and then before I know it Christmas! I love this time of year,so much going on.

And speaking of things going on, its time for another Friday Mashup and this weeks challenge is brought to us by Kasey. Kasey and I usually have very different tastes but this week I am totally digging her challenge, and here it is:

Make a project using the "Square Sketch above ".
Or Make a Project that has a "Masculine" theme.
Or "Mash it Up" and create a "Square Project using the Sketch, with a Masculine theme".

My uncles birthday is in October(so is mine, October is such an awesome month! LOL) so I decided to make a card for him. He lives in Massachusetts and doesn't like to fly,he and his family go on a lot of cruises and he commutes to Boston for work. I immediately thought of The Open Sea set....all of the stamps fit perfectly with a water/cruise/travel theme and the ship stamp makes me think of the USS Constitution, which is located in Boston at Pier 1 ( and is the world's oldest floating commissioned naval vessel!).

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup blog to check out all of the DT inspiration, and then play along with us! We love seeing your creations every week!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: The Open Sea, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Not Quite Navy, Whisper White, Nautical Expedition DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Oval Punch, sponge, dimensionals

Christmas Postcard

2011-09-22T16:21:00.000-08:00

This week I'm playing along again with the brand new sketch blog, Freshly Made Sketches. Check them out if you haven't already, they have some really great sketches! Their design team also provides some great inspiration!

When I saw this sketch I knew I wanted to grab my Christmas Postcard stamp and make a card with it. I love this stamp but just don't pull it out that often, bad me!

To give the images a little extra pop I used gold stickles for the bells and Xmas Red stickles for the berries. I knew I had done a pretty good job with the card when my 12 yr old son told me he really loved it and that it looked old fashioned to him! He is now my favorite child!! ROFL

Supplies used(all supplies are SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Christmas Postcard, Bells and Boughs

Paper: Always Artichoke, More Mustard, Riding Hood Red, Watercolor Paper

Ink: Black StazOn, Always Artichoke, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, More Mustard

Accessories: Xmas Red Stickles, Gold Stickles, Always Artichoke Brads, Always Artichoke Ribbon, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Aquapainter, Color Sprizter Tool, sponge, dimensionals

CAS-ual Friday Christmas

2011-09-16T15:47:00.001-08:00

I've been following the CAS-ual Fridays blog for a bit now, but I dont think I've ever played along. This morning when I saw that they were asking for a CAS no bigger than 4x4 I knew I wanted to go ahead and jump in and play.

I always need some smaller gift sized Christmas cards so I went with a card that is 4x4 and used one of my favorite new sets, Beautiful Season. To give a little pop to the image I used Xmas Red Stickles on the berries.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Beautiful Season
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Naturals White
Ink: Black StazOn, Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Basic Gray, Soft Suede
Accessories: Xmas Red Stickles, CB Swiss Dots Folder, SU Alpine Ribbon, Aquapainter

Enjoying Autumn with Friday Mashup!

2011-09-15T21:01:00.003-08:00

Wow, I cant believe its my turn to host another Friday Mashup challenge. Time flies when you are having fun!

Here in my neck of the woods autumn is in full swing and I am enjoying every minute of it...the kids in school, the crisp air, fresh snow on the mtn peaks, and the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground! I grew up in New England, where some of the prettiest fall colors you'll ever see can be found but here in Alaska we pretty much only see our leaves turn shades of yellow and orange(which is pretty too!), hence the inspiration for this weeks challenge (how awesome is the picture Holly found for the graphic? I love it!).

I've been on a retired set kick, and this week is no different. I love this image from the Sweet Seasons set and made it the focal point of my card, with some bright Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight in the background to set it off.

Make sure you come by The Friday Mashup to play along with us....check out the great cards from the design team, leave them some love and then link up your own card!

The inspiration I got from my own backyard:

Supplies(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Sweet Seasons, Happy Fall Y'All
Paper: More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Watercolor Paper
Ink: More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, So Saffron, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Garden Green, Night of Navy
Accessories: Brads, Aquapainter, Square Lattice Embossing Folder, sponge, dimensionals

Fall with Freshly Made Sketches

2011-09-14T16:20:00.002-08:00

I havent been stamping much, except for Friday Mashup, but there is a new sketch blog out there that brought me out of my slump today. If you havent heard of it yet go check out Freshly Made Sketches. I always need some inspiration when it comes to layouts and since I've become disillusioned with quite a few other sketch challenges its nice to see a new, "fresh" one out there!

For the sketch this week I went with a fall image, since we're well into autumn here in southcentral Alaska. I used a retired set, as its one of my favorites, as well as some retired DSP that I've been hoarding. I paper pieced the images, with a bit of the blender pen used on some of the images also.

Thanks for looking, and make sure you go check out the challenge!

Friday Mashup Teachers and Stitching

2011-09-08T21:01:00.003-08:00

Happy Friday to everyone! Its beautiful here in southcentral Alaska, and I hope its beautiful where you are too! My thoughts have been with those on the east coast of the US dealing with flooding, and with those in Texas affected by all the horrible fires. Stay safe!

This weeks Friday Mashup challenge is brought to us by Heidi and once again the challenge truly was a challenge for me! Heidi wants us to :

So, here's the "Mashup!" challenge:

1. Create a project with "Stitching or Faux Stitching".
2. Or Create a project for "Back To School or a Teacher Gift".
3. Or "Mash it Up!" and create a "Back To School Project with Stitching"!

I dont like to sew, so I went with the faux stitching. Its much easier for me to make some holes and use a white gel pen to connect everything :) I was a bit stumped with the back to school/teacher part. I have 3 kids...my oldest son is a senior this yr, my daughter is a junior and my youngest son is in 7th grade. I dont think I have ever made a specific "teacher card" for any of their teachers over the yrs! I've done thank you cards and different holiday cards but thats about it!

I went ahead and used some colors that come to mind for back to school, at least for me...black and red. I used whisper white and the spiral punch to make notebook paper and my Cricut was used for the apple. I liked the ribbon because it matched my Real Red cardstock but also had some stitching on it to go along with the challenge!

Now head over to The Friday Mashup site to check out all the great projects from the rest of the design team and play along with us!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Greetings Galore
Paper: Basic Black, Real Red, Whisper White, Garden Green
Ink: Basic Black, Real Red, Garden Green, Bordering Blue
Accessories: Cricut-Best Images of 2006, Modern Label Punch, Large Oval Punch, Spiral Punch, Paper Piercer, Sponge, White Gel Pen, non-SU ribbon, dimensionals

Friday Mashup Gatefold with Numbers

2011-09-01T21:10:00.003-08:00

Yeah, its Friday! Its the start of a 4 day holiday weekend and I plan on just bumming around all weekend!

This weeks challenge comes to us from Kim and let me tell you, it made me think. She wants us to make a gatefold card, make a project that incorporates numbers OR you can MASH it up and do both!

I'm not a fan of gatefold cards, I'll be honest. I hate anything where I have to figure out measurements or really think about what I'm doing. I think I've only made 1 other gatefold card in my life and it was a Christmas one so I figured why stray from what I know? This way I knew I could also easily incorporate the number 25, for Christmas.

I decided to keep my card nice and simple because I think when you have a busy background like I do with this DSP you dont need a bunch of other stuff cluttering up your visual. So my card is pretty clean and simple, and to the point! Make sure you go to the Friday Mashup site and play along, and check out all the inspiration from the rest of the design team. As usual you can see I went in a totally different direction than everyone else, LOL.

Once again, here is the challenge from Kim:

Create a card that uses a "Gatefold" .

Create a card that uses "Numbers". (stamped, die cut, chip board etc)
or "Mash it Up!" and create a "Gatefold Card using Numbers"!

Friday Mashup Bossy and Sketchy

2011-08-25T21:01:00.003-08:00

Before I dive into this weeks Friday Mashup challenge I want to remind everyone that we currently have the Friday Mashup Fan Favorite contest going on right now! Think you have a great idea for the Mashup blog? Write up a post on your blog and then go submit it at the Friday Mashup!Fans will vote on their favorites and the winner gets to host their idea for the Friday Mashup blog! Lets see those creative minds at work!

Speaking of creative minds, this week our challenge comes from a VERY creative mind, Lesley(check out her blog and see what I mean!). She's providing us with a CAS sketch this week, and also wants to see some dry embossing.

So here is how we are MASHING IT UP this week:

Create a project using the provided "Sketch"
or Create a project that has a "Dry Embossing on it"
or "Mash it Up!" and create a card using the "Sketch with Dry Embossing"

I cant help it, I've totally moved into fall mode! My friends that live just a bit north of me in Fairbanks say signs of fall are really taking hold that way, the sandhill cranes are starting their southern migration and the various Alaska National Parks are posting about the fall colors that are starting to pop. I love it!! Pretty soon my woodstove will be going 24/7(thats how we heat our home in the winter) and I'll be watching the snow fall, yeahhhhhhhhh!! Naturally I decided to do a card that echoed the way I'm feeling right now :)

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Seasonal Whimsy, Petite Pairs

Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive

Accessories: CB Swiss Dots Folder, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 1/4" circle punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, Old Olive ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Its your turn...head over to the Friday Mashup blog and play along with us! Dont forget to go check out the cards the design team made for inspiration!

In CASE You Forgot

2011-08-22T17:38:00.000-08:00

My schedule has been so crazy that I havent played along with the Splitcoast challenges in a while, and definitely not the Try a New Technique for a really long time! I checked over there this morning and thought it was a fantastic challenge and really wanted to play along!

The challenge is to go into your favorites gallery and CASE the first card you ever added to your favorites gallery! How neat is that? I know I am really guilty of adding cards/projects to my gallery and then forgetting all about them.

The first card I ever added as a favorite was this Christmas one by Colleen Kidder. I instantly knew why I added it...I love the colors she used, the stamps she used to make her background and the main image. Simply adorable!

Colleens Card at Splitcoast

Now go look at her card, and then check out my CASE of it. I used red and green instead of blues but kept the same layout, a winter/Christmas theme, tearing of the cardstock and a ribbon element.

Supplies(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Home for Christmas, Sleigh Bells Ring
Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Old Olive, Watercolor Paper
Ink: Black StazOn, Versamark, Cherry Cobbler, Crumb Cake, Basic Gray, Old Olive, Garden Green, River Rock
Accessories: SU Markers and Watercolor Pencils, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon, Dazzling Diamonds

Clean and Simple Joins with Jingle Belles

2011-08-19T16:23:00.002-08:00

Today was a perfect day to work on a Christmas card. Its been raining here in southcentral Alaska and I feel like the most wonderful time of the year is just around the corner! Autumn arrives quickly in Alaska and winter isnt far behind...I've already got leaves falling from the trees and the Talkeetna and Chugach Mtns that surround us have already had some snow. I cant wait until we get our first snowfall here in the Valley!

This week Jingle Belles is joining up with the Clean and Simple Stamping blog for the challenge, which is a sketch. I love CAS cards but I have to admit when I saw the circles on the sketch I groaned. Just not my style! I sat and thought about it for a bit and decided to use my Polar Party set(LOVE the images!) and some of my favorite DSP(which I also noticed a designer for FTL used...oops. Great minds think alike eh?). The DSP background makes the card seem a little busier than it really is but overall I think I did pretty good with the CAS part. I have to say I really like this card and how it came out...I might make a few more of it!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Polar Party
Paper: Taken With Teal, Ruby Red, Whisper White, Holiday Lounge DSP
Ink: Black StazOn, Taken With Teal, Ruby Red, Sahara Sand, Pear Pizzazz, Bashful Blue, Crumb Cake
Accessories: 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Round Corner Punch, Coluzzle, Scallop Edge Border Punch, sponge, dimensionals

Sweet As A Button for Friday Mashup!

2011-08-18T21:01:00.003-08:00

Wooohoooo, its Friday! My kids started back to school on Weds and so now I can get back into a normal crafting routine during the day. Holly made it easy for me this week with the challenge she is bringing us...Buttons and Cupcakes!

Create a project using Buttons .
Create a project featuring "Cupcakes".
or "Mash it Up!" and create a project with Cupcakes & Buttons!

Check out the great projects from the Design Team , you may notice that we added in some extra touches... Paper Piercing & Paper Piecing so if your really up for a challenge add one of those techniques into your project as well.

And don't forget about our next "Fan Favorite" Challenge. We can't wait to see what your ideas are!

If you go to the Friday Mashup blog you can see I went in a different direction than the other designers, going with a masculine birthday card. My cousin, who lives in the Worcester MA area, is turning 17 over Labor Day weekend and its really important to me that I send him a card and recognize his birthday. Our family has been through a lot the last 3 yrs with the loss of my/our grandparents in 2008 and 2009 and my dad in 2010(his uncle) and my aunt, uncle(my dads youngest brother) and cousin are the only blood family I truly have left. My grandparents always sent cards and such for birthdays and other special occasions and I want my cousin to know that we're still here for him and that we're thinking of him.

I also went ahead and added paper piercing, going for a full MASHUP on my card!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: sentiment from Create A Cupcake

Paper: Early Espresso, Night of Navy, Cajun Craze, River Rock, Soft Suede, Well Worn DSP

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Cupcake Builder Punch, CB Swiss Dots folder, buttons, twine, Night of Navy ribbon, paper piercing tool

Christmas Bling

2011-08-15T14:29:00.001-08:00

I didnt think I was going to get this weeks challenge done for Jingle Belles, as its completely out of my comfort zone...bling, bling and more bling. I'm just not a bling type of person and so anytime I'm asked to add some I really struggle with it.

My card is really simple and the bling is pretty subtle, so I hope it still counts. I used glittery snowflake paper from My Minds Eye and a chipboard tree from K&Company that had some gold glitter on it. I used some of my gold stickles to make the spots a little bigger. It was hard to get a shot to show all the glitter on the card but it is there, I promise!

Paper: Riding Hood Red(SU), My Minds Eye

Chipboard and Scallop border from K&Company

Gold Stickles, dimensionals

Friday Mashup Wings and Bling

2011-08-11T21:01:00.002-08:00

This week at the Friday Mashup blog Kasey is bringing us the challenge and she is all about the wings and the bling, PLUS she has a color challenge in there also. What does all of this mean?

1. Create a project with "Butterflies and Bling".

2. Create a project using "Marina Mist, Perfect Plum and your Choice of ONE other color and ONE Neutral".
3. Or "Mash it Up!" and create a project that using "Butterflies, Bling and the Color Combo"!

I tell ya, Kasey comes up with challenges that definitely make me think! Thats what challenges are all about though right, to get people to think outside their comfort zone?

I MASHED it up this week, including both wings and bling and also doing the color challenge. I went right off the color coach and added Rose Red as my 3rd color and I went with Whisper White as my neutral.

Make sure you head over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out all the great inspiration from the design team, leave some love, and play along with us! Make sure you also check out the other cards that are submitted and leave some love for your fellow stampers!

I used a Perfect Plum marker to outline and color the branches, and then used stickles on the flowers colored in Marina Mist to help them really stand out.

My bling...pearls plus the glitter on the flowers....

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Easter Blossoms, Small Script

Paper: Marina Mist, Rose Red, Whisper White, Thoroughly Modern DSP

Ink: Perfect Plum, Marina Mist

Accessories: Basic Pearls, Waterfall Stickles, Modern Label Punch, Embosslit Beautiful Wings

Shaped Christmas

2011-08-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

This week over at the Jingle Belles Blog the challenge is to create a shaped Christmas card, and to not use the standard square or rectangle card.

I went into the challenge with a pretty positive attitude and lots of ideas going through my head. I was going to make a house using one of my Cricut cartridges, but I didnt like how that was turning out. Then I was going to make a snowglobe with a template I had but that wasnt going my way either. Finally I settled on this ornament shape but by this point I was SO frustrated and was wondering where the heck my Christmas mojo went. The shape and the 'Merry Christmas' were both cut using the Joys of the Season cartridge and I used stickles on the top to make it look like a silver hanger. I then sponged the edge of the ornament with Real Red, just to give the edge a more defined look. I tried different embellishments on the card but it just didnt look right, so I figured what the heck, its a clean and simple look.

Glittery Anniversary Friday Mashup

2011-08-04T21:01:00.001-08:00

I cant tell you how HAPPY I am that today is Friday! As of yesterday(Thursday) I am done with working days and go back to nights on Monday, as our school year starts Aug.17. I am ecstatic! I am NOT a morning person and so getting up at 6am all summer does not make me happy! I much prefer the school yr when the husband is up with the kids in the morning and I am snoozing away, happy to see my kids when they get home from school and I am wide awake and in a good mood!

Speaking of kids, my 15 year old daughter helped inspire part of this Friday Mashup, as its my turn to bring you the challenge! The girl loves glitter, and she is constantly telling me to add glitter to my cards. I am SOOO not a glitter/bling type of crafter so it drives me crazy when she starts in with the glitter comments. The last few cards that I actually used glitter on I did it so she would shut up! LOL So as I was sitting around trying to think up a challenge for this week I happened to glance at Courtney and thought, bingo, I'll make using glitter part of the mashup! Needless to say she was quite pleased :P

I also discovered that I am seriously lacking when it comes to anniversary cards, and I know I cant be the only one out there with this problem, so hence the 2nd part of the mashup!

So this is what we've got going on for the Friday Mashup this week. You can:
1. Create a project using glitter anywhere on it
2. Create an anniversary card
3. MASH IT UP and create an anniversary card that has glitter on it somewhere!

Head over to the Friday Mashup blog and check out all the wonderful inspiration from the design team and then play along with us! Dont forget to check out the other cards submitted and leave some love for your fellow crafters!

Its a bit hard to see but the leaves the birds are perched on were painted with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, giving them a very nice subtle gold glittery effect.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Paper: Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Rose Red, Always Artichoke, Springtime Vintage DSP
Ink: Night of Navy, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Modern Label Punch, Bird Builder Punch, Top Note Die, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Always Artichoke ribbon, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint

For You

2011-07-29T22:02:00.000-08:00

Wow, 2 cards in 1 day? I must be sick!! Actually, I had pretty much the whole day free to do whatever I wanted so I decided to try the latest sketch challenge over at Splitcoaststampers. It was different and caught my eye, and since I have lots of retired DSP that I need to do something with I thought this would be the perfect card to use some on. Here is the sketch and the card I came up with:

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Punch Bunch, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Paper: Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Rose Red, Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede, Thoroughly Modern DSP

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Rose Red, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Round Corner Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 3/4" Scalloped Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Paper Piercing Tool, sponge, dimensionals

Shades of Blue

2011-07-29T15:57:00.000-08:00

I'm playing along with this weeks Jingle Belles challenge and its presented by June Houck. If you havent checked out Junes blog before you dont know what you are missing. I always look forward to seeing the cards she comes up with!

June and the Jingle Belles crew want us to make Christmas cards using shades of blue. For me that makes me think of serene and peaceful images. I decided to use Marina Mist and Whisper White...I know its not different shades but its still a blue right?

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: A Beautiful Season, Many Merry Messages(inside sentiment, not shown)
Paper: Whisper White, Marina Mist
Ink: Marina Mist
Accessories: CB Swiss Dots Folder, Coluzzle, Marina Mist Ribbon, sponge, dimensionals, round corner punch

Friday Mashup Fan Favorite

2011-07-28T21:01:00.002-08:00

Todays Friday Mashup challenge is the first ever Fan Favorite! Friday Mashup fans submitted their own ideas for a mashup challenge, the entries were narrowed down and the voters chose Teresa Klines challenge as the winner. Congratulations Teresa! I hope everyone will head over to the Friday Mashup blog to play along with us this week!

This is Teresa's challenge to us all:

So, here's my "Mash Up!" challenge:

1. Create a "handmade flower or flowers" on your project.
2. Create a project using "turquoise, red, and black".
3. Or "Mash it Up!" and create "handmade flowers" on your project that uses "turquoise, red, and black"!

Now, I feel bad but for the first time since we started the Friday Mashup blog I didnt mashup the challenge. I just cant get into the whole flower craze and trying to make handmade flower(s) just totally surpassed my patience level this week, so I chose to just stick with the great colors that Teresa chose. I never would have thought to use the Tempting Turquoise but it certainly is a nice touch against the black and red!

**I do hate the way this card came out in the photograph. The DSP is not that white in real life and the Very Vanilla looks quite nice against it. I even took the photo in late afternoon when the sun had moved position but it didnt help much!**

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Forever Young, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Tempting Turquoise, Very Vanilla. Timeless Portraits DSP

Ink: Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Small Oval Punch

Nice surprise today, and paying it forward!

2011-07-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

I had a rough day at work today...there are a lot of changes going on in the school district I work for and one of those changes involved me moving from the school I was at to the one next door. I dont like change, even after all those years of being a military wife! I like my routine and when it gets switched up I get very anxious and just need to work through it. Hence what I've got going on right now! So because of my foul mood I was just sitting on the couch, watching the only daytime TV I can stand(the show The Talk, I love it! Sharon Osbourne and Leah Remini are hysterical) when the little noise on my cell phone goes off telling me I have email. I figured it was probably junk but to my surprise I had a nice comment from Michele, of Michele Hearts Paper, giving me a little blog award. Its the first one I've ever gotten and for such a cool person to consider me worthy just made my day!

Now, as part of it I have to share with 5 bloggers that I think deserve the award, and also share 5 things about myself, so here goes!

About me:
1. I love love love moose. I know, you are probably shocked about that and would have never guessed ;) but yes, its true! One of my favorite things about living in Alaska is looking out my window and seeing a big old moose in my yard!
2. I grew up in Massachusetts and Colorado. Lived in MA until I was 12 and then because of my dads job we had to transfer to CO. I hate CO. MA will always have a part of my heart, I am a New Englander through and through, no matter where I spend the rest of my life.
3. Thanks to my time in the Navy and for marrying my husband 4 yrs into his 20-yr Navy career I've also lived in FL, IL, Northern CA, Southern CA, CT and WA. Out of all those CT and WA were my favorites.
4.I love Christmas. As you can tell on this blog I make Christmas cards all the time, and there is always Christmas music or a Christmas movie going on at my house. When you're friends with me you get used to it :)
5.I love heavy metal and hard rock.

So know you probably know more about me than you wanted too, hehehehe. I'll just go ahead and share with you 5 crafty ladies that just totally rock!

Holly over at Holly Beary Designs---I've known Holly for many yrs now, we used to live right behind each other before the military separated us! Sometimes she is just too damn creative and I want to smack her, LOL.

Karen of Stamping In The Boonies--I met Karen through Holly, and I can definitely see where Holly gets her talent from. I love Karens style!

Candy over at Stampin With Candy--I recently discovered Candy through a Christmas challenge blog we both frequent and what a talented lady she is!

Lisa of Papergrace Designs--I met Lisa through the same Christmas challenge blog and I knew she was going to be awesome, just by her name alone, hehehehe :)

Last, but certainly not least, Jayme of Closet Stampin', Its Not A Hidden Addiction!--Jayme and her family just transferred to Alaska and she loves it already, which is just awesome. Unfortunately she is close to 300 miles north of me :( If I remember correctly Jayme is the one who told me about the previously mentioned Christmas blog when I met her through the Friday Mashup. I might have that mixed up though because my memory stinks! LOL Anyway, she is another super talented gal whose blog I love to check out!

And go check out Michele, the great crafter who got this blog post in motion by mentioning me on her blog! In one of the Friday Mashup challenges she used a bear image to represent summer and TOTALLY won me over for life with it!

Birthday Fun for Friday Mashup

2011-07-21T21:01:00.002-08:00

What a week! I'm so happy its Friday, and that means its time for Friday Mashup! This week our challenge is presented by Kim and guess what?? Her birthday is tomorrow!! So when you go over to the Friday Mashup blog to check out all the design team inspiration make it a point to head over to Kim's space and say HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIM!!

Kim has a great challenge for us this week. You can:

1. Create a Birthday card/project
2. Create a project using NQN, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, and Sahara Sand
3. or " Mashup it Up!" and create a Birthday project using NQN, Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler, and Sahara Sand

I went ahead and MASHED it up and did a birthday card with the color combo. I just LOVE the colors Kim chose this week! I did sneak in a bit of Very Vanilla though, for use as a neutral.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Happiest Birthday Wishes

Paper: Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Sahard Sand DSP, Night of Navy DSP, Veery Vanilla

Ink: Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Cupcake Builder Punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, Basic Pearls, spomge, dimensionals

Reindeer Games

2011-07-18T16:53:00.001-08:00

Last week I didnt make the cutoff to play along with the Jingles Belles blog but I made sure to find some time this week. The challenge this time is to use any type of holiday animal in your design.

I am sure everyone who truly knows me is expecting to see a moose card, and I may still try and get one done, but I actually went with a reindeer this time. I just got a Cricut and one of the cartridges I bought, Winter Woodland, had some reindeer images that I wanted to give a try, so this is what I came up with!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Petite Pairs, Many Merry Messages(inside sentiment, not shown)

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla, Deck The Halls DSP, Bazzill

Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Cricut 'Winter Woodland' cartridge, Smooch Spritz Silver Foil, small oval punch, dimensionals

Merry Winter with Friday Mashup

2011-07-15T16:59:00.000-08:00

I was talking with Holly about the challenge we have this week over at The Friday Mashup blog and she told me these colors would be perfect for a Christmas card and that I should make one with them. I had already done my card for the design team so I made this one last night. I didnt make it in time for last weeks Jingle Belles challenge so I needed a Christmas card anyway to add to my stash!

I've seen mixed reviews on this new Christmas set from the new Stampin'Up catalog but I have no problem admitting it...I think this set is just ADORABLE!! I love the little S'mores looking snowmen!

Go by The Friday Mashup blog and check out all the great cards by the design team and then join us by entering your card!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Merry Winter

Paper: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Letters to Santa DSP

Ink: Basic Black, Early Espresso, Old Olive, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette

Accessories: Early Espresso ribbon, CB Argyle folder, Oval cut with Cricut, Scallop Edge Border Punch

Friday Mashup 15--Sketch and Colors!

2011-07-14T21:01:00.001-08:00

Happy Friday to everyone! I hope you all had a good week! Mine has been nice and quiet. This was my last week off before heading back to work this coming Monday so I've been enjoying my down time.

This week at the Friday Mashup Lesley is bringing the challenge to us! She offers up a color challenge, a sketch challenge OR you can mash it up and do BOTH!

I got a big box of goodies from SU and I was excited to ink up this image from the On The Grow set, which is in the summer mini. I just love this set! I mashed it up and used both the sketch and the colors.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: On The Grow, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Old Olive, Early Espresso,Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Cottage Wall DSP(retired)

Ink: Black StazOn, Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Old Oliv, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Old Olive, Early Espresso, Pink Pirouette, Whisper White, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake

Accessories: Old Olive ribbon, Early Espresso ribbon, Modern Label Punch, Square Lattice embossing folder, sponge, blender pen, dimensionals