Graduation

We had a very busy weekend starting with Jenna's graduation from Charles Stuart College of Education. I made a card to celebrate the occasion and since she's hoping to teach in a french immersion school I used a couple of Magnolia stamps. I coloured the images with my copics and added a small wooden blackboard I purchased from Michaels. Using a white pen I inked the words "Class of 2011"

After graduation of course I was getting ready for Father's day weekend. The boys and their wives came by and I cooked. See some things never change. My darling husband was thrilled that the boys gave him coupons for jobs around the house that he can no longer do and not so thrilled that they drank all his beer. See some things never change.

I also spent time on the weekend completing letters for our new granddaughter's room. Her name was announced early so that I could make the letters and Michelle could complete the nursery. Tomorrow I will post a picture of them. I think they are cute and will look adorable in her pink and pale green room.

I have a beginner's copic class tomorrow so I was busy cutting paper and preparing for the class.

I'm going scrap booking on Tuesday and I hope to work on a page for Keegan's album. I really need to get back to scrap booking and give the stamps and ink a rest. If you are checking in Amanda I am having email difficulties but I will bring the mice stamp for you.

Till the the next post---Cheers!

Screen Door

Good morning everyone. I am posting this in the middle of the night or early morning depends on how you look at it. Just can not sleep. Ah isn't age and menopause wonderful!! I am featuring one of the screen door cards I made with the template that Sharon has at Buffalo Stamp. I used Flourish stamps for the outside and a Stampavie image for the inside of the card. I am still playing around with them but thought it would be fun to show one on the blog. The door is made with cardstock cut with a custom accucut die and then real screening is used between the layers. You absolutely have to use the red sticky tape or the screen just won't stick. It is also a challenge to find stamps that work on the outside and the inside of the card.

I am going to go now and start to play around with some Christmas stamps. Yes you read that correctly-Christmas stamps for classes in July. It is never too early to start on your Christmas cards. I promise I will not post those!!

Friday I am attending a lunch to celebrate my cousin's daughter graduation with a teaching degree so I am busy completing a card for her featuring a Maggie stamp which I have not used for ages. I'll post that on Friday.

Hope all is well and that I get some sleep soon! Cheers

Lili of the Valley New Release

I was waiting patiently for 12:00 midnight UK time so I could jump onto the Lili of the Valley site to order some of the new girl stamps. Love em! The hard part was choosing and trying not to spend a fortune because really I DO NOT need stamps. I still have several tucked away in my drawers that sadly have never seen ink. But what can I say you know I have no will power. Thank goodness I am not a drinker or I would have to join a 12 step program. Luckily for me there is no 12 step program for stampers.

In honour of the release I am posting a card I made for a birthday. The outside sentiment reads "life is how you bake it" and inside it reads "so grab the cupcake. Happy Birthday" I coloured it with my copics and added some flowers from Wild Orchid and some from Kaiser. The paper is also from Kaiser Craft and I just love the combination of pink, brown and green. Very soft. The paper is double sided and can be used in so many ways. Sheila has some at the Memory Keeper. I am also going to enter it into a challenge over at Lili of the Valley. I must go and start marking off the days until my package from England arrives! SO excited!!!!

It's Been So Long

Yes it has been so long since I last posted. So much going on. We are renovating our upstairs bathroom. trying to find the leak in the pool, doing child care for my grandson and getting the garden in shape for the summer. In addition I am trying to design card workshops for the store and attending some classes myself. I just completed a workshop on painting on silk and I really enjoyed it. Taking place in Alton Ontario, in an old mill that used to be an underwear factory and later a condom factory, the workshop was a brand new endeavour for me. I really enjoyed it and of course I had to turn my silk work into cards. Thus the post for today. I am continuing to experiment with some other silk samples and colour combinations. I also attended a class at Buffalo Stamp to learn how to do the screen door cards that Sharon has brought into the store. It was fun and I have experimented with my Silhouette and I can now cut my own screen doors. I will continue to play around with these and maybe offer a class at the store in the fall. I will post a sample later in the week. Last but not least I am learning to knit so that is also taking up crafting time but I'm always excited to try new things.

It's a short post today but at least I am back at it. Have a great day.

Nellie Stamp

Yesterday I travelled to Exeter Ontario to attend a funeral. It was a long day so no post but today I am showcasing one stamp, two colour combinations. The stamp is a Nellie Snellen the same company that produces those wonderful Nellie cutting dies. They are similar to Nestabilities but have fewer pieces in the set and a much lower price point. I love them because the small dies are usually something interesting and worth using rather than just a smaller version of the larger shapes. In the Dollie set the small die makes a button which really is "as cute as a button" and I have used it several times on cards and scrapbook pages.

This image is called Little Sailor. I used it to make a card for my grandson who is going away with his parents this weekend to an indoor water park in Erie Pa. They plan to swim and do a little shopping for maternity/baby things so I thought it would be nice for Keegan to have a little money of his own to buy toys. Inside the card, the sentiment reads, "every bunny deserves some new toys" He was thrilled to have some American cash for his short holiday. I remember how much our boys, at that age, enjoyed having their own money to buy whatever they wanted. It made them feel so important. I also made two other cards experimenting with different colour combinations. I am such a green girl that I have to say I think I like the blue and green colour combo the best but the red, white and blue is classic too. I'm off to Hamilton to create with my scrapping buddies. I am going to make a birthday card for Craig my oldest son. If I get it done I will post it tomorrow. Hope you are getting sunny weather wherever you are.

Mother's Day is Coming

I have a Royal Wedding hangover. I have watched the nuptials countless times in between hockey games so I think I have reached official Canadian status now!

So for a change of pace I am posting a Mother's Day card using a Mo Manning stamp and a Flourishes sentiment. I stamped it with Memento Ink and coloured it with my copic markers. The sentiment reads "all things grow with love" and then inside-"Thanks Mom" The papers are the scrap pieces I had left over from my decor letters so I feel like I really got my money's worth from my new paper acquisition. I need to reorganize my paper again. It just keeps growing. Really I think I am ready for a 12 step program for paper addicts.

Just a short post today since it is Saturday and I have lots to do today. Hope to see you back tomorrow. I am posting a new stamp by Nellie Snellen.

Room Decorations

I'm posting a picture of two of the letters I made for a friend of my husbands but I think I should have done a wedding card in honour of Prince William and Kate's wedding today. I PVRed it and watched it on fast forward. She looked stunning. Just the right balance of elegant and modern young woman. There certainly was a different tone to the wedding than that of Prince William's parents. They looked relaxed with each other and very much in love. Let's hope he doesn't follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father and take a mistress. I loved the trees in the abbey!

On Wednesday my sister and I went across the border to do a little shopping. So glad we went Wednesday since yesterday the wind storm was really quite scary.We stocked up on our favourite cookies and muffin mixes and Dale did a little shopping for some new clothes. She got some great bargains and looked great in everything. We went to Buffalo Stamp and I kept myself to just two new stamps and a little bit of paper. Thanks Dale for helping me pick out some very pretty pink papers for the letters. I just can not seem to stop looking a new stamps even though I have sooooo many! I did give some up to the garage sale just so I could make room for some new ones.

These letters were purchased at Michael's and then covered with paper and Mod Podge. I embellished them with Prima flowers and rhinestones/pearls and some dragonflies and butterflies. I hope that they will make Jenna and Leanne's new rooms in their dad's house a bit more cheerful and welcoming. They were really fun to make. Tomorrow I will post a Mother's Day card made with one of the new stamps I bought. It's a Mo Manning that I have been eyeing for some time and thought it would combine well with a Flourishes sentiment. Enjoy your day.

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend. We got some painting done around the house and a bit of yard cleanup. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at David and Karen's home and an Easter egg hunt in the afternoon with our grandson Keegan. I bought eggs that "talk" saying things like "I'm hiding" "I'm over here" . They giggle and and make funny noises. Keegan really enjoyed looking for them. When you find one and open it up the little chick inside says"You found me!"

Today's card is for my sister's birthday tomorrow. I tried a new design and although it has a few glitches I want to rework I am happy overall with the layout. Coloured it with copics and of course added some bling.

The garage sale at the Memory Keeper is this weekend so I am busy cleaning out some of my stamps and thinking about finding new homes for them. Today I am pricing and sorting and hopefully all with be completed by tonight. I am going to start on a project for a fellow my husband works with who is moving into a new townhouse and wants to make a comfortable place for his daughters to come on weekends. I am covering letters with paper and then applying mod podge to them to spell each of their names. He can put them up in their new rooms. He says they are really girly girls so he asked me to use lots of pink and purple. This will be fun. I'll post a few so you can see them. Enjoy your day and if you are getting nice weather get out there and enjoy the spring.(We're still waiting for it here)

Happy Easter

My apologies for being absent from the blog for a few days. I have been enjoying my grandson and his sleepover, supporting my husband through his biopsy and saying goodbye to our wonderful Jack Russel Lucy who was 15 years old and had to go to Doggy Heaven. The week was filled with lots of emotions both good and bad.

Today's card is in memory of Lucy. It is a Cornish Heritage Farm stamp which is no longer available since the company closed but it is one of my favourites. It is coloured with copics and then to get the hair affect on the dog I used blender fluid and a piece of terry cloth. The sentiment is one dear to my heart. Lucy was a great dog and for a Jack so calm and obedient. She loved to climb trees when she was younger and was the best life guard at our backyard pool. I always knew the children were safe when Lucy was on the job. She will live forever in our hearts. My husband will miss her terribly she was indeed his best bud.

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter and enjoys family and friends.

Confession

I have a confession to make. I had good intentions yesterday to vacuum and clean the house but the weather was so miserable-quite a mix of snow, sun, rain and wind that my husband and I decided to go shopping for some baby things. I must say he practiced restraint and only purchased three outfits and a stuffed toy and he was happy that all were on sale. I purchased one adorable outfit complete with hat, bib and booties and two matching receiving blankets. My outfit is predominantly green (hopefully to go with more red hair). We also hit the green houses for a spring fix and purchased some spring bulbs for the pots on the front porch. Now if spring would just arrive I could get out of my winter coat and plant them!

In honour of our shopping expedition I am posting a baby card made with a Stampavie image and some paper from a new paper pad from K & Company. I love the small 8 x 8 pads since the prints tend to be smaller and more in scale for a card. I also used a peel off sticky flower border and used Glitter Ritz in sand colour to bling it up. The little fairy is coloured in copics (E40, 41, 42 and RV000, RV00, RV10) and of course some art glitter on her wings.

I AM going to clean today so before the call of my stamps gets any louder I must leave the craft room and get busy. If I really hurry I might be able to squeeze in some time this afternoon.

Hugs to all and enjoy your Monday.

Cute Ellie

I didn't post yesterday because it was my day to get together with all my scrapping buddies and then we were off to a wonderful afternoon at my sisters. Thanks Dale for a delicious dinner and the new dessert recipe was a hit. To all my scrapping buddies as usual I had a great time and laughter is always the best medicine for what ails you. You are truly the best reward for starting this new hobby.

Today's card spotlights an Impression Obsession stamp that I just adore. It makes great birthday cards or a card for any occasion where you could lift a glass of cheer. Ellie is coloured with Copic markers. I used the C00, C0, C2 combination and then added the shadow with a R0000. The paper is from my stash. I bought a lot of this SEI line because I loved the colour combination and is was double sided so I got more bang for my buck. I have almost used up all my scraps which makes me sad but hopefully this spring I will find a new line with some interesting colour combinations. (Although I think I should make a resolution not to buy any pattern paper until I can at least close all my paper containers).

It's a dull rainy day here so I guess I will stay indoors and get some chores done. House cleaning awaits and if I have the energy I am going to paint the back hall-if not I am going veg all day with my book. Let you know tomorrow which option I chose. Cheers!

Easter Card

This morning I was describing to my sister Dale, the Easter cards that I made for both my sons and she commented "You're not going to put that on the blog are you?" I responded I just might. Well here it is! The image is from the company Your Next Stamp. The Memory Keeper is at the Creative Festival this weekend at the International Centre and the stamps will be available there so I decided that I would show case one I made. I scrap lifted the layout from the gallery since I didn't have a lot of time. I used copics to colour the mother hen and stamped the head twice so I could pop dot the eyes and apply glossy accents to it. I then stamped the image on patterned paper and paper pieced the eggs so they would look like Easter eggs. A small sentiment that reads Happy Easter completes the front. Inside the sentiment reads "Hope you get laid." Dale asked me not to send one to her husband! (tehe)

My daughter in law is afraid to take the word of the ultra sound tech so she has arranged for a 3D ultra sound next Thursday. If that one also confirms the sex as a girl then we are going to start decorating the nursery in girl colours. I think my grndson will be very sad if it is not a sister and now that the shock has worn off my son is stoked to be having a daughter. I'll keep you posted. I'm in the baby mood so I am going to make a few baby cards today but I don't have a lot of time. I have theatre tickets with my girl friends for tonight and of course we have a long dinner and gab before hand. I will not be posting tomorrow since I am working the Creative festival from 7:00a.m. to 9:00 p.m. See you back here on Saturday!

GREAT NEWS

So much news to pass on since Friday. Scrapfest in Kitchener was so busy and it was nice to see so many people come by the Memory Keeper's booth and say hi and tell us how great the deals were. I spent the day talking about copic markers and helping people pick colours. It was a long day but we all had a great time. I didn't have any time to shop for myself which was probably a good thing but on my 15 minute lunch break I stopped by Kraftin' Kimmies to pick up a golfer's stamp since I had an order for a 70th birthday card with this theme. I posted it today for you to take a peak. I also used a new Nestie for it which I think will become a new favourite shape. The inside sentiment reads "Just fore you. You made par at 70 and it suits you to a tee."

I didn't post on Monday because I had a class at the house with some lovely ladies who did an outstanding job using distress inks for the first time and trying their hand with copic markers. They are a talented group and they even bring snacks for everyone! We also received great news on Monday. Our son and daughter-in-law are expecting a baby girl some time around Labour Day. I know what you are thinking. It won't matter when the baby comes it will definitely be labour day! Our grandson who will be four in June is so excited to be welcoming a baby sister into the family. He was at the ultrasound appointment so he saw the baby. We are all excited to be finally welcoming a girl into the family. It was all I could do last night to stop my husband from going shopping for all things pink! I'm going to start thinking about doing the birth announcements with colours other than blue and brown. What a treat for me!

Off for a hair cut and I think I will treat myself to a pedicure because my feet have not stopped dancing since yesterday. Hugs to all.

Some More Mo

Well I didn't post yesterday because I spent the day with my sister and my favourite niece at St. Jacobs in Waterloo County. We hit the market for veggies, fruit and of course baked goods and then went to Conestoga for lunch. After a wonderful meal we headed for the School House theatre to see Sheer Madness a murder comedy that takes place in a hair salon. We really enjoyed the play and laughter is such good medicine for anything that ails you. Thanks Dale it was a great treat.

Today I am posting a card that is made with a Mo Manning stamp from Stampavie. It really is cute and of course could be a boy or a girl depending how you coloured it. I used copic markers and I paper pieced the pants. I also used a "B" from one of my Quickutz alphabets and a border punch by Martha Stewart some ribbon and a button finish off the card. Next week I am going to start on some more baby cards so you will probably be seeing some of those. Monday I have a class at my house so I will be busy cutting paper on the weekend. Tomorrow is Scrapfest in Kitchener so it will be a busy few days.

Thanks to everyone who are buying my handmade cards and giving me such positive feedback. It really makes me want to continue to create cards for you and of course with the sale of the cards I can get more stamps!!!! I am overflowing with stamps but it doesn't seem to stop me from wanting more--I can not resist the cute ones!! Have a great weekend and I hope to see some of you at Scrapfest.

Excited this morning because my youngest son has just returned home after working out west for three months. He has worked steady nights so it will take him some time to get his clock turned around before he starts work here in Burlington. He was in Fort Nelson just south of the Yukon border. Temperature were in the minus 36 to 46 range and so when he experienced 1 degree weather last week he was wearing shorts! Everything is relative!!!

The card I posted is an image from artist Mo Manning for Stamping Bella. I jsut love all the whimsical images she creates. I have quite a collection and will showcase a few more in the coming weeks. This image is coloured with copic markers and the card is made with some old basic Grey from my stash. I'm really working on getting that stash used up so I can buy some new paper at Scrapfest this weekend in Kitchener. I will be working in the Memory Keeper booth on Saturday so if you are there stop by and say hi. Sheila always has a great deal on her copic markers and I will be happy to help you select colours that work together. There are also some new colours out which I bought (of course I thought I didn't need them but quickly learned that I did). I will use them on some new images this week and then show you the cards with the colours in case you want to add them to your collection.

I'm off to pick out paint colours and return overdue books to the library. Hope to see you back here tomorrow. Happy hump day!

Mad for Markers

I bad. Well not really bad just a little bad. I went to buy card stock and thankfully the store had the colours I needed but then I was distracted by all the new pretty paper that just cried out for me. I practiced restraint and only picked up a few sheets but when I got home I just had to make a card with this lovely paper from American Craft. The colours are so spring like and they lifted a grey day yesterday. I'm anxious for spring to arrive and stay. We got snow again last night.

The paper is from the Peachy Keen line and the Pebbles Happy Go Lucky collection. The stamp is from Lili of the Valley, coloured with copic markers. To get that nice coral colour I use R00. R01, R02. The blues are done in BG10, BG 11 and BG72. The hair is done in Yr 21, 23 and E33. I used Stampin' Up gross grain ribbon and some pearls from Kaiser Craft. I am entering this is the Mad for Markers challenge. Love this colour combination

Just a short post since I need to dust the house, clean bathrooms and do some laundry. This afternoon I am off the look for a vanity for my bathroom remodel. Really what is up with the prices? I don't want to buy the whole company I just what one little vanity. I'm on my own this week since my DH had to go to work. His holidays are pushed off until things are under control at work. It's a little bitter sweet. I miss time with him but it gives me time to craft during the day. Hope your week is wonderful.

Hugs

Birthday Card

Here is one of the birthday cards I made for an order. I love this stamp and I think he will appeal to children. I used some Basic Grey Paper from my stash and I embossed some card stock. I typed out the sentiment and inside it reads "Happy Birthday"

I know this is hard to believe but I am off to buy paper for a class I am having on April 11. I have so much paper but it seems that it is never just the right shade. I am planning on cutting my paper this afternoon so I can ward off the munchies. This is definitely a day when I feel like snacking. Maybe it is the grey weather outside. I am only going to buy the paper I need and I am not going to look at any of the new beautiful paper from CHA or any stamps! I may have to take my husband with me as support so I can stick to this resolution.

Hope to see you back on Monday.

Another challenge-Couples

I'm really on a roll and so inspired by all the cards that are entered into the challenges on the web. There are so many creative people out there. I am entering this card in the Cute Card Thursday blog challenge for this week with the theme of couples. This is right up my alley. I am part of a couple, I love a couple of treats a day, I have a couple of children, I have a couple of dogs and I have a couple of addictions(you know one of them!).

I used a Lili of the Valley stamp which my friend Brenda generously shared with me on Tuesday at the crop. We had a great time colouring them together and chatting away the morning. I love the combination of pink and brown so I used some of my scraps, some pretty daisy ribbon and a few flowers from Wild Orchid crafts. I really wish I could get the colours to come through in a better manner. The colours are not as accurate as they are in "person".

Happy Saturday to everyone.

Spring Challenge

I thought I would enter a challenge over at Lili of the Valley even though I did not use one of their stamps. I think it meets the criteria of Spring. I am starting to think about Easter cards so I pulled out a High Hopes stamp and inked it up. I made this card for my friend Ina to send to her darling grand daughter, Olivia. I coloured it with my copics and used some of my favourite paper Jilly Bean's Egg Drop Soup collection. I tried playing with the ribbon and I love the bows. I had to limit the embellishments because it has to go through the mail from Hamilton to Denver Colorado. I hope everyone likes it. I am excited because the new release of High Hopes comes out on April 7th. Join the blog hop so you can get inspired by these delightful stamps.

The weekend is coming and then next week my husband is on vacation so it should be a fun week but it won't give me much time for crafting. I will post as often as I can. I'm going down to the craft room now to make a card for my daughter-in-laws birthday on Sunday. She is absolutely card worthy!

Sneak Peak

Just a quick post this morning because I am eager to get to the craft table and start filling some orders for my hand made cards. Thanks to my sister Dale I have orders for some birthday cards for children which are always fun to do because you can use bright colours and fun designs.

This card is another of the cards I am going to do for my April class at my home. It is a Lili of the Valley stamp and it is coloured with copic markers. It has a magnetic closing which is just a little different and the sentiment inside reads "Birthdays are always in fashion" I am really loving digging into my yellow scrap bin. Spring always makes me think yellow. I even changed the towels in my powder room last week to yellow in anticipation of the nicer weather coming our way next week.

Well as Rosie O'Donnell says "sending you come yellow"!

Distress Inks

I am a little late posting this morning. I had one of those nights where I just lay in bed and watch the numbers on the digital clock tick by one by one. I finally got up at 1:00 a.m. and decided I would go down stairs and finish a card I started at my Tuesday crop. I got caught up in finding papers and ribbon and deciding flowers or no flowers. When looking I found some lovely blue paper in my stash and the next thing I know my copics are on the desk (I swear they get there all by themselves) and I am colouring. I finished that card only to look at the clock and discover that it is now 3:30. Up to bed I go and try to get to sleep. I'm not sure if men experience these nights where sleep just eludes you no matter what you do, but if they do my husband is not one of them. He's asleep within two minutes of hitting the pillow. Still awake at 5:00 a.m. when the alarm went off. Hopefully I can catch a nap this afternoon.

Today's card is made with the Tim Holtz bird cage die, some Parisian anthology paper from Pink Paislee and distress inks. I inked the paper with faded Denim, Peeled Paint, and some Spiced Marmalade. I cut the die using cardboard and then some pattern paper for the top of it. This way I get more dimension. The bird is also cut from cardboard and paper and inked with Fired Brick, Faded Denim and some Spiced Marmalade. I inked the bird cage with Walnut Stain, added some lace which I also distressed and a small key at the top and she is done. Easy peesey. This is a very generic card and I think would suit a man or a woman. This is one of the cards for my April class so ladies you are getting a little sneak peak.

Spring is here and it is time to spruce up the old girl and of course the house too (I need a manicure in the worst way). Our house is 106 years old and needs constant care. We are starting to plan renovations to our bathroom so I am off to do some scouting for tiles and fixtures. Hope you'll stop by tomorrow for another look.

Have a Fairy Nice Day

Just a quick blog entry today since this is my crafting day at the Memory Keeper. I really enjoy all the women that attend and they are so generous with ideas, materials and feedback. But more importantly we enjoy each other's company and I rarely get much done before lunch since we usually gab and catch up for a couple of hours before we get down to business. I am finishing up some cards for a card class at my home in April and I will post those soon so the ladies can have a quick peak before they sign up.

This card is a Lili of the Valley stamp and she is coloured with copic markers. I experimented with pleating the ribbon and adding it. I feel the ribbon I chose was a bit too stiff so I am going to try it again with different ribbon. The colours are also something I would not usually use so I am trying to stretch my comfort zone.

I'm off to spend the day with the gals. Stop back tomorrow for a card using distress inks and a Tim Holtz die.

I'm Up for Another Challenge

Good Morning Everyone. Here in Burlington the sun is shining but it is still quite cold. We are expecting more spring like weather by mid week. I decided to really dive into challenge mod and I did a card for this week's Friday Sketchers. I loved the sketch and I'm still struggling with flower placement so it was a great one for me. I used a Stampavie image that I just added to my collection. I might use this image for some Mother's Day cards. I think it is quite versatile. I coloured it with my copics and decided not to add any glitter to her wings (in my opinion there is very little that can not be improved with a little bling). I have given myself a personal challenge. We had a terrible flood in the basement and of course in my craft room so I took this as an opportunity to reorganize, and clean out. Thanks goodness for the Memory Keeper's garage sale which is coming up soon because I didn't want to throw anything out but could rationalize giving it a new home and me a credit at the store to spend on more stamps. But back to my personal challenge. I organized all my scrap paper and could not believe how much I had and how great some of the patterns were. So now whenever I make a new card I am only using my scrap paper. Some of the beautiful new paper from the winter CHA is calling out to me and for the most part I ignore it, but I am excited to dig through my containers, sorted by colour, to find papers that coordinate together. For my challenge card I used three different patterned paper and four colours of card stock. I am determined to reduce that paper stash before my DH sees it and asks "Why are you buying more paper?". As I have said before there is a big part of me that is just a collector. Well off to do chores before my new stamps hear me typing this or I will be drawn into a long crafting session and the laundry, and ironing will have to wait for another day. Hope you'll stop by tomorrow when I post a fairy card from Lili of the Valley.

Lili of the Valley Challenge

Still working on the problem of the white square. If I have time tomorrow I will redesign and see if I can remedy that annoying glitch. I have decided to get back into the blog world by entering a challenge over at the Lili of the Valley Blog. The theme is Punch It and I have tried to use as many punches as I could. I used some nestabilities, Martha Stewart, EK Success, Stampin' Up, and Marvey. In all I count 7 different punches. I really had fun with this and I even stepped outside my comfort zone and used a different colour combo. I'm not sure I love the combo but creativity is all about experimenting. I inked up a new Lili of the Valley Image from Set #1 Oh So Girlie that I had not had time to play with. I am really loving these little girls and I am afraid this could result in a whole new collection of cuties. I used copic markers to colour the image and some distress ink (Spiced Marmalade) to complete the shadowing around the image.The pins are from Wild Orchid and the buttons from Stampendous.

Well my little grandson is coming for an afternoon visit so I am off to make cookies. Hope you'll stop back on Monday to see another baby card from the Stampavie collection.

Sweet Baby Cards

Just a quick post today to share two baby cards I did with stamps from Lili of the Valley. It is a simple image which I coloured with copics and then paper pieced the hats. I have collected quite a few new baby stamps and so I will be sharing some of these with you in the coming days. I'm gearing up to enter some challenges, one over at Lili of the Valley, so tomorrow I will post my entry. I'm always hesitant to enter a challenge because the work the stampers present is always so beautiful but I must remember the joy is in the creating. Have a great weekend.

Paper Towel Flower

I'm not sure why my blog has that annoying white box but am working to make it disappear. For today's card I am posting a picture of a very simple card made with a white paper towel. As I said yesterday I used glimmer mist to create some sparkly paper and the extra glimmer mist that was left on my craft mat I cleaned up with a regular household paper towel. It was an awful colour but I let it dry and there before me was a beautiful purple towel shimmering with gold. I'm sure you can not see the total affect in the picture but it does shimmer. I then cut the dry towel into strips. (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches in width) Next I took score tape and put a strip on my craft mat. Removing the white protective covering I now had a sticky strip to work with. I started to pleated the paper towel strip along the score tape until the entire tape was filled with pleated paper towel. I then cut a cardboard circle as my base. Removing the strip from the craft mat I attached it in a circular pattern to the circle. For the centre of the flower I took a circle covered with sticky score tape and another strip and twisted it and then rolled it onto the circle. Twist and roll small pieces at a time until the circle is complete. I then used a jewel for the centre but a brad would work as well. This is a very easy and quick card to make once you have your paper towel ready to go.

Spring is in the air and it is time for babies!! We are excited because my son and his wife are adding to the family in September. In honour of spring and our new little family member I have been playing with baby images and making baby cards. Tomorrow I will post one made with a Lili of the Valley stamp. Enjoy your day and I hope where ever you are the weather feels like spring.

Lili of the Valley Image

As some of you know we had a flood in our basement and yes that is where I do my creating so everything, and I mean everything from the three rooms in the basement got moved to the garage and my living room/dining room. Now four weeks later with all the repairs done everything is back down stairs but still a lot needs to be unpacked. I was having withdrawal pains so I unpacked enough boxes so I could get started creating again and feeding my addiction (I say addiction in a good way because really I do not want to be cured). So here is my card that I made for a friend to send to her granddaughter in Denver. The image is from Lili of the Valleyand I just love her! She just makes me smile. I also have been playing with some new glimmer mist from Tattered Angels and I created the mauve paper from three of the colours (electric blue, silver sugar and Cadillac pink). To create the paper I start with inexpensive Wausau, about 8 cents for a 8 1/2 x 11. I spray with the three colours and then set the paper aside to dry. It will curl and wrinkle but when it is dry I ironed it. I picked up from my craft mat the extra glimmer mist with a paper towel and then when the towel dried I made a flower from it. None of the glimmer mist is wasted. I will post a card tomorrow to show you that flower. They are fun and easy to make. I also used a tag from the Eyelet Outlet that reads "Birthday Girl". Since the card is going through the mail I did not include a lot of 3D embellishments. A little glitter and ribbon and she's done! I'm off to check out the challenge blog at Lili of the Valley because I'm back in the game and ready to participate in the challenges again. Hope to see you soon.

There Are no Excuses but I'm Giving Them Anyway.

I have been absent from my blog for so many months and really I have no real excuse except that the family has been through a quintuple heart by-pass, Christmas, a Caribbean vacation, classes at the store , and shovelling snow, snow and more snow. Reading that last sentence really does sound like a lot of excuses but now I am ready to create again. I am excited to share some new stamp images that I ordered from Lili of the Valley in the UK. It's a great company and the mailing time from the UK to Canada is about 2 weeks and if you order a sufficient quantity there is free shipping. I love when companies offer that and really do I need an excuse to buy more. See I am just full of excuses today or as I like to refer to it---rationalization. Another idea is to get a few friends together and make one order and get the free shipping that way. The quality of the rubber is great and the stamps make clear sharp images.

The card I am sharing today is one I made for a friend who is going in for knee surgery in April. I find it difficult sometimes to find stamps that are suitable for men and a get well message. Flowers seem to work well for women but for men I want something different. The outside says "Smile" and the inside reads "You're on the road to recovery, but a man your age should watch his speed." I coloured the image with my copics and used the following colours:

• Car: E40, 41, 42
• Scarf: BG10, BG13
• Bear: E31, E33, E35
• Hat: E27, E29

On the goggles and the windshield I put some Chrystal Lacquer so they would shine and have some dimension.

Tomorrow some more images from Lili of the Valley!