New Year's Eve ... Let's Party!

 Everybody gonna party tonight?  Well we always do because today is not only New Year's Eve, but ...

So today I have a birthday card to show you using a cute OCL set called Granny's Secrets.  Now I'm not THAT old, but I thought it was a cute cake to show today.  I also added some Brown Sugar Sparkly Fluff on the cake for a little bling on the card.

 Have a fun New Year's!

P.S. I Love You

A fun new set from Our Craft Lounge called Sending Love.  I also used the Hearts & Hugs set for the background images on this card & That's Hot! Pink Sparkly Fluff on the hearts.

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Hearts & Hugs and Sending Love ~ coming to IHP very soon)
Ink ~ Palette (Noir, Red, Pink)
Copic Markers ~ R20, R22,R24, C1, C3, C5, YG13, E25, E27
Nestabilities 
Sparkly Fluff ~ That's Hot! Pink

Out of the Box Birthday

I was searching around my computer files last night & discovered a birthday card I made a few months ago.  It's a little "out there", but kind of fun too.  In fact, I just put it in the mail to my brother today since his birthday is on Sunday.   The pattern papers are from the Alphabet Soup Boy Collection by My Minds Eye & and Happy Birthday sentiment is from the Hero Arts set called Wonderful Birthday.

Supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Hero Arts (Wonderful Birthday)
Pattern Paper ~ MME (Alphabet Soup Boy Collection)
Ink ~ Palette (Burnt Umber)
Embossing Folder ~ Quickuts

Oh....the weather outside is frightful

So that means it's time to STAMP!  Today on the Daily Dare Challenge Blog, Our Craft Lounge is sponsoring the fourth day of Christmas for the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. 

I am hosting today's challenge which is to:  Create a Christmas card based on one of your favorite CHRISTMAS SONGS.   The prize for today's challenge is OCL's beautiful White Christmas set, which I used for both of today's projects ~ and one of my favorite songs...Let It Snow!

And here is another sparkling project using the snowflake tree from the set.

So head on over to the Daily Dare Challenge Blog to see all the details.  Upload your creations to SCS using keyword DD12days04.  You have until midnight on January 9th to play any or all of the challenges. Winners will be chosen and announced on Monday, January 10th.

Supplies from i{heart}papers:

Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (White Christmas, Vintage Swirls)

Ink ~ Palette (Prussian Blue, Seascape)

Stickles ~ Frosted Lace

Nestabilities

Lizzie Anne Semi HandMade...

There are so many cute scrapbook supplies like shaped or decorative edged papers, journaling boxes, stickers and tags that are perfect for any paper crafting project.  Just by adding some stamped images and sentiments to these pre-made items, you can make some pretty fast and easy cards with just a few quick steps.

Kiss-Kiss Apron Card

1) Stamp the apron image on a pre-made journaling block.  Stamp the image again on white cardstock and color with markers.  Cut the image out and pop it up on top of the other stamped image.
2) Stamp the sentiment on cardstock, cut it out and attach to the journaling block.
3) Attach the journaling block to coordinating cardstock and layer on another piece of coordinating cardstock.
4) Attach an eyelet and thread coordinating ribbon to the card.
5) Attach to cardbase with foam dots

Flower Birthday Card

1) Take a large piece of pattern paper with a decorative edge and trim one corner so it fits on a card panel and attach.
2) Tie a ribbon around the card panel & attach with foam dots to a card base.
3) Add gems or pearls to printed or stamped flowers (or other images) on the pattern paper.
4) Stamp a sentiment and trim with coordinating die cuts.  Attach with foam dots.

Made with Love Tag

1) Stamp sentiment on cardstock and attach with foam dots to pre-made tag.
2) Add gems or pearls to printed or stamped flowers (or other images) on the pre-made tag.
3) Layer and attach pre-made tag to coordinating shaped die cuts.

Supplies:
Stamps ~ Lizzie Anne Designs (Lucky in Love Winter 2011 Mix, Treasured Trinkets Sept 2010 Mix, Happy Birthday Single)
Pattern Paper & Journaling Boxes ~ Doodlebug Designs (bon appetit collection)
Ink ~ Palette (Noir, Burnt Umber), Copic Markers
Cardstock ~ Bazzill
Nestabilities
Gems/Pearls ~ Kaiser
Ribbon ~ May Arts

Penguin Wishes...

Just a few more Holiday/winter cards to share with you today.

Penguin Fun & Snowy Wishes by Our Craft Lounge

Penguin Fun & Snowy Wishes by Our Craft Lounge

Have a SWEET Christmas...

Sweet Holiday by Our Craft Lounge

Hope your day is filled with Sweet Treats 

and Special Family Memories!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!


Merry Moose by Our Craft Lounge

OCL Sketch #45

Today's OCL sketch challenge uses two sets, Merry Wishes & Trim the Tree.

Crazy for Tags

Yesterday I spent the morning wrapping all of our Christmas gifts and added a few easy handmade tags to the packages as I was going along.   Here are a few using my Our Craft Lounge sets.

No Peeking set

Penguin Fun & No Peeking sentiment

Penguin Fun set

Reindeer Games & No Peeking sentiment

Penguin Fun

Happy wrapping ~ hope you're done!

Mistletoad and Merry Moose

A few more fun cards for the holidays 

Under the Mistletoad by Our Craft Lounge.

Merry Moose by Our Craft Lounge

Both of these fun sets (along with all of the other OCL sets in stock) are available at i{heart}papers at a HUGE DISCOUNT! 

Other supplies from i{heart}papers:
Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Merry Moose, Under the Mistletoad)
Pattern Paper ~ Basic Grey (Jovial)

Ink ~ Palette, Copics

Nestabilities

Sparkly Fluff ~ Rockstar Red, Coffee Bean Brown

IHP Challenge Day - Inspired by Fashion

Once again, it is time for the i{heart}papers team to have a little fun.  This month our challenge is to be inspired by fashion.  I found this purse on Etsy and thought I'd use it as my inspiration piece ~ HERE'S the link.

My purse isn't quite as functional, but it does hold some pretty post card notes & matching envelopes.

I used the Quiet Essence stamp set from Unity Stamp Co along with pattern paper from SEI Claire Collection with the pretty Claire matching button for the detailed closure.

Easy-peasy matching postcard notes with coordinating envelopes complete the gift set.

For the base of the purse, I used a clear card box and cut the side off to hold the postcard notes. 

I can't wait to see what all the other girls were inspired to make this week ~ go hop around and see what they came up with. 

Carolyn
Cathleen
Deb
Gretchen
Loretta
Lori
Lynn
Megan
Tracy
Kate

 
Supplies from i{heart}papers:Stamps ~ Unity Stamp Company (Quiet Essence, Total Cuteness)
Pattern Paper ~ SEI Claire
Decorative Button ~ SEI Claire i{heart}paper exclusive
Clear Card Box
Copic Markers ~ YG91, YG93, YG95, R20, R22, R24
Maya Roads Trim ~ Pom Pom, Crochet Trim
Spica Glitter Pens ~ Peach, Mint

Home Sweet Home...

 Cute stuff to share with you today... A few weeks ago, I got a package of Doodlebug paper in the mail from Cards Magazine for a publication prize.  This journaling box and stickers came with the set & I thought they were perfect for this Home Sweet Home Sentiment by Lizzie Anne Designs!

 

I took papers from the same Doodlebug paper line to create this card using the House single from this month's Lizzie Anne release.  The sentiment is from the March Mix set called Lucky You.
 

 

Assorted Christmas Gift Cards

Today I have a few quick Christmas projects to show using my Hero Arts stamps.  The first project uses the set called Merry Christmas Trees.

My second card uses the new line of Echo Park pattern paper and stickers called Everybody Loves Christmas along with the Hero Arts set called Magic of Christmas.

Enjoy your Sunday!

OCL Sketch #44

Today's little creation is a birthday card for this week's OCL Sketch Challenge using two coordinating sets ~ Tweet Thang and Tweet Trees.  I also used the very yummy pattern paper from My Minds Eye called Fine and Dandy. 

Other supplies from i{heart}papers:

Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Tweet Thang, Tweet Trees)

Pattern Paper ~ MME ~ Fine & Dandy Tickled Pink
Palette Ink ~ Noir

Copic Markers ~ R81, R83, R85, YG13, YR18
Sparkly Fluff ~ That's Hot! Pink, Daiquiri Ice

Nestabilities

Teacher Gifts - Tag Trio

This week is the last week of school before Christmas break, so it's time to get those teacher gifts ready to go. Mine were pretty simple this year.  I found some cute snowman cups at Target so I put a gift card inside with some chocolates.  Then I simply put them in a cello bag, tied it with some pretty May Arts ribbon and added a tag ~ there's the creative part!

The first Christmas tree tag uses a set from Hero Arts called Tree-Mendous.  I stamped the tree in Palette Ink (Landscape) and then cut it out.  I added Frosted Lace Stickles and red gems to the snowflakes for some bling.  The mats are cut using Nestabilites on Echo Park Christmas paper and Bazzill Red Dotted Swiss.

For the second tag, I used the adorable Holiday Tags set from Hero Arts.  I stamped the image in Palette Ink (Noir), colored it with Copic Markers, then cut it out by hand.  I added some Sugar Sparkly Fluff and Crafty Sparkles for some bling.  Again, the pattern paper from Echo Park and Bazzill cardstock are cut with Nestabilities.

My final tag is the round Christmas tree tag from the Hero Arts set called Wishes Come True.  I colored the images with my Copic Markers (YG11, YG13, YG17, R46, R43, C1), added Stickles and a red gem to the image and then trimmed the image with my Nestabilities dies.

Super easy-peasy tags for any gift bag or package!  These Hero Arts sets are PERFECT for gift tags & they are all on sale at i{heart}papers this week.  OH ~ and they are having a Free Shipping day over there today, so you'll want to check it out!

2010 Christmas Card

YIPEEEE ~ I am almost done with my Christmas cards for 2010.  I just need to print a few more pictures, print my letter & stuff the envelopes! WOOHOOO!

As an added bonus, I was browsing around blogland for sketch & color challenges earlier this week and realized that my card fit this week's CPS Sketch Challenge (#197) perfectly!

I really don't like doing mass production; however, this time of year, it is necessary.  The key to making 90 cards, is to do them in steps.  Trim all the papers at once, punch all the snowflakes, stamp all the images, etc...  As I am cutting, I put them in piles of 10's ~ that helps me keep track of how much more I need to cut & it also counts down the total for me (I'm all about getting it done as efficiently as possible).  The other tip for mass producing ~ make sure all of your paper sizes are easy measurements to trim.  For example, make the width 4" so (1) you can get more from your 12x12 paper & (2) it's easier to cut a large quantity.

 

And here are the 90 cards ~ waiting for Stickles to dry.

Hope you've got your cards done ~ I'm sure glad mine are almost out the door.

Supplies from i{heart}papers:

Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Vintage Swirls, White Christmas)

Pattern Paper ~ Echo Park
Stickles ~ Frosted Lace
Nestabilities  

Ink ~ Palette (Canvas)

Mix It Up Day!

It's the 15th of the month & that means it's time to show you the new set for the Lizzie Anne Mix Club!  OMW ~ I love this Mix called Lucky in Love.  I used the pretty lantern image & matching sentiment and stamped both directly on the white card panel.  Then I stamped the lanterns again on another sheet, colored them with three shades of purple Copic markers, cut them out & popped them up over the top of the previously stamped image.  I'm really happy with the simplicity of this card.  I was going to add ribbon, but when I looked at it, it looked complete to me.

Take a look over on the Lizzie Anne Blog for some updates and announcements.  Here is the list of designers hopping today ~ you won't want to miss the fabulous Mix projects!

Lizzie
Jeanne
Anya
Joslyn
Deb
Rose Ann
Pam
Wendy
Taylor
Jeni

Play Date Cafe Challenge #59

Well you get to see these sweet little lava lamps two days in a row from the Lave You set by Our Craft Lounge.  Today I played along on the weekly Play Date Cafe Challenge (PDCC59).  Aren't the colors are fun and bright this week?   As a final touch, I added some glossy accents and Crafty Sparkles to the hearts to put some bling into the card.

OCL Sketch Challenge #43

I usually post my OCL Sketch challenges on Friday, but this week I needed to wait until after my daughter's birthday to show it since it was her card.   I used the new Lava You set, which is now available.  I love these funky lava lamps.  I paired it up with some fun bright paper from Doodlebug Designs & used about 50 different Copic markers to color the row of lamps.   My daughter loved the card!

Have a great Monday!

Merry Moose Wishes

Merry Moose by Our Craft Lounge

Simple Christmas Trees

Hope you have a great weekend.  A super quick card to show you using my December Monthly Mix ~ Warm Wishes by Lizzie Anne Designs.

LAD DT Challenge ... Holiday Tags & Packages

It's that time again for the monthly Lizzie Anne Design Team Challenge.  I love the challenges that the LAD girls come up with & this one is perfect for me ~ Holiday Tags.  I used the tag image from the December Monthly Mix (Warm Wishes). Since it is such a easy and simple tag, I wanted to do more with the packaging.  I gathered up my supplies ~ kraft packing paper (office supply store), a medium to large snowflake stamp (I used an image from the November '09 Mix ~ Christmas Wishes), and some dark brown ink.  I rolled out my paper on a flat surface and stamped my snowflakes.  You'll want to stamp them somewhat close together & keep the stamp handy in case you need to add a few more after you wrap the box.  HOWEVER, be careful stamping directly on your package because the surface may not be even and you may end up with only a partial image ~ not that I've ever had that happen ~ ;). Once my packages were wrapped, I added some pretty fabric ribbon, added the tag, and VOILA ~ easy peasy!

For my gift bag, I used the snowflake from the Love & Joy Labels set to stamp all over the bag.  I added a strip of pattern paper (Echo Park) with a brown scallop border and some fun pom-pom trim.  I added the tag to the bag with Glue Dots and then more fabric ribbon to tie the gift bag in with the rest of the packages.

You can check out all the fun tag projects the other DT girls have made over on the Lizzie Anne Blog. 

Warm Christmas Wishes

Hope you are keeping warm ~ well if it's cold where you are.  It's been super cold and snowy here in Northern Indiana, so some hot cocoa with marshmallows sounds pretty good to me!  A few weeks ago I found an adorable card on Dawn McVey's blog ~ TOTALLY ADORABLE!  Sometimes you just have to CASE a card when you see it ~ as long as you give credit, it's all good!

For my card I used the December Monthly Mix by Lizzie Anne Designs called Warm Wishes.  I also pulled out my polka-dot background from the Sweet & Spooky Mix from October & the steam swirls on hot cocoa are from the Le Jardin floral set. Cute, Cute, Cute!!!

Warm Wishes to you today!

Christmas Elf...

Ahhhh....it's Wednesday.  What a crazy week it has been.  Yesterday I had some time to play with the December Monthly Mix (Warm Wishes) from Lizzie Anne Designs.  I found a fun little Santa on this pattern paper by Imaginisce that matched the gnome in the set perfectly ~ so of course, I had to use it!   I also wanted to make this card super clean and simple for the CAS challenge this week on Splitcoast Stampers ~ which is BOWS (CAS96).

Have a great middle of the week!

This side of 5 years...

December 7th ~ Hmmm....so many memories for me about this day.  Growing up, it was a day of celebration for my Grandma's birthday & a day to remember those brave men and women who died at Pearl Harbor in 1941.  After my grandmother died, it was a day that I would remember her with happy thoughts and smiles.  Although I still have smiles when I remember my grandmother, now I think of this day in a much different way...

Five years ago today...

• I became a breast cancer survivor;
• I wasn't even 40 years old yet;
• I had two small children (5 and three days shy of 8 yrs);
• It really was the worst day EVER;
• My amazing friends Paula and Michelle never left my side until Tim was able to fly home;
• I had to figure out how to deal with the emotions, pain and dread of what was coming next;
• I had a long 16 month road ahead of me with countless doctor visits, surgeries, chemo, radiation, and side effects from treatments;
• I had to learn how to cope with being a cancer survivor so it wouldn't consume me.
  

Things I've figured out this side of five years...

• Five is just a number, BUT... it feels a lot better to be on this side of it;
• I am not freaking out as much regarding health issues (and I am staying off the computer to self-diagnose ~ direct orders from my husband);
• My hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows all grew back ~ who knew nose hairs were so valuable!
• I'm more thankful and more grateful for the people in my life;
• I have finally realized that it's perfectly OK if someone doesn't like me ~ I know who my friends are ~ they are the people who were there for me then and the ones who still call to chat just because they want to say hello (if only we could learn that lesson in jr high);
• My faith is stronger ~ but I still don't pray enough (working on that one);
• Pink is a pretty color ~ even if it smacks me in the face every October;
• IT might come back... BUT it might NOT ~ I'll figure that out IF it happens.
• Every day, I still have to cope with being a cancer survivor ~ but now it doesn't control me.

I've posted my thoughts and also several projects about my cancer survivor journey over the last few years.  I hope you're not growing tired of my story, but that you understand this is a long journey of healing.  Sometimes I just need to write these things for me, as part of the healing process.


Pastor Tim Rowland from River Oaks Community Church, spoke to my heart using a verse from Matthew 8:23-26 about 15 years ago.  Thus, it is my "life verse" (and also the reason for my son's name).  The lesson for me was that I just need to trust in God's plan for my life ~ TRUST HIM ~ because He will calm the storms in your life.

• Matthew 8:23-26 ~ "Then He got in the boat, His disciples with Him.  The next thing they knew, they were in a severe storm.  Waves were crashing into the boat and He was sound asleep. They roused Him, pleading, "Master, save us!  We're going down?"  Jesus reprimanded them.  "Why are you such cowards, such faint-hearts?"  Then He stood up and told the wind to be silent, the sea to quiet down. "Silence!"  The sea became smooth as glass."

Since my diagnosis, each year on this day, my family wants to celebrate.  However, up until now, I still had too many bad memories & emotions attached to think of it as a celebration.   Well this year, like it or not, my husband is planning something.  I'm not sure what, but he is hinting ... I'll let you know if he ends up doing something.  More on that tomorrow.

Here are a few of the supplies I used on my pages:

Stamps ~ Our Craft Lounge (Vintage Swirls)
Ink ~ Palette (Chartrueuse, Ballet Blue, Toile Pink, Bella Rose)
Pattern Paper ~ My Minds Eye (Fine & Dandy ~ Tickled Pink)
Nestabilities ~ Square Scallop
Cardstock ~ Bazzill
Buttons & Flower Dies ~ PTI