Brown Paper Packages

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2011-12-24T01:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's Christmas Eve and I'm still wrapping and trying to finish my cards! It's been a whirlwind of activity around here and I am racing to keep up with myself! I've told my family and friends that my cards will be late this year and guess what....they aren't even surprised! I have the best family and the best friends, I am so lucky!!

Next year I will definitely make some cards throughout the year, this is just crazy! LOL!! Anyway this is a short post as I still have a zillion things to do before Santa arrives, but I wanted to share a special part of my Christmas memories with you. My Christmas Angel...isn't she sweet?

I remember saving up my allowance when I was a little girl so that I could get my Mom something special. I remember walking to 'The China Cabinet', a store in our neighbourhood, it was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds, and of course back in those days everyone knew everyone. So Mr. Reynolds asked if he could help me. I showed him my money and said I needed to find something really special for my Mom for Christmas and together we found this little Chrismas Angel that was in my price range.

He wrapped it up for me and I carried it home and tucked it under the tree, so excited for my Mom to open it up. My Mom loved it and each Christmas she would unwrap it and display it on the stereo cabinet. Now my Mom has gone, I have the Christmas Angel and every year I carefully unwrap it and think of my Mom and Dad and the wonderful Christmases we always had.

When I look at my little Christmas Angel, I sometimes wonder if Mr. Reynolds charged me the right amount on that day so long ago....

I hope you like my Christmas Angel memory and I hope you and your families have a wonderful Christmas filled with love, family and friends. May your days be Merry and Bright! Thanks for stopping to share your precious time with me!

Love and hugs ~ Judy

Razzleberry Snowflakes

2011-12-02T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone...Happy December!

Seriously .... where does the time go? I can't believe that it's Christmas in a few more weeks, today we're decorating the tree, I have the Christmas music on and I'm hoping it will start to feel a lot more like Christmas!

My card today is so much prettier in real life, the silver glimmer paper is such a favourite of mine and it really sparkles on this card. The card base is Rich Razzleberry and the snowflakes are stamped with the same colour on the base of the card.

The snowflakes squares are stamped with Rich Razzleberry and Old Olive on Very Vanilla. The squares are punched out with the 1 3/8" punch and layered on silver glimmer paper punched out with 1 1/4" square punch and they are all layered on black.

The snowflakes are from a Martha punch and the sentiment has a cute little edge, I inserted the sentiment strip into the Modern Label punch (holding the punch upside down and sliding the sentiment in to just shape the edge) and it has a little rhinestone but it's hard to see in the picture.

And to finish it, I added a Rich Razzleberry Bow de Fourchette I've added a link to my tutorial. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by, I truly love your visits!

Hugs ~ Judy

Frosty nights and warm hearts!

2011-11-23T17:47:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone, just a little share tonight, my CAS (Clean and Simple) Christmas card. I have a hard time doing CAS but this one was so easy and I love it! The picture isn't great...I have a hard time taking photos of my white cards on dark winter days. The base of the card is Always Artichoke.

The embossed image is a Cuttlebug folder, I painted the rooftops with my Versamark pen and then embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder....so pretty in real life! The sentiment is from the super cute stamp set, Merry Winter and the ribbon is Always Artichoke Seam Binding.

The Whisper White sentiment is punched with the 1 1/4" circle and the layer is Always Artichoke punched out witht the 1 3/8" circle. Then I drew a little pencil line to hang it from.

Simple, cute and oh so easy!

Thanks for stopping by! I love your visits and read every comment that you leave me or email to me...thanks so much!

Big hugs ~ Judy

Santa's Sleigh!

2011-11-18T17:51:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I just want to say a quick Hi to all my new subscribers and to tell you how thrilled I am to have you visit me on my blog! Thanks so much, I love having you here!!

Are you all getting ready for Santa to arrive? I can't believe how fast Christmas is coming...I really need to start making my lists and checking them twice!

This was such a fun card to make, I used my Sizzix 3D Sleigh die and ran it through my Big Shot and then embossed it with a Cuttlebug folder.

To make the sleigh blades, I adhered tin foil to a white cardstock scrap with a glue stick and ran that through my Big shot again, this time only placing the tin foil on the blade part of the die. Then I adhered it to the sleigh...I love how this turned out!

I also punched out the Triple Flower Punch using the same tin foil scrap and cut it in half for the present bows. I used a piece of the punched out tin foil for a backing under the sentiment, but it's hard to see in the picture. The presents are little pieces from my scrap pile.

I made the sentiment on my computer with a free font I downloaded called Chocolate Box and then punched it out with a 1" circle punch. The snowflake is from Season of Friendship stamped in Whisper White Craft ink. I lined the edge of the sleigh with Tombow and added Silver Glass Glitter....so pretty!! The ribbon is Real Red Satin and the cardstock is Black and Real Red.

I hope you like my Santa Sleigh....thanks so much for stopping by to share your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Vintage Skates

2011-11-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
Ohmigosh...I can't believe that I haven't blogged for so long!! It's been busy around my house...lots going on and I have lots of things made that I have stacked up to share with you!

I wanted to share this card with you today...I just love it! I couldn't sleep one night and lay there thinking about the stocking punch and what I could make with it and I came up with these ice skates...they are just too sweet and I'm thrilled with the way they turned out!!

They are fairly easy to make, but the detailing takes a bit of time, I think it's worth it though! Here's how I made it:

Cardstock is Pink Pirouette (top layer is embossed with Vintage Wallpaper) and Whisper White, the skate blades are Basic Gray and punched out with the Word Window Punch. The little bits attaching the blade to the skate are just little pieces of Basic Gray I cut.

To make the skates, punch out 2 stockings in Whisper White and 2 stockings in Soft Suede. I cut the brown stockings off so that I could layer them behind the white skates and they wouldn't show except where I wanted the sole of the boot to show. I cut a heel from the excess of the brown that I cut away.

I pierced 10 holes up the boot and then threaded white bakers twine in an overhand stitch up the boot. I tied a separate piece in a bow and glued that on each boot with Tombow. The skate is sponged with Close to Cocoa and then I added pencil dots up the skate and around the heel to look like the stitching that I remember on my own old skates. Then to finish the skate I cut a tiny piece of Victoria Crochet Trim and then cut it lengthwise to add to the top of the skates.

To finish, I added a bow with the Very Vanilla Seam binding, small silver glitter stars and 1/4 inch punch outs to look like snowflakes. The sentiment is from Short and Sweet.

I hope you like my vintage skates! Thanks for stopping by to share your time with me...I love your visits and your comments!!

Hugs ~ Judy

My Little Witchling!

2011-10-18T23:09:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick and fun Halloween card to share with you! I'm not sure who makes the image of the little girl, I found it while I was Googling around.

I thought the image was just so sweet! First of all I embossed the frame from the stamp set Frame It, using black embossing powder on black cardstock. Then I cut her out and mounted her behind the frame, poking the top of her hat out of the frame. The background is wheeled in black with the Web Wheel on Tangerine Tango.

Boo is from Spooky Bingo Bits and I mounted it on the Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer punch piece. I love how that punch gives a teeny bit of a border.

I hope you like my sweet little Witchling! Thanks for stopping by, I love your visits and I appreciate the time you spend with me.

Hugs ~ Judy

Halloween Box

2011-10-04T16:59:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Happy October!

Here's a sweet little treat box to share with you today, I used the Box #2 die...love that die!! I lined it with my Halloween words, if you'd like a copy just shoot me an email and I'll send you the word document. You can save it to your computer and then print it off on computer paper for an envelope liner or on cardstock which is what I used on this little box

I used the retired Pumpkin Pie ribbon for the bow (see my bow de fourchette tutorials here) and the cobweb border is a Martha punch. I found the glittery spider at the dollar store. So easy and quick to make...perfect for giving a treat to someone special!

Thanks for stopping by today to share your time with me! Hope you like my little treat box!

Hugs ~ Judy

Covering up my mistakes!!

2011-09-30T18:07:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are on the last day of September! I can't believe how fast time is flying by. I'm very excited about October coming up. It's one of my favourite months, the leaves are starting to turn colour and it's time to cozy up by the fire with a good book or to tuck yourself up in your crafting space and create!

Here's a card I've been meaning to share with you, I really love it and I created it by trying to cover up the couple of mistakes I made! Can you see them? If you click on the picture you might find some of them! But mistakes are always...well most always (lol) good, it makes you think of how to save your card and sometimes it turns out better than you expected!

First of all I tore the Newsprint designer paper and layered it on the White cardstock, then I stamped the beautiful wooden bench from 'Have a Seat' over the seam....ugh...it looked awful! So I ran it through my Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder and it looked worse! I ran a light sponge over it all and punched the label to hide the bench. But while I was sponging the embossed background, some of the black ink got on the heel of my hand and made a blotch so I covered it with the birdcage.

I took out my Fabulous Florets and did the reinker technique. I embossed the flowers in black and coloured them with Cherry Cobble reinker.... but couldn't find my embossing buddy sooo of course I got some black bits inside the flower petals....so I got out my Cherry Cobbler marker and added some details to cover up the black embossing bits...I like it!!

To finish it up, I added a little red bird to balance the flowers and needed some Little Sizzlet leaves to cover the bench leg that was still sticking out!

I had some trouble with this card but really, really like how it turned out! Isn't it amazing how you start out going in one direction and all of a sudden you are doing something completely different! That's what I love about crafting and life...full of surprises...LOL!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your time with me! I love it when you have time to visit with me!!

Hugs ~ Judy

Finally....

2011-09-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I've had so many lovely comments on the anniversary card I made for my daughter and son in law, I just want to say thank you so much for letting me know how much you liked my card! I love your comments and emails and read every one!

Here's the tutorial on how I made the roses, oh my, I said next week and that was 3 weeks ago...so sorry for the delay!! I started out by quilling the roses from scraps and then when I finished, I realized they wouldn't fit in the envelope and so I had to come up with plan B. My Tombow glue was sitting on my craft table and so I reached for it and here's what happened!

This is a picture of my quilling tools, I got them at my local big craft store, if you can't find any of these little tools near you I'm sure you could make your own by snipping off eye of a tapestry needle and inserting it in a soft wood dowel. Anyway, I found 2 and I gave the blue one to my daughter...mine is the little metal one...I love it!

This sample is Whisper White... I've tried to pick the best pictures that my daughter took while I was making the tutorial!

I punched out circles from scraps, these are really small roses.....this one is Very Vanilla stamped with En Francais background in Crumb Cake. Then I cut the circle in a spiral to the centre...

So I basically cut with my scissors in a spiral, just randomly and left a little piece at the end for a glue dot...this is what it looks like when I'm finished cutting.

I insert my quilling tool on the very tip of the outside edge and start to roll.....

and roll.......

and roll.....

When I'm finished rolling it all up, I let it rest on my finger tip to let it relax and unroll just a bit ...

Then I place a glue dot on the end....

And press it gently so that it catches the rolled layers of the flower at the base.

This is what it looks like....pretty eh?

This is me looking at it and thinking that it's going to be a very lumpy envelope.....oh and also a very unattractive picture of my fingernail...it got smashed in a door years ago when the wind caught it just as my son (who was about 3) was running through it....so I of course put my hand out to stop the door from slamming on him...it slammed on my finger instead!

And here is where I spotted my Tombow and thought hmmmmmm....

Here's me really applying pressure with the bottom of the tombow to smash my pretty rose....

And here....gasp....the reveal!! I love it....I think it's beautiful and it will fit into the envelope as well!

This is a picture of a 3/4" Wisteria Wonder smashed rose...it's pretty just as it is or would be lovely with a dab of Dazzling Details, or Dazzling Diamonds or even a pearl in the centre.

This is just to show you the two sizes I used for the anniversary card and of course those roses were all in white. You could make them any size but the bigger the circle the bigger the smashing tool would be...even the bottom of a jar would work great.

And since this is such a long tutorial...what the heck....I'm including a close up picture of the finished rose that's got the En Francais script stamped on it...so pretty!

And to finish, I' m including a picture of a little grouping of my smashed roses, as you can see they turn out a little different every time! I hope you like them and enjoyed my long tutorial and hope you try to make some too...don't throw out your scraps...they are perfect for making these little gems!

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

Hugs ~ Judy

How do you like these roses?

2011-08-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone...ohmigosh...it's the last day of August, I can't believe it! The weather is beautiful and next week the kiddies are back in school and it seems like its the time to settle down to a routine. I honestly don't know what a routine is, but it sounds good!

It was my daughter and son-in-laws 4th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago and this is the card I made for them. I had so much fun making these little roses....I've been calling them smashed roses althought that's not really a great name, but it's how you make them! I hope to have a tutorial up next week on how I made these, they are so much fun and so addicting!

The background is embossed with an embossing folder I picked up a few weeks ago The oval is a Nestability and the sentiment is a retired Stampin'Up set called Everything Nice. The leaves are from an old punch I have and the ribbon is Stampin' Up! Whisper White Satin. I used the new Dazzling Details on the inside of the roses too....love this new product!

Hope you like it and I hope you are enjoying these last days of summer....I wishing for an Indian summer, beautiful sunny days, not too warm, lovely coloured leaves on the trees and that wonderful crisp smell to the air that we sometimes get in September....and no rain would be lovely!!

Thanks so much for stopping by to share your time with me! Crafty hugs to you ~ Judy

Summer Splash Tag

2011-08-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday! Here's another tag to share with you, I am using the Summer Splash stamp set again....I think it's so darn cute!

I stamped the surfboards with the new and fabulous Calypso Coral Ink on Naturals White cardstock. Then I tore a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock and sponged it with Basic Brown ink and did a couple of layers and adhered them to the tag.

I ran a glue pen over it and sprinked the decorator sand on top. I got the decorator sand in the floral department of Michaels...I could have got some from the beach, but I figured the sand in the bag would be cleaner...not so germy...lol!!

I got the little starfish in a jar from a furniture store...mind you it was a couple of years ago, the store was Urban Barn (in Canada) and it was in the candle section...you never know what kind of goodies you might find on your travels! I had no idea what I was going to do with them until I got this cute stamp set!

The sentiment is from the stamp set Thank You Kindly and the ribbon is our yummy Crumb Cake Taffeta ribbon....I am so glad this colour ribbon came back!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, hope you are having a wonderful week!

Hugs Judy

Summer Splash

2011-08-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

I love this little stamp set! This 4" x 4" card was so much fun to make... I added a strip of Marina Mist satin ribbon and then added the Marina Mist scallop circle and the 1 3/8" white circle punch on top after I stamped the sand pail image in Marina Mist. I stamped the sand pail again on Marina Mist cardstock and cut it out and popped it up with dimensionals. To add a bit of dimension I dotted green tombow glue to the inside of the pail and sprinkled clear beads on top...kinda looks like sea foam bubbles! If you click on the picture you'll get a close up view {g}

Then I coloured the sand area with Crumb Cake marker and added glue pen over it and sprinkled some decorator sand on top...so cute in real life! The sand dollar is stamped in Blushing Bride and cut out with the Itty Bitty circle punch and the shell is stamped in Crumb Cake and cut out.

I cut the inside layer at 3 3/4" x 7 1/2" and folded it in half. In the middle of the scored side I placed a 1" square of cardstock and cut from the fold side up to 1" on either side of the square template. This forms the little pop up...so cute eh!

I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set Bold Blossom...both of the sets are in the current Summer Mini. Then I added some more little cut out pieces. I hope this all makes sense...I'm tired tonight! LOL!!

I hope you like todays card and hope you give the easy little pop out card a try! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me! Hope its sunny and warm wherever you live and you have a beach close by to play at!

Hugs ~ Judy

Lovely Roses

2011-08-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Here is a card I made using the Re-inker Spread Technique created and generously shared by Crystal French. It's such a fun technique to do and I've include the instructions below for you. I found it's really important to use the Shimmery white cardstock as the water pools really nicely on it and after it's dry you can see the shimmer through the paint....totally fun!

The stamp set is Fifth Avenue Floral and the leaves are from Autumn Spendor. The sentiment is retired. I used the Tulip Frame Embossing folder and it's always a perfect addition to any card! I was thinking after I'd finished this card that I should have embossed the photo corners too.

Embossed Reinker Spread Technique by Crystal French

Stamp an outline image with white craft ink or Versamark onto Shimmery White cardstock.
Sprinkle with white/black embossing powder and pour excess back into container.
Heat with heat gun until powder melts; let cool.

Now you're ready to go ahead with the "Reinker Spread Technique

Reinker Spread Technique:

Choose 3 colors of Classic reinker. Put a drop of each reinker in separate well in a paint tray.
Have a misting bottle filled with water, an aqua-painter and a paper towel ready.
Spray the embossed shimmery cardstock with water until it is saturated and there are pools of water in the embossed areas.
Moving quickly, dip the aqua painter into the darkest color of reinker and tap it into a pool of water on the embossed image. The reinker will spread across the pool of water. For the best results, start in the center of a flower or the edge of the image to allow the reinker to flow across the image.
Reapply reinker after each dip and continue with the same color as desired
Clean the aqua painter and start with the second and then the third color.

Here's a sample of other colours I used, the half rose on the left is done with only Calypso Coral and I just played with different intensities....pretty eh! The half rose on the right turned out so cool, I couldn't believe the way the colours mixed together, beautiful shades of pink, blues and purples....love this one!

I love the soft colours of the samples below too...it's amazing what it looks like as you're doing the technque and then it looks different yet again once it's dried.

The rose below shows how your painted piece will look before it's cut out....not that great looking but once you've cut it out and mounted it on your card with dimensionals, it's totally fantastic!

Just a little tip from me to you....and this is what I've learned to do {g} when I'm stamping flowers, I usually stamp a whole sheet and then when I paint them, I jot down on my flower what colour combos I've used, then when it comes time to use them to make a card, I don't have to rely on my ever fading memory and it's super easy to match up colours.

I really hope you give this Wow technique a try, it's really fun and easy and so impressive in real life!

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

Hugs ~ Judy

French Foliage....my fave!!

2011-07-29T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hi again...another quick share for you today! This is one of the tags I made for my customers orders last time...I absolutely love the stamp set French Foliage and one of my fave colour combos is Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake Ink....love it!

The background of the Very Vanilla tag is stamped with the script from the stamp set and the sentiment is from the stamp set Thank you Kindly...it is a perfect on this tag!

The flower is from my stash, I found package of them at the local Dollar store....I should have bought more, they are so pretty!

The ribbon is also from my stash....I have lots of goodies in my stash, it's like a treasure trove!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Hello!! Happy Summer....

2011-07-27T22:49:00.000-07:00

Wow...where do I start? I've been away from blogging for over a month....but I'm back! First I want to say thank you so much to everyone who has subscribed and left messages on my blog and to give a warm welcoming hug to all the newcomers! I love having you here with me!

My summer has been crazy busy so far, but lots of fun. We've had two sets of company come to stay with us which was fun in spite of the weather not really cooperating. We've also been away to Whistler for a mini holiday and had some birthdays to celebrate too.

This is what summer is like for my darling LilyBean! She's found a new spot, the little padded bench on my stairway landing. She's so sweet and happy all the time! Life is wonderful, all a girl has to do is tuck up in the cushions and keep a lazy eye on what everyone's doing! Oh and to check on her own pot of catnip on the balcony...that's important too!

I finally got a new camera and I love it! It's a Canon Power Shot Elph 300and it's super easy to use and takes great pictures. I have a video setting on it too, so I'll have to give that a whirl and see what I can do with it. I've taken some pictures of some cards I've been making so I'll have to share those in the next day or two.

Here's a little share for you....I ran out of my Stamping Mist between orders ages ago, so I found this recipe online for stamp cleaner. It works great and what I really like it for, is to refresh the baby wipes I use to clean my stamps...sometimes the baby wipes dry out on me as I haven't closed the latch properly! I keep it in a spray bottle and it works great. I'm not sure who the created the original recipe, if anyone knows, I'd love to give proper credit! I bought all the ingredients at my grocery store.

Homemade Stamp Cleaner

1 cup Distilled Water
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baby Wash
1 Tablespoon Glycerine and Rose Water

ETA...ooops....so sorry, I just changed the above... that should be 1 Tablespoon of Glycerin and Rose Water!! Thanks so much Angie for catching that for me!! You are so sweet and I really appreciate your email!! Big hugs!!

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

Daffodil Delight....so easy!

2011-06-23T23:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone...wow, it's been so busy around here! I have lots of cards to show you but my camera is broken!

The lens will only come out a tiny bit so it doesn't even focus. I took it to the camera shop, thinking maybe they could fix the little lens thingie and no, they said it would be cheaper to buy a new one...sigh...it seems everything is disposable these days.

So tomorrow we're going camera shopping...my new one has to be super easy to use, I don't like reading instructions, in fact I use them as a last resort!

My card today is such a quick and easy one to do. I used the retired set Easter Blossoms from the last mini, but you could use the same design with lots of stamp sets.

I stamped the blossoms in Daffodil Delight on Daffodil Delight cardstock and then stamped a whole sheet of blossoms on white, then cut it into strips for future cards. Then the blossoms are coloured with the Daffodil Delight marker. Added a bit of ribbon and a sentiment and it's done!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs ~ Judy

Pretty Butterfly

2011-06-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

Happy June everyone...I can't believe how fast the time flies by! It seems that I'm on the go all the time! We've finally had some nice sunny weather on the west coast although it's been cloudy in between....it just makes me enjoy the beautiful days even more when we have to wait for them!

Here's a quick share for today, it's one of my favourite new sets in the Summer Mini, it's called Strength and Hope...isn't it pretty? I love it!!

The colours are Tempting Turquoise and Very Vanilla. I stamped the Very Vanilla with the En Francais background in Crumb Cake and then over stamped the swirls in Tempting Turquoise.

I addded Turquoise glitter to the butterfly as well as fine wire antenae's. The label is stamped with the new stamp set from the upcoming catalogue called Four Frames and the sentiment is from Clearly for You...I just love this pretty little set and the little roses and leaves are from the Baby Blossoms stamp set....I can't believe it's now retired. Love this little set...it's a keeper!

Thanks for stopping by to share your time with me! Hopefully I'll be blogging more often in the coming weeks!

Hugs ~ Judy

My Flower Fairy

2011-05-25T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone....wow...it's been ages since I last posted to my blog! It's been a super busy month and I've had some computer issues which my computer guy fixed, then the printer bit the dust and I'm not really a printing maniac but seriously...when you have no printer it's just awful!

Then we got a new wireless printer and of course, our laptops were having a bonding issue with the printer, it worked fine when the computer guy was here...Murphy's Law! Thank goodness for my son who is a computer whiz and has managed to get them to recognize each other...now the router is pouting and doesn't want to play nicely so I have to run downstairs, unplug everything, say a few words (#%#@*&), plug everything back in and we're able to print...until tomorrow anyway!

So this sweet little card is an escape to my little Fairy Garden, where there are no printers, laptops or anything techie at all! I just love this card, I used the Flowers Awash stamp set and the sweet little face, legs and arms are from All in the Family.

The ink I used for the outline stamping was Marina Mist and the fill colour of her dress is Bashful Blue, the flowers are filled with Pretty in Pink and Bashful Blue ink and the leaves are Certainly Celery. I coloured her shoes with a Bashful Blue marker and added rhinestones to her toes.

The embossing on the card is done with the Tulip Frame Embossing Folder and the scrunchy ribbon is from my stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me in Fairyland and being so patient while I've been busy! I hope you're all having a wonderful week!

Big hugs ~ Judy

Strawberry Ice Cream anyone?

2011-04-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

Wow...I have been so busy this month...I can't believe that tomorrow's the last day of April and I've only blogged a couple of times! Tomorrow is my card buffet so I'll have lots of goodies to share with you really soon!

As soon as I got my Petal cone die, I wanted to make an Ice Cream Cone card with it and I found this card when I was 'Googling' around and I thought it was absolutely darling so I cased it...isn't it sweet? I love how Holly used the trim from the Tasteful Trims die for the Ice Cream base. Mmmmm...I just want to give it a big slurp, strawberry ice cream is one of my favourite things!!

I used the Petal cone die (of course!) and Crumb Cake carstock, first I ran it through the die and then I ran it through the Big Shot again with the Perfect Details Texture plate. Then I sponged the cone in my old fave retired ink...Close to Cocoa.

I used Pretty in Pink for the strawberry ice cream, trim and banner and sponged it with Melon Mambo. For the banner I used Happy Birthday from Something to Celebrate (Level 2 hostess set in the outgoing Occasions Mini)

The ribbon is a bow de fourchette using ribbon from my stash of ribbons. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by to share your time with me!
Hugs ~ Judy

Cottage Rose

2011-04-18T00:14:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone...I hope you had a great weekend!

Here's another one of my cards...I really liked how it turned out! I watched Valita's video on how to make a rose with the 2 step Owl punch...such a great idea. I love it when I can use my punches for lots of things. And roses are one of my favorite flowers, my Dad used to grow all kinds of roses and had them planted in all of the gardens. So many colours and varieties!

Each petal is the body of the owl, trim off the feet, shape the petal with your bone folder, sponge the edges and then slit about 1" into the head side, overlap and glue the flaps together with Tombow glue. Each rose takes 8 owl bodies and then the center is the XLarge Scallop Circle, cut into a spiral and rolled up to fit into the middle.

I used my seed packet template again (last time I used it, I did Sweet Peas and Pansies) and changed the wording to Cottage Rose and printed it on Sahara Sand Cardstock. If you'd like the template, I'd be happy to send it to you, just shoot me an email (the link is on the right hand side of my blog), I still can't figure out how to actually put it on my blog! I used Autumn Splendor for the leaves and stamped the image on Old Olive with Old Olive Ink. The cardstock base is Rose Red, embossed with the Tulip Frame Embossing folder.

I hope you like my card! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your time with me! Have a great week.!

PS...Just a little reminder....there's a Full Moon tomorrow (Monday) so don't forget to make a wish for your heart's desire while you're admiring it's beauty in the night sky! I always wish on the Full Moon...it's definitely one of my favourite things!

~ Bye

Queen for a Day!

2011-04-14T15:28:00.000-07:00

I found this card from Lee Ann Greff and fell in love with it... I love the technique of outline watercolouring and the soft daintiness of her card...so I cased it!

I used Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla Cardstock, I ruffled the Baja Breeze Seam binding by pulling a center thread at each cut end of the ribbon and gathered both ends towards the middle. The stamps I used were En Francais Background, Growing Green and You're a Gem. The inks I used were Crumb Cake, Baja Breeze and Pear Pizzaz.

I also used the fabulous Tulip Frame embossing folder...when I first saw it in the Occasions Mini, I wondered how much I'd use it, but being an embossing folder maniac {g} I had to have it and I use it soooo much! I absolutely love it and it makes any card just pop!

For the Watercolouring Outline, I used reinkers and dipped my aqua painter in the puddle of ink and then coloured inside the stamped outline...isn't it pretty? It's really a quick and easy card to make and so much fun to see it take shape with the painting...try it...you'll love it!!

Thanks for stopping by, I love it when you spend a few minutes of your precious time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

For the guys!

2011-04-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

Do you find it hard to make a card for the guys? I sometimes do! This stamp set, (Countryside) is perfect for a guy card and I had so much fun making it. My goal this year is to practice my watercolouring...kind of a fun goal!

I stamped the image in Basic Brown on Watercolour paper, then painted using my Close to Cocoa (can't seem to give that colour up!) and my aqua painter. I made the clouds by sponging a punched out piece of the scalloped circle, sponging on the circle then out to the watercolour paper, moving the scallop to different angle to create the clouds.

I sponged the edges of both layers with Basic Brown and then layered the Kraft on Kraft and ran it through the lattice embossing folder. Then I mounted the finished watercolour piece on and adhered it to the small Kraft base and then both layers to the card base.

I used a scrap of watercolour paper for the greeting that comes from the newly retired SAB set 'So Happy for you'.

Hope you like my watercolouring....I had so much fun making it! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Hello Peeps!

2011-04-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

It's been so long since I blogged...I've missed you and hope you've missed me a tiny bit too!! I've been busy having classes and sneaking in a wonderful little getaway to Victoria with my family! So much fun!

We had beautiful weather while we were there, we did lots of shopping, including stopping at all of my fave spots, the Fairmont Empress store, Murchies Tea Store, Rogers Chocolates, the Irish Linen store and of course a stroll through Fan Tan Alley in Chinatown...we came home with lots of shopping bags and lots of pictures.

I have a little share for you today...here's a cute little watering can I made. I found the template on Splitcoastampers...isn't it sweet? I printed it out on Pretty in Pink cardstock and stamped the Baroque Motif swirl on the sides in Close to Cocoa and added some white dots with my Gel Pen. (You can click on the picture for a closer look) The flowers are made with White Tissue Paper using the Island Floral Die and the leaves are handcut.

I hope you like my little watering can....it's time to get out the real thing and get ready for spring! We actually had snow here the day before yesterday, it didn't last, I thought it was going to when the snow plough drove up my street (!) but thankfully it went away just as suddenly as it came. My daffodils and I are extremely happy about that! LOL!!

I really love Spring, there is such excitement in the air, waiting and watching for all the little buds to blossom out in all their beauty. Waiting for the first little crocuses and daffodils to poke their little heads out of the ground. My tulips are starting to come up in my front garden, much to the delight of the neighbourhood deer....the little darlings have munched the tops all off!

My favourite season is Fall, but my second favourite is Spring....with all it's anticipation of warm days and blooming cherry trees, it always feels like the city is getting ready for a big wedding, the streets are all lined in pink trees and after the blossoms are finished the petals dance through the air like pink confetti...beautiful and so very pretty! I love where I live!!

Wishing you lovely days too....thanks so much for stopping by to share your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T17:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone....I hope you're having a wonderful day wherever you are! St. Patrick's Day has always been a special day for our family....who doesn't have a little Irish in them, especially on St. Paddy's Day!

We always had a huge party on St. Patrick's, my uncle was Irish and oh how he loved to celebrate for the occasion. We would all get together, the Irish music would be blasting, the drinks flowed freely, even for the kiddies (non alcohol ones for the wee ones, watered down for the middle ones, and straight up and strong for the adults!

We would dance and sing and keep an eye out for the leprechauns...everyone knows they can't help but come out when the music and drinks are flowing!

This is an ATC (Artist Trading Card) I made, the sticker on it has the same symbol as the ring my husband bought for me years ago. The symbols on my Claddagh ring stand for Love, Loyalty and Friendship....so pretty!

May you always have

Walls for the winds,

A roof for the rain,

Tea beside the fire,

Laughter to cheer you,

Those you love near you,

And all your heart might desire!

Have a wonderful day, full of laughter and love and watch out for the wee folk! If you manage to catch one, remember that you'll get 3 wishes and no more from them....they are very tricky when caught!

Thanks for stopping by to share my memories!

Hugs ~ Judy

Crepe Paper Tags

2011-03-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

Brown paper packages tied up with ribbon...what could be better?

I love to wrap up my orders, I think it's so much fun to be able to unwrap a pretty bag of goodies...this is what my last months orders look like!

The tag was so much fun to make, I used Early Espresso 4" x 2 1/4" and layered it with Very Vanilla 3 3/4" x 2", this makes a perfect sized tag.

I inked up the Music Notes wheel with Close to Cocoa and wheeled it on the Very Vanilla...I just can't give this colour up! LOL!! Then I added a little strip, the sentiment is from the Short and Sweet Stamp set, I curled it with my fingers and inked the edges. Then I dovetailed one side with my scissors, adhered it with a glue dot and added a pink button from my stash.

The edging on the side is made with pink Crepe paper from the Dollar store. I put sticky strip down on the back and gathered it up while sticking it down... isn't it pretty? This is a great way to add a bit of softness but not bulk. To finish it I added some ribbon to tie it to the bag.

I love it...hope you do too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Chocolate Bookmark Card

2011-03-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

Today's share is a fun little card...and... it has a bookmark attached to it! I think it's the perfect pairing, chocolate to go along with a good book to read. I used the new set called Eat Chocolate that's in the Occasions Mini catalogue...such a cute stamp set for chocoholics like me {g}.

The measurements for this card are 10 1/2" x 5 1/2" and I scored it at 4 1/4" and 8 1/2". Then I ran the serated tool down the 8 1/2" score mark using my SU distressing tool, so that it easily pulls away from the card. The chocolate on the front is stamped in chocolate chip ink and then I covered it with Crystal Effects.

The inside has a white layer, although it's hard to see in the picture. When you tear the bookmark off you have a regular sized card...perfect for the book lovers in your life!

Thanks for stopping by, hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Judy

2 More Stylish Blogger Awards.....for me!

2011-03-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

Wow...I'm thrilled, excited and so honoured to recieve 2 awards...the first one is from my upline Alison and the second one is from Vanessa. Thanks so much for the great award ladies!!

So, according to the rules of accepting the award, I thank the senders for the award and provide a link to their blogs, so please check out their blog links! (see above)

Secondly, I'm supposed to share 8 things about me that you don't know...ohmigosh...are you ready for this? LOL!!

1. I believe in Elves, Faeries and Leprechauns and I love to wish on the Moon and the Stars. I also think Santa and the Easter bunny are pretty special too!

2. I’ve been on an incredible journey of love with my Mom that spanned more than 14 years while she had Alzheimer’s. My Mom continued to teach me so many important things, even though she lost her ability to talk to me....I miss her so much.

3. I always take the white bitty thing out of my eggs when I crack them...so did my Mom...it’s a weird family thing! So all of my cookies, cakes, etc are bitty free! Aren't you glad you know that?

4. I think I am the only person ever to have calluses on my earlobes! My sweet little LilyBean loves to suck my ears and wakes me up each day for an early morning snuggle. I know...totally crazy...lol! I thought she would grow out of it, but she just snuggles into my neck and sucks my ears...lol....she is so sweet...I love her to bits!!

5. I love to cook and bake, and love to create my own recipes. I always shorten the recipes when I write them out, so they don’t look so long and complicated....like when the recipe says to place in pan or the oven...well...hello...where else would you put it? LOL

6. I’ve lived in a Palliative Care cancer ward for 6 weeks with my wonderful Mother in law. Her worst fear was being alone and that was something I could fix. I learned a lot during that time about so many things.... I will always cherish the time we shared together....I miss her too...

7. One of my favourite days was spent on the beach at Parksville, BC, with my kids and my husband. It was raining like crazy and we borrowed umbrellas from the hotel desk. We played barefoot on the beach in the rain, splashing in the waves and had the beach all to ourselves! Love those kinds of days.

8. You don’t want to watch a scary movie with me! I jump and scream when I get scared and that scares everyone else! My husband will say ‘Don’t watch’....well...seriously... I have to peek and even though I know something’s going to happen, it scares me anyway!

The last requirement and the most fun, is that I get to pass the award to 8 blog friends whose work I admire and let them know I've nominated them for this award. It is so hard to narrow it down to 8 blogs as I follow lots of blogs and they are all fantastic.

Here are my 8 choices in no particular order. Please visit their blogs and check out their fabulous creativity and make sure to leave them some love!

1) Sandi http://www.sandimaciver.com/
2) Kathy http://stampingstill.blogspot.com/
3) Teneale http://www.tenealewilliams.com.au/wp02
4) Jenn http://www.anewinkonlife.com/a-new-ink-on-life
5) Lisa http://addinkandstamp.blogspot.com/
6) Tiffany http://www.mycraftyworld.blogspot.com/
7) Kim http://riverfrontstampin.com/
8) Lois: http://mystampinplace.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your time with me! Big hugs ~ Judy

Vancouver Regionals

2011-03-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I went to my very first Stampin'Up! Regionals and I had such a good time! We got a free stamp set called 'Nature's Walk' in our package as well as some great Make and Take projects. It was an amazing day, meeting new friends and getting to know each other better. We had some fabulous demonstrations, learned lots of new things and had a chance to share swaps with each other.

Here's a picture of my swaps...I got some really great swaps in return. The technique I used on my cards is from Kathy in Australia....she came up with this technique that she calls Grid Technique. I absolutely fell in love with it. Check out her blog here where she has an easy tutorial on how to do this as well as some awesome cards! Thanks so much for sharing Kathy! Love, love, love it!!

Here's a close up of my swaps. I used Marina Mist/Very Vanilla, Pear Pizzaz/Very Vanilla and Crumb Cake/Very Vanilla.

I hope you try out this fun technique! It's so much fun and gives such a lovely soft vintagy look. Thanks for stopping by to share your time with me!

Judy

Tea Anyone?

2011-02-23T00:09:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-18T21:37:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-17T22:58:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-02-13T21:33:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-12T15:56:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-02-11T19:58:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-02-10T00:03:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-06T22:40:00.000-08:00

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!

2011-02-04T00:02:00.000-08:00

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!!

2011-02-03T01:16:00.000-08:00

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

2011-02-01T22:24:00.000-08:00

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

Cranberry Hooteycreek Cookies!

2011-01-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

What a funny name for a yumalicious cookie! Give them a try...I just know you'll love them and they'll become one of your favourite things too {g}

I made these Cookies for my 2 workshops this month and they are so yummy! I promised everyone that I would put the recipe on my blog ...what could be better than a mix of cranberries and white chocolate...oh yummm!

I found this recipe when I was looking for gifts in a jar at Christmas, but instead of putting the mix in a jar, I layered it in a clear large cone bags and tied it up with ribbon...so pretty and easy to make.

They were so good, that I doubled that recipe and found that it makes approx 4 1/2 dozen cookies...here you go. Let me know if you love them too!

Cranberry Hootycreeks

1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2/3 cup light brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Beat together butter, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonfuls (then flatten slightly with your fingers), and bake 8 to 10 minutes until the edges start to brown.

Cool on wire racks and store in an air tight container if you have any left....delish!!

In case you want to make the gifts in a jar or a cone bag the recipe and directions for the label can be found here at Allrecipes...happy baking!

Thanks for stopping by!
Judy

Tissue Flower Tag

2011-01-24T17:19:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone...here's a little share for a rainy day! This little tag was so much fun to make, I used the Two Tags Die...I love this die..it's absolutely one of my favourite things..besides "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..." LOL!

I stamped the Christmas Collage background stamp (it was in the Holiday mini) I really love this background and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will be in the next big catalogue! I used Early Espresso Ink and also stamped the sentiment in the same ink, this stamp set is Curly Cute and you know what... it really is cute!!!

The flower is the small flower from the Island Floral Die and I folded a piece of Turquoise tissue paper up (maybe 10-12 layers thick) and secured a brad through the middle, then scrunched it all up....it's so pretty in real life! Then I attached the tag to the bag with coarse twine and put some turquoise tissue in the top of the bag.

Fun and easy! Hope you like it.....thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Are you ready for Spring yet?

2011-01-22T00:45:00.000-08:00

Okay...I've really had enough winter...snow and rain, cold and foggy....when is spring coming?

LOL! Are you tired of winter too? How about some pretty, delicate spring pansies! I'm starting to think of planting my pots on the balcony {g} I'm so ready for spring!

These pansies are so easy to make, I made some here last year with my Seed Packet. Give them a try, you'll love making them! Each pansy uses 2 butterfly punch pieces, coloured with markers, I used Pretty in Pink and So Saffron.

I spritzed them with water, crumpled them up and then smoothed them out to dry. For these pansies I used some gold glitter for the centres, the leaves are Old Olive and I used the 5 Petal Punch, spritzed, crumpled, smoothed and dried too.

Hope you like them...thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

An oldie but a goodie!

2011-01-19T23:13:00.000-08:00

Hi...here's a little Valentine project I made awhile ago...so many versions of this little treat bag, I have no idea who the original designer is either otherwise I would give proper credit!

Here's how I made it: Cut out 2 Top Note Die pieces out of Crumb Cake cardstock. To make the opening for the handle I used the wide oval punch. I punched one first then held both top note pieces together so I could get the second punching in the right spot. Then I sponged all the edges. I adhered both pieces to a little brown bag to hold the treats.

The little heart in the background is from Short and Sweet and the stamps on the front are from Love You Much. Then I tied a knot with a piece of Red Satin Ribbon to finish it off. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

A Stylish Blogger Award for me!!

2011-01-12T16:59:00.000-08:00

Wow...what a lovely surprise! I recieved an email from Anne Hayward and she has selected me for a Stylish Blogger Award! I was so surprised, I honestly didn't think it was for me, then I checked her blog and sure enough it was me! Thank you so much Anne...this is my first award, and I'm thrilled!!

Part of accepting this award is to:

-Thank the person who gave you the award

-Share 8 things about yourself

-Pass this award onto 8 bloggers

-Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

So....here you go.... 8 things about me ...oh my! {g}

My two favourite flowers are Sweet Peas and Lilacs.
I always wear aprons when I'm cooking or stamping....I love aprons!
I'm a typical Gemini...I tell my husband he's getting a great deal...5 wives for the price of 1...LOL!!
This year Gary and I will celebrate our 41st anniversary..each and every day with him is wonderful!
I drive a little blue Crossfire convertible and I'm a very creative packer when I load up the trunk.
I love the ocean and the forests and need to visit them often to make me feel balanced.
I most often..well usually (but I'm trying to be better at that!) will peek at the end of a book before I finish it....I can't stand the suspense!
I actually have some stamp sets that haven't seen ink yet...oh my!

Here are the 8 bloggers I've selected out of so many I admire and follow. These ladies have great blogs and I enjoy everything they share. I hope you will visit them and share some love with them!

Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by to share your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

From My House to Yours With Love

2011-01-02T20:59:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!!

I can't believe we are already into the New Year! My family and I had a wonderful Christmas filled with family partys, relaxing by the fire, fun drives to see the pretty lights and dinners out. LilyBean was spoiled by Santa, her favourite toy is a little wand with a red feather on the end. She likes it so much she even drags it upstairs to bed...so cute!

My Christmas stocking was full to the brim with stamping goodies, new slippers and chocolate....beyond fabulous! So far I haven't even had a chance to play with all my new stamping toys! Oh my!! I'm really looking forward to the new year, sharing my art with you, sharing time with family and friends, meeting new friends and trying to get the chocolate off my hips! LOL!!

This card is made from a picture I took 2 years ago when we had so much snow, it's a picture of our street and I played with it using My Digital Studio. Then I decided to print it out for a little 4" x 4" card and I added Dazzling Diamonds to the trees and the snow. It's mounted on Night of Navy cardstock and the ribbon is Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding. It's so much prettier in real life {g}.

So...this is just a little blog post today with heartfelt wishes to you to have a very, very Happy New Year, one filled with love and laughter, good health and happiness with lots of friendships and adventures.

I wish you all the gift of peace, the joy of time and the magic of creativity....I hope you have a great year!

Happy 2011 from me to you!

Hugs ~ Judy

Little Christmas Angel!

2010-12-22T22:13:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! Here's a cutie share for you today! This is a picture of my niece when she was about 3 years old. She was in a little ballet concert and I found this darling shot in my Mom's picture box. Isn't she a doll? She's all grown up now and still a doll!

I couldn't resist making Christmas cards for her Mom and Dad and for her too...she was so surprised and her Mom cried and her Dad had a definite tear in his eye! Aww.......!

I used Cherry Cobbler Cardstock and layered it with Deck the Halls DSP. Then I layered the picture on Cherry Cobbler and punched gold cardstock with the Ribbon Punch. Then I added Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon and our Chunky Gold Glass Glitter for her halo. It's so sweet in real life!

I can't believe it's nearly Christmas!! I've still got wrapping to do, I'd like to do some baking, I finally finished my cards tonight....a bit late but they're made with love! I have my family and friends conditioned...they know I'm always a teeny bit late...next year I plan to surprise them (and myself) and get my cards made early!! Gotta run....take care!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Vintage Christmas Tags

2010-12-09T22:11:00.000-08:00

Hi again!

Here's a quick little share today...some Christmas tags for you. These are made with the Two Tags Die with Crumb Cake Cardstock. On the folded tag I used a tiny piece of Deck the Halls DSP and on the Scallop tag, I ran the music wheel for the background and the stamps are from Winter Post Stamp set. On both tags I sponged the edges, added Victoria Crocheted ribbon, snowflakes from Northern Frost Die Cut, buttons and ribbons from my stash.

On the next tags I used a Bigz Sizzix Tag Die and cut them out of cardboard. Then I stamped the Christmas Collage background stamp in Bravo Burgundy and sponged the edges...I took the picture before I added some heavy burlap twine for the tie. I used Old Olive Satin ribbon for one tag and Rich Razzleberry for the other one.

I stamped the bells and painted them with my inks and blender pen and the other one I used a snowflake from the Northern Frost Decorative Strip die and added a rhinestone to the center. Quick, easy and fun!

Hope you like todays share! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

From Our House to Yours!

2010-12-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

This card was a make and take at one of Alison's meetings....isn't it pretty? I'm in her second level downline and I love to go to her meetings {g} She always has great make and takes and her meetings are so friendly...I also love the new techniques and samples that Alison shares too!

I added the little sentiment on the top of the card, it's a retired sentiment...sorry...I can't think of what set this is from!

The colours are Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla, the Designer paper is Deck the Halls. The stamp set is Contempo Christmas and the flower is punched with the 5 petal punch (twice) and spritzed with water, then crumpled and when it's dry, you just need to add an antique brad.

The embossed layer is done with the Petals a Plenty Embossing folder, the centres of the flowers are painted with the Gold Smooch Accent Ink...it's a bit hard to see in the picture, but if you click on it, it will make it larger (!) and the border is punched with the Scallop edge border punch.

So pretty!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Judy

A Christmas Wish

2010-12-03T19:39:00.000-08:00

Here's another Christmas card share...I have lots more to show you too!

There are a lot of great tutorials on this technique, even some videos, but Patty Bennett has a great tutorial here. For my card I made my own template from the DSP cardboard, instead of using the wooden frame as shown on Patty's tutorial. I cut circles, lined them up and adhered them together to make my background, so that when I put the cardstock and embossing folder through my Big Shot (this technique works great with the Cuttlebug too), it left a lovely space in the centre.

I punched out an ornament in Pretty in Pink and also ran it through the same embossing folder, Finial Press...love this folder! Then I ran my 2 way glue pen over the raised embossing on the ornament and added Dazzling Diamonds. The sentiment is from the set Home for Christmas.

To finish it I added a knot bow with our White Tafetta Ribbon (this makes the best bows!) and drew a light pencil line fromt the top of the ornament to the top edge of the card. The ferns are from a Martha punch.

Hope you like it....thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Happy December! It's time to look for Fairy Dust!

2010-12-02T23:16:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! Happy December!

This is my last calendar share for the year, I've had so much fun with this little calender. The picture isn't the greatest, it so pretty in real life! The papers and images are from Crafty Secrets, the Christmas tree is from my stash and so is the little metal piece that says 'Magic' I love this calendar so much I'm going to update it with the new 2011 calendar, so I can use it all over again.

December is always such a busy month, but it's always been a fun filled month too. When my kids were small, my daughter was just a baby and my son was about 3 years old, and he was being a little mischief (that's my nice term for misbehaving!) I told him that he'd better be good because Santa's Fairy's were watching him. He...being a practical little boy, told me that there were no such things as fairys..I was so surprised because when my Mom told me the fairies were watching me...well....I just believed it!

And so it started....one of our most precious family traditions!

I wanted my son to believe in the magic of Christmas and Fairies and so when he went to bed that night, I sprinked some gold glitter beside his bed as well as his sisters. In the morning, I said....Look at this! It's fairy dust! He bent over and really examined it and then gathered it up in a little kleenex to show his Dad.

But first he wanted to know how the dust got there. I said it fell from the fairies shoes as they landed by his and his sisters bedside. Every night I'd find a different spot to sprinkle the dust, I don't know who was more excited, him or me! On Christmas eve, I sprinkled it over the stockings and all the presents, and of course on Santa's dish of cookies.

Eventually, as he grew up, he took over the all important job of sprinkling Fairy Dust for his sister and then as she grew up, they would both sprinkle it for me and their Dad. What could be more special than that!

December is magic, pure and simple. Traditions are made from the most ordinary things, they make us smile and bring wonderful memories! And the bonus was that I had the best behaved children in December..LOL! ... so be good this month, you never know when Santa's fairies are watching you!

I hope you have a wonderful month, filled with all of your favourite things and some of your own fairy dust! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me.

Judy

Santa's Sleigh

2010-11-25T00:08:00.000-08:00

I'm on a roll with my Christmas cards this year! Here's another one for you...I wanted to do a one layer card so I did a faux layer by tearing a strip that looked like snow, then added a circle punch for the moon and then brayered over the top of it with Pacific Point ink for the sky.

This was a really easy card to do and I love the effect! Once I was happy with the sky I used one of my all time favourite sets, Lovely as a Tree and stamped the trees in Early Espresso. I stamped the Santa which is a retired stamp set called Wandering Words.

All it needed then was some glitter on the trees and for the snowflakes. Rudolf has a red glittery nose, but it's hard to see in the picture {g}

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me! I hope you come back soon to see the rest of my Christmas cards!

Judy

Oh my...!

2010-11-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

Well for heaven's sake...I've been so darned busy, I totally forgot to share my November Vintage calendar with you! LOL...I've only missed the first half of the month! That's not so bad is it? {g}

Here it is... the images and paper are from Crafty Secrets and the ribbon and little curly paper clip thingy is from Stampin'Up!

The way time is flying I'm going to have to peel off the 2010 calendar from my little vintage project and redo it with the 2011 calendar .... soon! You can download the 2011 CraftySecrets calendar here....hope you have a happy November!

Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Merry & Bright

2010-11-12T18:08:00.000-08:00

I saw this idea ages ago...and of course can't remember where! It's a fairly simple card to make, I first made a template using the cardboard that comes in our Designer Paper. I cut a rectangle using my Nestabilities and then taped it to my white layer with painters tape to keep it in place. Then I sponged Old Olive all over the cut out of the template.

Edited to add: Thanks so much to Carol for jogging my memory as to where I saw this card...it was Julie Buhlers Blog! Of course it was Julie's...I love her blog!! It's Paper Pleasing Ideas. I still haven't found the direct link, got lost enjoying her blog and all of her amazing tutorials...if you haven't vistited Julie's site....you need to! Lots of great ideas and pictures there...thanks Julie and thanks again Carol for pointing me in the right direction to give proper credit!

I stamped the Pine tree, from Lovely as a Tree over the space, stamping a couple of times, before reinking until I liked the effect. Then I carefully removed the cardboard template and inked up the tree again and stamped it on the side. I added a bow to the corner, a retired greeting (sorry I can't remember what set this is from!) and then added liquid embroidery to the tree and under the tree as well.

I adhered all the layers and then with my stylus, I added snow dots with the White Shimmer Paint to make snow. It's a bit hard to see, if you doulble click the picture it should show a larger image!

Hope you like my latest Christmas card share! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Remember

2010-11-10T22:16:00.000-08:00

Today is Remembrance Day...the day we remember our soldiers and all of their sacrifices for us.

Let’s remember them every day and pray that our soldiers will return home safely to us.

Remember them.

Now and always.

Remember them with pride and deepest respect.

Judy

Pizza Cookie

2010-11-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

Here's the recipe I promised when I had my last class....it's a Pizza Cookie and it's seriously yummy! The kids love it and so does everyone else....you can use any toppings you like as well.

I've been making this for years, I originally found the recipe in the Company's Coming cookbooks when they first came out. Give it a try, I'm sure it will be a favourite with your family too!

Oatmeal Chip Pizza Cookie

1 cup Butter or Margarine (softened)

2 cups Brown Sugar (packed)

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

2 cups Flour

1tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

2 cups Rolled Oats

2 cups SemiSweet Chocolate Chips

3/4 cup medium Coconut

Cream butter and sugar together. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Add vanilla and remaining ingredients. Mix well. Press 3 cups of dough into a greased 12" pizza pan. Sprinkle with more semisweet chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, nuts, coconut, candy coated chocolates (Smarties, M&M's), and or any other treat you like!

This makes 1 large pizza and 1 small pizza. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes. (This time is good for my convection oven. If you don't have a convection oven I would just bake it for about 5 minutes longer until it's golden on top).

The toppings for the pizza cookie above in the photo were:

M&M Peanuts

M&M's

Peanut Butter Chipits

Skor Chipits

Long and Bead Sprinkles (have no idea what the real name for these are!)

Coconut

I hope you give this a try and hope you and your family love it as much as we do! Enjoy!!

Judy

Christmas Collage

2010-11-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

More Christmas cards for you {g} Don't you feel that as soon as Halloween is over we're in a headlong rush to get ready for Christmas?

Here's my share for you today...I love this stamp set, well there are two of them and I love them both! I know I always say it but seriously these are two of my favourite things!! I used the Christmas Collage background set and the Bells and Boughs stamp set...isn't it pretty!

I stamped with Crumb Cake ink on Very Vanilla paper, then I stamped the bells on a Very Vanilla scrap and punched it out with the 1 3/4" punch. Then I sponged the edges of the circle and adhered it on the background. I added some homemade Champagne Shimmer Mist and spritzed the whole layer. When it was dry I adhered it to the Crumb Cake base, added a cream organza bow and its done! Simple and oh so pretty!

To make the Shimmer Mist, I filled a tiny spritz bottle with rubbing alcolol, about 3/4 full and then added a couple of good sized drops of Champagne Shimmer Paint. Shake it up really good each time you use it. I spritzed it inside a large cardboard box as there is some overspray. The effect is totally awesome and so pretty in real life! If you click on the picture and then enlarge it, you might be able to see the shimmer!

Hope you like my Christmas share...thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs ~ Judy

Happy Birthday LilyBean!

2010-11-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Wow...our little LilyBean is a year old! She's still as sweet and gentle and mischievious as ever and we love her so much! As you can see, she still snuggles in her favourite pink blanket....aww...isn't she cute!!

She's a little crafter too and loves to get into my stuff and run away with my sponges and flowers, really anything I'm working on she loves to get into!

She really loves it when my Stampin'Up! order arrives and I start to pull out the brown paper...she thinks its just for her! LOL! She tunnels into it and hides her toys in it and even has a little cat nap or two on top of it

When I saw the cute little Halloween cones on Kimberly's blog, I thought to myself...hmmmm....I think that would make the perfect birthday hat for Lily...what do you think? LOL...do you think she likes it? She didn't mind for a few minutes but then she just wanted to get it off and play with it! I used the Jolly Holiday DSP and Pink Satin Ribbon and retired silver elastic cording.

Here she is with our Halloween pumpkins...at first she didn't know what to make of them, but then decided to have a dainty chomp of the stem!

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into my world! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

My last Halloween projects!

2010-11-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Well, Halloween is over and it was so busy around here I didn't have time to post my Halloween Shop or my Halloween Luminary....but, better late than never! I just love this card design, I can think of all kinds of wonderful ways to use it. Imagine a Bakery shop, or a Wine shop...a Florist shop, or a cute Christmas shop....the list is endless!

I hope you all had a wonderful and safe Halloween! My pumpkins are still sitting on my porch..I hate to toss them out...maybe I'll cook them up and make Pumpkin loaf or Pumpkin muffins {g}

I used Old Olive and Black for the card, the SU spider web folder and 4 stamp sets!!! What fun! The stamp sets are Halloween Hoot, Dark and Dreary, Fangtastic and Wicked Cool. I gold embossed the little broom and added gold glitter for magic dust.

I found a little package of spiders at the dollar store and tied a thread around it's body and legs and taped it up behind the awning...then I added some purple webby floss that I had in my stash. The ribbon on the bottom was attached with sticky strip and just folded up and down to make a zigzag.

Here is the last of my Halloween goodies for this year, I had so much fun making this little luminary. I found the directions on Stamp and Scrap with Frenchie's blog...what a great idea! After my box was cut, I ran it through the SU spider web folder and ran my sponge over Whisper White craft ink to give it dimension and to make it look cloudy.

To finish it, I added some googlie eyes and a spider. I used black cardstock and cardstock vellum, and the Haunting Wheel...I just love these little goblins!

Now I have to post the Christmas cards I've been making! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

A Christmas Wish

2010-10-20T22:37:00.000-07:00

Hi again!

Here's another Christmas Card for you....it's a complete case of this card that Christine did. When I saw this card, I absolutely fell in love with it and had the retired DSP to make one like hers. All I did was add a couple of embellishments. I added some liquid embroidery for snow on the tree and the steps and then added some Iridescent Stickles to it. I also added some red glitter holly berries and some Dazzling Diamonds to the porch light.

I used my aqua painter and painted the scene with Pretty in Pink, Basic Gray and Close to Cocoa. The wreath and garland are painted Garden Green and the light inside the lantern is So Saffron Ink. The Snowflakes are non Stampin'Up!....the top one is the same as the bottom one, I just cut it down.

Stamp set: Home for Christmas, Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Watercolour Paper and retired DSP, Accessories: Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon, Snowflakes and Rhinestones.

Hope you like my case! Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Waiting for Santa!

2010-10-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

Are you ready for some Christmas cards?

I have been having such fun making Christmas cards this year, I can't believe how early I'm getting started! Usually I'm rushing around like a maniac and am totally late in gettting them mailed! {g} So here is my first and most favourite card of the Christmas cards I've made so far.

I'm really loving this little Vintage stamp set! It's called 'Bells and Boughs' and it makes me think of times past, charming, quaint and cozy times. Magical moments waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve, putting out cookies and milk, certainly not forgetting the carrots and oats for the reindeer too...wonderful memories! Fabulous stamp set!!

I found this darling picture of the little girls on Christmas Eve and couldn't resist it! Isn't it sweet? I found the clip art picture at The Graphics Fairy blog. You can find it here.

I sponged So Saffron into the inside of the fireplace to give it a bit of a glow. The background is stamped with my retired Music Background stamp but you could easily get the same effect with the music wheel in the large catalogue. I tapped it here and there onto Very Vanilla cardstock to give it a vintage look and then sponged it lightly with Close to Cocoa and So Saffron.

I added dots with my Cherry Cobbler marker on the sentiment. The bow is Cherry Cobbler seam binding....I love this ribbon!! I made a bow using a plastic picnic fork....I will have to put together a picture tutorial for the fork bow...it really needs a new name..LOL!! I don't know who came up with the ingenious idea of using a fork to make perfect bows...but they are perfect...every time!

The colours I used were Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke and Cherry Cobbler. The inks were Close to Cocoa and So Saffron.

I hope you like this card and come back to see the rest of my Christmas Cards as I post them! Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Spiderweb Leaves!

2010-10-16T00:42:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

Just a quick share today, I love to wrap up my orders and include a thank you tag with a little note for my special ladies. Who doesn't love to get a pretty package!

This little tag is really a plain shipping tag, stamped with the Bella Toile Background stamp in Early Espresso and sponged with Cajun Craze, More Mustard and Old Olive. Then I cut out the leaves with the Leaves #2 Bigz Die. To add some interest I ran it through my Bigshot again putting the leaves in the Spiderweb embossing folder...cool eh?

As a final step, I sponged Early Espresso ink over the 'ribs' and rubbed some gold glitter on top. Then I tied it to the brown paper bag with a pretty Orange Organza ribbon.

Hope you enjoyed my quick and easy tag! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

I'm Batty For You!!

2010-10-06T01:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

A quick and fun share for you today... a cute little Halloween Treat Holder! These are so adorable and so easy to make {g}.

I saw this idea on Heather Nichols blog ages ago and just loved it and popped the idea right into my idea file! And guess what it's made with....a file folder! I actually searched for ages to find Pixie Stix and no luck, it seems we don't have them where I live. But I have a wonderful friend who sometimes shops in the States and she brought me some! {Thanks Alex!!}

You could also use the seasonal pencils that are sold at the Dollar Stores, you would just need to adjust the size a bit! And you can easily change these little holders up for any occassion, they would be so sweet for Valentines or Christmas...the ideas are endless! LOL!!

Note: If you want to make pencil holders then cut right under the tab thingies, about 8 1/4" from bottom fold on file folder...I'm assuming that all file folders are the same size!!

So here's how I made it. I used a kraft coloured file folder and cut it at these measurements:

Measuring from the bottom fold on the file folder, measure and cut at 7 1/2", cutting through both layers. This will cut off both of the tabs. Now open up your folder and cut 4" off one side only. Fold back up. Now measure and cut treat holders at 2 " wide, you should get 5 little holders per folder.

Then I stiched up each side on my sewing machine. Use your corner rounder for the top of the treat holder.

I sponged all the edges with Basic Black, and the stamp sets I used were: Wicked Cool, To/From is from Winter Post, and the spider is from Batty for You. The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry. I also stamped and sponged the back of the treat holder.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me! I hope you enjoy this little treat and make some of your own!

Judy

Happy October!

2010-10-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

Good Morning!

Can you believe it's October already? Where has the summer gone, in fact I'm wondering where the year has gone! LOL! My little LilyBean will be 1 year old this month and she's still so adorable. She's curled up with her pink blankie by the fireplace after a busy morning of mischief!

October is one of my favourite months... I love the coloured leaves, pumpkin patches, pumpkin pie (yumm!) and gingersnap cookies with a cup of hot tea. I love going to the Cranberry Festival in Fort Langley and getting bags of cranberries, and sharing a bag of cranberry kettle corn. I love preparing for and having Thanksgiving dinner with our family....turning on the fireplace on cool nights and curling up with a good book. And I love Halloween! Of course Halloween! Who doesn't love Halloween?? LOL!

Here's my October page from my Vintage Calendar. I only have 2 more to share with you after this month!

All the supplies I used were from Crafty Secrets, except for the ribbon and the little brass photo corners, they are from Stampin'Up!

Thanks for stopping by ~ I hope you have a wonderful October filled with good things!!

Judy

Spooky, Easy and Fun!

2010-09-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Today I have a quick share for you, a really easy 4 x 4 Halloween Card and matching envelope! I had fun making up a sheet of Halloween words and printed them off on the computer.

I used an old font I purchased long ago called CK Twilight and sized it at 22. Then I printed a sheet of Old Olive for the front and for the inside liner of the envelope I used the computer copy paper.

I used "Spooky" from the Wicked Cool stamp set, and wrapped Black satin ribbon around the card front. The spider is one of those Dollar Store rings that have lots in a bag, I cut off the ring part and then secured the spider to the card with glue dots.

The envelope is a regular sized envie, I trimmed each side so that it opened up flat (longways) measured and cut the liner piece. Then I adhered it, just below the pre glued edge. I used really skinny adhesive tape on each side and folded it up. Makes a perfect little envelope!

If you would like a copy of my Halloween Words, send me an email, there's a little email link on the right hand side of my blog and I would be more than happy to share it with you! I've tried to upload this to Google Docs but the format is all wrong...so I give up! LOL!! Techie I'm not!!

I've saved the document in Times New Roman, size 22 font, so that it's readable in case you don't have the same font I do! Feel free to change it to whatever font you have on your own computer to make it work for you!

I hope you enjoy this little share! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Booglie Eyes

2010-09-17T20:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick Halloween share for you!

I made these two cards last year with my Haunted House Cuttlebug folder and some Yellow/Gold Twinkling H20's. The stamp set is one of my favourite Halloween sets, but it retired long ago...it's called Booglie Eyes. I inked up the embossing folder using my brayer and Whisper White craft ink to give it a foggy look.

Here's the little ghostie doing the monster mash dance! Isn't he hilarious?

Same folder, same technique but with the little Vampire, 'The Count'.... I love these guys!

I added googlie eyes to both as well as white Signo pen for the bat's eyes. The cardstock is Black and Pumpkin Pie and the Counts cape is coloured with a purple marker.

Hope you enjoyed today's share! Have a happy weekend!

Hugs ~ Judy

Loving the Newsprint DSP!

2010-09-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

I love this card...it's a total case from Jen's blog. I found it when I was blog surfing ages ago... blog surfing is one of my favourite things to do! When I was putting this card together, I found it needed just a little something extra so I added the background circles with Crumb Cake ink.

I used an old retired set but when we did this at my last class, I wanted to use something current so I cut out the circles with fun foam with the Circle Bigz Die, added the green tombow glue to the back and mounted it on a clear mount (once it was dry) and there you have it...instant stamps! The button is from the Sizzlit button die. I popped it up on a dimentional and added household twine to it

The large star is also from the Star Bigz Die and once it was cut out I embossed it with the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing folder.

The sentiment is from the Level 3 Hostess set 'Occasional Quotes'. It's a bit hard to see...I pierced it on both long sides and distressed it all around with our distressing tool. This was a really fun and easy card to make! Hope you like it!

Thanks for sharing your time with me!

Judy

Artistic Etchings

2010-09-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend! It's been raining here today and was so cozy to be tucked up in the house!

Here's a card I made.... I love this set and colours! I loved making this ribbon flower too, it was so easy and I love making them! I saw a card similar to this one at an upline meeting and thought it was so pretty! I added the large flower from the Blossom Party Big Shot Die using the Newsprint DSP and placed it behind my ribbon flower.

What I used:

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Soft Suede and Newspaper DSP

Stamp Sets: Artistic Etchings, Charming, Winter Post

Ink: Crumb Cake and Early Espresso

Assessories: Blossom Party Die, Very Vanilla Taffeta Ribbon, Half back Pearl

Hope you like my latest card! Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Happy 40th Anniversary....to us!

2010-09-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a such a special day for us, Gary and I celebrated our 40th anniversary! I've been trying to find a picture of us together and although the quality of this one isn't super great, I think it's a great shot of us at our daughters wedding.

I don't know where the time has gone! We've had lots of love, laughter and adventures throughout our marriage. We've had crazy times and truly special times! We are so lucky to have 2 grown kids with wonderful lives of their own and family and friends who make our lives complete. We've learned a lot along the way and have created so many wonderful memories! We're looking forward to many more years having fun together!

And just for fun....here's a picture of our wedding day! We were married on September 4, 1970 and my wedding boquet had the same flowers that my Mom had on her wedding day! Yellow roses and white carnations. Oh my...didn't we look young? LOL!! I guess we were young way back then!

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into my world! Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Wishing you all love, happiness and good health....those are lifes real treasures!

Hugs ~ Judy

My Easy Card Layers

2010-09-02T11:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, well I just don't know how to get a document into my blog, so I've cut and pasted my chart for you!

This is a handy chart I made to keep on my craft table and it makes it really easy to cut the layers for my cards. When I first started making cards I used the guessing game method which resulted in a lot of work, crazy dimensions and lots of wasted cardstock and time!

It’s pretty easy to make any size card and mat the layers so they’ll look great….just use increments of ¼”….it’s really that easy! You can add as many or as few layers as you like, although the small cards usually only need 1 or 2 layers.

Also when you want to mat something on your card, stamp your image first, then measure it and cut. Add layers to your image piece by adding increments of 1/4" all around for each layer. To give you an idea of what I mean, here are a couple of my favourite cards here and here. See what I mean...1/4" layers and it looks great!

**Just a note: Irregular size cards, including square or small cards may require extra postage...check your post office first before you pop it in the mail!

Standard card size Card
The Medium white and coloured envelopes will fit this size (page 171)

My fave...side fold or top fold: (5 ½”x 4 ¼”) card base.
Alternate cut for this size ....side fold or top fold: (4 ¼” x 11) card base.

Layers
• Layer 1 – 5 ¼” x 4”
• Layer 2 – 5” x 3 ¾”
• Layer 3 – 4 ¾” x 3 ½”
• Layer 4 – 4 ½” x 3 ¼”

2” x 2” Square Card (2” x 4”) card base

Layers
:• Layer 1 – 1 ¾” x 1 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 1 ½” x 1 ½”

3” x 3” Square Card (3” x 6”) card base
#107309 Envelope will fit this size

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 2 ¾” x 2 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 2 ½” x 2 ½”
• Layer 3 – 2 ¼” x 2 ¼”
• Layer 4 – 2” x 2”

4” x 4” Square Card (4” x 8”) card base

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 3 ¾” x 3 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 3 ½” x 3 ½”
• Layer 3 – 3 ¼” x 3 ¼”
• Layer 4 – 3” x 3”

4 ¼” x 4 ¼” Square Card (4 ¼” x 8 ½”) card base

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 4” x 4”
• Layer 2 – 3 ¾” x 3 ¾”
• Layer 3 – 3 ½” x 3 ½”
• Layer 4 – 3 ¼” x 3 ¼”

4 ½” x 4 ½ ” Square (4 ½” x 9”) card base

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 4 ¼” x 4 ¼”
• Layer 2 – 4” x 4”
• Layer 3 – 3 ¾” x 3 ¾”
• Layer 4 – 3 ½” x 3 ½”

4 ¾” x 4 ¾ Square (4 ¾ x 9 ½ ) card base

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 4 ½” x 4 ½”
• Layer 2 – 4 ¼” x 4 ¼”
• Layer 3– 4” x 4”
• Layer 4 – 3 ¾” x 3 ¾”

5” x 5” Square Card (10” x 10”) card base
#107289 Envelopes will fit this size

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 4 ¾” x 4 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 4 ½” x 4 ½”
• Layer 3 – 4 ¼” x 4 ¼”
• Layer 4 – 4” x 4”

5¼” x 5 ¼” Square Card (5 ¼” x 10 ½”) card base
#107289 Envelopes will fit this size

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 5” x 5”
• Layer 2 – 4 ¾” x 4 ¾”
• Layer 3 – 4 ½” x 4 ½”
• Layer 4 – 4 ¼” x 4 ¼”

5 ½” x 5½ ” Square (5 ½” x 11”) card base

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 5 ¼” x 5 ¼”
• Layer 2 – 5” x 5”
• Layer 3 – 4 ¾” x 4 ¾”
• Layer 4 – 4 ½” x 4 ½”

5 ¾” x 5¾ Square (5 ¾ x 11 ½” ) card base

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 5 ½” x 5 ½”
• Layer 2 – 5 ¼” x 5 ¼”
• Layer 3– 5” x 5”
• Layer 4 – 4 ¾” x 4 ¾”

6” x 6” Square Card (6” x 12”) card base

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 5 ¾” x 5 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 5 ½” x 5 ½”
• Layer 3 – 5 ¼” x 5 ¼”
• Layer 4 – 5” x 5”

3” x 6” Long Card (6” x 6” card base)
#107286 Envelopes fit this size

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 2 ¾” x 5 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 2 ½” x 5 ½”
• Layer 3 – 2 ¼” x 5 ¼”
• Layer 4 – 2” x 5”

3 ½” x 7” Long Card (7” x 7” card base)

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 3 ¼” x 6 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 3” x 6 ½”
• Layer 3 – 2 ¾” x 6 ¼”

4” x 8” Long Card (8” x 8” card base)
This size will fit into an A10 or legal envelope

Layers:
• Layer 1 – 3 ¾” x 7 ¾”
• Layer 2 – 3 ½” x 7 ½”
• Layer 3 – 3 ¼” x 7 ¼”
• Layer 4 – 3 x 7

If you'd like to print the layer list out just highlight it, copy and paste it into a Word document and then all you need to do is print it out...you'll have a handy layer guide too! Well, there you go...hope it helps you as much as it's helped me!! It’s my very own little cheat sheet....enjoy!

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

Happy September!

2010-09-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Happy September everyone! Just a quick share of my vintage calendar for you today{g} I can't believe it's September already....it always seems that this is the real start of the year, I guess it's because it's back to school for the kiddies and that means back to routines!

I love the approach of the Fall, it's one of my absolute favourite times of the year. I love the cooler nights and changing colours, the falling leaves. I love the crisp but warm days and I love the hint of spice in the air...it's probably the chysanthemums! I love to smell the changes in the air, you can actually smell when the rain is coming or the snow which hopefully we won't have to smell for a long, long time! LOL!!

Once again I made my vintage calendar and it's a total case from our local scrapbook store. I just fell in love with it and Jesse (such a doll!) let me take pictures of it. The papers and images are Crafty Secrets as well as the calendar. The ribbon is our Old Olive Satin and the gold elastic is now retired. The little key I've had for ages in the depths of my stash of goodies!

Hope you like it and have a fabulous and fun month!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Judy

Ohmigosh...Spider alert!!

2010-08-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

Seriously!!!....look how big this guy is! {{{shudder}}} My daughter and I were sitting on the couch the other night when my husband said 'Hey, there's a spider running right for you'...you've never seen two people move so fast as Brandy and I!

We had to move the couch, LilyBean ran right over top of the huge spider, we had the giant flashlight out and Brandy caught it in a glass.....oh my....this guy is so big he could be wearing boots! At least he didn't have hairy legs!!!

As much as I don't like spiders...well I like cardstock spiders and of course stamped spiders ...we just can't kill them, so Brandy tossed it out in the garden! I just hope he doesn't find his way back in again! It always seems that as Fall approaches those crazy spiders want to find a way to come into the house...I'll be on the lookout from now on!

Is he not seriously scary?? I keep thinking what if Gary hadn't noticed him....would he have crawled on us....Omigosh...I can't think about it! LilyBean is not really a spider hunter...how do you train your cat to do that???

That's your shiver for today!!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Judy..who's now paranoid and on the lookout for anymore spiders!

Another Anniversary!

2010-08-27T23:51:00.000-07:00

Ta da....another Anniversary to celebrate!

This is a card I made for my wonderful Sister of the Heart and her husband. They celebrated their anniversary last week and I know they enjoyed their special day! I had so much fun making this card for them!!

I used Very Vanilla cardstock and matted it on Black, then I inked up the front of the card with the medallion stamp from Artistic Etchings.

The main focal point of the card is a piece of the fabulous Newsprint Designer Paper. I used the Scallop Edge punch to place behind this piece. Then I used the Oval Punch and the Scallop Oval Punch for the sentiment. I punched out some hearts in Real Red using the Heart to Heart punch and then I used the Black Satin ribbon and made a bow....using a fork!! Honestly it makes a perfect bow every time!

This bow is not my invention...I've seen it so much lately on the internet and had to try it! I'd love to give credit to the genious who came up with this great technique so if you know who the original creator is, please let me know so I can give proper credit!!

I love this card! And I love this new stamp set! Hopefully I will be able to do a picture tutorial on how to make this bow as soon as I have an extra set of hands! This bow has such a crazy name...it really needs a new name because it makes a fabulous, perfect bow...every time!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Where am I...

2010-08-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

LOL!! Where am I? pat..pat...pat...oh....here I am!!!! Wow...that was a super long time that I haven't posted to my blog! I'm not sure if you missed me or not {g} but I missed you!!

I've been busy with summer things, enjoying the warm weather and my air conditioning (!!), a lovely summer wedding, a couple of anniversaries, birthdays, family times and lots of BBQ's and a very fun Stamp class. I hope you've all been having a great summer too! This coming week we're off to the Okanagan for the last summer get away...I honestly can't believe it's nearly September!

Here's a little share of the anniversary card I made for our daughter and son in law, they just celebrated their 3rd anniversary this month! Wishing them many more happy years to come!!

Here's how I made it:

Whisper White and Black Cardstock, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Stampin'Up! Heart Punch and Heart Embosslit, Large Oval and Scallop Oval punches, Black gel pen for the buttons, computer generated sentiment, organza ribbon. The bow tie is made from the heart punch, I cut it freehand and added rhinestones to the other heart! Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by...enjoy the last days of August!!
Judy

Happy August!

2010-07-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

Happy August everyone! I hope you're all having a great summer. Here's a quick share today of my August page for my Vintage Calendar. Once again the papers and images are from Crafty Secrets and the ribbon and hardware are Stampin'Up!

Hope you enjoy this little page and have a great long weekend! We're celebrating BC day this weekend so most people get Monday off.

It's a time to celebrate our history and culture, a time to enjoy family and friends as well as trying to take in some of the events in many communities. We live in the Greater Vancouver area, so there are Sea Festivals, Fireworks, Parades, Concerts and parties all around town! Great fun for all!

Hope you're having a great weekend wherever you live! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Cheers ~ Judy

Cherry Cobbler Goes Vintage!

2010-07-28T23:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone ~ I had fun making this card....I just love the new Cherry Cobbler colour! I paired it with Very Vanilla and Black and used the new Newsprint DSP. It's a deep, bold vintage look...I love it!

On the first layer (Cherry Cobbler), the background is stamped with En Francais using Early Espresso Ink. I ran the next layer (Very Vanilla) through the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and rubbed Early Espresso Ink over the top with a sponge....then I ripped it and distressed the edges. Then I spritzed it all over with the Colour Spritzer and my Early Espresso marker...this is a very fun tool!

Next I took a piece of the Newsprint DSP, embossed it, ripped it and layered it onto ripped and sponged Cherry Cobbler, then again colour spritzed it. The ribbon is Black Satin...this is such nice ribbon! The flowers are cut in the Big Shot with the Birds and Blooms Die, sponged with Early Espresso and layered together with a vintage brad in the centre. The Very Vanilla Flower is embossed and sponged and spritzed. To finish, I used the sentiment from Elements of Style.

Hope you enjoy this card! Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Garden Fairies

2010-07-25T23:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone!

I have a quick card to share today, it's for a girlfriends birthday and she loves Fairies...me too! I found this really cute little vintage looking picture in my stash and touched it up with a little glitter on her wings and dress. I also used the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder, this new embossing folder is absolutely one of my favourite things!! This card is so soft and pretty in real life!

The colours I used were Blush Blossom cardstock (retired) and Very Vanilla. The ribbon is some pale pink organza that I also found in my stash...I think it's a perfect match! Hope you enjoy this card...I love it!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me ~ hope you have a wonderful week!

Judy

Crocheted Flowers.....Part 2

2010-07-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

Wow...I've had so many questions about these cute little flowers and meant to include the link for them...sorry! Here you go {g} I found a great pattern here on Nichole Heady's blog. She has a wonderful tutorial for making these little cuties!

The other pattern is one I got from my cousin ages ago, it's for the 3 layered rose (top right in the picture below) here you go...hope you can figure it out!

Rose

To start: Chain 6. Sl st to join ring.

Round 2: Chain 6, dc in ring, chain 3. Repeat until you have 6 segments.

To form petals: 1 sc, 1 hdc, 3 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc (6 times)

Next round: In back of flower, 5 chains joined between each of the petals, then 1 sc, 1hdc, 5 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc (repeat for all petals)

Next round: In back of flower, 7 chains joined between each of the petals, then 1 sc, 1hdc, 7 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc (repeat for all petals)

Fasten off.

A couple of my flowers I did variables of the rose pattern. I used: a) one row of petals and 2) 2 rows of petals and 3) decreased the six segments to 5....LOL! Is that confusing enough? Hope you can figure it all out!

Happy hooking ~ Judy

DMC Colours to match the new Colour Collections

2010-07-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

I just love the new Colour Collections and wanted to match my DMC embroidery floss to them. Here's a few of my crocheted flowers to show you. There are lots of patterns online for these easy flowers, I'm a self taught crocheter, so if I can do it....anyone can!

I saved an old list I found ages ago on Splitcoaststampers for matching embroidery floss to go with our cardstock. I’ve just updated the list for my personal use and added my own selections for the new colours. Someone else did the initial work on this list and I’d love to give credit for the old file if anyone knows who originally compiled it!

I like to make my own embellishments (especially in the winter time!) things like little crocheted flowers, or snowflakes, and I like to tie matching floss through buttons for my cards. Here's a quick and easy 4 x 4 card using the floss to match the Melon Mambo cardstock. Easy...just a bit of layering, a polka dot embossing folder and the Little Leaves Sizzix die and half back pearls.

PS...These are the closest matches to my floss collection...there are new colours all the time, I haven’t bought any for a few years...so you might just find a closer match than I did {g}

Brights Collection

Daffodil Delight 727

Pumpkin Pie 3853

Tangerine Tango 720

Regal Rose 3733

Melon Mambo 3805/335/956

Old Olive 3012

Tempting Turquoise 3846

Pacific Point 517

Rich Razzleberry 3802/327

Real Red 304/321

Subtles Collection

Rose Red 3731/3350

Pretty in Pink 776/3326

Pink Pirouette 963

So Saffron 676

Certainly Celery 369

Baja Breeze 598

Bashful Blue 3841

Marina Mist 813

Perfect Plum 3041

Wild Wasabi 320

Regals Collection

More Mustard 977

Cajun Craze 920

Cherry Cobbler 816

Riding Hood Red 3721

Bravo Burgundy 902

Garden Green 3345

Always Artichoke 936

Not Quite Navy 3765

Night of Navy 336

Elegant Eggplant 550

Neutrals Collection

Early Espresso 839/3781

Crumb Cake 3782

Sahara Sand 3024

Very Vanilla Ecru

Whisper White White

Basic Black 310

Chocolate Chip 838/779

Soft Suede 610/3790

River Rock 372

Basic Gray 413

In Colour Collection for 2010-2011

Peach Parfait 402

Poppy Parade 3705

Pear Pizzazz 3348

Concord Crush 791

Blushing Bride 761/3713

I hope you can use this and have fun with it....feel free to share it {g} Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me! Hope you enjoy my updated version of the list!

Judy

You Only Live Once!

2010-07-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Well, it's been ages since I've added anything to my blog...I've been meaning to, but sometimes life gets very busy! I've been having some arthritis issues with my knee which has resulted in me not sleeping too well. That in turn results in me dragging my butt around and not getting much done! Not even much stamping, much to my dismay!! And I have new stuff to play with....it's waiting for me and I think I need to go up to my craft room and play!

Here's a quick little share for you today, it's a very easy to make distressed flower. I made the flower for the Bermuda Bay card with the XL Flower Punch and punched out 4 pieces. (The Old Olive card is made with the Scallop circle punch exactly the same way) One will be for your base. The other 3 I attached together with a brad in the centre and then spritzed them heavily with water. Crumple them up until you get the shape you like and set your flower aside to dry.

While my flower was drying I stamped the Bella Toile in Bermuda Bay for my background. I added a ribbon and some pearls down the side and the sentiment is from 5th Avenue Floral, punched out with the wide oval punch. I punched out 2 pieces in Bermuda Bay and added one to each side of the sentiment to finish it off.

I did exactly the same thing here, only I used Old Olive ink and grosgrain ribbon and the Scallop Circle punch. It's not as full as the one above, but it would be much better for mailing. Then I added a little rhinestone to the centre of the flower.

This was a lovely flower until my sweet little kitty, LilyBean ran off with it and chomped it up....what a little mischief! She hopped right up onto my craft table when I wasn't looking and the next thing I knew she was making off with her treasure...this is what it looked like by the time I rescued it! LOL!!

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

Judy

Fast, Easy and Oh So Pretty!

2010-07-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone....wow....2 blog posts in 2 days after not having too much time to blog! LOL!! I'm impressed with myself. {g} I really missed blogging....I love sharing with you and love the little bit of writing too.

This card was made when I needed a card in a hurry. I really wasn't sure what I thought about this set, I wasn't quite sure it was my style...but let me tell you I absolutely love it now...there are so many things you can do with it! It's a must have!!

I stamped the simple daisy outline with Black Stazon and the leaves and stem with Old Olive. The Sentiment is also stamped in Black Stazon. I coloured the centres of the daisy with my Summer Sun marker which is retired now. I'm sure Daffodil Delight would be just as effective!

The daisy piece was layered on Black and then on Whisper White embossed with the Finial Press Embossing Folder, layered on Whisper White as well. I did another card and added the Fine Galaxy Gold Glitter (mixed with Crystal Effects to make your own stickles) and that was very pretty too.

Stamp sets are Flowers Awash and All Holidays. Hope you like my fast and easy card!

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

Happy Canada Day!

2010-07-01T17:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Canada Day Everyone!

Today we are celebrating our 143rd birthday! Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday to us, Happy Birthday dear Canada, Happy Birthday to us!!

Although it's a drizzly, rainy day here on the south coast, there are lots of celebrations going on all over and there will be fireworks tonight. We are very lucky to live so high up on the mountain that we can see a couple of cities lighting off their fireworks. If it's still raining we can stay warm, munching on goodies and of course a nice glass of wine while we look out the window to enjoy the show!

Here is my July Vintage calendar page, it's so pretty in real life! I've just realized that I forgot to share the June calendar so I'm including it below {g}

It's been so busy here in June, but what a fun month! We've had my cousin from England here with us for nearly 3 weeks and we've had so much fun. We've been tourists in our own city, we've taken tons of pictures, laughed until our sides hurt and had lots of family time and I ate entirely too much! I miss her so much now that she's back home! Love you Izzy!!

Today is the first day of the new catalogue, I've added it to my sidebar thanks to Michelle Laycock and her generous sharing of the little gadget thingy! I hope to be able to get into my craft room soon and share some things with you before too long! I need to get inky!!

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today! Hope your day is wonderful!

Judy

Tile Coasters

2010-06-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

It's been crazy busy around here...birthdays galore and now I have my cousin here visiting from England! We've been having great fun catching up, taking pictures, visiting and getting up to mischief! Is so much fun to be a tourist and tour guide in our beautiful city!

I thought since I had a moment to sit and put my feet up, I'd share the tiles I made. I've been seeing these tiles everywhere and there are so many directions out there...this is what I did {g}

First I washed the tiles (tumbled Bottecino tiles from Home Depot...they came 9 to a box for $4.99). Then I dried them and stamped them with Stazon Timber Brown Ink. I stamped half the tile with the Medallion Stamp and the other half with En Francais....soooo pretty!

After they were stamped, I put them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes on a parchment lined cookie sheet. When they were baked, I slid them carefully onto a towel and let them cool....it took about 45 minutes until they were cool enough to handle.

Then I turned them upside down and used white craft glue and adhered cork (I got this at Home Depot too, it came in a roll and I can't remember how much it was) to the back so they won't scratch the furniture. I actually cut the cork a bit bigger than what was needed and then once it was glued, I trimmed the edges with my scissors. One of my tiles had a cracked corner so I just trimmed around that too. I was really happy with the way they turned out!

Baking them is amazing, you can see the wonderful effect on the tile in the foreground....some of the natural colouring of the tile came through during the baking process...so that was a wonderful surprise! Next I wrapped some retired Chocolate Chip satin ribbon (from a few catalogues ago) around to make it pretty. The flat bottomed ribbon tutorial is here on my blog.

I have tested these coasters with my watery bottomed glasses (these glasses are so annoying I wonder why I keep them! LOL!) and they are perfect...no running or ink coming off...love them!! These would make perfect gifties for anyone!

Hope you like them too!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Judy

Hey...are you guys having a Barbeque?

2010-05-31T13:48:00.000-07:00

Ohmigosh...I think he wants to join us for dinner!
We were over at our daughters house to celebrate our son in laws birthday on Saturday night and look who was the surprise guest!

We were chatting, and getting things ready for dinner, having a drink and looking out the window...they have a wonderful green belt just outside their backyard. Philip (our sil) had started the BBQ on the balcony and out the window I saw something move and it took me a minute to realize we had a visitor!

Young Mr. Black, just stood peeking over the fence, then he rested his head sideways on the tree stump...stood up and streched so we could see how handsome he was (and most probably to get a better look at us!) before he ambled off into the forest! He was actually there for about 10 minutes!

The kids live about 6 blocks away from us, we're up on a mountain and so we have bear warning signs up in all the neighbourhoods, plus deer and other wildlife and although there are lots of sightings I always think it's such a treat when you can actually see one....just as long as you are safe and indoors!

They sure look cute but they are very dangerous and can be unpredicable, especially at this time of year when they are looking for food after a long winters sleep! Unfortunately they are looking for easy food, garbage cans or bird feeders. And they are not afraid to come into the neighbourhoods looking for an easy meal.

I would be pretty scared if I was in the backyard....but felt semi safe on the balcony with the door open just in case Mr Black made any signs he was going to come closer... and it was a totally enclosed balcony with no stairs.

Here's a bit of Bear Facts from our BC Parks, for more information and how to identify Bears... check it out here.

Bears are as fast as racehorses, on the flats, uphill or downhill.
Bears are strong swimmers.
Bears have good eyesight, good hearing, and an acute sense of smell.
All black bears and young grizzlies are agile tree climbers; mature grizzlies are poor climbers, but they have a reach up to 4 metres.
If a bear is standing up it is usually trying to identify you. Talk softly so it knows what you are. Move away, keeping it in view. Do not make direct eye contact.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll have some more cards to share with you soon!
Judy

Tea Packet

2010-05-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

We're back from a lovely little get away...it was so much fun!

Gary & I went over to Victoria for a few days and we had a such a great time! The weather was perfect....we had a little rain on one day but it brightened up a while later. Otherwise the sun was shining. We shopped, had a massage that was absolutely wonderful....stayed in a lovely room overlooking the inner harbour and the Parliament buildings...cruised around the harbour on one of the little Harbour ferries, saw a seal bobbing in the waves...took long walks and ate wonderful food.

Then on our last night Gary surprised me with a horse and carriage ride that came right to the hotel and picked us up....so romantic and lots of fun!

Here's a little tea packet to share with you....a perfect reminder of our time away in Victoria, which is famous for it's Afternoon Tea's! I love Tea and so I had to have this set from Papertrey Stamps...I just couldn't resist!

Here you can see it closed, with the front details.

This is the inside view......

And here we have a little tea bag ....this one is Creme Brulee....mmm...what a lovely pick me up!

The dimensions for this little holder are 3" by 9" scored at 3' and just a tich over 6". Then I angled the last bit with my ruler and attached the bottom with narrow sticky strip. Very easy and so much fun to make! I'm not sure where the original pattern for this came from...I do know it's been around for ages and you've probably seen the design or some form of it before!

I used Very Vanilla cardstock and Close to Cocoa ink. The teapot was stamped on patterned paper and cut out....I used the polka dot embossing folder and slightly sponged over the top of the embossing as well as the edges. The square medallion was done with a Martha punch and the ribbon is white organza from my stash.

I attached the little tea bag to the Teapot with white sewing thread and the heart is a PaperShapers folk heart....with a tiny pearl to dress it up.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me! Do you feel like a cuppa tea now? {g}

Hugs ~ Judy

Distressing Tips

2010-05-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone

Well as promised, here's my distressing tips...these ideas are not new and innovative....they've been around forever and I'm so glad this style is coming back....love it!!

I’ve saved these ideas for creating my own ‘Distressed Look’ and I'm very happy to share them with you. I also call this look ‘Vintage’, or Shabby Chic...or Shabwa...okay that's a crazy word I know...my daughter and I made that up! LOL!! Try it...Oh that's very Shabwa....do you think it'll catch on? {g} ...maybe not!!

The main idea is to make your card, or scrapbook page or tags, look old and worn, like you just pulled it out of the attic or trunk. If you have other ideas please leave a comment and share, then we’ll all get inky and shabby together!

Here we go....these ideas are not by any means hard and fast rules or anything....actually anything goes! I'm by no means an expert at this style...these are only some ideas to share with you {g} Also try looking around your house or garage for all kinds of goodies you can use or distress!

• Tearing, ripping or sanding your cardstock/paper.

• Try some peeled back cardstock, cardboard, or coffee sleeve holders or add some brown packing paper...really fun!

• Distressing Edges with the Distressing tool...love this tool! Or try your fingernail, a bone folder, etc...anything that will make a ragged edge.

• Crumpling and Uncrumpling (very technical term!) Also to add water, then crumple/uncrumple and dry before adding your embellishment will give you a different look too.

• Sponging...love, love, love sponging! (Edges and everywhere else that you feel needs it!)

• Choose a stamp set, there are some great ones out there, such as Vintage Vogue and Elements of Style.... you can make anything old looking!

• Keep your ink to values to one or two colours or just use one colour....so if we’re talking about browns which I love {g} try light, medium and dark to give you some highlights and darker interest spots. (I learned this one at an art class...long ago!) A fun edging technique is to sponge brown on and then edge it with a bit of black..looks great.

• Inking...direct to paper, sponging, spritzing (especially with the colour spritzer tool that you use with markers...very cool!)

• Chalking with Versamark.... pastel colours gives a soft vintage look to your backgrounds, then overstamp with your fave vintage stamps.

• Layering so that different layers show through....like old wallpaper.

• Use old books, dictionaries, maps, old sheet music, etc...to add interest, as well as old dress patterns or free clip art. Raid your sewing stash to find old measuring tape, sewing pins, etc.

• Add fun things like bits of branches, old charms, jewellery pieces or watch innards (love that word!) old buttons, etc.

• Add stencil paste or gesso or spackle (for repairing dents in the wall....don’t ask!) just need to add a few swipes here and there for a great effect.

• Tea staining or coffee staining...soak bits of fabric, lace or ribbons in tea...just make some strong tea and dunk in whatever you have....then dry! Or rub into coffee grounds...I haven’t had great success with this myself and seriously the coffee grounds get everywhere! I’d much rather use my colour spritzer with a chocolate chip marker!

• Collages....I’ve used an old technique....I can’t even remember where I learned this one! It was called Serendipity technique...I think! You tear up bits of different cardstock, I used some that I made doing a One Sheet Wonder technique and emboss some of the stamping with gold, silver or copper....then you either tear or cut this sheet up and glue it down randomly on your base cardstock, you can even punch out shapes with the homemade patterned paper....very cool and it’s a great to use up scraps! I’ll see if I can find some samples of my old card {g}...here you go....this collage idea is in pinks and blues with silver embossing.

• Burning....this comes with a warning!! Be really careful if you try this one!!! I did this one at a class and it was fun but nerve wracking too....I did it only once at home and did it over the kitchen sink so I had someplace to drop it and to have water handy. You can really achieve this look just as well if not better with ink! But I thought since I’m sharing you might be interested in this one too....but seriously....please be careful!

Hope this list is helpful and that you have fun creating your own distressed and shabby chic projects! Don't forget to share any tips or tricks of your own...leave them in the comments!

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

Tissue Rose

2010-05-12T13:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Wednesday already? Ohmigosh...where does the time go? LOL! I found this great flower here and had to make one too! I used the XL Flower Punch...I love this punch...and folded up some bright pink tissue (about 6 sheets of tissue stacked) eased it into my punch, folded side first and punched!

I added a jumbo silver brad and then a large glue dot and sprinkled some clear beads onto that and pressed them down. Then all you have to do is crinkle up the tissue and you have a beautiful rose!

The leaves are punched from the XL Two Step Bird Punch out of Old Olive. That's another of my favourite new punches....so many things you can do with it! The stamp set is from All Holidays and I inked it up with my markers, Old Olive and Pink Passion. The cardstock is Whisper White, Pink Passion and Black.

I also embossed the white top layer with the polka dot embossing folder. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

Today I'm spending time with my kids, and my family....so much fun! My daughter is making dinner for everyone tonight and that will be so nice. I am so lucky to have 2 really great kids! Who could be more blessed than me!

I miss my Mom and my Mother-in-law, not just on Mother's day but every day. I am so grateful for all the times we shared and all the memories I have of each of them. My Mother in law passed away from Cancer years ago and I lost my Mom to Alzheimer's disease nearly 2 years ago....do you ever stop missing those you love? No...just as you never forget them.

My Mom was sweet, gentle and loving, she had a great sense of humour and she was a bit of a mischief! I think all the girls in my family inherited that trait...straight down from my Nana!

Today I'm sharing a picture of our Dogwood flower, it is British Columbia's Provincial flower and it was my Mom's favourite. I have two beautiful trees in my yard and right now they are blooming....so pretty!

Hmmm....looking at the beautiful Dogwood, I'm thinking of the Ornament punch.....I'll have to go and play and see what I can come up with! Hmmm...we also have pink dogwoods....oh, the possibilities!! LOL!

My daughter Brandy and I entered a poetry contest last fall, it was a contest offered by the Poetry Institute of British Columbia and we both had our entries picked to be published! We were very excited! Brandy also had a great story published in a short story contest about shopping for her wedding dress. Wow...wer're published! What fun!!

My poem was written for my Mom, so what better time to share it than for Mother's Day....hope you enjoy it!

A Whisper of Breeze

A whisper of breeze, a scent in the air,
remembering times that we used to share.
I’m never alone, you’re as near as I need.
Fresh spring breezes whisper to me.

The memories swirl, I look to the skies.
I remember your hair, your hands and your eyes.
Our morning adventures and night time routines.
Soft summer breezes whisper to me.

Recipe sharing, our laughter rings clear,
pictures and places remembered are dear.
All problems are solved with a sweet cup of tea.
Crisp autumn breezes whisper to me.

You’re holding my babies, all cuddly sweet.
We say anytime, anywhere ... we can meet!
Mom, I’ll always remember the love that we shared.
Cool winter breezes whisper to me.

Family traditions you’ve passed on to me,
to share and make new ones, so precious they’ll be.
I wish you were back here from heaven above.
To share one more kiss, just one more soft hug.

Time flitters by, the days blend as one.
I miss you, remembering the things we have done.
I know you’re with Dad and he holds you with love.
I hear the sweet breezes that whisper to me.

Love you Mom

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me....hope you and your Mothers have a wonderful day!

Judy

Vintage Elements

2010-05-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Okay...the secret’s out.... {g}...I love the vintage, shabby chic and distressed look! I had so much fun creating this card. It’s so exciting to see Vintage Cards popping up everywhere and there are so many really great ideas and I love them all...this card is inspired by everyone!

I really tried and tried to get a good picture, it is so pretty in real life, and the picture just doesn't capture it well.

I lost all sense of time as I stamped, sponged, tore and distressed my cardstock! I started out with Very Vanilla cardstock and then used my Folk Flowers Stencil (#118139) if you haven't tried these stencils...try them! They are so much fun. I positioned the stencil where I wanted it and smooshed the Versamark Ink pad all over, holding it carefully in place.

Then I clear embossed and took time out to clean my Stencil with a baby wipe.... I couldn’t stand the sticky Versamark on it...you know the saying 'Take care of your tools'! Then I lightly stamped En Francais with my Close to Cocoa spot and put my stamp down on the table, laid my cardstock on top and lightly tapped it, so that the stamping wouldn’t be a solid image....more of a here and there technique! You can't really see it in the photo.

Next I stamped with Elements of Style and the little flourish from Tiny Tags. After the stamping, I rubbed tissue over the embossing to make it really pop. I ran my Kraft Satin Ribbon straight over my Soft Suede ink pad and sponged it as well. I added a few little branches from my garden and used my new Martha punch for the leaves (it came with clear stamps and matching punch). Then I cut out the Beautiful Butterfly Bigz Die, stamped the Tiny Tags flourish all over it, sponged and added some gold wire for the antennaes.

I added the butterfly with 2 dimensionals onto the branches so it would look like it was just resting there. Finally I added the sentiment on a dimensional and dabbed my 2 way glue pen randomly all over, especially the butterfly (!) and then sprinkled on some Champagne Fine Galaxy Glitter.

Do you like it? I love it! It's definitley one of my favourite things!! Here's a little peek at the inside...got to shabby that up too!

Thanks for stopping by today and sharing your time with me! I'm compiling a list of my favourite ways to distress, at least how I like to distress things. It's not a professional artist list....only things I have tried that I love. As soon as I finish it I'll share it here for you all to play with...bye for now!

Judy

Happy May!

2010-05-05T11:30:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Here's a peek at my vintage May calendar...I just love it and look forward to changing the month but as always I forget to share it with you on the 1st!

I just love this little image of the little girl cuddling her dog....so cute! Just like my previous Vintage Calendar posts, I used Crafty Secrets papers including the image papers. The hardware is and the Old Olive ribbon is Stampin'Up!...I love this ribbon!!

I don't know if you can see it or not ( if you click on the picture it becomes larger) but I ran a sewing marker around all the sides. And of course I sponged all the edges with Close to Cocoa!

Hope you have a wonderful month, with sunny days and lots of flowers blooming in your gardens!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Hugs ~ Judy

Westcoast Pansies

2010-05-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Here is my Pansy card that I made following Tina Seibens directions. I think she's the original creator of this great idea using the Stampin'Up! Butterfly punch. There are so many great flower ideas out in blogland right now...I love them all!

On this card, I punched out 2 butterflies using Shimmer White Cardstock, then coloured in the centres with the Summer Sun marker. Then I coloured from the outer edges of the punch shape, going toward the centre with Pretty in Pink, spritzed them liberally with water, crumpled them all up, unfolded, and then set it aside to dry.

Once both pieces were dry I attached them together with a glue dot, then added More Mustard marker to dot the center of the flower, shaped with my fingers and then added a bit of gold glitter to the center. Love it!!

Once again I used my Pansy Seed Packet that I had in my files...my original one (this one) wasn't sized exactly as I wanted it, so I've recently made another one that I'd love to share with all of you. As much as I tried, I can't get it to load into blogger, but I made it in Word so I can send it to you if you'd like it. Just email me at judymarshall@shaw.ca. You can make lots of these and make any changes you like to the template, all you have to do is click on the font and change it to make it all your own. I have some ideas as well on the Seed Packet Document.... so I hope you like it!

What I used to make the Pansy Card:
Stamp Set: Bloomin' Beautiful
Ink: Close to Cocoa
Cardstock: Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Shimmery White, Old Olive
Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch for Paper Lace, My Seed Packet, Butterfly Punch, 5 Petal Punch, Summer Sun, More Mustard and Pretty in Pink Markers, Gold Glitter and Polka Dot Embossing Folder.

Oh...just one more thing when I was stamping the seed packet, I masked the seed packet off with scraps of paper to stamp the Blossom text. This allowed me to fill in the text without overstamping where I didn't want the text to be. {g}

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!
Judy

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry

2010-04-27T12:01:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you love a strawberry? Doesn't this look luscious? This is a super simple card, made with my wonderful Tart & Tangy set.

I used my markers to ink up the strawberry stamp with Real Red and Old Olive (although it doesn't really look like Old Olive in the picture!) After I stamped the strawberry, I used the Chocolate Chip marker to make the chocolate and then covered the chocolate in Crystal Effects.

I outlined the stem of the strawberry with the Old Olive marker too. Then I punched out the circles, layered them all and popped it onto the card and .... it's done! Hope you like it!

What I used:

Cardstock: Whisper White and Real Red

Ink: (Markers) Real Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: White Organza ribbon (from my stash), Polka Dot Embossing Folder, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punch, Scallop Circle punch, Cropadile for making embossed dots around the Scallop Circle.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Lemonade Anyone?

2010-04-26T11:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Are you ready for those warm spring days that are coming? I'm really looking forward to sitting on the patio, enjoying the sunshine and having a glass of homemade lemonade!

This little card was so much fun to make! I used Cardstock Vellum to make the glass and on the inside I sponged Summer Sun. I scored the vellum on either side and used sticky strip to adhere to the card. After the sponging, I ran a strip of glue pen across the top of the glass and then dipped it in Dazzling Diamonds for a sugary ring. I stamped a lemon slice and cut it in half, put a bit of snail adhesive on the stamped side and adhered them onto the sponged inside so it looks like pieces of lemon floating in the glass.

Next, I adhered one side of the glass and then I bent the vellum slightly and attached the other side. I added a mini juice straw and the little leaves die, if you use your imagination it could be a mint sprig! LOL!! I stamped the sentiment on a Summer Sun lemon slice and punched it out with a 3/4" circle punch and the other lemon slice I cut up to the center and slid it onto the rim of the glass.

Mmmmm....don't you feel like an nice tall glass of lemonade now? This is so pretty in real life and so much fun to make!

I can just picture strawberry margaritas, lime daquiri, Shirley Temple with a cherry hanging off the top of the glass....Tart and Tangy is such a great stamp set and the Carstock Vellum is fabulous to work with.

Here is what my glass template looks like, I put a clear plastic glass down on some copy paper and traced it around. Then I cut it out, it measures approximately 3 3/4" tall, 2 3/4" across the top rim and 1 14/16" across the bottom.

I traced it onto cardstock vellum (which is nice and sturdy but still see through) scored approximately 1/4" on each side of the vellum glass and put double sided sticky strip along the edge/score line. So, those are the measurements .... I'm not sure if you can copy the picture below and then print it....I printed mine on Microsoft Office Picture, using 4 to a page and it came out nearly the same as my original template.

Okay...I just tried it myself {g} right click on the picture below, hit 'Save Picture As' then it will save to your picture file. Then when you click on it and hit print, you can chose the 4 to a page and it should print for you...that is unless you don't have Microsoft...then...I have no idea how you do it! Okay, confession time...I'm not the techiest person around! LOL!

I hope you enjoyed my lemonade card and hope you make some too. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me!

Judy

Sweet Peas and the Butterfly Punch with a Picture Tutorial!

2010-04-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

It seems like ages since I've had time to share something and I'm so excited about this card! I made these flowers with the butterfly punch! I've been having so much fun making pansies with the butterfly punch and so I thought...hmmm....why not try a Sweet Pea as they are one of my favourite flowers. What do you think? Didn't they turn out cute? I haven't seen these made anywhere, so I hope you enjoy them!

This Sweet Pea stamp (from the Occcasions Mini) is absolutley perfect for this card!! Love it!! I used the end of my stylus and dipped it in the lid of my Frost White Shimmer Paint to make the little dots around the pink Scalloped Oval Punch...so pretty!

Here is a close up of my flowers:

These were so easy to do. Here's a picture tutorial on how I made them.

First you need to punch out a couple of butterfly shapes in different colours. I ran them under the tap, or you could spritz them with water if you like....I was in a hurry! Then crumple each butterfly into a ball and unravel it. I did the same thing with the 5 Petal Punch and the leaves on the stems are the wings from the new XL Two Step Bird Punch.

One butterfly makes a flower, fold the wet, uncrumpled piece in half and shape it with your fingers.

Once you've folded your butterfly in half, then pinch the end together and set it aside to dry. If you'd like to make a Sweet Pea bud, then take half of the butterfly and gently roll it up, pinching the ends as shown in the picture.

Here you can see my different colours of flowers as well as a couple of buds and my 5 Star punch which I will cut into individual petals to attach to each flower and bud.

Once they are dry, I cut the petals of the 5 Petal Punch out, cutting towards the middle so I will have 5 individual petals. After shaping with my fingers, and adjusting it to fit on the bottom of the pinched sweet pea flower, I used my mini glue gun to secure it into place.

I tucked the excess parts of the green petal behind the flower and pinched so the hot glue (which isn't really hot at this point...but still be careful not to burn yourself!) holds it nicely.

Here's another card I did and I created the Seed Packet on Microsoft Word using a Text Box...and couldn't resist using my sweet little kitty's name on the seed packet....LilyBean...she's such a cutie and Sweet Pea is one of my names for her too!!

Again, here is a close up of the flowers. For the stems I cut strips of Old Olive Carstock and the little wispy tendrils are floral wire that I curled around a pen. I also added Bashful Blue Satin Ribbon to the bottom of the seed packet for a finishing touch.

I hope you like my tutorial and hope it inspires you to make some Sweet Peas too!

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

New and Retiring Colours

2010-04-12T09:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to say thanks so much to Michelle Laycock for providing the sidebar buttons for my blog! Click the colour buttons on the right hand side of my blog to see the charts. There is the new and very exciting colour collections and also the well loved and retiring colours. Thanks so much Michelle for your generosity!

Hugs ~ Judy

Better late than never!

2010-04-12T09:12:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

It seems like ages since I last blogged! I really can't believe how time flies by! Just a quick share for you today....I meant to post this at the beginning of the month and here we are nearing the middle of April already!

All supplies are Crafty Secrets except for the little clip which is from my Hodgepodge Hardware stash and the ribbon is Mellow Moss.

Hope you like it, thanks for stopping by...I have more things to upload but have to run out and do some errands and get ready for my classes this week! I'll get back to more blogging soon, LOL!

Judy

Easter Basket for you!

2010-04-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone

Oh my....it's the beginning of April! Where does the time go? Here's my little Easter Basket, it was so easy to make.

I used the Box #2 die cut and after it went through my Big Shot, I cut the top and side flaps off and added a handle. After I edged both sides of the handle and added the strip of DSP, I attached the handle to the box with brads. Then I added the DSP to the front and sides which covered up the brad prongs.

I layered a Bashful Blue Circle with the Designer Label Punch after I had stamped the sentiment, then added a small flower to the side.

The Chocolate Bunny was stamped in Versamark on Chocolate Chip Cardstock and embossed with Clear Embossing powder and cut out. To finish it I tied a big organza bow to the handle. I don't have the little yellow chickie anymore...sweet little LilyBean (my kitty) nipped it out of the basket and it's become one of her favourite toys!

Supplies:

Cardstock: So Saffron, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip and Tea Party DSP.

Ink: Close to Cocoa, Versamark and So Saffron (for sponging)

Stamps: Well Scripted and Chocolate Bunny

Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch (edging the handle), 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Designer Label Punch, Flower Punch, Brads, Organza Ribbon, Clear Embossing Powder, Easter Chickie and Iridescent Shreds and of course it had some chocolate in there...but I'm not telling what happened to it! LOL!

I hope you liked this little basket...it's so cute and so much fun to make. I hope you all have a very Happy Easter weekend....however you celebrate it, I hope it's wonderful!

Thanks for stopping by!

Judy

Oh Deer!

2010-03-26T00:11:00.000-07:00

This little deer is having a bit of lunch across the street from me!

I never get tired of seeing them and love to watch them gracefully grazing and blending into their surroundings. They come regularly to my front garden and sample the new tender leaves! They've nibbled my tulips, but somehow I just can't get mad at them! LOL!

Last winter I was shaking my head at the way the deer had seriously trimmed my favourite Fatsia tree that is just outside our front door. A few days later we had snow and when I went out to get the newspaper, there were deer footprints on my porch! And the other side of the tree (which was easy to reach from the porch) was seriously nibbled too! The little darlings had come up 3 steps and then onto my porch to have breakfast....awww!

We live on a fairly busy side street and yet the deer feel very comfortable visiting the gardens and lawns in our neighbourhood. They don't even seem to mind when the cars go by or when people or children stop to have a look at them!

They are so beautiful and its so very special to share my garden with them. They don't eat my daffodils but they really love my tulips! What amazing creatures they are!!

Thanks for stopping by ~ Judy

Spring Flowers

2010-03-25T15:46:00.001-07:00

Hi!

This post is an experiment for me. I’ve had my computer in for some maintenance and repairs, it seems my Outlook was corrupted....I have no idea how that happened but I’ve been lost without my laptop for the past week!

Isn’t it amazing how much a part of our everyday life our computers have become....I’ve missed my emails, my friends, looking things up, the list is endless! I’m so glad to have my laptop back and be connected once more!!

Now, I not only have my Outlook fixed, I also have Windows 7 too and I’m sure it will just take me a few days to get used to it. I already I love it, I just have trouble locating things. I lost my pictures in Picasa and before I re-install ....I haven’t really lost my pictures as they are still in My Pictures (thank heavens!!) but I see now there is a feature in Word as well as Windows Live Writer that I can apparently blog with. So this is my experiment to see if it really goes to my blog and what the end result looks like!

You probably recognize this card, it’s exactly the same card I did here, I just changed the wheel and the ribbon. I used white organza ribbon and the Jumbo SU Doodle wheel, now retired and coloured it with markers.

Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping buy and sharing your time with me!

Judy

March Calendar

2010-03-16T22:57:00.000-07:00

Here's my March vintage calendar to show you! I can't believe that I forgot to post it on March 1st....but better late than never!

All supplies are from Crafty Secrets, except for the brad/tab thingies which are Stampin'Up! and so is the ribbon. I love this little calendar, the pages sit in an empty CD case. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your time with me {g}

Judy

My Pot of Gold

2010-03-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Hi!

How would you like to find your very own Pot of Gold? Well, here you go!

I made this little template last year for St. Patrick's Day and filled it with gold coins. This is such a cute little holder and you could easily make it into a Halloween cauldron too. Hope you like it!

I'm also including my template(below) in case you'd like to make some too!

Here's how I made it: I traced my pattern on black cardstock and scored the rim. Using a sponge I swiped White Craft Ink from the outsides toward the middle of the pot, to give it a bit of dimension. I punched out a gold piece with the Word Window Punch and shaped it with my fingers to look like a handle and attached it with brads using my Cropadile.

Once this was done I put a little white craft glue along each side edge and put it down on my craft table with a book over top of each side to hold it together while it dried...very technical! LOL! (The white glue is stronger than sticky strip and when you add the gold coins it needs to be a strong hold)

While it was drying I cut a small rectangle of white and green cardstock and ran it through my crimper. I cut the crimped pieces into small strips. When the pot was dry I added the strips and 3 gold coins into it. For the flower, I used a Martha Stewart punch, but you can easily use the flower in the SU set 'For All You Do' which I now have {g} it looks like a four leaf clover to me!

Supplies I used:

Cardstock: Black, Whisper White, Glorious Green, and Gold

Ink: Whisper White Craft

Accessories: Crimper, Word Window Punch, Cropadile, Gold Brads, Martha Stewart Flower Punch, Green Rhinestone

Here's the Template

Enjoy! Thanks for stopping by!

Judy