Love Grows

OK, I'm done making cards for the night. This is the other card I came up with tonight. I once again used the cuttlebug to cut out the scalloped circle. I figured this will give me my scallop fix until the new punches get here. I also embossed the hearts on the Loves Me Designer Paper. It looks like my creative juices are flowing again.

I ended up ordering the other embossing folders I have been looking for. There is only one place in town that carries the CB embossing folders. By the time I got my CB most of the ones I wanted were sold out. So right now I'm waiting on about 5 packages to come in. Since Tuesday is a federal holiday I won't see any of my packages until Wednesday at the soonest. And I have to go back to work Thursday. I guess I'll just have to keep playing with the toys I already have.

SEI Paisley Card

I just finished this card and I couldn't wait to add it to my blog to share with you all! I have seen so many cute cards on SCS using the Stampin' Up designer paper Rebecca and Sarah. Well, I didn't have any of that paper (I will be putting it on my next order) so I went to Hobby Lobby and found this paisley paper that is just my style. Plus it was on sale so I had to have it. The paisley is SEI Granpa's Attic paisley hanky 7-9923 and the striped paper is Grandpa's Attic suspenders 7-9927. I used natural ivory paper for the base of the card and I layered the SEI paper on basic black. I even got to use my Cuttlebug on this card! I cut out the photo tab and the tag. I may have gone a little over board with this one because I had so many things I wanted to play with.

I also wanted to let you all know that I love my new ATG! It is really big but everything I have used it on has stuck where I put it! I have had a hard time with mono because the layers always fall off the cards. I had gone to using double stick tape but I love the ATG so much better than the tape. You don't have to peel it off and stick it down which is time consuming. The ATG gives me more time to make cards and be creative. In case you want one, I bought my ATG714 from framing supply.com.

Hogs & Kisses

I only made one card tonight because the creative juices weren't flowing! I used a few sets I haven't played with in a while, Walk this Way and Alphabet Soup. I used my new Cuttlebug embosing folder Bloom Dots to emboss the teal background. I inked the Hugs & Kisses stamp with my marker and then I stamped an O from a small non SU alphabet set I have. So this is it for now.

I think I'm stumped because I have an idea for a baby card but I don't have that cuttlebug folder that I need to make it. It may not turn out the way I see it in my head but it is blocking all other ideas at the time.

The goodies are rolling in!

I was so excited when the postman rolled up and he had 3 packages for me. The first was from my upline Joann. This is what she sent me as a Christmas gift. I really do have the best upline ever. I am a hobby demo and don't really do many parties, probably only about 4 since I became a demo 2 years ago. Joann is always there to answer questions and lend a helping hand if it is needed.

Since I got some money for Christmas I just HAD to order a ATG gun. If you don't know about them you can find many threads on SCS about them. It is an adhesive gun. I haven't tried it out because it was delivered this morning. I wanted to post a picture of it because several people have been asking how big it is. I didn't have much trouble putting the tape in and I tested it out on a scrap piece of paper. I do plan to make some things after I finish posting this so I'll let you know how it works.

The next pictures are of all the Cuttlebug embossing folders I ordered from Happy Scrappin' Scrapbooking. I placed the order Christmas day and they shipped Dec. 26th. And the order arrived today- that was really quick! Here is what I got:

Bloom Dots

D'vine Swirl

Happy Birthday

Heart Blocks

Thanks

Then I ordered these from the dreaded bay! lol I have several other packages coming from there but these were the first to arrive!

Tiny Tags

Charms

Since I doubt any more packages will come today I guess I'll go play with these goodies! There is still a chance that Mr. Brown might stop by- he normally doesn't get here until between 4 and 6pm. I'll share if I create something good!

I'm up and moving around... a little

I finally got up out of the chair today and did something. I had surgery Thursday and now I'm going stir crazy. I probably over did it today because it was the first time I have ventured out of the house. And before today I didn't get up out of the chair for more than about an hour. I had to go to the bank and of course I had to stop by Michael's while I was out. My wonderful mother-in-law got me a Cuttlebug for Christmas and I couldn't wait to try it out.
I have ordered some embossing folders and dies but I can't wait for them to get here. So I bought several other dies on my adventure today. I love the way you can just roll the die through and it cuts it out perfectly! I have also ordered some other goodies with my Christmas money so I'll post here when they get here.


This is also the first time I have had a chance to play with the stamp set SU sent demos for Christmas. I just love this set! I used bashful blue, regal rose, and sahara sand for this one. I also used my Cuttlebug to cut out the tag on the bottom right side. Since I am finally moving around again expect to see more soon!

Home from Hospital

I just wanted to let you all know that I am home from the hospital. I had exploratory surgery and they took out my appendix. But they didn't find anything else. So I guess I'm back to square one. I just wanted to let you all know why I haven't posted any creations lately. My DH has been doing a great job taking care of me and maybe I can get him to help me get some stamping stuff down so I can post some things later. Merry Christmas to you all!

Cutest Snowman Ever!

I was looking around on SCS the other day and I found SweetMissDaisy's card using the cutest little snowman stamp. I went straight to Addicted to Rubber Stamps and placed an order. Both stamps are by Inky Antics. I love ordering from Addicted to Rubber Stamps because their shipping is so quick. The order shipped Thursday and it came in the mail today! And I didn't even have to pay for shipping because of a special they were running. Now if we could just get SU to ship and deliver that quick.

So I started playing around with the stamps because I wanted to make some thank you cards to send to people who get us Christmas gifts. I like to have them on hand so I can send them out right away. I also wanted to use the snowman but move away from the Christmas colors. So this is what I came up with. I used Cool Caribbean and Gable Green. You can't see it real well in the picture but I stamped the words under the last snowman on the right. I watercolored the snowman with Cool Caribbean, Gable Green, and Apricot Appeal. I need to add some glitter somewhere on this card but I was so excited about it that I wanted to add it to my blog!

Does anyone else have trouble taking pictures of their cards? I get so frustrated when I have to take pictures because I have to take 15 or so pictures to get one good one. My husband normally takes them for me because I'm so bad at it. The color is wrong or they are all blurry! I get so mad when I have to keep going back to make more and more pictures to get a good one.

Wedding Card

My friend asked me to make a few wedding cards for her. I was browsing around on SCS and found a card I really liked! Inkpad made it and it was so cute. I went to the stamp room and I didn't have all the stamps she used so I made a few modifications. This is what I ended up with. I think it turned out really cute. I just love these colors together, burgundy and sage. You can't really see it but I stamped the hearts on the sage paper. What do you think?

Sucker Cards

I have seen so many of these cute little sucker cards and I just had to make one. I went and bought some sucker sticks instead of putting a real sucker on it so it wouldn't be too heavy to mail. I am thinking about making these as Valentine cards so I didn't want them to weigh too much. I just love this new designer paper from the SU Winter mini. I used the only circle punch I had to punch out the "sucker." I wish I had one that was a little smaller but I can't cut a straight circle so I just went with it.

I was also at a loss on what kind of adhesive to use to keep that little stick glued down to the paper. So, I decided to give my new UHU sample a try. I used the twist & glue. I put a little on the stick to glue the "sucker" on and I also used it to glue it to the page. I love the way you have the option to use a little tip to apply the glue or you can open it all the way to have a big flat tip. Of course I used the little tip for this project. It is in the process of drying right now but I'll let you know if it stuck. I live in the south and I have a hard time finding things that will stay stuck in this humidity.

I also made another sucker card but I think something is missing from this card. I feel like it needs something in the top right corner but what? Do you have any suggestions? I don't want it to be too much. I still want the sucker to be the focus but it looks a little bare.

I almost forgot to show you all what I got! My friend Trace gave me this cute little paper scrap vac! It is so cute. I used it tonight to vaccum all the little scraps and the pop up dot backs. Thanks Trace!

Big Pieces- Pink

I've been playing with Big Pieces again. I saw this card on SCS. Several people had made one like this and I wanted to make one too. I love this new set. I have Little Pieces and it goes together great. I used my new little EK punch to add the circle on the ribbon. I'm not sure I'm crazy about it but I guess it works. I made this card at 1:00 am today. I haven't been in the stamp room to play today but I plan to sometime after I get more laundry started. I went to Walmart and picked up some sucker sticks to make another card. I'll post more of my creations later if I get to stamp!

I've been stamping ALL day!

Today I went to a friend's house and we stamped all day long! I got there around lunch time and I didn't get home until 6:30. She is making Christmas cards with two snowmen on them. She just got married this summer so she wanted to do a wedding snowman couple on the card. They really turned out cute! We were so sick of snowmen when we finished that we were delirious! We were coming up with some silly snowmen cards to make for different holidays! We were laughing so hard that I told her I thought we needed to stop for a while! I also finished all my Christmas cards. I decided to do the clear snowflake cards I posted earlier. They turned out so great! I got some white Stazon and I was tickled with how quickly that ink dried on the transparencies! They will be going in the mail Monday.


Today was the first time I have had a chance to play with my new stamps. I had looked at SCS and found a few cards that I wanted to CASE. Here is the first one. The original was posted by coribravo. I used Big Pieces, Little Pieces, and Happy Everything. The colors used were burgundy, mellow moss, and apricot appeal. I love this card and I will using this card soon!

I also picked up some of the snowman paper from Basic Grey today! I just love that paper. I stuck it in a clear mug from the Dollar Tree. I plan to make a snowman soup packet for my room mother. She is always doing great things for my class and I wanted to give her a little something for Christmas. I'm not sure if I'm going to stamp something to go inside or if I will just stamp a tag and some other things to go with it.

While shopping I also ran across the EK punch you see here. I have gotten most of my punches from SU but I just love this one so I got it! It was a little different from the other punches I have because the punched out piece doesn't come flying out of the bottom.

My goodies are here!

My goodies are here! I can promise some new posts this weekend. I just got in tonight and the box was on the front porch. Too bad I have to work tomorrow. If I didn't have to work I'd be cutting stamps right now. I got several new sets, paper, stamp pads, reinkers, ribbon, and the little marker spray thing. I can't wait to give it a try! I'm going to Trace's house this weekend to stamp but I don't think I'll be able to wait until Saturday to break into my new stuff! Check back soon for some new cards!

I Love Snowmen!

My good friend Stephanie asked me to make something for her mom to give as a dirty Santa gift. She wanted me to stamp something with snowmen on it. I love snowmen so this was right up my alley! I made a set of cards and a matching notebook.

For the "snow" I tore white paper and then added glitter to the edge that was torn. I used not quite navy and white. I just love the dark blue with snowmen!

For the notebook I just used Crystal Effects to glue the paper down to the composition notebook. I'm still trying to figure this out so I don't end up with CE on everything. I guess a little patience would help but I can't seem to manage that when I get on a roll. I get so excited about getting something done that I can't stop to wait on the CE to dry! I stamped some snowmen and added some Primas on two of the snowmen. This turned out so cute I might just have to make some more to give as gifts myself!

Busy as a Bee

I have been busy today! I finally finished all my Christmas shopping. I did most of it in November but I had to wait until after payday to finish the rest of it. I went to Target and Kohl's and got something for the rest of the people on my list. I came home and wrapped it all so it is ready to be delivered.

I picked up a gift card and I knew I had to decorate a tin to put it in. I ordered a bunch of these from specialtybottle a while back so I have plenty of gift card tins to decorate. Since I have wrapped everything with snowman paper I knew I had to put a snowman on the top of this one. I stamped white snowflakes on night of navy paper and put it on the top. I also used the tag punch and stamp to make the snowman tag. This one was quick and easy.

I also made these little post it note holders for all the teachers on my grade level at school. These were so easy to do too! I used Headline Alphabet and Looks Like Spring. I wrapped the patterned paper and put it inside the RSVP pen.

I'm still waiting on Mr. Brown so I can make my Christmas cards. He should be here Thursday so it looks like I'll be making them next weekend!

Playing with Peaceful Wishes

I borrowed Peaceful Wishes and I have been playing around with it tonight. I love this set but I don't know if I would use it for anything other than Christmas cards. Since I know what I'm going to make for my Christmas cards I hate to buy it now. It was one of the sets I thought about buying when I purchased Lovely as a Tree. If it is still around I'll probably use it next year. However, I did get to play around with it and I'm in love with the simplicity of it!

On the first card I used glossy cs and stamped the images on it. Then I used a white crayon and colored around the image so it would look like snow on the branches. I then used brocade blue and sponged it all over the entire piece of glossy cs.

For the second card I used naturals cream to stamp on instead of white. It gives it more of an antique look I guess. I also did the heated ribbon on the organdy ribbon. Just heat it up with your heat gun and it makes it curl up on the edges. I love the way this heated ribbon looks on a card!

I must say that I love the snowman ornaments that Debbie posted on her blog. I finally got up the nerve to give it a shot and I love the way they turned out! Check out mine!

I had a hard time shading with a sharpie around the snowman but my DH has some stuff in his hobby desk to help me out. When I tried to color it to shade it would always look too dark and I thought I would have to throw it away and start again. I was so wrong!

Here are a few tips he gave me. I thought I would share them with you in case you are "shading" challenged like me! First he told me to ink up the end of a q-tip with the sharpie. Then rub the q-tip on a piece of paper until it almost looks like it won't color any more. It will be really light. Then you shade the area you want to add color to. This makes the color lighter than the original color of the sharpie. Then you use a cosmetic applicator (I got mine at Walmart) and blend in the color.

Now, what do you do it you mess up? Don't throw it away! Raid your husband's car stuff and find this: Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish.
Put a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny bit on an cosmetic applicator and rub over the sharpie mess ups! It takes it right off and leaves the Stazon on the domino! I was so excited about this. I recruited him and he helped me make all of my ornaments.

Thanks so much for showing us how to make these on your blog Debbie! I took one to school last week and everyone loved them. I have used a whole box of dominos making these and now I can't find any more white dominos at my Walmart. I'm going to have to go on another shopping trip tomorrow so I can find some more!