JUST US GIRLS #278 - Wild Card Week

Hey crafty peeps! Since there's 5 Saturdays this month, we have a Wild Card week at JUST US GIRLS! Nancy is your Hostess this time and she challenges you to make a project with the sentiment as the focal point! Here's my card:

and the inside:

I just got this sentiment die set in the mail the other day (and in the nick of time, since I really wanted to use it for this challenge!) I die cut it three times, first from the white panel, a second from white cs, and a third from the aqua cs. Then I just glued the layers together for a bit of dimension.

 Ta-da!!

I found some dimensional flower stickers in my stash and added them to the frame to finish the front. A couple sentiment stamps finish the inside. Oh, and that white ribbon? That was left over from the floral arrangements I made for our wedding, going on 24 years ago! How's THAT for using some old stash! LOL! 

I hope you get the chance to play along this week at Just Us Girls! Make sure you check out the fabulous designs my teammates have made to inspire you. It's also the last post for our January Guest Designer, Judy Woodland. Thanks so much Judy, for all your amazing creations this month! We'll miss you, but I'm sure you'll still be playing along in the future! Remember, that if you are picked as Chic of the Week for any of our January challenges, you'll be in the running as our Guest Designer for the month of March!

Have a fantastic day!

Supplies

Stamps: Recollections; Paper Smooches - Happy Birthday

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black

DP: Pebbles - Garden Party

CS: Darice; scraps

Accessories: GC; Paper Smooches - Birthday Words dies; Slice die cutter & Vintage Findings cartridge; Studio 112 - flower stickers; ribbon from my stash; Fiskars - corner rounder

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares; Scotch Scrapbooker's glue; Elmer's glue stick

And now for something completely different.....

Hello and happy Friday! Woot! Woot!

Last week I was looking up yarn wreaths on Pinterest, and holy crow! There are, like, a gazillion on there! I wanted to make one for my front door for Valentine's Day. The one I made about 8 years ago has finally started to disintegrate, so it was time for a new one. I came up with this:

My front door is red, so I knew I wanted a vanilla wreath, and I also wanted to make felt flowers. I Googled 'felt flower tutorials' and while perusing one of the many links, I found the tutorial for that amazingly gorgeous dahlia flower! You can find the tutorial here. Rachel even has a free template that you can download - very generous! The red roses are another video tutorial I found here. For the vanilla/medium pink flowers, I cut a 3" vanilla circle and a 3-1/2" pink circle. I cut a wonky spiral in both. Finding a few pearl beads in my stash, I wrapped the vanilla felt around it, hot gluing every so often to secure. Then I continued with the pink. The tiny grey roses were die cut using a rose die from MFT. It's a lot of fussy cutting, and a lot of hot gluing. (I only have a couple singed fingers - yay me!) Oh, and that wreath took me at least 3-1/2 hours to wrap. Best to do it at night while (sort of) watching your favorite TV shows. ☺ The only thing I regret doing is adding the glitter glue on the red roses. I wanted a little sparkle on this (who wouldn't?) but my Diamond Stickles bottle is running very low. I had another bottle from someone else so I used that. Big mistake. I thought it would dry clear. Nope. Oh well, you live and learn. It still looks gorgeous. Here are some more pics:

(my glue gun cord wasn't long enough to reach my dining room table. 

No worries. TV tray to the rescue!)

 Here it is hanging on my front door

I just love how this looks!!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

SHOPPING OUR STASH #186 - Love Me Do

I really need to start scheduling my posts as soon as I make my cards. (you know, instead of the day before. *koff*) I'm really late to the party. This weekend my computer started giving me problems. Problems as in I couldn't link to anything. Nothing. Nada. Monday, it completely crashed on me. I was NOT happy, and when Momma isn't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!! Luckily, I'm married to a programmer (I.T. Guy) who, after working hard all day trying to fix glitches in the office software, and trying not to kill any number of the company's outside sales reps (who I swear throw their laptops off of high buildings then take it in to Andy and ask him why it won't work and can you fix it?), comes home to his frazzled wife bitching about politely asking if he could work on our computer and fix it. Luckily he could, but not until yesterday. Today I was working for the little blue haired lady I care for and haven't been around all day until now. So, that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Now that I'm off my soapbox, I'll bet you'd like to see what I made for the new challenge at SHOPPING OUR STASH? (Which, as the title suggests, is to make a LOVE-themed project.) 

 here's the inside:

Using the now over with Freshly Made Sketch #170, I made a Valentine's Day card. Except for the larger heart dies, everything used is at least a year old. The rhinestone swirls are probably close to 4 years old. (Hoarder? Me?) I even Frankensteined the bits and pieces I had left together. (A term  that Lauren brought to my attention that I've fully embraced.) ☺

With VD approaching (the holiday, you silly!), now's the time to get your card or project made. Just link it up at Shopping Our Stash so we can see it! While there, check out what my amazing teammates created for your viewing pleasure. Thanks for stopping by, and again sorry for the delay! Have a wonderful day!

Supplies

Stamps: Paper Smooches - Good Gab; Hero Arts - Celebrate Everyday

Ink: Memento - Paris Dusk

DP: Glitz - Love You Madly

CS: Darice; scrap

Accessories: GC; MFT - Hearts Border & Hearts a Plenty Die-Namics; Recollections - rhinestone swirls; Fiskars - corner rounder

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares

SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS - #26: 1 Year Anniversary Blog!!!!!

HOLY CRAP!!!! IT'S BEEN A YEAR SINCE WE STARTED THE SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS BLOG!! Can you even wrap your head around that?!!! To celebrate for this fortnight, we are doing a SNARKER'S CHOICE challenge! Just pick one of our challenges from this past year and make a card/project using it. (Tell us which challenge you used!)

 

 For my card, I used #15 K is for Kraft challenge. Going back and looking at this card, I really didn't like it. (I know, I'm my own worst critic. Aren't you the same way?) Here's my re-make:

 

Here's the inside:

 

Well, it IS a birthday celebration, right!? I stamped the beer mug image on kraft paper and colored it using my Prismacolor pencils. Oh how I love how this came out! Even more, I used a DecoArt Snow Writer to mimic the suds. Holy crow! It looks amazing! I made this a guy card, using the diamond plate EF (smudging Frost White and Silver ink over it), a bit of "guy" themed patterned paper, and  some brass brads, because, what the hell?!

Oh, and BTW, because of our 1 year anniversary, I'm going to give away some blog candy to a lucky commenter! Yeah, that's right, blog candy!!

 (Disclaimer: I took the shrink wrap off the Peacock Feathers DI only after realizing I already had it in my ink arsenal. It's never been opened. Like you've never done that before!)

So, now you have a major interest in making a card or project for our Anniversary challenge and linking it up at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!    (Just be sure to let us know which past challenge you used for your new creation! We're not mind readers, you know! LOL!) While there, please check out what my Sistahs, and our newest Queen of Snark - Paige, has dreamed up to inspire you! Thanks for stopping by, and may the crafty force be with you! LOL!

Supplies

Stamps: Unity - Keep Calm, have a beer; Celebrate Big; Studio G - Alpha stamps

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Clear Snap - Frost White, Silver

DP: LYB - Generation Z

CS: Recollections (kraft); Darice (black)

Accessories: Prismacolor Pencils; DecoArt - Snow Writer; Fiskars - pinking shears; Brads from my stash; GC; Cuttlebug - Diamond Plate EF

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, foam squares

JUST US GIRLS #277 Photo Week!

 

 Hello and good morning crafty peeps! I'm the hostess with the mostest this week at JUST US GIRLS! It's Photo Week, and since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I found this super cute image to inspire you! Here's the card I came up with:

 

 Here's the inside:

 

I thought I'd make a round card just to mix things up a bit. I found an older Mojo Monday sketch (#317) to work from, and just had fun mixing papers, and using new (to me) items: the grand scalloped circle & heart Nesties, the heart embossing folder, and that sentiment stamp (that I've had for a couple years but just now got around to inking up). I didn't have any in between heart dies for the black mats, so I traced the dies I used and fussy cut them out. (because I'm crazy like that) Oh, and when I opened my bag-o-sequins, it somehow fell out of my hand and those little buggers went EVERYWHERE! Fun times here in the ol' craft cave, I tell ya. ;) 

I hope that you get a chance to play along this week at Just Us Girls! Please check out the incredible creations of my uber talented teammates, and our Guest Designer, Judy Woodland. Remember, if you are picked as Chic of the Week for any of the January challenges, you'll be in the running to be our Guest Designer for the month of March! Good luck and can't wait to see what you create! Thanks for stopping by!

 

Supplies

Stamps: Unity - January 2013 KOM ; Hero Arts - Celebrate Everyday

Ink: Memento - Lady Bug

DP: Echo Park - Happy Days

CS: Darice

Accessories: GC; Grand Scalloped Circles & Grand Circles Nesties; Classic Scalloped Hearts Nesties; Darice - layered heart background EF; Nicole - sequins; ribbon from my stash

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner and foam squares; Recollections - red tape; Ranger - Glossy Accents

SHOPPING OUR STASH #185 - Not Your Normal Paper

Hey all! It's Tuesday and that means a new challenge starts at SHOPPING OUR STASH! This week we want you to break out and use that specialty paper that you just had to have, and of course never use! HA! Did you snag some cork, burlap, or corrugated paper? Got foil, or glitter, or canvas paper that you're hoarding? Time to have some fun with it! Here's what I made:

 and the inside:

My specialty paper is a burlap sheet, cork paper, and corrugated paper. (Yes, I actually bought corrugated paper! What the heck was I thinking?! My excuse is that it has teeny tiny corrugations as opposed to a cardboard box, which has much larger ones.) That's my story and I'm sticking with it. My card is based on an older Sweet Sunday Sketch (#252). The main panel is cork, and I stamped directly onto it, then used my Spectrum Noir markers to color the bear. I like how the cork adds texture and makes the bear look furry! Cool Beans! The banner was die cut then inked around the edges. I cut the flower die twice, from burlap and red card stock, and added a brad in the middle. A simple sentiment finishes the inside.

I hope you get the chance to play along this week with us at Shopping Our Stash! Please do check out what my teammates created to inspire you! You'll be amazed with their crazy mad skillz!!

Challenges I'm entering this card at:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge:  It's A Guy Thing

Paper Smooches Sparks challenge:  Anything Goes

CAS-Colours and Sketches challenge:  Color challenge

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you have a great day! 

Supplies

Stamps: Paper Smooches - Happy Camper, Kinfolk, Qwick Qwips, Happy Birthday

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Lady Bug; Ranger DI - Walnut Stain

Specialty Paper: DCWV - cork; Recollections - burlap; Canvas Corp - corrugated paper

CS: Darice: black, kraft, red scrap

Accessories: GC; Paper Smooches - Flowers & Flag Tag Dies; Spectrum Noir markers; brad from stash

Adhesives: SA by 3L - tape runner, 3D foam squares; Recollections - red tape; Glue Dots

JUST US GIRLS #276 - Color Week!

Hello there and welcome crafty peeps! Maria is our Hostess for Color Week at JUST US GIRLS, Love the inspiration pic she found! Here's what I came up with:

 and the inside:

I used an older Sweet Sunday Sketch (#226) for my design. After coloring the image, I added Glossy Accents on the balloons. The flower was made with a pre-cut die from a box-o-dies I bought, like, 7 years ago. I inked the edges with frost white ink. Over that is a chipboard button and finally on top of that is a brad. Kinda fun making my own embellishment from supposedly unrelated items! ☺

Want to play along? Of course you do! Just link up your card or project at Just Us Girls so we can see it! While there, check out what my teammies, and our January Guest Designer, Judy, have created for your viewing pleasure. Remember, if you are the winner for any of the January challenges, you'll be in the running for our Guest Designer for the month of March! Have fun and good luck!

Chris

Supplies

Stamps: MFT - ALM Big Birthday Wishes

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Clear Snap - Frost White

DP: AC - #Summer; MME - Everyday Tango

CS: Darice; scraps; Copic X-Press It

Accessories: Spectrum Noir markers; MME - brad; Webster's Pages - chipboard button; Sakura white Gelly Roll pen; Ranger - Glossy Accents; die cut flower from stash

Adhesives: SA by 3L - MyStik permanent, 3D foam squares

Rock on....

Hey peeps. I'm back with a card I made using (new to me) dies. The other day whilst perusing Pinterest for rock and roll themed cards, I found an awesome card that screamed to me to be CASE'd. Unfortunately, I didn't note who made it and for some reason cannot-to-save-my-life find it again! So if this card looks somewhat familiar, thank you!

 here's the inside:

The original card was red, white, and black. It did have a partial stencil in the bottom right corner and red splotches, with the guitar popped over the stencil and a sentiment in another place on the card. But that's where I ended the case, as my version veered off, stage left, as it were. I used the big star and made that and the guitar center stage on my card. (See what I just did there?!) I stamped my sentiment in the bottom left corner, and also added black and smoke colored teeny tiny rhinestones around the star. (I'm hoping since I used said colors of rhinestones, that my nephew, to whom I will be sending this to, doesn't think it's too girly) ☺

It just so happens that the new Wednesday challenge at Simon Says Stamp is called 'It's a Guy Thing', you know, make a masculine card. So I'll be entering this card over there.

Also, Naughty or Nice challenges has a 'New' themed challenge, and hey, I'll enter this there as well.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, Darnell at djkardkreations has her 3rd NBUS challenge going on. 

Well, I should really stop now and get dinner ready. *koff* Thanks for lasting until the end and I hope your evening is a relaxing one!

Chris

Supplies

Stamps: Paper Smooches - Birthday Sampler, BeBoppin, Slang Gang

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Grey Flannel; Ranger DI - Black Soot

Accessories: GC; MFT - Rock and Roll Die-Namics; Recollections - rhinestones; Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist candy apple red; Gourmet Rubber Stamps - Climbing Wall stencil

Adhesives: SA by 3L - MyStik permanent, 3D foam squares; Ranger - Glossy Accents

SHOPPING OUR STASH #184 - Hide and Seek

Hello and good morning! It's time for a new challenge at SHOPPING OUR STASH! As the prompt in the title suggests, we want you to create a card or project that 1) either has a hidden element on it, or 2) a photo of someone playing hide and seek! I went with the hidden element on my card:

 Ta-Dah!

 here's the inside:

I wasn't sure what to do at first, but then this happened and it actually came out better than I imagined! Holy Serendipity Batman!! I printed the free grim reaper clip art on the tag I made, then stamped the OMG! above it. After inking the edges, I punched a hole at the top and tied 3 different twines to it. A couple more sentiments finish the card. I did hand write the (I mean) because I couldn't find a stamp that said that in my arsenal. And yes, I do have someone in mind to send this too! LOL! 

I hope that you find some time to play along with our challenge. Be sure to link it up at Shopping Our Stash so that we can see it! When there, it would be awesome if you would leave some bloggy love for my teammates! Thanks and I hope that you have a great day!

Chris

Supplies

Stamps: MFT - More Essential Sentiments; Rubber Dance - Sarcasm Superpower

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Ranger DI - Vintage Photo

DP: Recollections - Regent Street

CS: DCWV

Accessories: GC; MFT - Vertical Greetings Die-Namic; Paper Smooches - Bag die; hole punch; twine from stash; grim reaper clip art from the Google

Adhesives: SA by 3L - MyStik permanent; Ranger - Glossy Accents

I just realized.....

....that this is the first post of the new year that I didn't schedule in advance. Whoa! It boggles the mind! If you've read my Snarky Stampers post, you'll understand why. That being said, here's a couple sympathy cards that I had to make. Both of these are CASE's, because I thought the originals are gorgeous cards, and they were calling to me to be CASEd:

 Here's the inside:

This first card I CASEd from Savannah O'Gwynn. I just love her style of card making, she's such an inspiration to us all! Thanks Savannah! I do have that stamp set but not that rose die....yet! So I got out my Slice die cutting machine (anyone else still have theirs? I think it was the first die cutting machine out there!) and die cut the flower. I used matching ink and card stock (Lavender by Simon Says Stamp) for the pop of color and some rhinestones in my stash for the flower center and "leaves".

My next card is doubly sad: not only a sympathy card, but a sympathy card for the loss of a family pet. (Sympathy cards are hard to make as it is, but making one for the loss of a family pet is just gut wrenching,) I CASEd this from my Sister in crime, Lindsey. She is the Queen of CAS, as far as I'm concerned. ☺ You should check out her blog. For reals.

 and the inside:

My sister's best friend's fur baby crossed over the Rainbow Bridge recently, and I wanted to let her know that she and her family are in my thoughts and prayers. 

Well, that's all I have for now. I hope to get back to entering challenges again soon. No offense, but it feels really good to make cards not solely for my design team requirements. ;)  Watch out world, here I come! LOL!

Thanks for stopping in, and I hope that you all have a great day!

Chris

SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS #25 - W is for.....

Weeble Wobbles? Winnebago? Worcestershire Sauce? All good guesses, but no. W is for WOW it's cold!!!!

 For the next two weeks, the SISTERHOOD OF SNARKY STAMPERS challenge you to make a winter themed card or project!  (Obviously why Edna is sporting her 'Nanook of the North' attire!) Here's the card I made:

 and here is my poem on the inside:

This will be the first time my Sisters read the poem also, since I was evil and wouldn't tell them what it said on the inside! Muahahahaha! I just love surprises! It may be hard to see, but this card is all about the sparkle and shimmer.

OOOOH! SHIMMERY!

After I sponged the background, I went over it with pearl Glimmer Mist. The birch tree plate is die cut from black glitter paper, and the deer is die cut from brown card stock that has a subtle shimmer to it. 

It feels really strange to be composing a blog post that's not scheduled 2,3,or 4 weeks in advance. I wasn't in town for most of December, with two unexpected trips home planned at the last minute due to family health issues. My Dad has Dementia, and we found out my Mom has been downplaying how bad he's gotten. (They live in Illinois, and I live in Maryland) My sister Sandy (who lives in NC) and I flew home at the same time for two weeks to help out in any way we could. (from making sure my Dad is on the waiting list for a room at the VA hospital wing that is dedicated to Alzheimer's/Dementia patients, to just cleaning the house, to taking my Mom to support group meetings, to finding and signing her up for in home care services provided by the VA. If any of you have a VET in your family or know a VET that has Alz/Dem, the VA has many services free or almost free for the main caregiver to take advantage of. The catch is that they don't advertise these services. You have to ask for them!  Look into support groups - that's how we found out about a lot of services provided!  Our second trip was driving to my in-laws in northern Wisconsin for the week between Christmas and New Years. My Father-in-law has a lot of medical problems: diabetic, he's had a heart attack, several strokes, has had quadruple bypass surgery, is in the first stages of Dementia. He has a leaky heart valve which because of all his ailments and his age, is inoperable. Technically, his heart is slowly giving out on him. So, Andy, our dog Colby and I went up there to again to help out in any way and to just be there with them. But even with all their medical issues, we all found many, many times to laugh and have fun. ☺ Because of these trips, most of my posts for December were scheduled at the very end of November! Holy hurry up and get your shit in gear Batman!! (right now it's Friday the 9th at 5:10 pm est!) It feels good to get back to my normal blog-at-the-last-minute routine! ☺

So enough of my Debbie Downer story (thanks for listening though! ♥) It's time for you to make a card or project with a Winter theme and link it up at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers! When you are there, please take a moment to leave some bloggy love for my Sisters, and our newest Queen of Snark: Nanette! You won't be disappointed! 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all get some time to be crafty today! Rock on peeps!

Chris

Supplies

Stamps: Paper Smooches - Alphadot, Steamers

Ink: Ranger DI - Wild Honey, Shaded Lilac; Memento - Rich Cocoa, Elderberry

DP: DCWV - black glitter/brown shimmer paper; scraps

CS: Darice

Accessories: Taylored Expressions - Birch Tree plate & accessories dies; Paper Smooches - Streamers die; GC; Tattered Angels - Pearl Glimmer Mist

Adhesives: SA by 3L - MyStik permanent, 3D foam squares; Scotch - scrapbooker's glue

JUST US GIRLS #275 - Trend Week!

Hi crafty peeps! It's Trend Week and we have another fun challenge at JUST US GIRLS! Sue V. is your Hostess this week, and she wants you to use a  STENCIL! 

Stencils are indeed a hot trend right now. Whether you sponge inks over them, use embossing paste, or mists, you're bound to have fun creating something! Here's the card I made:

Anyone else sooooo over all this arctic weather? I'm ready for the beach, myself! ☺ For my card, I made an ocean scene. I took a wave stencil and sponged Salty Ocean first, shifted the stencil a bit, then sponged Tumbled Glass DI. I shifted the stencil again, then after mixing Peacock Feathers DI into some embossing paste, randomly smeared that over the stencil. I left the panel to dry overnight, and colored up this cute image with my SN markers, adding Glossy Accents to her shades. I had some cork scrap that I thought would be perfect for the 'sand'. The finishing touches are the stamped sentiment on the pennant, and real seashells that I collected on one of my beach trips! 

Now it's your turn to get all inky with a stencil! Come on, you know you want to play along! Just be sure to link up your project at Just Us Girls so we can see it! While there, please check out what my teammies, and our January guest designer, Judy, created. You will be blown away by their amazing creations!! 

Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with! Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you all have a fabulous day!

Chris

Supplies

Stamps: Some Odd Girl - Beach Babe Kaylee digi; Paper Smooches - Get Outta Town

Ink: Ranger DI - Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Tumbled Glass

DP: DCWV - Cork Stack

CS: Darice; Copic X-Press It

Accessories: Simon Says Stamp - Waves stencil; Dreamweaver embossing paste; Spectrum Noir markers; Ranger Glossy Accents; Martha Stewart twine; Clearsnap Sassy Pink Smooch; shells

Adhesives: SA by 3L - MyStik permanent, 3D foam squares; Ranger Glossy Accents; Recollections red tape

SHOPPING OUR STASH #183 - Happy NEW Year!

Happy New Year crafty peeps! Ready for a new year of fun challenges? Of course you are! For this week's challenge at SHOPPING OUR STASH we want you to use something NEW! (Or, at least, new to you! ☺) Here's what I made:

 and the inside:

My 'new to me' items are the fir tree stamps by Rubber Dance stamps. I purchased this set recently, but haven't until now inked them up. It was time. ☺ This card was fun to make. I used four of the fir stamps and two sizes of pine cones, a few different green inks and was done. Well, almost. It still needed something, so I went over all the needles and pine cones with diamond Stickles.

Ooooh! Shiny!!

So, did you get any new crafty schtuff for Chistmas? Have a stamp set that hasn't been opened yet? It's time to use them! Be sure to link up at Shopping Our Stash - we want to see it! Please also check out what my teammates created while there and leave them some bloggy love! Have a wonderful day!

Chris

Supplies

Stamps: Rubber Dance - Pine Fir Yew; Lawn Fawn - Home Sweet Home; Hero Arts - Everyday Sayings

Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, Bamboo Leaves; Ranger DI - Evergreen Bough, Iced Spruce; Walnut Stain

CS: Darice

Accessories: Ranger diamond Stickles

Adhesive: SA by 3L - MyStik permanent