Sent Birthday Cards

A few cards I sent out recently.

I borrowed this Wolf set (Stampin' Up!) years ago 

and made numerous cards with it. 

I still have a couple leftover, this is one of them.

Bleach out an area of Going Gray card stock,

allow to dry well then stamp over the bleached out

area with Basic Black ink. 

Another old set from Stampin' Up!, I'm not sure of the name

I think it is Artifacts.

The background is Paint Prints (or Harlequin?).

This is a shaker card.

This was a an old swap I received, made into a card.

I've no idea the name of the stamp set but I do know it

is an oldie from Stampin' Up! 

Thanks for looking =)

Happy Fall Cards

I should go back in and add a few "leaves" on the ground

I'm pretty sure this card was copied from somewhere;

I made it so long ago and don't remember exactly.

All stamp images are from Stampin ' Up!

Breyer Model Horses

There are many wonderful shops and restaurants in Downtown Springfield, IL.

One of our favorites to go into is Recycled Records.

Don't let the name fool you, there are so many fun things to look at there.

It never fails, one of us finds something to buy.

Last year my husband bought a small model and postcard

of the old Admiral Riverboat from St. Louis.

Each year my son finds something he must have

(and many others he'd love to have, then again we all find things

we think we'd like to have but resist the urge to bring it home)

This year it was my turn to find something I just couldn't say no to.

We were walking by the store and I was joking, wondering aloud if
the model horses that I saw last year were still there (I knew they wouldn't be).
My son and I stopped in for our first of many visits.
We seem to stop in once a day to see if anything is new
or make up our mind about something we had seen earlier
and were thinking about buying.
Each time we go in, we see something different.

The second time we walked by they were closed for supper.

The third time that day I walked by,
lo and behold there were model horses in the window !



I immediately, without hesitation, snatched up the dapple gray Arabian =)

The rest of the weekend I wrestled with should I or shouldn't I

buy the little Clydesdale.

I knew my shelves were already full and wasn't sure I could make room for him ,

it was going to be tough making space for the Arabian as it was.

Of course I am now kicking myself for not getting him......................

Here are my Breyers -

(I think I could have made the other model fit.....)

Oh how I dreamed of buying many, many model horses and

devoting a room to them when I was a kid.

I loved looking at the catalogs and even subscribed to

their magazine way back when.

I also dreamed of owning a real horse one day.

The closest I ever came to that was

owning/driving Mustang cars, ha ha.

Happy Anniversary Card

Made with scraps leftover from the 

Negatives Notebook project I made last year.

The flower came from a little box kit of flower parts

to put together that I found at a yard sale 

a couple of years ago.

I do not recall the name of the manufacturer. 

Happiness is inked in Pumpkin Pie

and Always is inked in Island Indigo,

both are inks, as is the saying,

from Stampin' Up!

I'm A Color Explorer !

WOW, I'm so honored to be chosen as the Color Explorer at Color Me Beautiful Challenge Blog for their Aubergine Dreams Color Challenge last week !!!!!

The project I submitted was my Scrap Map Challenge 1 - a two page spread created with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up!

Many Thanks to the design team for choosing my project , I'm tickled pink =)

Be sure to stop by their blog. This is week four of their color challenge, they have posted another stunning color combination to work with .

Thanks, Fiskars !

What a wonderful surprise I received the other day !

As we were preparing to leave town early Friday morning a delivery truck stopped by with "something you ordered" my husband said.

"I didn't order anything. Are you sure it isn't another car part since you are ordering them almost weekly it seems ?"

"Nope"

I took a moment to look at the return address and at first thought it was something from a long time email buddy because the first name was the same. Then I noticed the word Fiskars............... interesting, did I win something from the contest I entered ?

My son wanted to open it up for me, which I was fine with  because I was busy finishing up a couple of things so we could hit the road, we were running behind time as it was.

"Hey mom, you got scissors with your name on them - and the blades are gold! They even signed a note! " he announced.

I had to check them out quickly just before running out the door. There was also a pair of zebra print scissors, all packaged with a nice hand signed note in a box filled with orange crinkle paper (I need to reuse that in another project!). 



The note reads:

Our Show Us the Possibilities contest didn't quite work, but our scissors do ! We're a 363-year-old company with some cutting expertise and hope a handy pair of shears brings you a little cheer. Thank you again for your patience and understanding, and most of all, thank you for being a Fiskars Fan !

Happy Crafting!
Blair and Stephenie and the rest of the Fiskars Family




This was a surprise gift to those of us that entered the contest; there were technical difficulties and I believe a lot of disgruntled contestants as a result. They have worked hard to make it right and now we are all looking forward to seeing the winning entries announced very soon. 


Very cool, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FISKARS !


Reminder, go vote for your favorite projects in the Imagine The Possibilitites Fuse Contest(you are allowed up to five votes per day)before September 25th at 9AM CST  on the Fiskars facebook page. 

Here are my two entries:

Tree Of Love

Butterfly Thoughts Frame

Scarecrow Face - My Digital Studio

HAPPY FALL ! 

I set this post up to publish on the first day of fall -

a day we will be out of town at a large car show.

So long as my sprained wrist feels well enough,

I'll be driving my own car.

It's been too sore to do much of anything this past week.

Of course it was my right wrist, too, the hand I use most.

 

I attempted to create a scarecrow face card 

using My Digital Studio (original version)

from Stampin' Up! 

It is similar to the paper crafted one I made

a  couple of years ago.

LOTS of digital punches used to create this !

In fact, it is entirely digital punches

except for the Soft Suede grosgrain ribbon "straw hair"

(which could have been made with square punches, too).

The decorative papers for the clothing items

 came from the Well Worn Designer Paper packs.

Half circle punch filled with Very Vanilla textured card stock to match

the background (face), drop shadow at 100% opacity and 

just barely along the bottom edge to create the smile.

Dusty Durango Pennant punch (altered in size) to make the nose.

Blushing Bride (reduced opacity) filled circles for cheeks.

Pennant Punches (altered in size) and a square punch to create 

bandanna neck tie.

Square punches (altered in size) for shirt and coverall straps, hat .

Crumb Cake filled hat with scratchy texture overlay.

Blossom and circle punches for sunflower.

More Mustard grid designer paper. 

Bird , pennant and circle punches to create crow.

Going Gray drop shadow on wing portion.

Summer Sun for beak and eye.

I'm hoping to find enough time to acess the internet while we are gone -

I want to see the videos showing all the new features in MDS2 !

I'm sure after watching them I'll become more impatient

for it to come out on disc.

Thanks for looking - Happy Fall ! 

My Digital Studio Scrap Map 1 Challenge

The above two pages were created with My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up!

I've not been to the My Digital Studio web site for a while so I decided to stop in to see if there was any announcement of MDS2 coming out on disc soon. Instead, I was excited to see that there is going to be a weekly challenge ! Although late, I created a slightly altered Scrap Map 1 challenge entry: it is a two page spread.

This project fits these current challenges:

My Digital Studio Scrap Map 1

Color Challenge 3 at Color Me Beautiful Challenge blog

anythingbutacard.com challenge #2

Anything But A Card Challenge blog Texture - not sure if it truly qualifies for this challenge since they are digital items ;)

SUPPLIES USED:

My Digital Studio original version software from Stampin' Up!

Basic Gray textured card stock background

Kiwi Kiss - mat behind photo boxes

Rich Razzleberry - card stock to fill scalloped square punch

Tempting Turquoise - card stock to fill scallop square punch and dotted line designer paper to fill scallop border punch

Cute Cats stamp set

Man's Best Friend stamp set

Vintage Overlays texture stamp (but it doesn't show up in the saved jpg files on each page ? weird....)

Narrow polka dot grosgrain ribbon and knot - Rich Razzleberry

Crochet trim ribbon - Victoria

Round Buttons - some altered in size
Twine in center of buttons - my own creation 

Basic Black stitching

Scallop border punch - enlarged

Smitten and Simple Letters alphabet punches - altered in size, filled with polka dotted Kiwi Kiss Bella Rose designer paper. I noticed that drop shadows aren't on the letters..ugh

Scallop square punch - enlarged to make photo mats

Text box for the word "meet"

"bark bark" was created by stamping an image from Man's Best Friend stamp set then covering up portions of it with square punches, filled with Basic Gray textured card stock. Stamp again and enlarge then cover up unwanted portions once more. Reduce the opacity slightly more on the smaller "bark".

THANKS for looking and be sure to go check out all of the other fantastic creations shared at the challenge blogs mentioned above !

SEE ANOTHER PROJECT, AND VOTE IF YOU'D LIKE, that I made with photos of my past pets here. TREE OF LOVE at the Fiskars Fuse Contest Page on Facebook

My second entry in the contest is a framed piece. 

THANKS FOR LOOKING =)

Facebook Covers with My Digital Studio and Photoshop Elements

  I used My Digital Studio from Stampin' Up! 

as well as Photoshop Elements 10 to 

create a custom facebook cover !

Now that I have Timeline (perhaps because of my entries in the Fiskars contest because it changed the day I entered?), I may as well have fun creating custom cover photos. Not that I use facebook much. I've used it more recently with uploading my entries and sharing the links to them than I have all year !

These are my first attempts at making a custom sized  image with the original version of My Digital Studio.

I started with a 12 x 12 scrapbook. I'm not sure of the exact size, I'm guessing 12" long and around 4" tall ? I inserted a square punch and stretched it to fit. I then filled with background paper and embellishments. It was an idea I was testing and it worked out well enough after some tweaking. I read that it is easy to make custom canvas sizes in the new MDS2, but I don't have that version just yet................... patiently (or rather impatiently?) waiting for it to come out on disc.

After creating my photo collage, I exported it as a jpeg then opened that saved photo file in Photoshop Elements 10. I created a blank canvas, 851 x 315 pixels (dimensions found posted online in several places stating this is the size to use for facebook Timeline photos) then inserted the image that I created in MDS. It was a little bit long, so I went back into MDS, scooted the grouped photos a bit closer together, saved and exported to jpeg then inserted into the PSE10 canvas. It worked ! This could be fun to do (but a bit time consuming) , making custom cover photos for all sorts of holidays, seasons, etc .


Here is the second one I created after the light bulb moment: why didn't I resize the punch to the correct pixels (851W x 315H), then grab the corner and reduce it in size to fit back on the 12x12 page ? The resized punch (which became my canvas area) was 600 pixels wide by 221 tall (or 12" wide by 4.42" tall) . Once again, still not perfect, needing tweaked in PSE10 - it would be so much easier to be able to make a custom canvas size in MDS. The next one I make, I will try to use Photoshop Elements 10 only with the correct canvas size and import the My Digital Studio images.

The hands around the candle are a 'stock" image from a web site. The black background, text and "We Will Never Forget" (profile picture that will be layered over the timeline photo on facebook) were created in My Digital Studio.


By the way, here are the direct links to my projects submitted to the Fiskars contest if you'd like to vote for them. All votes are much appreciated , Thank you !

https://www.facebook.com/fiskars/app_416658965052303?view_entry=2710209&app_data=view_entry:::2710209

Tree Of Love 

https://www.facebook.com/fiskars/app_416658965052303?view_entry=2696738&app_data=view_entry:::2696738

Butterfly frame

Supplies used in My Digital Studio:
background paper from The Write Stuff
Cherry Cobbler grosgrain ribbon
inserted a photo box and matted with Whisper White, drop shadow, decreased in size
font is Varsity typed in a text box
silver brads as "push pins"
I should have used the pennant punch to make school pennants !!!! I may go back in and do that.......

Thanks for looking =)

Sold Cards

Mom and I went to visit an aunt of mine. 

She recently had major surgery and was back home.

She has always liked my cards, 

so she asked that I bring some along.

She chose these five cards 

with coordinating envelopes.

She paid $1 a piece. 

They are all oldies, made with images and supplies

from Stampin' Up!

I'm certain every one of them was copied,

or near copies, of samples I saw in the 

Idea Books or on the Stampin' Up! demonstrator web site.

Thanks for looking =) 

Ringo's Memory Box - Winter

This is the final side to the photo memory box I made for my cat Ringo.

It's pretty simple

Ringo was not afraid of a little snow. In fact, there could be nearly a foot out there and he'd still insist on going out !

STEPS:

Cover photo with scrapbook page protector. I cut up a 12 x 12 page protector to cover each of the photos on this project. Cut slightly larger than the photo, wrap the edges around to the back and tape in place.

Cut a piece of shimmery paper to mount the photo to, making the bottom edge a bit longer so it can be punched out with a border punch (snowflakes border punch, unknown manufacturer).

Wrap a piece of light blue 5/8" grosgrain ribbon around the photo, attach the ends underneath with double stick tape.


Mount photo to mat.

I used a snowflake strip die from Stampin' Up for the base snow flakes ( cut from Whisper White card stock) and two different snow flake punches from Martha Stewart crafts for the top. I spritzed the smaller snowflakes with a home made glitter mist.

Attach a rhinestone to the center of each snowflake.

Attach die cut snowflakes to top of photo with double stick tape.

Thanks for looking =)

See another photo memory project of my pets

that I entered into a contest here -

all votes are much appreciated !

My second entry is a framed piece.

Ringo's Memory Box - Fall

Ringo's a bit blurry in this photo, but I still like it nonetheless. He always carried his tail so high and proud, slightly arched over his back.

All supplies from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted. 

Cover photo with scrapbook page protector.

Cut Summer Sun card stock to mount behind photo.

Cut Dusty Durango (or maybe it was Tangerine or Cajun, not exactly sure since it was a scrap and I didn't bother to color match it to know which it was) slightly larger.

Punch two sides and corner with the scalloped edge border punch . I never did get the hang of making a perfect square/rectangle with those punches......

Wrap a piece of yellow rick rack (sewing supplies)  around the base of the photo, glue the ends underneath. Mount to Rust colored card stock.

Punch three small ovals from Only Orange card stock and three regular ovals from Pumpkin Pie card stock. Lightly sponge the edges with ink.

Punch two sets of leaves from Always Artichoke with the Two Step Bird Punch. Add accents (I forgot to, remembered it after photographing).

Using scissors, cut two stems from Close to Cocoa.

Glue two ovals side by side, slightly overlapping. Glue the third to the center on top. Glue stem and leaves behind. Attach smaller pumpkin to the larger with a dimensional.

Now for the tricky part of making teeny tiny mums. As I was distressing the edges of the card stock on the Summer side of the box, I was reminded of how it can make fiber "dust". Why not make a bunch of it by scraping a scrap of Summer Sun card stock with a hobby knife, creating enough to glue to 1/4" circle punches to make the mums ? It took a little bit of patience working with the tiny pieces, but I am happy that I took the time to experiment with that idea. I think the tiny mums add more to the project rather than leaving the green leaves plain on that side of the pumpkins.

Attach mounted photo to box and embellishment to photo.

Thanks for looking =)

See another photo memory project of my pets

that I entered into a contest here -

all votes are much appreciated !

My second entry is a framed piece

Patriot Day

http://september11.archive.org/ 

http://www.national911memorial.org/

as posted at:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/blpatriotsday.htm

In memory of the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States, President Bush has proclaimed that Sept. 11, 2002 be observed as "Patriot Day." The following is the text of the Patriot Day Proclamation.



Patriot Day, 2002

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation



On this first observance of Patriot Day, we remember and honor those who perished in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. We will not forget the events of that terrible morning nor will we forget how Americans responded in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in the skies over Pennsylvania -- with heroism and selflessness; with compassion and courage; and with prayer and hope. We will always remember our collective obligation to ensure that justice is done, that freedom prevails, and that the principles upon which our Nation was founded endure.



Inspired by the heroic sacrifices of our firefighters, rescue and law enforcement personnel, military service members, and other citizens, our Nation found unity, focus, and strength. We found healing in the national outpouring of compassion for those lost, as tens of millions of Americans participated in moments of silence, candlelight vigils, and religious services. From the tragedy of September 11 emerged a stronger Nation, renewed by a spirit of national pride and a true love of country.



We are a people dedicated to the triumph of freedom and democracy over evil and tyranny. The heroic stories of the first responders who gave their all to save others strengthened our resolve. And our Armed Forces have pursued the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and else-where with valor and skill. Together with our coalition partners, they have achieved success.



Americans also have fought back against terror by choosing to overcome evil with good. By loving their neighbors as they would like to be loved, countless citizens have answered the call to help others. They have contributed to relief efforts, improved homeland security in their communities, and volunteered their time to aid those in need. This spirit of service continues to grow as thousands have joined the newly established USA Freedom Corps, committing themselves to changing America one heart at a time through the momentum of millions of acts of decency and kindness.



Those whom we lost last September 11 will forever hold a cherished place in our hearts and in the history of our Nation. As we mark the first anniversary of that tragic day, we remember their sacrifice; and we commit ourselves to honoring their memory by pursuing peace and justice in the world and security at home. By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress has authorized and requested the President to designate September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day."



NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2002, as Patriot Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including remembrance services and candlelight vigils. I also call upon the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as appropriate officials of all units of government, to direct that the flag be flown at half-staff on Patriot Day. Further, I encourage all Americans to display the flag at half-staff from their homes on that day and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. eastern daylight time, or another appropriate commemorative time, to honor the innocent victims who lost their lives as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.



IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand two, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-seventh.



GEORGE W. BUSH

Ringo's Memory Box - Summer

Ringo liked to hide out in the flower beds sometimes, keeping an eye out for critters to catch I assume.

The background piece is made by gluing several scraps leftover from my Honor Flight Card Project . I knew I'd find a use for them, now I have only 93 more pieces to use! They are embossed and die cut borders trimmed from the bottom of note cards (Martha Stewart Crafts).

Die cut leaves with die from Stampin' Up! out of Gable Green and Green Galore card stock. Add watercolor accents with ink and an aquapainter. Glue together.

Lightly paint white acrylic craft paint in the center of Prima flowers. Adhere Basic Pearls. Glue to the leaves.

Cover the photo with scrapbook page protector cut to fit.

Cut Gable Green and Green Galore card stock to mount the photo to. Distress edges of Gable Green piece. 

Glue the leaves and flowers to the top of the matted photo.

Attach to the box by three sides, leaving the fourth side open to slide in a tag for journaling. 

Ribbon scrap and clear flower brad , unknown manufacturers. 

Thanks for looking =)

See another photo memory project of my pets

that I entered into a contest here -

all votes are much appreciated !

My second entry is a framed piece

Grandparent's Day

cover of tin 

front of booklet inside

needs photos and embellishments added

Happy Grandparents Day for those of you that are !

I am not a Grandparent, nor do I have any living Grandparents, but I do have kids so I made this project to give to my parents today. I also plan on taking supper and dessert to them - or maybe out to eat if they feel up to it.

This little tin came with a circular "book" already cut out of a Coral color as well as two scalloped circles on the front and back. I bought it at a yard sale a couple of years ago and never did anything with it since it was sort of an odd color (maybe that's why it was unused at the yard sale). Knowing Grandparent's Day was coming up, I decided to dig it out and try to make something of it. Seeing the new color challenge at Color Me Beautiful the other day was perfect for this project ! I had to change it up a tiny bit since I don't have all of the exact challenge colors, but they are pretty close (and look so pretty together!).


This project is also submitted to the new Anything But A Card Challenge blog. Take a peek at the inspiring Design Team projects - and the over 100 submissions to the first challenge , WOW !

Most of the items I used to make it are from Stampin' Up!; noted otherwise if not.



Card Stock and ink:
Very Vanilla
Cameo Coral
Purely Pomegranate
Always Artichoke
More Mustard

Stamp Sets:
DD Cottage Rose
Happy Everything
Wonderful Words
Hand Painted Petites (this is the first time I used the stamp set I rescued from a yard sale earlier this year)
Snap Stamps by Karen Foster- Small Formal

Stripes embossing folder
Crystal Effects (clear liquid dimensional glue)
Ruby Art Accents Microfine Glitter from ProvoCraft
Yellow Rhinestones
green grosgrain ribbon (manufacturer unknown)
Scalloped Circle die
Circle Cutter
Scissors
Dimensionals
Tombow glue
Stampin' Sponge
Paper Piercer
printer - for sentiment

Tin - no idea who manufactured it, no markings on it


Thanks for looking =)

No, I am not a grandparent nor do I have any grandparents, but here are some links (I especially like the quotes on the last) for those of you that may be. 

http://www.grandparents.com

http://www.grandparents-day.com/

http://grandparentsday.org/

http://www.grandparents.com/grandkids/grandparents-day/grandparents-day-quotes   - this is the site where I found the quote I printed out

Ringo's Memory Box - Spring

This photo was taken shortly after Ringo kitten was found by my son. He was one lone kitten out in the big yard, no others around , no mommy to be seen. We never did see any others and don't know where he came from or how he got out in the middle of the large yard all alone. He was being a curious kitten and crawled up into a CD storage box underneath the computer desk. He was soooo tiny.

All supplies used from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted.

Cut a portion of a circle from Basic Gray card stock. Stamp with Stripes background stamp. Glue to box.

Cut a strip of going Gray card stock. Tear the bottom edge and distress the top. Stamp with the foot print from the Meow Meow stamp set.

Wrap a piece of Basic Black 5/8" grosgrain ribbon around the light gray piece, attach with a Jumbo decorative eyelet and tie a knot bow. Glue to the box.

Crop photo and mount to Whisper White and Basic black card stock. TIP: I covered my photos with pieces of scrapbook page protectors before adhering to the card stock mats. Simply lay the photo down, lightly score around the edges, allow at least a 1/2" to tape down to the back and cut out with scissors.

Attach matted photo to box with dimensionals.

Wrap striped ribbon (unknown manufacturer) around the top of the box. Adhere with double stick tape. 

Attach metal letters (unknown manufacturer) with brads. I plan on moving the lid around to each side that I will have on display during the seasons. I'll be moving it to the Fall side before long !

Thanks for looking =) 

See another photo memory project of my pets

that I entered into a contest here -

all votes are much appreciated !

My second entry is a framed piece.