Old World Designs

Another Shadowbox Layout

2011-10-17T04:16:00.000-07:00

Heritage Layout using multiple tools and layered paper elements

Heritage Layout designed with a Shadowbox frame in mind

Heritage Layout now in the Shadowbox

Hello Blogging Friends...

As promised on the last post, I said I would post this Shadowbox layout next to show you all the sample we will use, as well as a couple of other layouts, when a group of us get together to design a layout this weekend at the Fall Flurry Crop in Walford with OC Scrapbookers. The activity is call Bring It-Make It-Take It and it will be set up cover part of the day so that participants can work with several tools and techniques to explore how to design and layer up paper and embellishments to complete a dimensional layout ideal for framing with a Shadowbox. These types of layouts are excellent for gift giving. As the holiday season rolls around, think of all the themes one can choose from to make a dimensional layout for a Shadowbox featuring one or two pictures. Of course, the sky is the limit! The activity that I have planned for Saturday at the workshop will focus on 6 participants so that we keep it intimate enough to be able to focus on questions and be comfortable enough to work with the Cricuts and die cutting machines.
I plan to spend time, answering questions and providing my experience in various methods and techniques. We will be playing with various tools, experimenting with different techniques and methods that participants may have always wondered about and have wanted to try. Anyone who is attending the weekend in Walford and want to join us, you must register with Deb at OC Scrapbookers to get a seat. The first 6 to register will get a spot as space is limited to 6 participants.
This picture has my Grandfather and Grandmother in it with my Great Grandmother and two of my Aunts when they were children. This picture was taken in 1938. I am looking at a few heritage pictures from both my side of the family and my husband's side. They are fun layouts to design and I'm looking forward to this weekend's group as we put our head's together and design an awesome layout.

A ShadowBox Layout for Maddy!

2011-10-15T14:45:00.000-07:00

A Shadowbox Layout for Madison Lynn
Our new and very first Great Niece!

Hello Blogging Friends

I have missed being able to post to my blog. Phew! .. I've been so busy the whole month of September, all while starting back to work. Things have slowed up a bit here now and I have time to post some exciting projects that I have been working on over the last month and a half. This delicate, oh so girly layout was designed lovingly for my great niece who was on her way as I was working on it. I planned to celebrate with family at the baby shower and was thinking what could I pour my loving energy into that would be more of a keepsake than just a card and that would have much more exposure? I immediately thought of a layout that could be placed in a collectable case that could be hung on a wall and be seen by one and all. So I began thinking about the elements that I thought would go oh so nicely on this wee little girly's layout-- the elements that are so Madison Lynn. As I said, she wasn't even here yet... but into my head popped visions of fairies and flowers and butterflies!! I saw the delicate doilies cut and lots of pearls and in shades of cream and the palest of pinks. Yes, I was tapping into the essence of that new little girl! She has now arrived and I am excited to say that she is early and very small but is okay and gaining strength last I heard. She arrived earlier than expected and tired but all there!! Bravo Madison, Auntie looks forward to seeing you soon....

Just a word to let my friends know who'll be attending the Fall Flurry crop with Deb at OC Scrapbookers in Walford next weekend.. I'll be working on a Bring It- MakeIt- Take It activity on Saturday at the crop. I'll be working with a group of participants on a Heritage Shadowbox layout. For more information, email Deb @ OC Scrapbookers to see how to sign up for the event. She will have a flyer to share with you that has more details on this shadowbox layout opportunity...
I will be back with more projects very soon, likely tomorrow...k

A True Friendship Card

2011-08-30T20:17:00.000-07:00

Front: A real collection of dies used here in layers to illustrate a detailed look
Pattern Paper: KaiserCraft Peachy Keen
Flower Stamp JustRite 31/4" round colored with Copics

Inside Card: Lined with coordinating Peachy Keen paper
Carnivale Border die from Cheery Lynn and
Spellbinders Lacy Squares

Hello Friends

This week is warm and sunny but the mornings are now beginning to be a bit cooler and it reminds me that fall is just around the corner. I have been a busy bee the last couple of weeks as I've been canning, pickling and making jams and jellies. I used to do this every summer when the kids were growing up but the last 5 to 6 years, when my health began to deteriorate I didn't do alot of it..I didn't have the stamina. Since I've been on the road to better health and a whole lot lighter, I have more energy and I just find I want to do so much more of the things I used to enjoy... So, I've been crafting in between batches of jam, jelly and pickles. This card reminds me of late summer blossoms and sunny days that are stretching into the harvest time. The time when the trees begin to change their dresses from cool greens to bright oranges, yellows and reds in celebration and gratitude for all the bounty and beauty we have in our natural world.

I designed this card with multiple dies from various manufacturers. I enjoy mixing products and technique tools to get various effects like I did with this card using Cheery Lynn with Marianne Designs and then adding a Spellbinders die or two to the mix. The first layer on top of the pattern paper is part of the Marianne Creatable's Scallop Circles. I used the largest of the three circles that make up this intricate die. On top of that diecut I placed a doily from Cheery Lynn called the Kiwi Doily and on top of the Kiwi doily I added a JustRite image from the 31/4" round My Garden set colored with Copic Markers in orange, yellow and turquoise. The swirls and the flower on the card are cut from the dies that are part of the Marianne Creatable's Frame, Flourish and Flowers. The sentiment tag was cut using a tag from Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three and I added corner diecuts from the Floral Doily Accents set onto the ends of the tag. On the tag I stamped "True Friends" from JustRite's Friendship, Nested Sentiments and Verse. Inside the card I used the Cheery Lynn Carnivale Border die and a Spellbinder's Lacey Squares diecut to be used as the mat for the verse that will be placed there.
I'm feeling the strong pull now to create some seasonal projects very soon. I love creating for OC Scrapbookers! Click on the link at the top of my blog here as I urge you to go take a look at what they have to offer over at the webstore. Stay tuned for the newsletter coming very soon to announce the fall crop lineup and some other very fun stuff lined up for the fall. Back again very soon!!!

Sending on Smiles with Pizzazz!

2011-08-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

Front of Card: Marianne Design Scallop Circles cut out using 3 separate dies. Black
velvet mini flowers from the smallest die from Spellbinders Rose Creations. The sentiment
is from JustRite's Smile set, one of their 31/4" round sets Pearls ; KaiserCraft

Inside card: Lined with red cardstock, I used a Cheery Lynn Border die
Carnavale as a decorative edge and the Marianne Rectangle frame
LR 0116 as a mat for the verse

Hello Blogging Friends...

I'm back with a great card that features some of my wonderful new dies. I'm using a favourite of mine, shiny gold foil Bazzill that I love using on my fancy card designs. This card is fashioned to achieve a fancy finish in black, cream and red with gold highlights. The center medallion is cut out using the Marianne Designs Scallop Circles LR 0180  which you can find under the Cheery Lynn preorder section of OC Scrapbooker's online store. This is where the new dies on preorder are listed and you will find the Cheery Lynn Border, Carnivale and the Marianne Design Rectangle Frame here also.
The Scallop Circle die comes in a separate trio of circular dies that fit together which graduate in size making a beautiful medallion when stacked. On this card I used all three beginning with the largest scallop shaped circle on the bottom, cutting it in black velvet. Then to offset the black velvet bottom layer, I used gold foil bazzil cardstock on the next diecut to contrast with the bottom layer.  The cutout feature on this die supports the black velvet as it peeks through the gold, highlighting how beautiful the embossing detail is on this layer. Then, on top of the middle diecut glimmering in gold, I stacked the third and smallest circle, again cut in black velvet showing the contrast again and an added texture and elegance. Of course the sentiment was then stacked on this layer, stamped in black Momento ink on cream petallic cardstock. The effect is especially beautiful when you're able to see it and touch it. The decorative lacey scroll-like edge around the the outside of the largest Scallop Circle adds intricate dimension and is one of the main features that attracted me to this die.
I lined the inside of this card with an embossed red cardstock and added more gold elements in keeping with the fancy and old hollywood style of this card.  A verse to an special friend or relative to send warm wishes is all that is needed to finish this card off. Remember, One Smile can Warm the World!

All these products and so much more are available at OC Scrapbookers 'n More.  Be sure to visit the store to view all the exciting preorders available now and stay tuned for the ones being announced very shortly. More again very soon.. stay tuned!!

A Friendship Card with handmade roses!!

2011-08-22T11:30:00.000-07:00

Front of Card: This stamp is JustRite's My Garden Borders and Centers
JB-09705; which is a 31/4" round ribbed stamp set. The stamp is cut with
Spellbinders Standard Circle Scallop dies and placed on a doily die. I'm introducing
two new Cheery Lynn doily dies and the one I'm using today is called Canadian
Kaleidoscope. I layered that one on top of Cheery Lynn's Celtic Fire Frame, also
a new one for me and both which will be listed on the new Cheery Lynn and
Maryann Design preorder specials this week...

Inside the card: I used the other side of the pattern paper to line the card
and placed another Canadian Kaleidoscope Doily in a matching color
cardstock. The border was in the same pattern paper used on the
front with Cheery Lynn's Carnivale die - click on picture for a
closer look at the intricate and small cuts and piercings.
These dies are amazing and a nice addition to any
die collection.

Hello my Crafting Friends...

Its great to be back and I'm so excited to show you this project --- do you see the flowers??? Again, I'm so excited because I made those flowers. I've had the Spellbinders Donna Salazar Rose and Carnation Creations sets for a while, well.. since Spring and I've not tried them out until now! With my Grand Calibur and lots of matching pattern paper, I had a blast cutting out various sizes of petals and it didn't take long either. I used the Rose Creations die set today on these flowers and I made three different sizes to show you the versatility of the die set. The Donna Salazar Carnation Creations is a set that I will be using in the near future and both of these sets are equally fabulous. Each set has a distinctly differing look to the petals and the leaves providing the whole flower with a unique flair, Wow!

This week OC Scrapbookers is doing another Cheery Lynn and Maryann design Creatables preorder.!! Whooeeee! I've just recieved some new dies to feature this week and today I'm showing three Cheery Lynn Design dies on this card and this combination of dies gives this card an intricate, detailed and very layered look. The Doily Die I'm featuring on this card today is the Canadian Kaleidoscope doily. You can only see the tips of the doily on the front of the card with all the layering but inside you can see the whole effect. It's such an elegant doily shape and puts you in mind of a snowflake which is very Canadian and you can be sure that I'll be having some fun with this doily die during the Winter time on cards and layouts and for the coming Christmas season with all the Christmas cards coming up ~~ well, I can't wait to begin!!

So my friends... go on over to our fabulous OC Scrapbookers online store and see what is available on all the preorders and what is up and coming for the fall cropping season. You may want to focus your attentions right now on the JustRite preorder and the CheeryLynn and Maryanne preorders as we move into September. Deb is gearing up for a fantastic season with lots of announcements coming very soon... So much to do ~~ so little time!

2011-08-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Front of Card: Spellbinders Beaded Ovals and JustRite's Oval Hugs To You JB-09850
Embossed in Gold. The sentiment - JustRite's Baroque Nested Frames and Occasions
Martha Stewart Doily Trim Large Punch Around the Page set (Border Punch) and
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch with Martha Stewart Bridal Flowers

Inside of Card - Lined in Swirl Pattern Pearl finish paper with a Cheery Lynn
French Pastry Doily diecut as a mat for the Sentiment - a JustRite Oval 21/4"x 31/16"
My Rainbow Set - JB-09860 stamped in Graphite Black Versafine ink

Hello My Blogging Friends...

I am back to post a card that I helped my friend make last night as she took some time with me to learn some techniques and methods on how I put together cards. We have been wanting to get together and do some stuff together and we had fun talking about all kinds of things as we worked on this card. When I asked her to think of a type of card she wanted to create, she chose to make a card for special friends of hers who are celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary today!! Imagjne 50 years together with your spouse...Wow! Now we all know that that is a special milestone for some couples and many couples never make it that far. I know them too and can attest that they are a special couple who have contributed so much towards our community throughout their lives. Happy Anniversary Nick and Nadia!

On this card we decided on a few basic techniques and methods, using many of my favourite tools. Of the JustRite Stamps, we chose two Oval sets and we stamped the inside sentiment with black ink but on the outside element, we heat embossed the stamp image in gold embossing powder in keeping with the cream and gold color scheme. This couple are so NOT showy or blingy types of people so we kept the gold of the golden anniversary colors down to a matt gold and not the shiny foil gold that I love.
I love the monochromatic feel to this card and I love that we used two awesome Oval JustRite Stamp Sets that are amazing for this application. The Justrite Stamp sets take embossing with colored embossing powders and the heat gun so nicely, they turn out so crisp and clear if done with care and attention and the finished product is so elegant and dimensional. I love it!
For the wonderful products used on my designs, visit OC Scrapbookers online webstore to see what is available on current preorders. Keep your head up for more preorders to be announced this weekend - watch for Debs Newsletters and if you want to sign up for the newsletters go to Scrapaholics.ca to email them and ask to be put on with your email address. Watch my blog as I have much more to share in the next little while. Leave a comment for me so I know who is visiting and what you think of my work. Thank You in advance for your kind remarks.

Whimsical Cherish the Memories Card

2011-08-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Pattern Paper: Pink Paislee Botanical Garden
Cherish The Memories Just Rite Stamp Sentiment
Spellbinders Bird Sanctuary

Spellbinders Labels Twenty
Spellbinders Fancy Tags
Prima Flowers and Tea Stain Lace

Inside of Card : Spellbinders Bird Sanctuary
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
Top inside: Martha Stewart Large Punch Around the Page set - Wildflowers
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder 5"x7"

Hello All my Blogging Friends....

I'm back after a bit of a break spending time with my husband and children, spoiling the youngest of our 3 boys who came home on leave from the Air Force and choosing to spend some down time with his parents. Being stationed in another province, we only get to see him about every 6 months for a brief week and a half or so -- but we're always happy to take whatever time we can get. I did a last card up before taking my break and just didn't really have lots of time on my hands to post until now. I plan on doing lots more creating in the next couple of weeks as well as mix in some time for a training course for work. I am pumped as I have some great new Cheery Lynn Dies to try out and show off! Some are doily dies -- some are border dies -- and I have some other fantastic product to play with and then post here to show all of you .... I am getting ramped up here just talking about it! There is a whole lot of planning going on for the fall cropping season for all of the demos and technique workshops I will be putting out on my travels with Deb and OC Scrapbookers Gang!! Can't give too much away right now but Wow -- we're pumped!

I urge you to go on over to OC Scrapbookers and see the great preorder sales on JustRite Stamps that is on right now. Deb has put a discount on all JustRite stamps that she's loaded on the website so that there is a preorder special on some of last season's JustRite sets and on the newest JustRite sets too -- all told there is 10 pages of different stamp sets to choose from. I have my order in for some of the new sets that I plan to do some seasonal projects with in the next couple of months. Oh Boy~~ Stay tuned for more projects coming up featuring some of the past season's greatest Just Rite stamps currently listed on the preorder sale!

Using Butterflies, Doilies, Spellbinders and Punch Around the Page Large Punch Set

2011-08-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hello All My Blogging Friends... I'm back today with another seasonal card as the days continue to be warm, humid and sultry and we continue to find ourselves in the throes of summer. Summer flowers are out in full bloom and everything is growing beautifully working towards harvest. I just love the availability of fresh fruit, berries and vegetables that this time of year presents to us! Early corn is coming into the stores, strawberries are finished now and we're in the middle of raspberry picking season. I've been canning some peach preserves and making some raspberry jam and the jars are so colorful sitting happily on my counter. Oh so yummy!! I just love puttering around with the berries and fruit right now I'm looking forward to doing some relishes and pickles with my husband at the end of August. That is something that he enjoys as well and he looks forward to working with me on that. Fall is my favourite season of the year but summer is a very close second with all there is to do, see and be a part of. I never want to forget however, any one of our distinct seasons as I'm grateful for the four separate and breathtaking color palettes that we use to paint our memories alive each season and how we take up our looms of life and weave our rich and intriguing stories. Loving the summer and being in the moment! I love the delicate look to this card. Again, I layered diecuts and added detail and dimension through the use of rhinestones, small butterflies, one small flower and two pearl ended stickpins. The birdhouses denote the rythms of nature as our summer winged friends fly in, build their nests and have their babies and then raise them before flying off again for another cycle. Each living creature and all of life must Honor the Seasons of Nature and the Rythms of Life. I just love this sentiment. Click on the pictures for a closer look at the details...

Summer Theme card using Prima Marketing Botanical 6x6 paper pad. Spellbinders Labels 20
and Spellbinders Standard Circles Large and Petite Scalloped Circles Large. JustRite
Stamps -- Birdhouses Interlocking, 31/4" round colored with Copic markers.

Lovely sentiment stamp from Rednecker Stamps - Honor the Seasons, stamped in Cocoa
Momento ink. Maya Road Stickpins and Prima tea stain rosettes along with
Zva Creative rhinestone bling flourishes.

Gotta love those Butterflies! Another Martha Stewart punch and available
at OC Scrapbookers, my favourite online Canadian source for all
your scrapbooking and cardmaking products. The Punch Around the Page
Punch set is one of the large ones called "Wildflowers", perfect for this card.

All of these products and more can be found at OC Scrapbookers. Go on over to check what is there and if you have questions, email Deb for more info or to order something specific. Thank You and I'll be back again very soon...

A Birthday Card for either Gender!

2011-08-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hello My Friends

Welcome back to the blog to view this card that I put together very quickly for a friend. I love the colors of it and that it can be for either gender quite easily. The Pattern Paper collection is Basic Grey Capella. I 've cut one of the patterns from the collection using a Martha Stewart's punch around the page punch set and then the cut a Marianne Creatable Round Doily using a coordinating color of cardstock to go with the patterns I chose to work with. I used a Spellbinders Tags Three tag and topped it with one of Spellbinders Ribbon Banners dies. I stamped the Celebrate Your Day with Justrite's Mini Everyday sentiments on the ribbon banner cutout. The inside of the Card features a coordination paper from the Basic Grey collection in two of the pattern paper selections and stamped up a Red Neck sentiment stamp that talks about seasons. Hope you like this card and I would like to hear from you all. My blog members and visitors are the best and most gracious people. I always get a few comments to say what you like on my work. Love the feedback.
I hope you click on the link above to my favourite online scrapbook store for these products and much, much, more...

The Front of the Card - Brown embossed cardstock for the card base.
Basic Grey Capella Collection, Basic Grey matching covered brads,
Marianne Creatable doily diecut, Tags three and Ribbon Banners
from Spellbinders and JustRite's Mini Everyday Sentiments.

The inside of the card. See more of the Capella Collection,
matching cardstock colors and RedNeck stamp
Sentiment, "Honor the Rythms of Your Life"

http://www.scrapaholics.ca/

Close To My Heart Debuts Cricut Cartridge "Art Philosophy"

2011-08-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Hello My Blogging Friends...

I have some great news from Close to my Heart!! The New Catalogues are out - I have them now and some new exciting products have been released. Check out the cattie here and if you see something you like just drop me a line and I can add it to my order.

Today is the debut of Close to my Heart's new Cricut cartridge "Art Philosophy". Find the Art Philosophy bundle on page 12/13 in the catalogue and you can get there quickly by clicking the link above and going to the Canadian edition. This exclusive cartridge comes with THREE exclusive, coordinating CTMH My Acrlyix stamp sets and three Dimensional Elements pages! (White chipboard elements and stamps that coordinate with the shapes in the Cricut Cartridge) What a Bundle my Friends; its going for an amazing price and this month you can get the stamp of the month with your purchase for only $5.00 and recieve a bonus FREE stamp set as well! What a deal!

As your friendly CTMH consultant, you can order online at my website or call me with your order by August 8th as I am submitting my first order of the season on this date.

The new catalogues have arrived -- I have them here!! I am ready to get them delivered into your hands as soon as possible. Let me know by email if you want a catalogue and I can either drop it in the mail or deliver one or more to you... I will be putting in an order on August 8th so remember this first order date if you want to place an order with me.

The new bi-annual catalogue has some great new products and brings some excellent improvements. See six new paper collections that feel different as well as look different. One excellent change is in the pattern paper as it now has a thicker cardstock feel to it. The stamps cost considerably less than they use to and all the new ones are simply amazing!! Check it out and get the products you want now before the new cropping season is upon us.

In Appreciation for the Very Good Friends in our Lives!! BFF

2011-07-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogging Buddies

Glad that you joined me today for this warm and cheery best friend card. You know, when we want to express to our best friends how much they mean to us? On this card I used paper from Pink Paislee"s Butterfly Garden Collection, the 6x6 paper pad. This collection is exquisite, soft and ethereal-like with wonderful soft and rich colors in varying botanical themes throughout the collection. I used the English Tea Party doilies both on the front and inside. I stamped one of the Birdhouses from Justrite's 31/4" Birdhouse set and the Sentiment is from Just Rite's Friendship Nested Sentiments and Verse set stamped up on a Spellbinders Tags Two. The leaves and vines cut in gold foil bazill cardstock is from Spellbinder's On the Vine Grand Borderability. See the inside of the card pictured on the last picture below where I used another sentiment from the JustRite Friendship collection. Again, I already had this stamp colored and then I selected the appropriate doily color to match the pattern paper I chose. With the tag already stamped ahead of time as well, this card came together very quickly. I'm beginning to use up some of the tags and embellishments that I already had cut and stamped up ahead of time as I always make more of what I am doing while I have the stamps and dies out... Its great to have various stuff on hand so that cards can be created quickly when necessary... Voila! There you have it, I did have lots of fun putting all my elements together to create this card. Go on over to my favourite online scrapping source to find these product and much, much more. Huge preorder specials on right now!

Wow!! The light is so much better outside in natural sunlight. Picture taken
on our weathered porch railing with our front yard in the background.

Here is a little closer view. See the details of the doily quite well here
Also see the Copic colors I chose to color this stamp with and the
tag that I ink distressed using Ranger Distress ink in Tea Dye

Finishing the inside of the card with another stamp from the Friendship Nested Sentiments
using Labels Eighteen to stamp on, I ink distressed with Ranger Distress inks in Tea
Dye using the technique where you leave your dye on the diecut after its cut and
embossed and distressed around the edges with the die on so that when
you lift it, the edge remains white to bring contrast and dimension.

I Decorated a Chocolate Box! Check it out....

2011-07-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog Hoppers

I'm back with the project of the day!! Wow, I just love these Cheery Lynn and Marianne Design dies and the Spellbinder Dies too oh yes! (both sets shown here are available through preorder)..yes, and all my embellies, ... oh and my stamps, um.... yeaaaah! Life is just wonderful! The day is beautiful but its painfully warm outside. I'm comfortable tho, sitting with my air conditioning on and working on more projects. This time, I'm showing off an altered art project featuring one of my favourite products out on the market today. This is last season's Prima Marketing Reflections Collection pattern paper which I chose from my stash to cover over a chocolate box. I just wanted to provide you with options on what to do with all those old boxes you keep throwing under your bed! teeheehee.. Well, they can be used for gifts to keep sentimental items or trinkets. Just cover them up and go hog wild with your diecuts, flowers and embellies -- Voila!! Orrrrrrrr ... you could fill it back up with your favourite chocolates and eat bon bons dans le sac! That roughly translates.. eating candies in bed! LOL Anyways, they are great for gift giving with a set of hand made cards inside for that special person in your life who appreciates the work you put into your projects and gifts. Again, this project is chock full of "stuff". I used the Italian Flourish Doily from Cheery Lynn Designs to begin my layers. I didn't really want to cover it up but it is big and I LOVE the layered look. The Italian Flourish is the one that resembles a snowflake when it stands alone but paired with other dies, it take on very different look. I layered a Marianne Design Creatables Doily Round 3.75" size doily on top of the Italian Flourish. This die is another stunner, the cutouts are elegant and the embossed finish is crisp. In the top right hand corner I've placed two of the same of another die from Marianne Designs called the Butterfly Creatable and I layered them up for an exquisite filigree look. Aren't these dies amazing?? You are going to see more and more of my design work being created using both these brands of dies in the future! Click on any of the links that are highighted and underlined and you will be brought directly to where you can find the products at great preorder prices.

The Spellbinder sets I used on this decorated box is Bird Sanctuary and Nested Butterflies Two, both of these are available on the preorder list at OC Scrapbookers. I glammed the box up with Zva Creative Rhinestone Flourishes in champagne and copper to compliment the colors in the paper, as well as the copper foil I used on the Italian Flourish doily and one of the Marianne Design Butterflies. I used a Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly to punch some in glitter paper to dimension and texture to the result. I finished it off with some brown kaisercraft pearls and some tea-stained lace. Oh, and last but now least, the sentiment is a stamp from guess... yes, you're right -- the Just Rite Birdhouses set in 31/4" round interlocking. There you have it... an altered project and a bit of a rest from the cards. Let me know what you think!!

10"x 7.5" box covered with Prima's Reflections Collection pattern paper

See the Italian Flourish Doily from Cheery Lynn Designs
On top of the flourish die I put a Marianne Design Creatables Doily Round, 3.75" round

Get a closer look by clicking on the picture, click again to zoom in more.
See the layered filigree butterflies? They are Marianne Design's Butterfly Creatable, LR0114

Flutterby Wednesday!!

2011-07-28T04:38:00.000-07:00

Stopping by to quickly post this card in order to enter it in the Flutterby Wednesday Challenge Blog #164 just for fun. I came by the blog when I went surfing for fine challenges to enter some of my work into. When I read all about this Challenge, this card quickly came to mind. I knew it needed its own post to enter the challenge and because it fit the criteria so exactly. The main criteria is that it must use "stripes and a butterfly, angel or fairy". Well this card fits the criteria exactly! I instantly fell in love with the Butterfly Wednesday Challenge Blog because of my love for Butterflies, Angels, and Fairies! I may well become a consistent follower to this Blog and enter challenges again and again! I encourage you to visit this challenge blog and enter some of your grand designs...

This Card used Bo Bunny Gabrielle paper and the butterfly is from the collection as well
Gabrielle Trinkets. Lots of other Prima flowers, Zva Creative pearl
flourish and Cheery Lynn Design Doilies
Click onto the picture for a closer view

Posting to enter Design Team Call for Cheery Lynn Designs

2011-07-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Hello My Friends

I'm posting some design work pics here featuring Cheery Lynn Design Doily Dies... This post serves to enter an example of my work for the Cheery Lynn Design Team call. I took pictures of the sister card I was talking about on an earlier post, sister cards as you can see on the pics below. Looking at the middle picture, I do want to point out that I always complete my card designs by finishing the inside the card to compliment the decor on the outside of the card. Often I compliment my cards further by making matching envelopes of specific sized cards that I'm fond of making. See the earlier posts on my blog here to find out how I'm talking up the wonders of Cheery Lynn Design products and how I fell in love with them when I found them earlier this Spring. This design call comes at the most opportune time as I am featuring the dies I recently recieved and talking about the so many more types of dies that are available with so many more in the planning stages. Wow! So my friends... I would love to hear from you -- let me know if you think I would be a good design team player on the Cheery Lynn Design team for the coming Fall/Winter!!

Sister Cards using English Tea Party Doily Die
Bo Bunny Gabrielle Collection and a wealth of other products.
Products also include various Spellbinders Dies, various JustRite stamps,
Zva Creative Crystal and Pearl flourishes and assorted Prima flowers, and borders
with ribbon and crystals. Click on the picture once for a close-up and again to get even closer.

This picture shows the inside of the card. Here I used both the English Tea Party
doily and then the French Pastry Doily, finishing it off with a Spellbinders Beaded circles diecut
stamped with a JustRite Butterfly Garden selection.

Showing both cards nicely here. The card behind the front one here was posted
earlier today and you can see it better by clicking on the heading of my blog at the top
this page to refresh and bring you to past posts where you may see more on the
card in behind and more on the doily dies that I discovered and LOVE so much!

I'm Back to Post More on these Great Dies!

2011-07-27T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hello My Blog Friends

Its a beautiful sunny morning, cooler and the birds are singing loud and proud outside my window. I'm back with a coffee this morning to work on loading pics of the work I did yesterday and the card I put together using these intricate diecuts.

So, I want to talk a little about the way that I worked with the dies yesterday. -- I used the Grand Calibur so that I could get more on the large base plate and I loaded them up with the Metal Shims that I purchased along with the first dies I ordered. Each time I loaded the machine, I cut cardstock or paper to fit the dies and taped them down using Scotch Magic Removeable Tape. I then cut them the same way I cut all my cherished dies. Now as I mentioned previously, a couple of times I had to put a die through the second time, I think mainly because I had too much on the base plate (always try to get the best bang for my buck) LOL. I was working on a couple of Marianne Creatable dies as well that I ordered in the same order for the Cheery Lynn dies. I wanted to try them out too and I'm here to tell you they are of equally excellent quality and easy to work with. Once I ran them through the die cutting maching, I picked up each one up in turn and over a garbage bag I tapped lightly on the backs of the dies and loosened the diecut while tapping off most of the loose paper that was cut. The die comes off with the tapping and most of the paper comes right off the die! I love that there is very little time spent picking paper out of these dies as we find ourselves doing with some of our other cherished name brand dies.

There is always some cuts where the paper doesn't come out with the tapping technique, but with cutting as many as I did yesterday, I'll just put them away and check them well before I use them on any projects to make sure all the pieces that are supposed to be out are punched out. Here are pictures of some of the work I did with the dies:

English Tea Party

I cut this one in Brown Charlie petallic cardstock and tapped most of the pieces out in the garbage bag. This one cut exceptionally well and did not require alot of tapping or piercing. Click on the picture for a closer view.

French Pastry Doily

This die is a bit smaller than the English Tea Party but no less dynamic. With the smaller size it is great for layering as you will see on pictures further down and on the first project I'm posting further on.

Italian Flourish Doily Die

This is the one that resembles a snowflake when it is by itself. The cuts are amazing and the embossed edges that are left are stunning when you see it and can touch it. I just love the filigree look to it and I had lots of fun cutting these and experimenting with various cardstocks, foils and textured paper.

Layered English Tea with French Pastry
Ha, thats making me hungry!!

English Tea Party with Italian Flouish
Cut the larger one in blue foil and the Italian
Flourish in a winter pattern paper

Now, I want to put up the pictures of the first card I did yesterday. And while I'm posting this morning I'm putting together a sister card something like this one and its coming along nicely. I will post it a little later on... The first card here is a little busier than I usually do but I do like busy as all my followers know. I like an explosion of color and texture on the palette, a plethora of wonders to see and if you look closer there may be more to discover... I really like that and, its my style I guess you could call it, my signature. So here goes ...

Using Bo Bunny's Gabrielle Collection

Inside: English Tea Pary Doily and
Sentiment from Justrite's Butterfly Garden
31/4" round Ribbed Stamp set

Click on the pictures themselves to see a closer view of the images, and click again for an even closer view. On this card I used a Zva Creative Pearl Flourish (most of the time the flourish doesn't fit the way it is presented in the package but you can cut these flourishes up and use pieces on your card front to suit your creativity) That is way I did here. As for the doilies, I layered up first an English Tea Party doily and then on top of that I put a French pastry doily cut in the Gabrielle paper -- do you see why these dies are essential to your crafting and scrapbooking needs? You can simply cut doilies to your heart's content in the matching pattern paper collections that you are working with at the time. The sky is the limit with these babies as it is with our other name brand dies. On top of the layered doilies I put a Prima Poetic Whispers Creme flower as the center piece. Wow, these flowers are amazing!! Intricate, elegant and exquisite -- feminine and well..Old World! What can I say, its why I was so attracted to them. Around the bottom left hand side I laid out a flourish of 3D mini rosebuds from Prima, called Fairytale in Teal and then I placed some tea stain rosebuds to round it off. On the top right side, I put a metal butterfly embellishment from the Gabrielle Collection - Trinkets. My sentiment is from Just Rite's Everyday Tiny Sentiments set stamped on a Spellbinders Ribbon Banners S4-324 - with my essential collections that I have going on, I can create anything!! .. and I have so much fun trying.

So, to celebrate the intro of these new dies, OC Scrapbookers has an awesome pre-order event going on! Hop on over and take a look! There's a whole lot going on over at OC Scrappers this whole next week with much more to come... Don't forget the preorder special on Copic Markers going on today too - not much time left on that preorder special.
So my friends... let me know what you think.. I do want to do some altered art and a layout here too.. Stay tuned for the sister card and much, much more!!

Drum Roll Please!!! Say Hello to the Doily Die!

2011-07-26T08:25:00.000-07:00

They are absolutely to DIE for!! These awesome dies are simply amazing and let me try to do them justice as I describe them and show them to you here on this post and consecutive posts to come all this week... Pls. watch the videos that I have loaded up for you below to see how they are cut and so that you can begin to become comfortable with them.

You know, I wasn't completely sure that I liked doilies when they began to appear on cards and layouts last Christmas. I liked them on some of the work I saw but didn't care for them on other projects. I think it was that they were for the most part first, manufactered using flimsy/thin paper, and second there seemed an absence of vibrancy in color and texture for me coming mostly in white with some silver ones (didn't wow me). Then I discovered the Doily Dies made by Cheery Lynn and ordered a few to try --- Well... you can bet that I am now a collector of Cheery Lynn Dies in all of their formats. Over time I will collect them and Deb, over at OC Scrapbookers is going to carry the designs beginning with an AWESOME preorder starting today. Okay... where do I begin?? I'm so excited to show you these dies. Lets try to get this video loaded so you can view them and see how to cut them as he demonstates.

Keep in mind, and let me clarify that some of the videos talk about fussing with cutting the dies by running them through your die cutting machine over and over, turning them around. This is an older video and well, if you are knowledgable and used to the die cutting machine that you use, you know that you only need to play with the shims enough to get a clean run through the first time. A little playing at the beginning to get the right fit of shim(s) may be needed but then you will get the hang of it for the particular die cutting machine you are currenty using. I've had a Cuttlebug for diecutting and embossing for years now but recently I acquired first a Vagabond (electric) diecutting machine for major projects (that means manufacturing for me) such as when I have orders for multiple cards like christmas cards or invitations for events. Then, I discovered the beauty of the Grand Calibur with its 81/2"x11" base plate size and how I can cut multiple dies in one run through which of course is perfect for my fondness of layering diecuts on projects. So now, I use (almost exclusively) the Grand Calibur for many of my diecutting needs. I still love my Cuttlebug and will not part with it as I use it for workshops, (if interested, OC Scrapbookers has the best price on the Grand Calibur in Canada, check it out) but I just love being able to do several diecuts at once on the Grand Calibur. The GC totally sold me on these doily dies because with only one run through, for cutting and embossing with the recommended metal shim, these exquisitely intricate dies cut like butter and every piercing and raised embossed image comes out crisp showing the deep complexity of each die. The thicker the paper you use, the more stunning and deeply etched is the finished result!! I am going to show you the diecuts by themselves to illustrate their beauty and then I'll show you them on a finished project.

French Pastry Doily Die

Here are the three Cheery Lynn Dies that I ordered to try out. You will find my projects this week feature these 3 doily dies in my art in various ways. I had fun today just cutting and cutting and getting used to them. From time to time I put a die through more than once and mostly because I was loading too much on at once.

Italian Flourish Doily Die

English Tea Party Die

I had fun too cutting them out with various cardstock including glitter cardstock and various colors of foil cardstock, seeking that dimension and texture that I was looking for. See how this one looks somewhat like a snowflake.. Well, you can imagine what I will want to do with that one come Winter... I will post my own pictures of the various cuts I made today and then I'll top it off by posting a project to show another wonderful group of products!!

Stay tuned for the next post featuring my own pics and a project I did today with the doilies. I'll be adding more on what I am doing with these beauties so that you can take advantage of my learning. Feel free to email me and ask any questions or comment on what you think so far. I am interested in what you think... So, go on over to OC Scrapbookers to see the preorder special price that Deb has put on in to celebrate the Cheery Lynn products. Look for more very soon, maybe even later on tonight or early tomorrow morning... later friends!

Some of the Pre-order Spellbinder Nesties I got my little hands on....

2011-07-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

Wow! This project shows you several products and tools on one project that came together in a about an hour's time. The design popped into my head after I had looked at a previously stamped the image colored up with Copics in which I added a previously cut Spellbinder's Butterfly Circle diecut. When I noticed the matching colors to the the pattern paper I had in my stash I concluded that this was an excellent match. The pattern paper is from My Mind's Eye called the Bohemia Collection which features colors of purple, lilac, teal, and purplish/browns. The colors are amazing and compliment the stamp I colored with Copic Alchohol markers. I like busy projects sometimes and this one is full of details and layers. For this post, I am very excited to bring you some of my new Spellbinders that are part of the pre-orders you can see up on Debs webstore home page. Butterfly Circles and Nested Butterflies Two are two of the Spellbinder Sets featured on this card as well as Monarch Butterflies punched from the Martha Stewart punch line. Behind the Spellbinders Butterfly Circles I cut a 5"x5" square with another selection from the Martha Stewart line - Butterfly Punch Around the Page punches. I cut some Spellbinders Butterfly Nested Two dies and layered them up on an embossed image from the set. I just embossed the same die in purple cardstock that I used to cut the butterfly in cream velvet paper -- once embossed I fussy cut it out and layered it up under the cream velvet so you can see the hint of purple under the cutout. This technique just embosses and shows the all the lines as embossed but now cut out! Amazing effect on some intricate dies and works well for layering under the cutout diecut. I cut the smallest of the three dies in cream velvet and layered it on top for dimension, adding some bling for texture and sparkle. In the center, I stamped one of the four stamp selections from the Just Rite's 31/4" round Butterfly Garden ribbed set. This is a birthday card for some lucky recipient and will be a delight to give away. Inside the card you will notice the beautiful embossed cardstock liner. I embossed the Teal cardstock inside the card with one of the new Cuttlebug 5"x7" folders called Kassie's Brocade. Layered on the card too are some Prima flowers that are simply devine!! Stay tuned to see some of the flowers that I will be making myself very shortly... and come on back tomorow to get in on the best product ever!! Hope you like this card and I hope you let me know your thoughts. I love to hear what you think and maybe what you want to see me do in future.. as I say, more very soon - stay tuned for a very awesome preorder coming up.................... Click on the link above to visit the best webstore with the best customer service in Ontario Canada!!!

A Card About Change - Just Rite Stamps and Spellbinders

2011-07-24T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hello My Wonderful Blogging Friends

Happy Sunday.. this summer has been just beautiful so far. It has been a little warm lately, but it is summer and I am thankful for each season and what it brings us. Here in Northeastern Ontario Canada, we enjoy each season and its distinct and variable weather. Love, love, love it!!
For today, I wanted to clean up on what I have left of the projects that I had in the queue so I can begin again working with some of various sets in my Spellbinder collection and with my Just Rite stamp collection! For this card I chose a pattern paper collection from the Bo Bunny named Gabrielle with its rich shades of teal, coral, cream and regal chocolate brown. Then I chose a stamp from Just Rite's ribbed collections - the 31/4" round Butterfly Garden set JB-09915. This stamp set is amazing and fits in with the season we're in right now and all of the wonderful butterflies we are seeing in the scrapbooking and stamping world right now. I colored the stamp up subtlety with Copic markers, trying to infuse the blue-green that is part of the pattern paper into the stamp colors. I cut the stamped image out with Spellbinders Standard Circle Nestabilities large and in behind it I chose to use another die-cut from one of the newer Spellbinders sets, the Eyelet Circles Nestabilities, cutting it in a creamy/golden yellow bazzill cardstock. This is another of the 6"x9" cards I often make so I chose to put a sentiment on the bottom too, focusing on best wishes for the card recipient with changes as indicated on the butterfly image. The sentiment on the tag is from Just Rite's Vistorian Nested Frames and Sentiments - JB 09-205. The tag is one of the three tags from Spellbinders Tags Two. I used a Martha Stewart Wildflowers Border punch to cut a border from one of the patterns from the collection in order to add dimension to the separation of chocolate embossed cardstock on top and another pattern paper choice on the bottom. Often, it takes time to choose how to layer and add dimension to the projects... but that is so much a part of the fun of doing it for me. I love to design! So my friends... next I will be coming up with some new stuff! Our friendly neighborhood web-store will be working with me to introduce what I call a dynamite product!! Go on over and visit right now to see what has been put up and what is going up for pre-order from CHA! So much and then some!! As for my input, remember my promise on doilies? -- I can't wait to feature these lovely beauts!! I can hardly wait to bring them to you and Deb will have input too ... stay tuned!!!

An Eclectic Group of Products used on this card!

2011-07-21T18:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer Days...

How are we all doing this fine and hot, hot day? I am staying cool here in the house laying low and out of the hot and humid weather. My summer visitors are all gone now and I am just settling and resting from the hustle and bustle - I haven't really stopped since school was out at the end of June. Now I'm going to have some me time and get to work on some fun stuff. I am posting another card tonight and on this card I used a few unrelated products. This stamp is another one that I borrowed from a friend as I found it very interesting and thought it would be different to use. It's a Lablanche Silicone Stamp (Deb can get them in). I inked the stamp up with Momento Black ink - which is the best ink to use when coloring the stamped image with Copic alcohol markers. I was intrigued with the crispness of the image as I wanted to practice coloring with Copics and knew that this image would test my coloring abilities. I layered up the stamped image with a randomly torn piece of pattern script paper, well distressed with Ranger Antique Linen Distress ink. The flower on the top part of the card is one given to me by my friend who was working on a Glimmer Mist technique flower.. She Glimmer Misted some paper with layers of various colors of Glimmer Mist letting the paper dry between layers. Once the paper was glimmered up and dry she punched several flowers out of the paper and then layered them up. She scrunched them up and distressed them with Ranger Distress inks. She offered me one and I chose this color to go on this card. It is quite shimmery and shows up better in person. The sentiment is a stamp from JustRite's 31/4" round Butterfly Garden Collection. The Spellbinders are Labels Nineteen, Labels Six, and on each end of the Label Six I put an Accent #1 from the Tulips Pendants set to make it look dimensional and ornate. Last but not least, the butterfly on the bottom left corner is a butterfly stamp I had in my stash. I stamped it on vellum twice and cut it out, colored it on the backside with pastel colored copic markers, and layered it up. I traced the edge with a glue pen and stuck some gliter on it for a sparkly effect! So there you have it! These products and so much more can be found at my favourite webstore OC Scrapbookers n More...click on link above the go to the store and see what preorders she is loading on the site. No time like the present to get ready for the fall cropping season!! Can't wait!!

Grand Nestie Card

2011-07-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogging Friends...

I'm posting another card tonight that I made a couple of months ago featuring a Grand Nestie that I used as the card base. The shape of this Grand Nestability Labels Four is classic and it can be easily made using the Grand Calibur (email Deb for a great price on this machine and dies) and the largest of the dies in the nested set! I placed the die strategically onto the folded cardstock so that the top side of the card will utilize the fold in the cardstock. The Grand Nestabilities are amazing and can be used for cards, for journalling tags on layouts or wonderful layering shapes for matting underneath pictures on layouts. So many wonderful uses... love, love, love them. On the inside of the card, I cut the next size down from the largest die and ink distressed it and now it is ready for a stamped or printed verse. This is a friendship card and the stamped sentiment is a Waltzingmouse stamp - not available in Canada :( but the grand nesties are available at my favourite LSS ( click on link above and email Deb for more information) I also used Spellbinders Fleurs De Lis pendant, some Prima flowers and Prima Flourish bling and pearls. Inside is an open slate and can be dressed up and personalized for that special friend who needs cheering up. Stay tuned for more projects...

What to do with your Cricut Boxes

2011-07-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone
I am back to show you an altered project that I made this Spring using several tools like the Cricut Cutting system and Spellbinders Cutting system using several spellbinders that came out earlier this year. First of all let me say, for all of you who have put your Cricut Cartridges into a better storage system for carrying around from crop to crop in either a Gypsy and/or physically into a stack-able storage system like I did, you have all of those nifty boxes with magnetic lids left over. I have over 60 cartridges and so now that I've emptied and stored my carts and booklets in the storage system I have that many of those nifty boxes. I knew they would come in handy for altering into colorful and varied card containers so I kept them and maybe I can make some Christmas Gifts with them. For this first one I chose an older floral pattern paper from K and Company that I had for years which has several patterns all in the same color family. I covered the box and decorated it Zva Creative pearls and several flowers that are cut from the Creative Memories Cricut Cartridge called Reminisce Accents. This cartridge is simply amazing and comes equipped with features that allow you to layer your designs 3 times for extra depth and dimension. Wow!! I have tried out various images from this cartridge and varied the cuts for layouts and cards -- I love this cartridge and find it very versatile for several themes.
The cards are 3"x3" in size and I've made the matching envelopes for each one, 12 cards in total in a 3"x3" size just fit snuggly into this box. On the cards, I have added various stamped sentiments and all are in the Thank You theme. I added a few new Spellbinders sets like Standard Circles large, Lacey Circles, Floral Doily Motifs and Fleurs De Lis Doily Accents. The insides are decorated with thank you sentiments stamped on a background as well. The cards took a lot of cutting but with the Grand Calibur (email Deb at OC Scrapbookers to find out her fantastic price on the Calibur) and its large size bed for cutting multiple Spellbinders, it was a cinch!! Visit the store link above to take a look at the great products and email Deb to be put on her Newsletter contact list so you can find out about her wonderful pre-order sales and the crops coming up beginning in September. Stay tuned for more of these projects as I have several in the queue... Doily die-cuts coming very shortly with more Just Rite Stamps colored up with Copic Markers.!! Wow!!!!

Copics, a Just Rite Stamp and more Spellbinder die cuts!!

2011-07-13T17:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Again Bloggin' Friends...
I'm back to feature a card with a few of my favorite products -- Spellbinder Dies, Just Rite Stamps and Copic Alcohol markers! The embellishments are also a favorite with me; pearls, pearls and more pearls!! So let me start with the paper, this is a collection that I love and used on the grad card below. A Kaiser Craft pattern paper collection in shades of brown and blue. The shade of blue in this paper is simply amazing - somewhere between a blue and a green, in the teal blue color family. I stamped up this Just Rite stamp from the JB09840 Birdhouses Set, in their ribbed 31/4" round style and I stamped it in Momento Black ink on Copic Xpress It cardstock. This combination of cardstock and ink is the best combination to get the best results when coloring with Copic markers. Momento ink is the best ink to stamp any image that you plan to color up with alcohol markers as it will not bleed once dry. I know that several of you got in on the Copic pre-order sale and now have your Copics in hand so I will be posting a series of Just Rite images colored up with my new combinations of markers that I ordered, just to show you all some of what you can do with these amazing combinations of products! The work that can be achieved is fantastic and I am eagerly seeking to achieve some wonderful designs and looking forward to the process of getting there.

I used multiple Spellbinder dies to layer up the stamped image and to stamp the sentiment. I cut the stamped image with Spellbinders Standard Circles. Under the stamped and colored image I used Spellbinders Standard Scallop Circle. Further, under the scallop circle I placed a die cut from Spellbinders Eyelet Circles set which just set it off on a whimsical note. I matched the color of the flowers to the card stock as best I could and then set it on top of a paper border with Kaiser Craft pearls. The sentiment I featured on one of the three choices you can find in Spellbinders Tags 2 and under it I placed a selection from Spellbinders Long Classic Scallop Rectangles. I inked distressed the tag with Twilight Blue ink from Close To My Heart and then used a brown pearl sequence from Zva Creative. Click up on the link above for the best place to shop for all the products you see on this card and more... I hope you like this card... stay tuned, much more to come!!

A Kraftin Kimmy stamp colored with Copics - Oh and look at the Die-Cuts!

2011-07-11T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogging Friends!
What do you think of this awesome stamp? I love Kraftin Kimmie stamps! I don't own any but I was stamping and coloring with my friend earlier this year (Hi Jenn) and she has a lovely collection of Kraftin Kimmie stamps. I borrowed this one and stamped it and colored it up for my nephew and his wife who are expecting their first child, a baby girl in November. YIPPEE!! On this card I used multiple spellbinder dies to enhance the stamp and sentiment. The first one I want to showcase is one of the newest additions to my Spellbinder Collection and its called "Butterfly Circles". It's not available in stores yet but ooo la la... its simply amazing and Deb has them on order --- email her for an approximate arrival date or to pre-order them with her. You will notice my love of butterflies lately and this die set fit right in with all the butterfly dies and stamps that I am currently collecting right now. Click on any of the pictures to get a closer look at all of the products I am using on this card. As you can see, this die has small butterfly cut-outs that border the outer circle of the die. The cut-outs that result when cutting the may be used on the same project somewhere or saved for a future project (just food for thought). To frame the stamp I used Spellbinders Labels 20 and if you click on the close-up you will see that I did a special cut around the bottom of her dress. This technique is called Cutting with Spellbinders Out of the Box Technique. I just love the look of this and I will show you all how to do it at Deb's Crops coming up this fall! I am working on some new Spellbinder Technique demos for the upcoming crops and will continue working with Spellbinders, Just Rite Stamps and Copics. For the sentiment, "Expecting a Package" I stamped on selection from Spellbinders Ribbon Banners and beneath that I used a tag die from Spellbinders Fancy Tags 2. On her belly is the smallest die from another Spellbinder set not yet released called Nested Butterflies Two; there are (3) in the set and they have a deeply and ornately embossed pattern on them. They are just stunning to cut either in plain colored cardstock, pattern paper, or vellum which can be spritzed with Glimmer Mists! Again, oooo la la - I just love these Spellbinder sets. To ask about how to get them and to discuss more about when they are available, click my link above to email Deb at OC Scrapbookers. More lovliness coming tomorrow!!! Stay tuned...

School's Out Forever!! Two Grad Cards...

2011-07-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!! Do I have some projects just waiting to be posted here.. I've been busy creating and designing but not enough posting and I don't want to forget about my blogging friends. I've been using some wonderful tools and I've been creating some wonderful stuff'that I'm real excited to share with you. First though I would like to show you these two examples of Graduation Cards that I created; one for a friend who wanted a special card for her daughter and the other ( this blue number) for my niece who has worked so hard for years through university!! I am creating another one for a special neice who just graduated from highschool this year too (wink, wink) in the mail soon, I didn't forget you hon... All my family knows that a card from Auntie Kath is special because my time is so spread out on many different responsibilities. I do not want to miss one special family member though. Let me point out that both cards (click on pictures to enlarge) use a Just Rite stamp here that I just love - the sentiment suits the occasion. From the JustRite Originals -- the Lg. Ovals My Rainbow Borders and Centers set released at the end of February this year. This set consists of four sentiments outlined in an oval shape with four separate border designs. It can be used over and over and fits into several themes for multiple card designs. On the top card posted I used Kaiser Craft matching pattern paper in a blue and brown color palette. I layered the stamp with a Spellbinder beaded ovals die in brown Charlie petallics heavy cardstock the embossed spellbinder dies are amazing in heavy petallics or foil paper for special events or occasions. Notice, when you look closely, I used a store bought doily underneath the sentiment and label which I distressed for effect. Let me say here, stay tuned for more on doilies.. I will be featuring DOILY DIES very shortly--- I can hardly contain myself... What can I say.. I love doilies now that I can cut my own..... okay, on with these projects, I also used a Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly Border punch for the border between the two paper pattern selections on the front of the card. I colored the border of the stamp with a matching Copic marker and ink distressed with Ranger's Antique Linen distress ink. The small butterfly on the top of the Sentiment is the smallest of the three dies in the new Spellbinders Fancy Nested Butterfly set that is not even available in stores yet, (more projects with those dies coming soon)

The second card shown here is in a pink and brown color palette that is from Bo Bunny's Gabrielle collection. This fairy tale collection features butterflies and magic with a botanical undercurrent. I love, love, love this paper collection! I used the Just Rite Sentiment on this card too but this time I put it inside the card. Along with the sentiment inside the card, I cut Spellbinder butterflies from two sets; the older Butterfly set and Butterflies Two which layered one on top of another. Back to the front of the card, I used multi Spellbinder sets... The first and most largest of the layers is the Grand Nesties Four which I detail-matted in a solid brown color to compliment the top pattern paper layer. The next label I used is Labels Eighteen cutting it in pattern paper choice that is one of the lighter colors. I then cut another layer, Labels twenty and stamped the Sentiment from a Just Rite sentiment set, detail-matting it as well in the solid brown cardstock for consistancy. I layered Spellbinders Butterflies again and the Dragonfly from Fanciful Flight on this card to symbolize wonderful changes and good luck. I also used some accents from a new Spellbinders Motif set for a fancy flair on each side of the labelled sentiment. I think I covered most of what's on these two cards.... more projects are coming soon. You can find these products and more at my favourite place (link above) if you like what you see and stay tuned to my blog for some other great inspiration just around the corner....

Cherish the Memories Sympathy Card Collection

2011-06-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogging friends...
I have posted today two cards from my Sympathy Collection. Using the beautifully cool green and aqua colors of this KaiserCraft pattern paper, I put together two sympathy cards that I hope shows my belief that we should celebrate the memory of the person who has passed celebrating their life by showing life on my cards, cards that I send to loved ones expressing sympathy for their loss. To express how I feel I used the sentiments from Just Rite's Sympathy Nested Sentiments and Verse on the inside of the card and a Sentiment from Cherish the Memories on the sentiment labels on the front. I used Spellbinders Tags 3 to enhance the front and Martha Stewart's Punch Around the Page punches to begin building the intricate layers to enhance the sentiments. I layered with Spellbinders Lacey Squares, then Beaded Circles and on top of that the fancy tags with sentiments. I chose then to use Spellbinders Fancy butterflies and Martha Stewart punched mini butterflies as fancy embellishments to top the cards off. All these products and more can be found at OC Scrapbookers online webstore -- just inquire with Deb for anything that you cannot see onsite. Right now she has a special on Copic markers, a pre-order special --- go on over and take a look at what is new and take advantage of the Copic preorder special.... Another post coming out shortly my friends.

Fanciful Flight, Sending Cheerful Thoughts Your Way....

2011-06-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog Friends

It is time for me to post again, well I always seem to be late getting things posted but better late than never at this point. This time around, I have designed a 6"x9" card using a pattern paper collection from Cosmo Cricket. This paper selection is bright, cheerful and very vintage in style. I showcased a newly released stamp here, a JustRite stamp from their Cling collection which is elegant and Vintage in style as well. The stamped image came out crisp and precise - I find it very easy to use the Just Rite clings. I used several different tools to layer up various elements on this card. On the front, the first panel to hold the stamped images was cut using a Grand Nestie Oval Scallop set cutting one of the patterns from the paper collection and matted that in drk brown metallic bazill. I used the smallest die frm the Grand Oval Scallop to cut out my first image stamped from the Vintage Oval Labels which is the largest stamp in the set. I then stamped the next image from the Vintage Oval Labels collection and used a sentiment from the Mini Sentiments Just Because set, also a new release of 18 mini sentiments in the set. The second stamped image was cut using the Spellbinders Labels 6. The punched border on the front was made using a Martha Stewart Large punch called Wildflowers and the dragonfly diecut is from Spellbinders Fanciful Flight set. The pearl design on the front is from Zva Creative Pearl and Bling self-adhesive swirl and butterfly design. Inside of the card was lined with a piece of the matching pattern paper from the collection and embellished with another border punch from Martha Stewart and die-cuts from Spellbinders -Fancy Butterflies set.

If there is anything more I can help you with, email me or leave a comment and I will try to get back in touch with you.

Just want to comment on the great day we had in the Sault last Saturday. It was a great day of gathering and playing, visiting and learning, taking a look at new product and re-acqainting ourselves with products and tools that have been on the market for awhile and are not going anywhere as there is so much more to do with them and to explore further. My card tutorial went very well and the ladies who participated had fun and now have a new card to add to their repertoire. I look forward to putting more workshops together and working closely with OC Scrapbookers to provide some workshops over the summer and into fall. More on that to come and please email me to let me know your interest. You may visit OC Scrapbookers periodically for specials and news of upcoming events. Remember too, if you want to subscribe to my blog, look for feedburner here on the left hand side of the page here. If you want to see the card closer, click on once and if you want it closer yet, click on the picture again. This zooms right up so you can view the details. Watch for more posts very soon, I have a line-up of projects to post on my blog here....

You Can Make this Beauty Yourself! Read below to see how to.....

2011-05-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hello My Blog Buddies...

I am humming along here, enjoying the warm weather - even the rain and I'm so happy to hear the birds singing in the yard, singing so merrily happy it seems just to be home from their winter trip and busy building nests and laying eggs. I feel new creation all over right now and I've been creating a little as well the past couple of weeks. I'm getting excited too as I prepare for the wonderful event going on this weekend in Sault Ste. Marie. The "Stop, Shop and Learn" event put on by O.C. Scrapbookers n'More at the United Baptist Church on Malabar (just off Great Northern Road) on Saturday, June 4th. The doors open at 9am and the event will run until 4pm in the afternoon. During that time there will be demos running in the morning where you can rotate and learn how to use some of the best tools in the scrapbooking industry. Some of the most fabulous products will be explored and techniques taught by a group of wonderful and talented crafters and designers.
In the afternoon, OC Scrapbookers will offer some playtime with products in the form of mini workshops. I will be there on Saturday demoing with Spellbinders in one time slot and then Martha Stewart punches during another time slot in the morning. In the afternoon I will be offering tutorial to make this card I've featured here to 16 participants, eight participant per workshop and I will do it twice during the afternoon. Watch my demos in the morning and then participate in the workshop where you can see how these beautiful die-cuts and punch-outs can be layered on a project for added depth and dimension. All the details to participate in my Envelope Folding Card tutorial is on the O.C. newsletter that has been sent out. If you have not received the email and you are not on the OC newsletter email list, email me k_robitaille@yahoo.com and I will forward you a copy of the newsletter and give Deb at OC Scrapbookers your email address to add you to their contact list. I highly recommend that you PRE-REGISTER for my mini-workshop because it will be first come, first served beginning with email registration for those who know they will be making it out on Saturday. Email Deb at ocscrapbookers@yahoo.ca and she can put you down in the order that you email her. I can't recommend this too strongly as there are several who have indicated that they want to make this card to take home on Saturday!
You will learn how to score and fold this paper into a card that folds into itself and then embellish with all of the die-cuts and punch-outs already precut to save time. After our cards are made, play with the tools. use the Grand Calibur and see for yourself how easy it is and the beautiful results you can achieve each time you make a pass. See for yourself how you can cut up to eight different die-cuts in each pass depending on the size of your dies. Explore the versatility of the Grand Calibur and the Spellbinder dies! What an amazing product line and one that just keeps growing and improving season to season!! Email me! Get in Touch with Deb at OC Scrapbookers to register or get more information at oscrapbookers@yahoo.ca and visit www.scrapaholics.ca to see the awesome changes with the newest product pics posted on the home page! Go on over and check it out!! Hope to see you all there on Saturday for some awesome playtime. Back soon with more posts of this card in varying patterns. TTFN --humming away....

2011-05-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

Hello All my Bloggin' Friends!

Just poppin in to post a new card that I put together for a colleague at work who is under the weather. I selected a nice little get well verse for the inside and was very pleased with the Spring like look and colors reminiscent of the promise of summer to come. The paper I used is an older Cosmo Cricket summer wedding collection and I fell in love with the soft muted greens, yellows, and greys and that punch of orange. I layered a few Spellbinder dies on this one. First I used the Heart Circles Nestabilities in orange on the face of the card and then again on the inside to frame the get well verse.
The Heart Circle that I cut for the front panel I did with that blast of orange that you see here and there throughout the pattern paper collection. I covered that die cut with a Beaded Oval die cut in grey, then a standard oval and then another beaded oval. The center sentiment is one I chose from the JustRite 2" Square Hope Centers and Borders collection. I used another of the Spellbinders Standard Ovals to frame "Thinking of You" from the Sympathy Nested Sentiments and Verse collection from Just Rite Stampers. As I share what Just Rite stamps I used here, I am thinking of the great plans I have for some new Just Rite stamps that go with some of the Spellbinders dies that I will be working on. I will be putting some of those projects right here on the blog. And as I go on and on here, I think I better get moving as I still have a few thing to gather up as I get ready for another day of fun and crafting tomorrow. I'm off to Espanola in the morning to the 1st Annual "I Love Scrappin" fundraiser crop put on by Community Living Espanola. The proceeds from this crop will go towards the purchase of a new wheelchair van for C.L.E.
OC Scrapbookers will be on the scene tomorrow with a store full of scrapping products and a little birdie told me that some new items just arrived and will be put on display tomorrow for us all to drool over! Come on out and shop if you can't stay and crop! I hope to see you all there at some point through the day tomorrow. Not only will I be working on some of my projects but I will also be working with Deb and the OC team on some fabulous demonstrations with some of the new products and trends in the Scrapbooking world. It will prove to be an exciting day!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY -A Family Layout

2011-05-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hello and Happy Mother's Day to all my Blog Friends...

I just wanted to get a post out today in memory of all Moms everywhere, and to those Moms who work tirelessly on scrapbooking for the family, Bravo! I see you all at the crops working hard, making sure that you don't scrapbook one more layout than the other siblings in the family - trying to keep everything fair and having so much fun archiving those memories! This layout is for all Moms everywhere and it features KaiserCraft paper and pearls. This paper collection is mutely colored and has a delicate pattern reminiscent of Spring and upcoming Summer. The paper is called English Rose and is a popular one that I have used a few times on various projects. For this project and to commemorate Mother's day, I have used the ever popular Cricut Cartridge exclusive to Creative Memories, Reminisce Accents. When I saw this cartridge, right away I had to have it. It is chock full of frames, borders, and flowers galore that layer in triplicate! Wow, I love layers so it spoke volumes to me. There are some beautiful sentiments - all the sentiments I have used is from the cartridge. Every cut on these two pages is from the Reminisce Accents cartridge so you see what you can do with the cricut and one good cartridge? There is so much more in this cartridge than what you see here - I used two examples of the banners, one for the title and the other banner I am using for journaling on. I've chosen two of the several frame choices and sized them up for substantial sized pictures. I see a picture of the whole family on the first page and then a picture of Mom with the children for the second page. Or Mom and Dad on the first page and then the whole family on the second page. The combinations are endless but you can vary or add to this design, the sky is the limit of course. OC Scrapbookers has this paper and the pearls and I believe this is the second time she gets it in as the first order was sold out almost as soon as it hit the shelves! Check out the home page and see how she has the new stuff featured on the home page! Lots of hard work has been put into the store site loading up the newest additions with lots more to come. Don't forget my friends, an upcoming day crop in Espanola! "I Love Scrappin", first annual Espanola Fundraising crop on May 14th, beginning at 8:00am in the morning until midnight Saturday night. It will be held at the Knights of Columbus Hall and the fee is $25.00 which will go to Community Living Espanola - money being raised for the purchase of a new wheelchair van. So all my scrapbooking buddies - hope to see you there. OC Scrapbookers will be putting on some demos in the afternoon so hope to see you there!

Get Well with Spellbinders and Punches

2011-04-27T13:29:00.000-07:00

Hello again my blog friends,

Here is another example of how to use those tools you've been collecting to their finest advantage! For this card I have used a Punch Around the Page punch set from Martha Stewart, and some Spellbinder dies to offset a couple of beautiful JustRite sentiments. I love the color combination of rich chocolate brown with white and cream fancy cardstock. I use this combination often for wedding cards and special get well or sympathy cards. I layered my specialty cardstock on top of Charlie petallic card base.  The first fancy cut panel is made using the Martha Steward Iron Gate Punch Around the Page punch set. On top of that I used the petallic chocolate brown again and cut a Spellbinders Fleurs De Lis Pendant to layer on to offset the cream. Then, I wanted a little "old world" shine on this card so I used Bazzil Gold Foil cardstock and cut a Lacey Square from the Lacey Square Nestibility die set to show off my beautiful sentiment from Justrite. I stamped a selection from the 2" Hope Borders and Centers set on one of the Square Nestibilities diecuts. Layering all these choices shows definition and depth on your cards. Inside the card I used the Spellbinders Mega Classic Ovals Large and then the Mega Classic Scalloped Ovals to stamp a sentiment from the JustRite Sympathy Nested Sentiments & Verse. I had lots of fun with this card and there is quite a few different stamps and tools used to achieve this wonderful result. Again, I would like to mention a fundraiser crop that is coming up this weekend at the Fatima School on Hillside in Elliot Lake. The crop starts on Friday evening at 6:00 pm. On Saturday morning, I will be there with the OC Scrapbooking team doing some demos on Spellbinder dies and Martha Stewart Punch around the Page punches. Deb and the girls will have other demos for you to check out.... The contact person for this crop is Cindy Emond and you may contact her at celebrate_scraps@yahoo.ca  to book a spot or make any inquiries.
Contact Deb at OC Scrapbookers to find out what is on the agenda for demos and more..
ocscrapbookers@yahoo.ca
Hope to see you there this weekend!  Stay tuned for another scrumptious layout coming soon!!

2011-04-26T14:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog Friends...
Here is another card that I have added to my Sympathy Card Collection. I am practicing with my Martha Stewart Punch around the Page punches that I'm collecting - there is so much that one can do with these punches. I love using them to make cards but I also use them on my layouts as another way to frame my pictures or to layer pattern paper choices to add depth to a layout.
For this particular card I used the Layered Arches punch around the page set. The pattern paper I used is KaiserCraft English Rose Collection which is one of my favorite new paper collections. Then I used The Spellbinders Lattice Pendant to add another dimension as I layer on the details. On top, I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Sizzix Die to fashion this flower out of some of the Prima Fairy Flora pattern paper. This paper and the English Rose paper from Kaisercraft go so well together as the color palette and overall design of the paper are similar. The tattered florals die is quite versatile and re-usable! I love this die and the tattered leaves die as so much can be done with them! Stay tuned for more to see coming up very soon on the blog.
This weekend everyone... I have the pleasure to announce a brand new Scrapbooking weekend event called "Celebrate Scraps". It is a crop that is taking place at Fatima School in Elliot Lake! It is a fundraiser that was created In Celebration of National Scrapbooking Month, this crop was coordinated by a caring Grandmother of one of the attending students. She hopes, as we all do, if successful, that this event will become an annual crop!! If you are interested in attending or you want more info, please email celebrate_scraps@yahoo.ca If you can't come and scrapbook or make cards for the weekend, come and take part in the demos that will be running all morning on Saturday morning. Find out how to achieve some of the results you see on some of the projects that have caught your eye. I will be there providing some ideas and demos of some of my favorite tools as will Deb from OC Scrapbookers. Deb and the team will be there with her store the whole weekend. Come one, come all to take a look at what you can do on your pages and cards... There is an abundance of new product to check out... whoeeee!!! I look forward to seeing you all there...

Number two of my Sympathy Card Collection

2011-04-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Card makers

I have a little something to share with you today also. I've been having trouble with my camera for awhile and the pics weren't turning out the best but I got a few and couldn't wait to share this card with you. I have promised another sympathy card that I have been creating a series on, so here it is. There are a few things to look at on this card. Meaning, there are a few different tools I used for the details and the first one is a Martha Stewart punch around the page punch set called String Lace. On top of the punched mat I created, I layered with a Spellbinders Pendant die from the Contemporary Hearts set. For the butterflies I cut and layered two Spellbinder Butterflies (the first butterfly die Spellbinders put out). On top of the pendant I a layered large flower that I created with the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals large die. I punched several flowers then ink distressed them, scrunched them up and then layered into a beautiful large blossom. In the center of the flower is a Kaisercraft pearl. The sentiment is a Just Rite stamp from the Sympathy Nested Sentiments set which I stamped on a Spellbinders Fancy Tag die (the smallest one of three) Inside the card are more butterflies on pattern paper from DCWV - Mariposa collection. The inside sentiment is from JustRite stamps, another in the Sympathy Nested Sentiment series stamped with Chocolate Brown Stazon on a Labels 5 nested label. The cream paper is fancy Making Memories Shimmer Pearl Vine and a Swirl Cream on Cream. The card base is a Petallic cardstock in chocolate brown called Charlie. I shop at my favourite store, OC Scrapbookers for all my tools and products.. Hope you like my design and let me know what you think. I will be posting more of the Sympathy Collection very soon.....

A Heritage Layout for Sepia Pictures (oh those old faded pictures)

2011-04-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hello my blogging friends...
I have posted a delicate and whimsical two-page layout that was designed with some of my old family photos in mind. I can envision a sepia finish to the pictures I plan to put on this layout and I feel they would suite it well with the shades of brown, grey, and various tones of cream with a hint of blush. I used various tools for this layout but the majority of the design was done with the Cricut machine and the Reminisce cartridge. The titles are from Reminisce at the back of the booklet, the frames are one of the great features of this cartridge with so many unique designs to choose from. I did quite a bit of layering to get the shadow affect on the frames and the titles. The filmstrip frame is from the Mickey and Friends cartridge and the small frame on the first page is a Spellbinders die - Labels 10. I plan to do some journaling in that space. The butterflies are a Cuttlebug die and embossing folder set which I use quite often and is quite pretty. Last but not least is the flower I fashioned with the Tim Holtz tattered Rose Die. I cut several flowers, inked them up, scrunched them up and then layered until I got the volume I wanted. "Go Big or Go Home" I always say! I have had several great compliments from my friends who have seen it in its various forms of completion. I feel that I accomplished the vintage look I was after and still added the depth and dimension that is my style. I was able to get skads of details and layering in while being able to put quite a few pics on to tell my story. Let me know what you think. As usual my friends, you will find the tools and embellishments that I use over at OC Scrapbookers online store - see link above. Watch for their Spring crop schedule...we have so much fun at the crops!! We shall be starting the Spring rotation with Spring Fling in Bruce Mines....you can email Deb for more information at ocscrapbookers@yahoo.ca
Don't forget to leave me some feedback, I love to hear what you think of the layouts. Having a little trouble with my camera so they pics aren't as clear as I like. Its really not hard to comment and once you start you will like leaving comments on your favorite blogs. Thanks all for taking a look. More soon...

The Funniest Video - Making Light of a Tense Situation

2011-03-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone
I just love this You Tube video! Its hilarious: it sings the blues all about the MTC program and how Provocraft socked it to developers of MTC. How us MTC users and owners love this software and think its the best thing since sliced bread. The song tells the story about MTC (Davey) and Provocraft (Goliath) and how most of us cheer for the little guy! Done in a lighthearted and fun way!! Very creative and funny! Give it a listen and comment with your thoughts. I would love to hear what you think of what this creative gal has to sing about...

An Older Dbl. Page Layout with Stamping

2011-03-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hello My Blog Buddies

Hoping all is well with you today. I have put another layout online for you here. Don't you just love the taupe, purple and olive of this layout? This is one of my beginner pages I crafted in my earlier days of scrapbooking when I was doing alot of stamping onto my layouts. For a closeup view, click on the picture. The large flower on the 2nd page is a stamp that I love and still use. The title on the first page is stamped from a set of font stamps as well as the sentiment on the 2nd page "Traditions", another font stamp set. This design is much simpler than what I often create today but when I look back I can see back down the road of my development which leads to the detailing work that I so love to do now. I can see that I was just beginning to get brave with layering and detailing embellishments on this one. Some of the tools I used was the Cuttlebug and spiral embossing folder. I used a swirl BossKut die and cut it with the Cuttlebug machine. For funky wavy paper cuts I love the wavy cutter from Creative Memories. At one time I used it on almost everything I created. All the stamps used on this layout are from Close to My Heart which are the stamps I began my stamping madness with. I designed this layout with heritage photos in mind as I could imagine black and white vintage photos in the rectangular photo spots with some journalling beside on the oval mat. The smaller tag on the 2nd page could be used to identify people in the photo above. If you have any questions about this layout or you want to put together a group to scrapbook a layout like this one, just email me and let me know your wishes. Happy Scrapbooking and I'll be back with more crafty creations very soon...

Another StoryBook Layout!!

2011-03-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

See how much I love this cartridge?? Provocraft's cricut cartridge, "Storybook". This is another of my older layouts but I love this cartridge so much that I have to show the work I have done using it. Do you recognize the circle picture frame...again? Click onto the pictures to see a closer view. Many of you already know that I am an avid cardmaker as well as a scrapbooker. I have decided to feature more layouts at this time as I feel there are not enough of us out there putting our scrapbooking work on the blogs, but for those of you who like to see my cards, I will still be posting cards from time to time as I go along.

In this layout you see the details that I am fond of in my work as I layer them on. You may recognize my card style in this layout too as I begin to cross over from cardmaking to scrapbooking, using the tools I originally picked up to use with cards in mind, but thinking out of the box I began using them on my layouts as well. In this layout I have used Spellbinders dies (for the journalling card inside the pocket I created) Mega rectangles, a Martha Stewart border punch, Cuttlebug embossing folders, my wonderful embroidery sewing machine to sew around the some of the pictures and detail mats I added -(notice the bling zipper I used), I added more bling and pearls from KaiserCraft, and some dreamy Fairy Princess Karen Foster pattern paper. All of the tools and products I used can be found at OC Scrapbookers online store

Take a close look at the details and let me know what you think.. Please leave a comment for me and if you have any questions, feel free to email and I will get back to you. You can subscribe directly to my feed if you would like to visit again any time I post a new project. My feedburner subscriber is easy to use, just put in your email address and you will get an email alert each time I post a project to my blog. I am trying to build up my subscriber list in order to do a blog candy giveaway. My goal is 100 subscribers and I am currently at 43. See the subscriber application on the left hand column here, right beside this post. I will be back to post some more crafty creations very soon... hugs, k

A Lovely Storybook Layout!

2011-03-08T15:14:00.000-08:00

I'm back with another layout, this time a two page layout that features several Cricut cuts from the Storybook Cartridge. This is one of those cartridges that I have that I've just thumbed through the book so much that it is now dog-eared and bedraggled but oh so loved. Yes, I just love this cartridge and I find that there is still so much more I can discover each time I look through it. Some of the feature keys include frames, borders and fancy corners. I love all those options about this cartridge and another feature that sold me on this cartridge is the font style. In this layout I played up the "Once Upon a Time" and "Happily Ever After" phrases as I featured a picture of my nieces and nephew reading a book to their new baby sister. I layered the phrases twice on the one page and three times on the other phrase. Now I've got to say there wasn't a layer option for the phrases but I did it by increasing the sizes of the phrase in minute quarter inch detail. I love the greens of this layout as it brings to mind the coming St. Patty's day. I would love to hear what you think of this layout and maybe your ideas on what I should do for journalling their story!! I am going to either add another picture in the circular space on the 2nd page or add the story of my nieces and nephew.. let me know what you think about how to complete this layout. I have some more layouts to feature...stay tuned! Find lots of the products I use on my layouts and cards at my favourite online scrapbook store OC Scrapbookers 'n More

One More One Page Layout - A Heritage Theme!

2011-02-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

One more post tonight! I have a few layouts lined up for you all to see... This one is another one-page layout that may be a good one to use if you have pictures of Grandparents you want to remember or maybe a favourite Great Aunt and Uncle, or family members who came to Canada from another country perhaps. Back in the old days we know that the picture quality was not the same as it is today. Pictures were smaller and often only came in black and white. We can have them scanned and re-manipulated though and possibly made into a sepia color, which for me enhances the "old age" part of the heritage theme. This is an older layout of mine that I fashioned with no particular pictures in mind however, I can think of many older pics that I have that would go so well in these 3"x4" oval spots. I used a font from one of my Cricut cartridges to cut the letters for my title. As well, I used Spellbinders dies -- Oval and Scallop Oval nestabilities for the picture mats. I stamped a swirl design stamp in the corner and put in a fushion of colored flowers and clear rhinestones to add some sparkle to it.

Let me know what you think of these layouts... feel free to email me and ask any questions you may have. Please leave comments to let me know if you want more of the same... Two more new posts below... Thank you in advance for viewing and commenting... more soon...k

A Great Pet Layout!

2011-02-25T17:18:00.000-08:00

Hello Again My Friends

I am posting a couple of one page layouts for you tonight along with the bookmarks. This is a great pet layout that I did to show off my wonderful Granddog whose name is Oscar.. you know, the Mayer weiner brand of dogs.. haha

All kidding aside, Oscar is a wonderful little guy who is my grandson Jacob's best friend. I wanted to show you all this layout to give some of you who may have wondered... how do I use those patterned papers out there that you see that have writing all over them and so much pattern? I have plans to show you all how to scrapbook using these types of papers and some of the stickers and embellishments that you see that would be so cute on a page. The picture I selected for this busy pattern paper is a 6"x8" photo, slightly trimmed down a little for a bit of a smaller size. You can see the BOWWOW on the side, which makes a great title so I don't have to here. At the top I put "Lil' O" in sticker letters, which is the nickname that I have for him and it personalizes the layout for me. Under the picture are a series of dog phrases patterned right into the paper scheme and they do so much to enhance the theme for you. I added a few sticker embellishments like the dog foot print, the dog with a bone, the bone and dish -- all things that are Oscar's favourite things... I used a fabric sticker "Family" to show that he is very much a part of the family! Last but not least, I used a little wooden sign that I had to put more doggy phrases onto the layout in a more 3 dimensional way. I do tend to overdo the embellishments but I did want to emphasize our love for roly poly weiner dogs who go by the name of OSCAR!! hehe

More BookMarks, Some for the Boys this time

2011-02-25T17:01:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone

Its great to get back on and post a couple more pictures of the bookmarks I made for the students I am working with this year. Here are a couple that I fashioned with some of the boys I had in mind. I have to say that some of the boys were very surprised and excited to recieve these bookmarks and some have come to me to express their joy and let me know that they are using them at home during their reading time. Of course it warms my heart that this gift is so appreciated by 8 and 9 year olds.

I used the cricut machine quite a bit on some of these bookmarks. I used some spellbinders dies too on quite a few of them as well. I fashioned a tractor from Boys Will Be Boys Cricut cartridge for the John Deere bookmarks. I used Everyday Paper Dolls Cricut cartridge for the Cowboy hats on the cowboy themed bookmarks. I have of course, reams of stickers for all themes that I have stashed away, especially themes that relate to children and children's activities. I used up a fraction of what I have so making these large assembly type projects are no problem for me, they just take time. Anyways, I had fun...

Ahhh... A Belated Valentine Layout of a Very Special Couple

2011-02-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

You know, I just needed to cut a few letters out last night to finish this layout but I just didn't have the opportunity to get it done! Today I couldn't get home fast enough to finish it as I didn't want too much time to pass by from yesterday, that special day of love and cupids. This is a picture that was snapped at the celebration of my nephew Shawn and his gorgeous bride-to-be Amanda at their engagement party. They are definitely in love and expressing their joy as they make a promise to one another on that special day. One year from that kiss they shared another special kiss when they were married on an exquisite August afternoon last summer surrounded by hundreds of family and special friends. It was a joyous occasion for us all! They have since celebrated several firsts on this their first year of marriage. They are a special couple and I certainly feel honored to have played a role as they planned their wedding by handcrafting their invitations, all 175 of them. I was honored to be included like this and I so enjoyed creating and crafting each and every one, pouring love into them with my thoughts of marriage, hope, love and thinking of all the wonderful possibilities of their life together. Congratulations once again Shawn and Amanda as I look forward to celebrating years with you both and looking forward to the family that may someday come... love auntie

Bookmarks For the Students I work with...

2011-02-15T03:47:00.000-08:00

Hello Again...

I have been busy this past weekend crafting away and thinking of those precious children I work with as I fashioned these bookmarks with each student in mind. I made these valentine gifts from my heart and it was a joy to see the appreciation on their faces. Here are a few of the girls that I grouped together with lots of pink and hearts. The little hearts say I love reading which is a simple little digi stamp that I made myself on Microsoft office. I used multiple Spellbinders here, let me see if I can list them; I used various sizes in the Spellbinder Hearts Nestabilities both scallop and straight edge, the Fluer Des Lis pendant, and theMega Ovals Scalloped and Straight edge. Lots of girly paper and pink colored cardstock. Used only a smidgen of the vast stock I have in my cache. I will be back tonight to post more of the bookmarks I made...
Take a look at the"In Memory" collection that I posted earlier. You can order many of these products and Spellbinder sets at OC Scrapbookers 'n More. Until later....

In Memory

2011-02-15T03:29:00.000-08:00

Hello My Friends

I am back with a couple of posts today.. I wanted first to post this card that I have made recently. There have been a few close friends of my family who have lost loved ones recently and I have been wanting to make a collection of Sympathy Cards for myself so that I have them in times of need. From time to time, we are called upon to comfort close family friends and relatives when they experience loss. We have all found ourselves in the stores looking for that special card that expresses our concern and offers words of comfort, or we crafters have been called upon to fashion a card from our hearts that depicts how we feel to those we care about. On this card I have used a sentiment from the JustRite Sympathy Collection, stamping onto Spellbinders Nestabilities Oval Large. On top of that I framed with a Spellbinders Labels 10, using two of them to fashion the frame. On top of the frame I cut a Spellbinders Beaded Oval out of the pattern paper which is a KaiserCraft pattern called Tattered Rose. The panel has another piece of the Tattered Rose collection and is matted with a solid color cardstock to match. The card was bordered using Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page punches. This is the first of my "In Memory" collection and I will be back to post more as time goes on.

All of my product can be found at my favourite online store, OC Scrapbookers 'n More

A Layout to Brighten any January Day

2011-01-25T19:37:00.000-08:00

Nothing better on a cold snowy January day than flowers, roses and the promise of warmer weather. Here is a versatile layout that can be used for family, heritage, a special child's milestone, or a personal autobiographical story. The sky is the limit here and the way in which this can be used is definitely open-ended. The paper featured here is KaiserCraft English Rose Collection you can email Deb to ask about it. The beautiful hues of cream, pink, greens and burgundy are fresh and gives us a hint of warmer weather around the corner. The metal rimmed pearls on the flowers are also KaiserCraft and go with this collection in colors of latte, brown, and pale green.

I am featuring Martha Stewart punch around the page punches here. I used the punches on the first layer punching a green inspired pattern paper as a base mat cut at 101/4" square. This is one of the sizes suggested on the punch around the page instructions, allowing the punches to work out evenly. Then I used the corner punch from the set to make a 6"x4" picture mat to feature as the focal point. I used the Cricut machine and Storybook cartridge to cut my lettering for the title. I used the same cartridge to fashion the second picture frame in a circle with hibiscus flowers to highlight it. I double shadowed it to add depth and detail. I used the burgundy diecut to feature some journalling which I will do on the computer on cream carstock to match the other cream highlights on this layout. This was a fairly quick layout to bang out. I made it in a couple of hours which included thinking about how to fit everything on the page as I create my own designs. This layout would be perfect for a Shadowbox to hang on the wall. If anyone has any questions on any part of my design, just email me and I will be glad to answer them for you. Find my email at the end of the blog, comments are welcome and if you leave a comment with a question I will try to answer it in short order.

Find Martha punch around the page punches on my links. At this time, there is a Martha Stewart Punch preorder going on at OC Scrapbookers - go and check out the great deals there. I am offering workshops on cards and layouts using punch around the page punches to bring detail and depth to your cards and layouts. Email me or call me to ask about details or to tailor a workshop just for your group! Email k_robitaille@yahoo.com or call 705-844-2734 and leave a message. Working on a Winter layout next....

Couldn't resist a December Layout!

2011-01-05T04:26:00.000-08:00

The holidays went by so quickly! I so enjoyed family times and good laughs. Here is a picture of our precious Grandson who is growing by leaps and bounds. He is just a joy to have around, he is funny and loving - so affectionate too, anyone who gets within his radar can't help but fall in love with him. Here is a layout that showcases his mischievious side. Mommy and Daddy says it took quite a few shots to get this impish liitle face smiling at the camera as he was so interested in all the ornaments and trimming the tree! Here you will notice my new House Mouse stamp with the sentiment; My Cup Runneth Over. I couldn't help but use this on the layout as that is truly how I feel about my good fortune in life, wonderful family relationships, my good health and the same for my loved ones; what more can a person ask for?
I colored the stamp with Copic Markers (not happy with results this time) but I need to practice more - more - more... because when copics are coloring right for you, there is no other marker. The trick is to get the right color combinations. I do know that Deb is offering a fantastic preorder sale on Copic marker combinations right now. Hurry on over to the store and check it out. Just a quick post today... more coming very soon... have a wonderful day!

A Card Reminiscent of the Old Days

2010-12-21T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hello My Friends...

Wow, time flies when you're busy and productive - when the days are filled with work and the tasks of getting ready for the holidays. I wanted to have this posted yesterday but phew!... nonstop action!! Anyways, I have a few Christmas cards that I want to post in the next little while before the Christmas holidays are completely over. I have a few cards made up that I haven't posted yet. I know that there is a big sale coming up at OC Scrapbookers and I can hardly wait for that to happen and see what great discounts are coming up. Is everyone getting in on the great offering of 10% off the purchase of gift cards for holiday gift giving? What a great idea! This festive card here is a very simple card with layered panels of Cardstock, a Spellbinders Nestability Scallop Circle and a Standard Circle. I used a JustRite Stamp from the Christmas Treasures Set 3 1/4" round centers and borders. I colored the stamp up with copic markers and I am loving those markers as I get feeling a little more comfortable with them each time I explore with them. I tied a nice fancy gold ribbon onto the top panel and fixed a lovely bow that finished the look. Most products can be found at OC Scrapbookers... watch for the coming sale, it sounds like a great one!!! Stay tuned for more festive looks in the coming days...

I Love Gold!

2010-12-06T03:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone

This card was so much fun to put together! The pattern paper is a choice from SEI again which is a favourite of mine if you've noticed (I've been using it alot lately). The holly leaves are outlined subtely in gold so the natural choice for me was the gold bazzil cardstock that I used to embellish with embossed die-cuts! My, oh my! See how the gold die-cuts enhance the JustRite stamp set I used? The stamp set is the 31/4" round Christmas Ornament Set which I colored with copic markers. The Spellbinder dies that I used were Standard Classic circles and Scollop circles and the border is the Spellbinders Illumination Border Grand. I just topped it off with a small fancy ribbon with gold fleck in it and Voila!.. a beautiful Christmas card. You can find theSpellbinders, and the gold and silver bazill cardstock on the Monday Madness sales over at OC Scrapbookers and you'll want to stay tuned for the Tuesday teaser coming up too! Email Deb at OC Scrapbookers with any questions on upcoming crops, any products you may be looking for and for a list of her new scrappy wear that she has coming into the store. Some great T-shirts and Hoodies with funny and unique scrapbooking sayings on them! She can answer any questions about those and send a link to the pictures. I am getting one with "What Happens at the Crop, Stays at the Crop!" -- I can hardly wait for that zipped sweater to arrive! Anyways, as usual my friends.. thanks for visiting and thank you in advance for your friendly and inspiring comments.

The Blog Candy Winner is ....

2010-11-30T03:16:00.000-08:00

Hello My Scrapbooking Friends...

I have an announcement... drum roll please.....arhmmm, arrrhmmm.. I am pleased to announce our winner for the I-Top Bradmaker package sponsored by OC Scrapbookers'n More! The lucky winner is GlennaWoods1952
I would like to thank all the wonderful participants who took time to type out such wonderful comments on the blog candy post! I entered the total number of all the comments posted into a random generator and it picked out Glenna as the winner.
Glenna, we're glad you found out how to post your comment and now you have been the one selected to win this fantastic little tool to add to your scrappin toolbag!
Email me and we can talk about how to get this package to you in short order.... k_robitaille@yahoo.com

Punch Around the Page Card

2010-11-29T03:15:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone: I am back to post once again but low and behold, I am unable to post the project I was wanting to post featuring the I-Top Bradmaker tool once again... this weekend got real busy for me. I received an unexpected visit this weekend from one of my boys who came home for the weekend. We went out and about and visited with other family too and the weekend went real fast. So, since I didn't accomplish much in the craft department this weekend, I went into my little stash of projects and found this enchanting little card that I made with a set of new Martha Stewart Punch around the page punches. A corner punch with a nifty matching border punch that does an awesome job on various card sizes. This set is called String Lace and it gives your cardstock such an elegant and lacy appearance, perfect for christmas cards. I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circle and Scallop Circle dies on the front and a JustRite stamp from the Old Fashioned Christmas set that comes in a circle 31/4" size. The other JustRite stamp I used on the inside is from the Christmas Nested Sentiments and Verse set. In addition, to frame the sentiment, I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the inside. I colored the outside JustRite stamp with Copic markers and fitted some green rhinestones around the scalloped diecut. Voila everyone... These Martha Stewart Punch around the page punches are another great tool to have in your scrappin toolbox!!!
You can find most everything I have on my project at OC Scrapbookers 'n More online store. If you don't see it, email them and talk to Deb, she can get pretty much anything you want -- talk to her about the punch around the page punches because I know they have them and they may be getting more...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Deb @ OC Scrapbookers for sponsoring that awesome blog candy prize. I want to wish all of you good luck on winning it too. I will be drawing the winner Monday night at midnight and I will post the winner on Tuesday night.. so watch for your name as I will need you to send me your address if you are the lucky winner. Again, good luck everyone -- you have one more day to comment by clicking on the blog candy pic and posting there.
Bye bye until Tuesday.....

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

2010-11-27T12:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Saturday Folks... I have posted today a fanciful Christmas card rich with texture, layered with color and shine. On this card I am featuring the use of the I-Top Bradmaker tool again and this time I have added two of the medium sized brads placed strategically on top of two gold foil embossed medallions that I fashioned from the leftover petals I had saved from the first project I made with the I-top tool. You can see it when you click the blog candy to comment. This was a fun card to create with the I-topper and with various spellbinders dies such as Circle Nesties - standard and scallop, the Grand Lace borderability and the In Spades Pendant. The inside of the card features the Martha Stewart punch around the page Holly leaves set to offset the red flocked Pointsettia and Holly paper on the front of the card. A gold and rich red ribbon sets off the two medallions with brads. I hope you enjoy....

Comment on the blog candy for a chance to win the prize -- another post on Monday to feature this fantastic must-have tool! Thank you for your interest in my cards and projects...

JOY TO THE WORLD!!

2010-11-25T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hello my Good Friends... I have posted a couple more cards that I made of several in a collection of SEI WinterSong Christmas Cards. I used the I-top Bradmaker tool again to make a brad to complete my red velvet medallion on the first example. The Wintersong Pattern paper is a great collection of pattern paper to use because of its festive colors and patterns that seem to fit so well together. It has a wide variety of textures and sheens with velvet flocking, pearl, glitter and foil finishes. With the wonderful patterns that boast elegant and beautiful winter scenes, it doesn't take much to dress up a card. On the medallion card I used a simple and festive polka dot glitter paper for the main panel. Then I used spellbinders nestabilities, Labels One to cut out the front and then I inserted a smaller of the nesty diecuts cut from a complimentary pattern of the same collection and slid it into the space to layer. I made a velvet medallion with a Martha Stewart corner punch and and layered it on top of the diecut, finishing it up with one of the I-topper brads I made. I used a simple Just Rite stamp sentiment to dress up the front. These cards call for simple and elegant as at times the inside of the card is dressed up as well as the outside of the card. With the flock, glitter and sheen of this paper, it made my job easy to create cards that my friends and family will love to recieve...

Another I-top Tool Card - this time with a Medallion!

2010-11-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

Hello My Friends

I am back today to post another great project using the Imaginisce I-Top Bradmaker Tool. This time I made another series of Christmas cards with medallions this time. I've embellished the medallions with matching brads to match the paper collection I used. This project features S.E.I. 's WinterSong collection that features ruby reds, soft blues and greys, and silver touches here and there. Click onto the medallion to get a larger version of the picture so that you can view the brad closer up. This card was a Joy to create and so easy and versatile using some of the techniques I learned and practised this fall season. The medallion was created using a Martha Stewart corner punch and you can find how to do this on You-Tube. The I-top brad tool is a great tool to fancy up your medallions for cards and layouts. I will be posting a layout very soon that features some embellishments using the I-top bradmaker.

You will have noticed the Blog Candy Alert at the top of the left hand column. Just click on the picture to post your comment for a chance to win the candy - you may comment once each time I post a project to the blog all this week up until Monday November 29th at midnight. After midnight, I will use the Random.org number generator to pick one lucky winner from all the comments posted in the one week period.
Please feel free to join as a member to my blog and subscribe to my blog by leaving your email address on my feedburner if you like to get notified each time I post. Thanking each one of you for the lovely comments and kind remarks on my work. I love to hear from you all...
Until next time...very soon.

A Card to Celebrate the Upcoming Holiday Season!

2010-11-21T18:19:00.000-08:00

It certainly is a time to celebrate! Today we celebrate with Blog Candy and what a fantastic prize package it is. The blog candy was sponsored by OC Scrapbookers, my local Scrapbook Store with this wonderful package of goodies from Imaginisce. This I-Top tool is an excellent tool to have in your scrapbook and cardmaking toolbox! I have used it here in the card I posted today to celebrate the season of giving that is coming very soon. In my project today, I have used the I-Top Bradmaker to embellish the card by making brad centers for my festive flowers. The pattern paper that I used is from Basic Grey's Jovial Collection. I used Winter Garden as my main panel and Naughty on two of the flowers' brads, both of the outside flowers. I found an intriguing tutorial on my internet travels that illustrated this wonderful and one of a kind flower that used the I-top bradmaker tool for the centers. The flower petals are made using Bazzills Gold Foil paper and Spellbinders Grand Borderability Classic Lace. Then the finishing center embellishments are made using the I-top bradmaker, matching paper and brad daddies also being offered in our prize package Candy. All of these products can be found on sale today and all week at OC Scrapbookers 'n More. If there is something that you like and you want to know if they have it, just email them at ocscrapbookers@yahoo.ca
The sentiment I used for this card, "Seasons Greetings" is one that I had in my stash and I especially like how the simplicity of it added elegance to the otherwise busy card layout. That's it for this card but I plan to post more projects this coming week that will show off what you can do with the I-top tool . Stay tuned for more!

A comment on this initial blog Candy post will get you counted in towards a chance to win this fabulous prize package which will be drawn using a Random.org number generator one week from today, Monday November 29th. A winner will be announced on my blog on Tuesday November 30th. Stay tuned for more projects to come later on in the week and if you didn't take the time to comment today, just click on the blog candy picture any day this coming week and it will bring you to this post to make your comment!! Also, please check out the feedburner where you can subscribe to my blog. Find it right beside this post on the left column of the main page here -- all you have to do is enter your email address and Presto! you will get an email every time I post to the blog.

I want to let you all know I am so appreciative to each one of you who have signed up to become members of my blog, this is the most precious compliment to my work and I thank you deeply for your touching comments and special interest. Good luck everyone on the draw next week!

A Thank You Card featuring KaiserKraft Peachy Keen

2010-11-15T03:53:00.000-08:00

Hello All my Scrapping Good Friends!

Today I am posting a Thank You card using a beautiful paper collection from Kaiserkraft called Peachy Keen. I used the Colored Rub-ons 8.5x5" package that features the colorful birds that is found on some of the paper selections in this collection. For the Label diecut I used one of the larger label dies -- Spellbinders nestability, Labels 8 and matted it with corresponding brown paper. I used the Spellbinders Grand Borderability Classic Lace die for a ribbon border which I cut from chocolate brown velvet paper that is made by SEI. That rich velvet paper is not only pleasing to the eye but also to the touch for those of us who want to feel the dimensions as well as see it. The sentiment is a JustRite stamp from the JustRite Baroque Nested Frames and Occasions

This card was a joy to design and came together quite simply with the rub-ons doing much of the color work and the rich paper selections enhancing the label and sentiment very nicely... For any of the products you see on this card, visit Scrapaholics.ca and check out the Monday Madness sale going on until 12:00 midnight tonight. Stay tuned for some more interesting projects...

A Wedding Card to Gift a Special Couple!

2010-11-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Good Day Friends... I have posted a card today that is part of a collection of cards that I designed both to use to accompany that special gift to a special couple or to use as an invitation to a special wedding. The collection features the Basic Grey Capella Collection that I used in an earlier post. In addition to the paper, I used the stitched brads and the doily ribbon that is also part of the Cappella collection. For the diecuts I used a couple of Spellbinder choices. I used Fancy Tags to embellish both sides of the Label I selected to feature the sentiment. I layered the Labels One by matting the largest outside one in a complimentary soft color of cardstock. I cut out one of the larger Label's 1 nested dies to begin with so I could place more layered Spellbinder diecuts within it. Inside the label one I added Spellbinders Classic Square and Classic Scallop Square to feature the sentiment. I used a Just Rite Decorative Frames 2" border to add that finishing touch to the sentiment. Look closely at the details by clicking onto the picture and a larger image will appear.

Stay tuned for some awesome Blog Candy that will be posted very soon on my blog and will coincide with a special event. I will get a picture of what will be posted and remember -- it will be posted for a short time only. I am after more traffic to my blog and some more comments on the work you are viewing... let me know your thoughts and comments please. Stay tuned for a picture of the candy coming soon...

Summer Memories...

2010-11-07T21:07:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone

Hope you are all well today. I posted this card project to bring to light a few tools that I really enjoy using. I've used JustRite stamps for the image and the sentiment and Spellbinders Nestabilities dies to showcase and mat the image. This card is reminiscent of summer days gone by. Remember those days by the lake or the seashore not long ago, slumbering or reading a book with the sun to warm us just nicely and the breeze to keep the sun from getting too hot on our skin?? Wow, I am so there -- its just like yesterday, ha... anyways, back to the card.

For this card, I have used the Core'dinations Sable cardstock collection on the front panel and I followed up the wave and circle pattern so reminiscent of waves and bubbles with the JustRite 21/4" Oval Border and Center set: By the Sea . I used the Spellbinders Classic Ovals Lrg and then matted that with the Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Ovals. The Sentiment is JustRite's Nested Sentiments, Cherish the Memories and all of these wonderful products can be found at OC Scrapbookers online website. Stay tuned for upcoming sales and promotions by bookmarking this online store for all your scrappin needs. Email the team if there is anything that you would like to see them bring in and Deb is more than happy to locate an item and bring it in for you if there is something you have been looking for.

Another Wedding Card using Basic Grey

2010-11-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hello My Friends... I have chosen to put up this ornate wedding invitation. I have stepped out of the box today making this wedding invitation collection larger than life. I've chosen the 5.5"x8.5" size and everything on the cards were layered and ornate and with a victorian feel to them. I used a significant amount of gold bazzill to showcase the details. The pattern paper that I selected for this collection is Basic Grey's Cappella collection which is very special wedding pattern. Several complimentary embellishments go with this collection and I have used several. As I show other projects using this collection and if you like what you see, go ahead and email Deb and ask her to order some for you. There are the 12"x12" collection pads for layouts and cards which has all the paper selections as well as the 6"x6" pads for cardmaking enthusiasts. Each separate pattern compliments others within the collection beautifully. I used three separte paper patterns for this card front. I used the Cappella Stitched Brads as an accent on the bottom of the card and the Capella self-adhesive ribbon doilies as ribbon across the front. I then added KaiserKraft Pearls, Latte to accent on top of the ribbon for a old world "feel" to the card. There are 3 separate Spellbinder Dies used on this card - the first one is what I used to make the frame for the sentiment Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 2 and I matted the frame with Bazzill Gold Foil Cardstock. I used Spellbinders Fancy Tags to fashion end flourishes onto the Frame. Then for the sentiment, I used Spellbinders Classic Circles and Spellbinders Classic Scallop Circles to frame with the Bazzill Gold Foil. I used Just Rite stamps for the sentiment, in the middle of the frame; Romantic Sentiments Centers 1 5/8" circles and then used a selection of the 2" round Decorative Borders. If there is a product that you want that you don't see on the site, email Deb over at OC Scrapbookers and she can bring it in for you... On the inside of the card I used the Martha Stewart Daisy Fan Deep Edge punch to make a border accent at the top. This is one of my more detailed designs and part of a Wedding Invitation collection that I made for a couple's small intimate wedding. It was an honor to create their cards... Thanks for visiting everyone and all your comments are appreciated. Thank You...

An Elegant Wedding Card

2010-11-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone
Todays post is a wedding card that could be used to celebrate the marriage of that special couple in your life. This project illustrates how a card can be put together, not only with a concentration on the outside presentation but also with a close look at what can be done with the inside of a card as well. The 3-Dimensional elements added to this card brings a richness, not to mention the shimmer and sheen of the paper used to bring home the celebration factor that weddings offer us... For this card I used a specialty glazed cardstock and matted the front panel with an ivory petallic cardstock layering with the glazed swirl paper again. The leaf and vine accent across the front is a Spellbinder Grand Borderability and it was embossed using Bazzil's gold foil paper. In the inside I used Spellbinders Classic Lace Border Grand. The butterflies are from Provocraft's Cuttlebug Cut and Emboss Butterflies and is currently available at Scrapaholics.ca Click on any of the links you see and you will be brought directly to the page at the store offering these wonderful and versatile products.
The stamp is one I picked up on my travels (not sure of brand but it is a wood mounted stamp) and it is matted nicely using the gold foil and Spellbinders Long Classic Rectangles and then with the Spellbinders Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles. Thank You for visiting again. Your comments and questions are welcomed and appreciated. See you tomorrow!!

Back with another Adorable Mouse...

2010-11-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings Everyone... I am back today with another one of our cute little House Mouse 'n Friends stamps. Here we have a perfect fall image of an apple with our cute little buddy teetering on it. With the season being apple time, I thought it would be a great time to show this one off. On this card, in addition to the stamp and sentiment from House Mouse I have used two different Spellbinder labels. For the stamped image, I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 11 and for the sentiment I used Spellbinders Nestibilities Labels 1, matting them in a contrasting color. I used Copic markers to color them and the Copic air brush system to put color into the background of the colored image and sentiment. The pattern paper I used is a 6"x6" pad from Basic Grey called Green at Heart! Again, as in yesterday's card, I took out my sewing machine, matched up the threads and sewed some embellishment onto the face of the card. I love to use all of these techniques layered upon one another for a delicious dimensional look to the card. Have a great day and stay tuned for another post tomorrow...

House Mouse Here I Come....

2010-11-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Our furry little friends...so stankin' cute!!! Deb, over at OC Scrapbookers has these oh so cute little mouse and friends stamps at the store and she is now offering them for all those House Mouse fans out there! There is every theme known to mankind in the House Mouse line of stamps. I love to color them up with my Copic Markers and I will definately begin to take notes on what colors I use on the various mice and other furry friends. This line of stamps and the Copic Coloring products are fairly new to the store so stay updated for announcements on these products and more... I used Spellbinders Labels 5 on the main image and trimmed it on both sides with part of the Fleur Di Lis Pendant (the smaller of the two squares). I also used the Spellbinders Tags 5 for the sentiment. I used the Copic Air Brush system to float color in behind the colored sections of the stamped image and you can find it at the store by clicking on the link above. If you click directly onto the image of the card, it will enlarge it so that you may see better the sewing that I did around the card. I have now taken to sewing on my cards and layouts and I love to explore that option with all the sewing stitches that I have on my embroidery machine. Stay tuned for more of these exciting House Mouse and friends stamps.

A Great Heritage Layout

2010-11-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Happy November 1st everyone...

This heritage layout was a fun project using a couple of great products that link up nicely with the card I posted yesterday. You know, I just love, love, love my spellbinders dies and I like to use them as much on layouts as I do on cards. This project features another sample of the Core'dinations Core Amour Sable collection. If you click on the link, you will see that this collection comes in a package of 12 separate embossed cardstock pieces with a colored inner core that can be ripped and sanded for very cool effects. I used Spellbinders Labels 10 - the largest die to mat the picture. I covered the picture mat with a Basic Grey Capella Take Note Journalling Transparency that just seemed to go very nicely with the heritage feel that I was trying to accomplish. For the title and sentiments I used a stamp from Just Rite Cherish the Memories Nested Sentiments and Verse family. If you click this link, you can check out the other Nested Sentiments and Frames . This collection of Just Rite stamps comes in the new rectangle shape. See the horizontal acrylic stamper that is designed just for this collection and is clear for ease in placing your sentiment just where you want it.

Enjoy the post and see you again tomorrow night for another new and colorful project!!! later....

I now design for OC Scrapbookers' n More Design Team!!

2010-10-31T16:46:00.000-07:00

Hello All My Scrappin' Good Friends!! I am back in earnest now and ready to post on a regular basis... I have been working hard in various areas of my life lately but I have been mixing it up with a little bit of pleasure too! I have been designing some great projects for my new assignment as a designer for OC Scrapbookers out of Elliot Lake, Ontario Canada. OC Scrapbookers is a fantastic company building an excellent online presence with all kinds of sales and promotions coming up. They are gearing up to be the best online store you can ever visit and your shopping experience promises to get better and better as momentum builds! The OC Scrapbookers' n More team has been around for a few years you could say... They are certainly not new to the scrapbook scene in the local area, however, they are now gearing up for the next stage of their plans and we all are invited to come along for some exciting fun and good deals. Visit the online store at http://www.scrapaholics.ca/

Deb, Alison and the team are also a travelling team as they visit town to town coordinating fundraising crops and long weekend crops in various small towns in and around Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie. They are always busy with great new projects and techniques, bringing their scrapbook store to a hall or school near you! Follow my blog to see what new and exciting projects I crank out with the great products that OC Scrapbookers carry. To celebrate the announcement of my new design team assignment, I will be posting every day for a week to start off with a bang...

This little card is one of many cards and layouts that I have had the pleasure of creating for Deb and the Team. Click on the following links to find the following exciting products on OC Scrapbooker's online store website. This card features Core'dinations Core Amour Sable cardstock with a Spellbinders Contempory Hearts Pendant in the Center. The pendant was cut from petallics metallic cardstock in Charlie (deep chocolate brown). The stamped image in the center of the pendant is JustRite's Applique Decorative Border and Centers. The stamped sentiment comes from JustRite's Baroque Nested Frames, Borders and Centers. The ink is Momento Dewdrop in Rich Cocoa

Visit the store and join the yahoo group to be kept up to date on the newest sales and promotions coming up like Tuesday Teaser and Wacky Wednesday --two promos coming very soon.

Don't delay, join the yahoo group so you can be alerted to the latest action coming up~~ Joining the Yahoo group is the easiest thing to do - don't be left out! www.yahoogroups.com/groups/scrapaholics-ca

Stay tuned for another post tomorrow night....

Heart 2 Heart Challenge

2010-09-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, so much time is going by. I just entered a challenge (and won the prize for that challenge by the way) and now its time for me to sponsor. I had put my name on the list to sponsor this challenge a while back and its time already.

This week, Heart 2 Heart is doing a sketch challenge. Go ahead to the Heart to Heart Challenge Blog to view all the instructions if you want to join along. I have been very busy this weekend at a crop designing with all kinds of different product and I just didn't have time to whip up a card for this particular challenge. I plan to make one sometime this week to get one done seeing as it is my week to sponsor. I love the sketch that the team put into play... check it out and please enter the contest. It is so much fun and a great experience.
I challenge You!! Here are the basic rules:
This challenge runs from Monday September 20th until Sunday September 26th at 10 o'clock pm. Players who join in the challenge must have their project linked to to the Challenge Blog by 10:00 pm Sunday night. Link your blog post to Mr. Linky on the Challenge blog - you can see where to do this on the Challenge blog itself. Projects must have Close to my Heart products on it but not necessarily exclusively CTMH products. The projects you create can be cards, layouts or whatever you can design as long as it fits the challenge sketch for this week. The winner of the challenge will be selected by random.org.
So, good luck! Go to the Heart 2 Heart Challenge blog and check it out. They are a great team of professionals who like to play with CTMH product and create with style!!

Heart to Heart Challenge - Stitching

2010-08-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

I am back to post my second project for the stitching challenge.. This time I chose Silhouette as the paper choice, an older paper selection from Spring 2008. I used the September stamp of the Month and embossed the image in black embossing powder. I used Spellbinders Circles and Labels 3 to showcase the image and I stiched around the Spellbinder Label 3 with my sewing machine . I used Fancy tags for the Sentiment and Classic Lace Border Grand for the Center Ribbon. I have had fun with these designs and love to challenges that Heart to Heart puts on. Can you tell I love Halloween??

HEART 2 HEART CHALLENGE -Stitching

2010-08-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

The Heart to Heart challenge this week is stitching and of course we are asked to use mostly Close to my Heart product. Thats easy enough, I went right to an older paper selection that I have in my stash. This paper pack is a favourite of mine and I just had to use it again. It is called Enchanted and it came out a couple of years ago but I have always loved its color combination and old world charm.

A stitch in time saves nine... oh yeah? Where does that quote come from and what does it really mean? I didn't save any time with my stitching here as I used my sewing machine and I am not very good with it, but I had lots of fun with this challenge and challenged myself to take the time to try the sewing machine again and then resurrect my heat gun to emboss some of the designs from an older stamp set as well. I used a spellbinder die in keeping with the vintage look and found a web die-cut to put into the middle. I sewed a border all the way around my base panel using varrigated thread in orange and yellow colors.

I will be entering another design as I made a few cards and the next card showcases the Stamp of the Month for September... stay tuned.

Where has the time gone?

2010-08-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

You know ... its been awhile. Where has the summer gone? I can't believe that it is winding down to the end of August. I am working on some Halloween cards and I am thinking about Thanksgiving and Fall themes and not too far in the back of my mind is Christmas as I get my ducks in a row with some of the projects that I want to work on. Here is one of my cards with a Halloween focus. I used some of an older Close to My Heart paper - Silhouette and the September Stamp of the Month set.

I Just Better Get Bloggin'

2010-07-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Everyone
I am having a very busy summer so far... time just flies don't it? I have sorrily ( I know this is not a word,...or is it?) been neglecting my blog. I have been working in the background doing some other stuff --- all craft related of course!! I am feeling groovy- you know the song? and I've been been planning a blog candy challenge with prizes... Want to come out and play?? Stay tuned, I would love to host a blog candy challenge and I am just getting my ducks in a row to see how best to do this. I am looking for followers who love to craft so please send my blog address out to your friends to subscribe if you think they may be interested in my work. thanks and more later, but not too much later... gosh, I can't leave it this long again.. sheeesh!

Great New Card -- Thinking of YOU

2010-05-30T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone

I am posting a Sympathy Card featuring Spellbinders Dies. The pattern paper I am using here is a swirl paper with a varnish finish. I cut panels of pattern paper, matted them with black cardstock to fit on a Paper Company's Blond Columns textured cardstock for a sophisticated finish.

On the first layer I used Spellbinders Labels 8 cutting a label out of Bazzil Petallics cardstock in creme. I embossed this label with a Sizzix embossing plate in the swirl pattern to compliment the pattern paper. I then used the Spellbinders Mega Ovals Scallop die and then the Spellbinders Mega Oval straight edge die on top. As the embellishment I used the Spellbinder L.E. Cross Collection and applied the use of a couple of the dies, embellishing them with gold pettalic cardstock. I tied a creme ribbon edged chiffon bow onto the tail of the cross embellishment and topped the desgn off with three of the Martha Stewart table confetti flowers with gold beaded accents.

Find these Spellbinders dies and so much more at Stamping Scrapping where you can have a shopping experience extravaganza!!

For my loyal followers, this is my last post as a designer for my wonderful friend Cindy as I will be very busy with another new adventure. I am sad to leave as a designer but looking forward to a wonderful and continued friendship with Cindy, Kevin and all my designer friends from ScrappingStampingdotcom.

Look for more exciting news to come on my blog and the blog candy I have been promising! As a long time Close to My Heart consultant and biggest collector of bling and exciting embellishments, I have so much to put into the blog candy-- you will be amazed!!

A softer more muted addition to the Wedding Collection

2010-05-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

In shades of off-white, cream and ecru while staying with the browns in the wedding colors I find this card is elegant and simple - it is one of my favourites because it is a style that I feel close to. There is not a whole lot of embellishment and not a whole lot is needed with the paper doing all the work. A few simple flowers from the Martha Stewart bridal collection, some gauzy ribbon and pearls to give it an elegant flair. This particular design brought a sophisticated flair into the collection.

Wedding Invitation Collection con't.

2010-05-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

Good Day Everyone

Here is another selection from the wedding invitation collection I have designed for a special nephew and his fiance. This card features wedding white cardstock emboseed with butterflies that has a sheen to it as the base of the card. I have used Charlie petallic cardstock to mat panels of embossed pattern paper from the Jolie Chocolat collection from SEI. I have used once again the Spellbinders Fluer De Lis pendants and Spellbinder Classic Hearts and Classic Scalloped.

On top of this simple embellishment I added a Prima flower and Martha Stewart pearls from her bridal collection. One picture shows the the dbl envelopes, the inside envelop is lined in Ecru and the reponse cards are postcards requiring no envelop. Stay tuned for another selection coming very soon. If you want to be alerted to future posts, sign into my feedburner with your emial address and you will be notified of new posts on my blog.

2010-05-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hello All

Here we have another two examples of the wedding invitation collection that I made for my nephew's wedding coming up in August. These two examples, both with more of a masculine flavour are made with Charlie Petallic Cardstock for the bases - Petallic cardstock is a metallic cardstock with a bit of a shimmer to it and it is rather thick which is a good choice for higher end cards; it is an excellent choice for more sophisticated cards such as formal invitations. On the base of the card I used two selections of pattern paper from the Jolie Chocolat collection put out by SEI. The large pattern design is the embossed paper called Sucre and the finer design pattern is called Noisette and is a glimmer paper with a bit of a sheen to it. I used gray and brown cardstocks to matt any panels I used. I embellished these cards again with Spellbinders dble pendants, the Fluer De Lis and Contemporary Hearts and then I topped that with Spellbinders circles, one in scallop to mat the other with the sentiment on it. The sentiment is from Just Rite 15/8" round Romantic Sentiments and Borders and there are many sentiments that would work in that set for wedding invitations or wedding cards to gift any bride and groom. I hope you enjoy this card and feel free to leave me any comments or questions. There are a few more wedding invites to post yet so stay tuned... thanks for looking.

The Second Wedding Card in the Collection

2010-05-02T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone... here is the 2nd invitation that I am going to show you in this collection. This card is a gatefold card using mi amor from the Jolie Chocolat collection. I used 2 Spellbinders Pendants , one is the Fleur De Lis and the other is In Spades. On top of that I used the Spellbinders Hearts and the Hearts Scallop sets, which if you do not see them on the Stamping Scrapping site, just email Cindy and she can most likely get it for you in short order. I've layered with prima chocolate brown flower and the Martha Stewart bridal pearls. The card is simple enough but is layered with multi Spellbinder cuts. This selection of Jolie Chocolat is busy with love words all over it so it did not require a sentiment on the front. Hope you enjoy!!

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Wedding Invitations for my Nephew

2010-04-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone

I am going to post a number of my wedding invitation designs that I created for my nephew and his financee Amanda. They now have all 175 invitations in their possession. They are happily getting them stamped and posted this week and the project is officially over for me. I have to say that I've enjoyed the process immensely and it taught me so much about myself as a crafter and designer of paper products. Their colors for the wedding are Brown and Pink and in this first card I used white bazzil embossed cardstock for the base... I used the Jolie Chocolat collection for all the wedding invitations which has rich browns and pinks throughout the collection. For this particular card I used one of the embossed selections and I used both sides of the paper, one side for the ribbon and the other side for the butterflies. This paper selection was a predominant one that I used with many of the invitation designs I made as it had a great mix of the pink and brown they liked. The stamp has a wow saying that I embossed in chocolate brown embossing powder and I cut them out with the Spellbinders Long Classic Rectangles and Long Classic Rectangle Scallop dies that you can find at Stamping and Scrapping online store. The Butterflies are Cuttlebug Butterfly die and embossing folders set that you can order from Stampingscrapping and if they are out of these sets, Cindy can order it in for you in record time. Just check with her. The wedding invitation words I printed in-house as well and I did a watermark with one of their Save the Date pictures and superimposed the invitation wording over top. I find this card to be elegant and very contempory. Future designs that I made in this collection of wedding invites includes a circle card with polka dots, more masculine brown designs for some of the single men who will be attending with dates, some classic and sophisticated white embossed designs for some of the older traditional folks who will be attending and many more, contemporary designs for their various friends and family. Stay tuned, I will be describing what paper choices and tools that I used for many of the designs as I post them... Subscribe to my feedburner at the top left hand corner of my blog. When you input your email address, you will be alerted with an email each time that I post on my blog. Become a follower too, I would so enjoy to have you follow me and you will see when I put up challenges and blog candy for you to have a chance at winning.

2010-04-10T04:40:00.001-07:00

Make your own at SmileyCreator.com! Go Now!

April House Mouse Stamp of the Month

2010-04-05T02:37:00.000-07:00

Featuring April House Mouse Stamp, this card was created with Spring in mind! With an eye for detail, I always decorate the insides of my cards and this one is no exception. This card is a gift holder designed to offer packets of flower seeds to the recipient.

On this gift card I used Basic Grey's Indian Summer 6"x6" pad pattern paper, Spellbinders Label's 8 nestabilities, and I colored the image with Copics markers. All of these fabulous products can be found at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ at fantastic prices. Go on over and check out the discounts and sales being offered at the store. You can email Cindy and Kevin with any questions you may have about any products or tools that I have used here and on any of the projects that I post. They are more than happy to answer shipping questions too. They are very fast to answer emails and even quicker at getting any order shipped. Their ship time is well known as lightening fast!

I hope you check the store and bookmark it on your favourites. To get the latest news on discounts and specials at their online store, join the STAMPINGSCRAPPINGDOTCOM YAHOO GROUP. Cindy and Kevin Echtinaw are known as having the best online prices for all their products and their specials and discounts are simply amazing.
Happy Easter Monday Everyone!!

A Second Caardvark JustRite Challenge post!!

2010-04-01T14:40:00.001-07:00

Wow, I love these wedding invitation cards! In this card I used a cream on cream cardstock base with a beautiful cream pattern paper enriched with a glossy swirl design. I used the same Sizzix plate in the swirl design to emboss a Spellbinders nesties label as a top panel. I used the JustRite Loving Thoughts Sentiments and the 2" square borders stamp set to stamp the sentiment in the middle of the card. Between the upper and lower panels I placed a lace ribbon with sequins and pearls. I topped the design off with the cuttlebug butterfly die and embossing folders set and encrusted the butterfly bodies with pearls. The inside of the card is panelled with the same petallics cardstock and swirl pattern paper as is on the outside lower panel, embellishing the corners with delicate flowers and pearls. This card has a more contemporary feel to it than the first entry. Stay tuned for one more Caardvark Challenge entry that will have a more vintage, old world feel to it. If you want to see when the next challenge card is posted, subscribe to my blog with Feedburner on the top left hand side of this blog. Let me know what you think...

Hello Everyone... Here is a Caardvarks Entry!

2010-04-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

Here is my first entry in the Caardvarks "Lacy Days" challenge for an opportunity to "win" a Guest Designer spot at JustRite Stampers! I love these challenges, they are sooooo fun! As you all may be guessing at, I love to design wedding cards and invitations. I am sticking to my first "love" in this challenge and I have a couple more that I want to enter. In this card I have used the JustRite Loving Thoughts set as the sentiment and cut it out with Spellbinders Scallop Circle - petite. Under the sentiment I used Heidi Swapp glitter flowers in white and placed a K&Co. jewelled brads in each corner. I used cream on cream cardstock and embossed the bottom panel with the Sizzix swirl embossing plate, distressing it with Ranger distressing ink in Vintage Photo. A complimentary light green cardstock and pattern paper was used on the topmost panel to add a soft contrast to the design. A lace ribbon was added between the two panels for a lacy and "old world" feel! Let me know what you think ....

Classic Elegant Black and White

2010-03-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here is another card that I whipped up with some of my other cards that I have been working on. This card is simple and elegant with not a lot of fuss. Sometimes in our work, less is more and just does the trick.

I used two colors of wide column card stock as well as a gold shiny foil cardstock for highlights. Spellbinders Pendants, Fluers De Lis and JustRite Square Borders and Sentiments. Inside I used an EK Success corner punch to accent the same matting product that is on the front panels.

Let me know what you think of this card and the Wedding or Anniversary sentiment.

A Great March Madness Sale!

2010-03-23T02:00:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone
www.stampingscrapping.com is having a March Madness sale going on right now with old and new products. Here is the info- Check it out:

Clearance section has amazing deals along with Slice, Letterpress, Martha Stewart punches and more in their own categories. Save $$$$ with Free US shipping with a $50.00 purchase and for us Canadians it is the real cost of shipping with no unexpected costs once it arrives at your destination!
Here are the highlights on sales and news at StampingScrapping.com
As always you can expect the highest customer service and fastest shipping (24 hours) of all "in Stock" items.

New Cricut Carts Summer Preorders Shipping April Bundle of the three New Cartridges - Just $58.99 - http://www.stampingscrapping.com/category_84/NEW-CRICUT-ITEMS.htm

Cuttlebug NEW folders, Quilting Kits and Extended Plates shipping in April. Preorder yours now for the earliest delivery at Great Prices here: http://www.stampingscrapping.com/category_35/Cuttlebug-NEW-Embossing-Folders.htm

New House MouseStamps Now Shipping
http://www.stampingscrapping.com/category_406/House-Mouse-Stamps.htm

If you love MAGNOLIA stamps you will love the BILDMALARNA Stamps Now Shipping. We are the North American Distributor and they have an exclusive stamp club you can only get from us here: http://www.bildmalarna.com/

WANT to win FREE STAMPS??? Come and Make a guess on how many stamps were delivered here to the StampingScrapping store on Friday. Remember the game "guess how many jelly beans in the jar"?? ... come and take a guess here: http://bildmalarnablog.blogspot.com

NEW **StampingScrapping Sanding and Distressing Block -- TOP QUALITY- Washable Pink and Chocolate in color! Perfect for Core'dinations Cardstock or gently etching your JustRite Stampers so they easily accept ink and stamp clearly! YOURS FREE with a $75.00 purchase for a limited time or your may purchase them here at http://stampingscrapping.com/item_5962/Sanding-Block-Paper-Distresser--PINK.htm

New Core'dinations papers here: LOVE THE GEMSTONES! http://www.stampingscrapping.com/category_27/Coredinations-Core-Cardstock-.htm

Just Trying out the new Subscriber...

2010-03-13T09:38:00.001-08:00

Hello Everyone.. I am still on the computer and learning more about my blog. Hope you all stay posted for some new pics of my cards coming up.

Its a great Saturday!! Its really melting out there!

2010-03-13T09:06:00.000-08:00

Good day everyone. It is a wonderful Saturday and the weather is warming up. I am still working away on wedding invites and hope to get a substantial bit done today. I plan to take pics of these invites as they shape up and add them to my blog...
I added a great feature to my blog for everyone if you are interested in following my blog - I have added right there at the top of my page an email subscription notice option. By clicking on it, you add your address and you will be notified of each new post I put on and can keep updated with my latest projects without having to go and look for my blog each time... I am trying it out now to see how it works... more later on this weekend.

New Magnolia Stamps at Stamping Scrapping .com

2010-03-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

Go on over to Cindy and Kevin's store to see NEW MagnoliaStamps that have JUST arrived at http://stampingscrapping.com/

This Inventory will sell out FAST...

REMEMBER -- BUY 11 send in the certificates
Get the 12th one FREE

Also ALL ORDERS PLACED THIS WEEKEND WILL SHIP
RIGHT AWAY!

They only received about 2/3 of their total order to date
so there will be more. There were 12 other stamps ordered
that did not arrive yet.

Click here to see all that arrived today!
http://www.stampingscrapping.com/category_596/NEW-STAMPS.htm

Oh Nuts!! Forgot your Birthday - oops...

2010-02-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

click on the pic for larger image

Good Day Everyone,

I created this fun card with a new House Mouse stamp that I recieved from Cindy Echtinaw at http://www.scrappingstamping.com/ I have joined the Design of the Month Club which I find to be the best way to collect these adorable stamps.
This is the February stamp from the House Mouse Design of the Month club selections. And before I sent it out I rubbed some scrumpdiliitious scent all over it - Peanut Butter Cookie scent from Scent my Cards - mmmm, mmmmm, good!
What a fun stamp and scent to use this time of the year when winter is still with us. It gets you in the mood to go sliding or skating on our outdoor rinks and then go home to a cup of hot chocolate and some PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES!!

Thanks to Cindy and Kevin for offering these adorable stamps and scents at such reasonable prices. Go on over and check the store for some awesome deals on all the products! I used copic markers to color the stamp and I used Spellbinders Grand Borderability Classic Lace and Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels One on this card. Creating cards with House Mouse is a blast!!!

2010-02-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

Here is the companion card that I did with a different paper choice from the same paper collection. Using the same Snowman but coloring him a little differently. These snowmen cards were my one more "Hoorah" before Winter comes to an official close. After this week we will be going into March and then before we know it, it will be coming into Spring...

I like to match up my lining inside the card and I love to make matching envelopes for my cards as it adds a finishing detail for me.

Please leave a comment and of course it would be wonderful to have you added on as a member on my new blog. I will be back tomorrow with my Design Team card.. hint, hint -- Its a House Mouse stamp - YES!!!

Its Still Winter

2010-02-25T12:44:00.000-08:00

Here is a great card that I've created with Just Rite's 3 1/4" round Stamps -"Old Fashioned Christmas" collection. This snowman goes well in several provinces and states that continue to see snowfalls this winter. This is a Special Friend card that you may send to a friend that you are missing; someone you want to touch base with. Someone for whom distance makes it difficult to get together more often. This is a great card to send on to someone who lives in a sunny hot clime! You may find these delicious Just Rite stamps for incredible prices at http://www.stampingscrapping.com/ Email Cindy or Kevin with any questions as they are more than available and ready to answer your questions for you. The service is excellent and the shipping is exceptional - fast and efficient and cost effective. Stay tuned for another rendition of this card in the following post!!

A Very Girly Pirate Party Invitation

2010-02-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

Good Day Friends

As promised, here is an example of the girly invitations. Along side is another example of a more masculine card. You will notice in these examples, a slightly different title. Each title I created took a little time to create and finesse but then I saved them and have them any time I may want to recall them for use again.

These cards were very enjoyable to create. Inside each card, I have placed a border and matching paper. Its all about the details!!!

Stay tuned ... there will be more creations coming soon.

It's a Pirate's Life for Me!

2010-02-18T11:38:00.000-08:00

What a fun Happy Birthday Invitation for a slumbering late February birthday party. A birthday party where all the children dress up in their best pirate costume! What a fabulous idea and how best to wake up the earth in preparation for Spring?

This card was so much fun to make. I used the cricut extensibly and I experimented with some software to weld my letters together for the title. These invites are "oldworld".. very ornate and rich. They are 6"x9" in size and several pattern papers were used as well as metal and other embellishments. I made 24 invitations and each one was slightly different; I even made different ones for boys and some very girly one too. I will post one of the girl's pirate invitations tomorrow... Stay tuned!

If you like this card... become a member of my blog - you won't be sorry as I plan to have future draws and raffles and the odd blog candy surprise or two as I gear up going forward.

Another Caardvark Challenge Entry!

2010-02-14T12:38:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone

Once again, I have another wedding invitation entry! Thank You Caardvarks and CARDS magazine for this great Challenge Opportunity!

Caardvarks Wedding Card Challenge!

2010-02-14T12:01:00.000-08:00

Wow! Is this a challenge right up my alley! Caardvarks is being sponsored this week by Scrapbook Trends CARDS magazine. CARDS is looking for wedding invitations to publish in their July 2010 issue. They are picking one card to be published.

I love an opportunity to enter a challenge and this is the best one for me to begin with. I have never entered a challenge before and this one certainly feels like beginners luck for me. I love to create wedding invitations among many other things.

Go on over to Caardvarks @ www.caardvarks.blogspot.com and see how you can join this challenge... I am getting busy now to enter more of my invites.

2010-02-14T11:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!
I have been busy creating some new cards... Of course I am in the mood for Wedding Invites and maybe that is because love is in the air and I am already hard at work on invitations that have a deadline --- YIKES!! Yes, I am busy with many different projects and have had all my tools out trying to stay coordinated with all I have to do. I am now on track and coordinating a assembly line and up to my ears in pink and brown. I just thought that I would try my hand at another color here with the Garden Green and Cream with Gold. Lovely combination!
I will have more to post very soon.... again, Happy Heart Day!

Have some more pics of my work to post...

2010-02-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow when my dear husband goes off to work (he works two weeks away and is home two weeks each month), I am working earnestly on my cards and taking pics of some of the work I have previously designed but have not taken pics of yet. I have a collection of cards that I need to shoot and I want to post more of my previous work to catch up as I move forward with new designs. Stay tuned for some posts of previous design work as I practise how to work this blog. I am thinking too that I would like a 3 column blog.... yikes! More learning on the giant curve....

2010-02-04T15:09:00.001-08:00

Well, well... I thought it was high time that I got back on the blog and post a comment to keep my self going and to keep developing the habit. I am just getting over surgery and feeling stronger each day but I feel my energy wane from time to time. I am itching to get going on some cards and I want to get my assigned project for the team done early... (it is due at the end of February)
I am real excited to have my project designs showcased on StampingScrapping.com blogspot and on my blog to illustrate my creativity and showcase some of the fabulous products offered by Cindy at Stamping and Scrapping. Cindy has got to be one of the best vendors I have ever ordered from online. She will answer any question you have and she does so promptly and pleasantly. She will bend over backwards to get your order in the mail as quickly as she can and if it is a pre-order that is due in, she waits for the delivery and does not stop until all her orders are packaged up and in the mail. She sends all her packages at the real cost of shipping and there is no other hidden costs at your end! She is a dedicated storeowner who works side by side with her husband. What a team! Checkout the website at www.stampingscrapping.com
**COPICS*
Cindy is offering a second chance offer to the Copic Group Buy and if you missed it, here is the way to get in on the offer: ALL COPICS FROM THE FIRST GROUP BUY HAVE SHIPPED! SECOND CHANCE OFFER FOR GROUP BUY WILL END ON SUNDAY NIGHT. As it is group buy week for another group I thought I would open it up for those of you who did not get to it last time....email copic, passwork copic here: http://www.stampingscrapping.com/wholesale.htm

Hope you can take the offer!! It is a great price. Contact Cindy to ask about shipping or to be sure of any question you may have; email her at stampingscrapping@charter.net
Good luck and I hope you are successful! Stay tuned for more...

2010-01-14T04:57:00.000-08:00

Wow! Its a few days later than I wanted it to be but here I am now. I want to keep the habit of posting here but its been difficult this last little while. Some of you know that I just had surgery and I am getting up and around more each day. I am taking the time needed to regain my strength and then I plan to go hard at it working on my nephew's wedding invitations. I feel the push is on now to get them coordinated and begin an assembly line towards our end result and our deadline date of April 1st. I am excited to get the ball rolling here. When I begin to get working on these invites there will be more and more posted to my blog as I share what I am doing and the products I am using. I am feeling better day by day and look forward to next week. We are going to have fun with all 175 invites. WEEEEEeeee!!

Everyone is into the new year now...

2010-01-05T08:15:00.000-08:00

Missed the "Happy New Year" countdown! We are now well into the first week of January and all is well. Just wanted to post to let you all know that I didn't forget about my blog. I am just a little busy these days and I won't be on again for a few days. later...

I now have a slide show of some of my work....

2009-12-29T20:49:00.000-08:00

Wow... that was a little excercise in patience and perserverance! My brother came over today and thank goodness for his patience and his techy background. We got a slideshow posted, I should say, he got a slideshow posted for me but painstakenly tried to keep me in the loop as he was doing it. Anyways, this is a small compilation of my earlier work. I have yet to get my camera and take out more of my work to showcase. At this moment in time, I am happy with what I've got and there will be more to put on later.

I am looking forward to the New Year and what it will hold for me. I have some great ideas that I would like to manifest in my arts and craft work. I am in the habit of taking on a bit of an "old" world flavour to my art as I like the distressed look -the worn, shabby chic look. I love textures and fabrics and I imagine the "feel" of a card with dimension and texture upon it. I like bling - the bejewelled look~ using rich ribbon, either soft and velvety, or stiff, sharp or crisp and glittery. I like using rich paper that has a sheen and weight to it and I like to layer and mat with substantial weights of card stock. For the bases of my cards, I like to use again a substantial wieght of paper and build up from there. Each card must have a good balance of weight and "feel" regal. I continue to learn from others whom I consider masters.....
I am going to sign off for tonight and hopefully when I email y'all, you will come and visit me here and sign up as a member and leave a comment for me!!!

The company is gone... we are quiet!

2009-12-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

Good day everyone.... our company has all gone now.. we will have a small smattering of visitors now until New Years. All is well ... I hope my technically savvy bro comes soon to add some neat features to my blog. more very soon....

Merry Christmas Everyone

2009-12-25T20:35:00.001-08:00

Well the day is almost over for us!! We have been enjoying good food, the best company, and the joy of little people, (nieces, nephews and our grandson) whose energy is so infectious with the joy of life and all of its wonders. I love this time of year for that. We get to kindle our family relationships and make wonderful memories for a small space in time. Looking forward to our oldest son and his family to arrive... it was their turn at the other Gramma's house this year for Christmas Day! I am so good at sharing. More tomorrow...

A Great Opportunity to enter ....

2009-12-24T06:46:00.000-08:00

Hello... take a look at this blog candy from Viviane Casale from Handmade By Vivi, www.handmadebyvivi.blogspot.com

She has an awesome blog chock full of techniques, contests, challenges and loads of links to fabulous places... Go on over and take a look and while you are at it, enter her contest in celebration of her new designer team position. Congrats Viviane on your DT position for the Magnolia Stamp Lovers Blog.

Christmas Eve...

2009-12-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

The countdown begins... I have alot to do today. We are having turkey and trimmings today and steak and seafood tomorrow. I want to enjoy my boys, enjoy my grandson, my husband and the rest of my extended family! I look forward to having a good time with them all. I have posted a few pics of my work for now and will post the slide show when my brother arrives as well as take some more pictures after Christmas to post! I would like to post some more info and updates today, later on, after some rest and more food prep has taken place. I plan to go to mass tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. My blog has been in more of a personal style right now while I get in the habit of posting random thoughts and ideas. My focus is to get used to going on site to post something everyday so that I am prepared to get more to the task of posting my work and talking paper crafts in future. Again, more random thoughts coming soon to a blog near you!

Okay... some technical difficulties.

2009-12-23T16:35:00.000-08:00

Hello again... I am busy with our final preparations for Christmas. I did not get to play in my craft area at all in the last 2 weeks. Well, ever since the craft show I did on the 5th of December come to think of it. I did a great craft show in a neighboring small town and I had alot of people go by my booth and fill out ballots for my raffle draw. I gave alot of business cards out and made some great contacts. I will follow up with them all by getting them on my email contact list and then send out an email to announce my new blog and my position as the newest member of Stamping and Scrapping design team. I can't seem to get my slideshow to work with some major technical difficulties. I am going to post the pics one at the time for now and then my brother will help with the slideshow when he arrives for his Christmas visit. I am excited to set my blog up with even better widgets and options and learn more tricks to blogging. more later...