Tea Anyone?

I saw this cute little tea bag on Allison's blog here and knew I just had to use the idea.  I just love how she put the hearts in the tea bag...so cute...a teabag filled with love! This was one of the cards we made for my Valentine's buffet and I love the softness of it. 

 

The Very Vanilla embossed layer is sponged with Baja Breeze...you have to get this Framed Tulips embossing folder if you don't already have it!  I stamped the Notably Ornate Frame in Going Gray, same for the teacups and the sentiment.

The little tea bag is made with our fantastic cardstock vellum with the small tag punch, secured at the top with a 1/2" circle folded in half and stapled.  Isn't it the cutest idea ever?  

The heart on the right hand side is done with the Heart Embosslit in pink and layered with a heart punch in Baja Breeze with the full Heart Punch.  Then I added a bow de fourchette with Baja Breeze seam binding ribbon and added a pink flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch.

To finish the card, I added pearls to the centers of the hearts and flower and added some sparkle to the frame...it's so pretty in real life!  Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs ~ Judy

The Bow de Fourchette Tutorial 2

Okay...let's make some pretty satin bows!   Here is my other bow making tool! LOL!!  I found this at my local Dollar store and thought...hmmmm....amazing how you start to look a ordinary things differently when you're a paper crafter!  So I brought home this plastic spatula...I know it's not really called a spatula..but I can never think of the right name for it...so spatula it will be! 

I cut the top of the spatula edge off with our Craft and Rubber Scissors and then snipped off each side of the tines, if you click on the picture it will come up bigger for you.  I did this so it wouldn't have sharp edges, to snag the ribbon or cut my fingers!

The spatula has 6 tines, so for a perfect bow de fourchette with our satin ribbon you will just want to use the middle four tines.  To start your bow, insert your ribbon behind the middle four tines.

Just as the pink bow, bring your ribbon around the left hand side (matching the way your hand is curved) like a U shape.  Bring the back piece of ribbon over the front piece.

 

Now, thread the ribbon that you've brought forward from the back, through the middle space.  You will have 2 tines on either side.  Make sure your ribbon is straight.

Once again, you will pull the front ribbon tail down forming your bow, your back tail should be straight down too, in line with the handle.

Pull your front piece up and through the middle tines, making sure it's straight and looks symetrical.

When it's looking good, sometimes you have to adjust with your fingers, flip the spatula over.

Tie a single tight knot.

Slip off the spatula, you might need to squeeze the tines at the top just a bit, to ease the bow off. 

Now just trim your ends and you're done!

Once again....a beautiful, perfect bow!!  Using the bigger size ribbon and the spatula makes it very easy for beginners to learn how to make this bow. 

Here's the finished bow...I love it!!  If you don't have one of the lovely fancy bow makers, a spatula, a picnic fork, even one of those hair combs work great.  I've even made a little bow maker out of one of our wooden blocks, drilled little holes in it, spacing them evenly and inserted bamboo skewers, cut down of course, so you don't poke your eyes out with the point! 

So the picnic fork is great for smaller ribbons, like the tafetta, seam binding, etc. and the spatula is great for larger sized ribbons like our Satin Ribbon or the 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon....hope you have fun trying these out! 

One more tip:  I originally bought 2 spatulas...the one in the tutorial above and a much wider one...well... let me tell you that the wider spatula makes perfect bows for our wide 1 1/4" striped grosgrain!  Just remember to use your Craft and Rubber scissors for an easy cut and trim of the sharp edges! And just use the middle four tines....my husband has stopped asking what I'm doing when I'm in "create mode"!  LOL!!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!
Hugs ~ Judy

The Bow de Fourchette Tutorial

Finally...the bow tutorial I've been promising! 

This method of bow tying is not my original idea, but it's so much fun and you will get perfect bows every single time!

It's called the Fork Bow...but I felt that it really wasn't a great name for such a pretty bow...so at one of my Christmas card Buffets, we were brainstorming a name that sounded really nice and Jennifer came up with the name Bow de Fourchette, which is a blend of English and French...doesn't it sound lovely?

Here we go .... I don't have a fancy bow maker, but I found that a picnic fork is perfect for our Tafetta Ribbon.  (Tomorrow I'll share how to make perfect bows with our wider Satin Ribbon)

Step 1:  I like to keep my ribbon on the roll, now holding the fork in your left hand, wrap your ribbon, just as shown...it's easy to remember to have the side of the ribbon making the same shape as your left hand, like a sideways U.

 

Step 2: Take your back piece of ribbon and bring it over the top of the front piece.

 

Step 3:  With the ribbon coming to the front, thread it through the middle of the fork tines.

 

Step 4:  To form your bow, pull both the front and back tails straight down in line with the handle of the fork, adjusting to make sure it's not twisted.

 

Step 5: Keeping the back tail straight down, bring the front tail straight up and through the middle of the fork tines making sure it isn't twisted.

 

Step 6:  Now your tails are at the back of the fork, make any adjustments so that your bow is looking pretty...like straightening, etc.

 

Step 7. Flip your fork over, and tie a single knot.  Pull tight and slip off the fork! 

 

That's it!  A perfect Bow de Fourchette!!  Don't you just love this!!  Now you can admire your perfect bow and show all your friends!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Judy

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful day today and wish you all a happy heart! Whether you're celebrating or not...have fun!

This is a quick little card share for you, I used the swirl stamp in Baroque Motifs and gold embossed it.

To finish,  I added the hearts punched out with the Heart to Heart Punch, added rhinestones to the middles...hmmm...I see one of the rhinestones has shifted...lol! Then I drew a little gold line from the heart to the swirl. 

Enjoy your day and hug the ones you love!!  Thanks for stopping by ~

Judy

Romantic Love

Happy Saturday everyone! It's a cozy rainy day here on the westcoast...perfect for stamping! 

My card today turned out to be one of my absolute favourite things!  It was so easy to make, I used the Textured Tulip Embossing folder...this is at the top of my fave's list and the magnetic heart from the Punch Windows dies that fit into the Movers and Shapers.

I also used the Punch Potpourri Heart stamp, this is a hostess set, and the sentiment on the front is from the I {Love} Love Jumbo Wheel...I have 2, one for wheeling and one I pulled off the wheel and cut up, getting 19 beautiful stamps!  I used Basic Gray ink and the embosslit heart cut in black.

 

For the base of the card I used a 4 1/4" x 11" base, folded at 5 1/2".  Then on the front piece I folded it again at 2 3/4".  With the magnetic heart in the movers and shapers die, I lined up the middle of the heart with my 2 3/4" fold....carefully unfolded that piece to cover the heart and then lined up my cutting plate just to the fold line.  Run it through your Big Shot and you have the base of the card done!

At this point I folded the 2 3/4" front back so that the heart cut out was showing and carefully lined it up in my Textured Tulip folder and ran it through the Big Shot again.

To finish it, I coloured the flowers and stems with my markers using Blushing Bride and Pear Pizzaz.  I first outlined my flowers with the pen tip of my marker, making it easier to see where I wanted to colour it, then I filled it in with the brush tip. 

The sentiment inside is from Occasional Quotes, a hostess level 3 set.  I added a bow de fourchette (aka fork bow!) to the front, positioning it so that it would be visible from the inside as well as the outside and this was made with Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon.

The last step was to add a 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 base to the back of the card to cover the debossed back and to give it a more finished look as well as making it a bit heavier.

I hope you enjoyed this card!  Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

I love this card!

Do you ever come across something so pretty that you just have to case it? That's exactly what happened to me when I saw this beautiful card!  Seriously...I just love this So Saffron Valentine's card!

Here's the link to Debra's card.  The only things I did different to make this card... I added a heart to the top, I changed the glitter brad to an antique brad and I didn't brayer the embossed folder.

I challenged myself to make a card that would not have any layers on it....so I only embossed the card front but then I gave up my challenge when I had to put the printed paper on it!  LOL!! 

Thanks for the inspiration Debra!  Love, love, love this card!  The heart is in the Occasions Mini catalogue and the flower outline stamp (on the printed paper) is from the Always stamp set.  The little sentiment is from Tiny Tags.  The embossing folder is the new Textured Impressions Framed Tulip...absolutely one of my favourite things!!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Chocolate Truffles for your Valentine!

Can you believe that Valentine's Day is nearly here?  Oh my...where is the time going?  If you are celebrating February 14th, this is a recipe that is guaranteed to melt your Valentine's heart!

These scrumptious little bites of chocolate are so easy to make and soooo good!  This time I decorated the half of the tops with crushed oreo cookies and the other half I did with pink salt...trust me...it's seriously yummy! 

I originally got the recipe from Kraftcanada...but there are lots of versions on the internet!  This is my updated version from my recipe files and it makes about 4 dozen:

Easy Oreo Truffles

1- large bag of chocolate Oreo cookies

1- 8 oz package of Cream Cheese

Chocolate wafers (Milk and white chocolate)

Crush the cookies in your food processor until they are fine crumbs. (reserving a couple of tablespoons for the topping)

Add block of cream cheese, to cookie crumbs and pulse until it's well blended.  At this point I usually put it into the fridge for 30 minutes or so...just so it's chilled.

Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet, place back in fridge until chilled again.

Melt chocolate wafers in a microwave bowl, drop truffle into chocolate and make sure it's well covered.  Remove the truffle from chocolate with 2 forks and place on wax paper....and sprinkle with chocolate crumbs or pink salt.  Then keep in the fridge until you are ready to serve...that's it....sooo yummy!

To make the salt, I used coarse salt...like the kind I use for homemade pretzels.  Put some salt in a baggie and add a few drops of red food colouring.  Sprinkle on chocolate covered truffles!

You can also melt chocolate in a baggie and pierce on end of the baggie with a toothpick and drizzle white chocolate on dark truffles or dark chocolate on white truffles.

I bet you can't eat just one!!  Enjoy!!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Sew Suite

Hi everyone!

Hope you all had a fun weekend!  Here's a card share for you, I used 2 stamp sets for this card, Sew Suite and Pattern Pieces.  Someting about these stamps reminds me of my Mom and the wonderful memories I have of her teaching me how to sew. 

I remember sitting at her Singer sewing machine, I loved the ornate carvings on that old table and digging through Mom's fabric box looking for just the right piece to make something for my dolls. I can remember that I could hardly reach the treadle...yes...I'm that old! 

LOL!  It seemed so hard to keep the treadle moving and the material running through the machine...kind of like rubbing you hand on your tummy and your head at the same time!  I love those memories of my Mom....

For this card, I stamped the Pattern Pieces stamp in Early Espresso randomly on a kraft coloured piece of tissue paper.  Then I crumpled it up in a ball and smoothed it out. On the Kraft Cardstock layer I ran a glue stick...normally I hate working with a glue stick as I get it all over everything, but for this technique it was perfect!  I covered the whole layer and then smoothed the tissue over it, making sure I didn't smooth out all the wrinkles.

I sponged the edges, added buttons from my button jar, some of my sewing pins and a strip of fabric that I had that matched the Bravo Burgundy perfectly.   I stamped the twill tape and punched out a circle in Brushed Silver for the end of the tape measure.

I love this card and hope you do too!  Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year!  Today marks the start of Chinese New Year. {g}

February 3rd is the start of the year of the rabbit..this year is forecast to be a quieter year to enjoy after the the outgoing year of the Tiger.  There's lots of information online about the fascinating cycles of the Chinese Zodiac...check it out and find out what your sign is!

This card was actually an ATC (Artist Trading Card) that I made a few years ago.  I still have a collection of the cards I made and was flipping through them the other day and found this one and it was perfect for Chinese New Years. 

I made it into a regular sized card, the colour red symbolizes good luck, and the gold on the card symbolizes wealth and happiness.  I have no idea what the little coin stamp says, but I hope it says ... I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year whatever your culture is!

The background set is a retired Stampin'Up! set...I think it was called Bamboo and I don't know where I got the little coin stamp, but I gold embossed it and cut it out.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Oopsies!!

Well, this is a story of what not to do when you are making dinner!  Oopsies...I seriously charcoaled the garlic toast....all because I wasn't paying attention!  Ohmigosh...I know I'm getting a bit forgetful sometimes...please tell me I'm not the only one!!

I was making supper, my daughter Brandy was cutting some things helping me get ready for my Valentine Buffet on Saturday...Mr. Brown had come and brought me two huge boxes filled with all kinds of goodies..so that was distracting in itself!  More brown paper for LilyBean to play in {g} when all of a sudden I saw smoke coming from the oven!

Ohmigosh.....it was the garlic toast... I had put it into the oven to broil, then shut the oven door and then totally forgot about it!  What was I thinking...I never close the oven door when I'm broiling!

Thank goodness it didn't start on fire!!  The whole kitchen and family room filled with smoke and there we were darting around, I ran out on the balcony to get rid of the smoking garlic bread and Brandy was opening the doors, then we had to open the windows...man it was cold!  We were waving tea towels all over and then when I knew all was okay and we just had to get rid of the remaining smoke, we started to laugh....what craziness!! 

Then we calmly sat down (with sweaters on) and had a late dinner...just another night at the Marshall house!  LOL!

I hope you come back soon to visit me, I have another card to show you tomorrow!

Hugs ~ Judy

Butterfly Bliss

Hi everyone...happy February!

My share today is the Sale-a-bration set called Bliss and it's definitley one of my favourite stamp sets!  I know I say that about all my stamp sets, but seriously isn't this a pretty set?  Love it!!  This card reminds me of Wedgewood china {g}

 Here's how I made it...I used the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder on Whisper White and layered that on Bashful Blue cardstock.  On a strip of cardstock, I stamped the larger image, centering it first then adding images around that centered one. 

I made two strips of scallops with the Ribbon Border Punch, stamped Bliss and used my large oval punch and the scallop oval punch. Then I stamped the butterfly and cut it out, added a sparkly rhinestone and put it on with the Multipurpose Glue. 

Then to finish it I made the bow...this bow is so much fun to make (I used a spatula!) and I've promised everyone a picture tutorial on how to make it...so that's coming soon...I promise! 

At a class we had in December, I was saying that the Fork Bow.. well...it.just doesn't have a great name...so Jennifer (thanks Jennifer!!) came up with a brilliant name, we're now calling it the "bow de fourchette". Now that's a much better name!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy