Holiday Notes

Another post today.  I've been away from my crafting room since Wednesday.  I'm beginning to have stamping withdrawals!  :O  I went to my first craft fair Wednesday at a local rehab center near the hospital where my Hubs works.  It was for hospital employees/families to sell.  Unfortunately, it was not much of a success for any of the sellers.  Bad location, bad advertising.  It was suppose to last six hours and within three hours half the sellers had left.  The Hubs went and helped me and I did make three sales and at least made back my entry free.  So, for my first time, it wasn't all bad.  I met and networked with some other crafters, got some good fair tips and even bought something!  I at least now have my feet wet in the craft fairing business.

After the fair, I had to catch up on some much needed sleep and house cleaning.  Now, I'm ready to get crafty again!  So I thought I'd get some posting done first as I have a couple cards for challenges.  Here is another one for Less Is More:

I made for small 3x3 note cards and even made the envelopes to go with them with the nifty envelope maker I bought from Taylored Expressions.

I stamped each image and sentiment in London Gray and then placed a snowflake embossed frame around the stamped image.  Then, I added some diamond stickles to select parts of each image to make them sparkle.  It is hard to see the sparkle in this group shot. Hopefully it shows up better in these individual shots:

Less Is More Challenge #140 - White on White/Christmas

SPIES:
STAMPS: Snowflake-"Very Merry"(Taylored Expressions); Harp, star & wreath; sentiments - "Joy To The World"(Taylored Expressions); Happy Holiday sentiment -"Sparkle & Cheer"(Taylored Expressions); Peace, hope love sentiment - "Seasons Greetings" (Fiskars).
PAPER: white cardstock.
INK: London fog gray (Memento).
EXTRAS: Diamond stickles; Merry Christmas emboss folder (Sizzix).


More to come...

Wings of Joy

TGIF!  Happy Friday everyone!  It's been a crazy busy and exciting week for me and my family!  Tuesday was my almost daughter-inlaw's birthday, Wednesday I participated in my first craft fair as a seller and today my younger brother got married in Key West!  A week bursting with joy and happiness on many different levels!  And that's not the end of it!  In four weeks my oldest son gets married and this Monday I will have even more exciting news!

So, as I jump for JOY at all the good things happening in my family, I will share a JOY card, which is a Christmas card too!  The Less Is More Challenge #140 this week was white on white and Christmas.  I love white Christmas cards!  They are so crisp and clean and elegant!

I decided to pull out my Tim Holtz angel wings die (the older one) and ran it through an emboss folder ("Merry Christmas").  I also have this pack of white feathers and pulled out a couple of those too.  Next, I used the 'joy" stamp and fussy cut it and placed it on top with pop dots.  I love the feathers on the wings!

Challenges:

Less Is More Challenge #140- White on White/Christmas

SPIES:
STAMPS: Sentiment (Fiskars).
PAPER: white cardstock.
INK: London Gray (Memento).
EXTRAS: white feathers; merry christmas emboss folder (Sizzix).

Joy & Blessings!

BUSTin' For Hope

It's Monday!  We've had a soggy one too with TS Karen rolling up the east coast.  This "rainy day and Monday" isn't gettin' me down however!  Lots of stuff going on in the Salkeld abode these days.  Two more days til the craft fair for one!  I can't mention the other stuff yet, kind of a surprise.  Of course the biggest thing is that our oldest son's wedding is now just a month away!  Four weeks from today the Hubs and I will be Oklahoma bound!  Yea!

Today,  I'm pumped on caffeine and excitement, which is a good thing because there's been little sleep.  It's like a deja vu from college days (without the alcohol)!  Oops!  No, I never did THAT--- ever <wink wink>!  Just thought I'd provide a little laugh for everyone this rainy Monday since I  am sure many of you are having a rainy day too.

Here is something else to please you --- another card for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I spotted this stamp in Michaels early this summer and it was just sitting on the self looking pretty, all the while subliminally whispering "buy me", "buy me", "you know you want to buy me"!  So, I did!  At least that's the story I told the Hubs!  :) 

I stamped it in Timber Brown from Staz On and then colored it with Copics.  I've put Copics on my Christmas list this year because I am severely lacking in certain colors --- pinks would be one of them.  Only draw back to the stamp is it's size --- bigger than my dies.  So I had to go old school and use an oval tracing template and hand cut it out!  <gasp>  Then, much to my surprise, I pull out my scallop oval die and lo and behold if that sucker wasn't just about right!  However, I used the "negative of the die by using the striped paper I cut an oval from and used the frame instead. 

I used the sketch from The Sweet Stop this week and pulled out pattern paper from My Mind's Eye  Lost & Found series, the "Madison Avenue" set.  The swirl is cut from the pattern paper with a Sizzix die.  I had a pink banner already cut from the paper left over from another project and decided to use it here.  I  border punched the darker paper with a bracket punch to match the label stamp and die from Taylored Expressions.  I got lucky that the sentiment stamp (Hampton Art) just fit in the label.  And I'm putting it in the Shopping Our Stash challenge too, which is Pink/Breast Cancer Awareness.

Of course when I went to get some pink rose flowers, I didn't have the right shade.  So I took out some homemade glimmer mist (cotton candy pink) and brush painted some on white prima flowers and dried them.  I would have misted them, but the sprayer wouldn't work.  Word to the wise:  don't by the cheap spray bottles from Michaels for $.99, half the time they don't spray.  Dabbing it on with a brush got the result I wanted so I'm happy.  I glammed it up with a pink ribbon, the roses and some diamond Stickles on the flowers and buttons of the image.  Every girl's got to have a little "bling"!

 Shopping Our Stash #121- Pink/Breast Cancer Awareness

SPIES:
STAMPS: Image (Stampendous); Sentiment (Hampton Art); Label(Taylored Expressions).
PAPER: Brown and buttercream cardstock.  DP - Madison Avenue (My Mind's Eye Lost & Found).
INK: Timber Brown (Staz On); Rose Mist (R83) and Pink (RV11) - Copics; Cotton Candy Pink glimmer mist -- homemade.
EXTRAS: Swirl die (Sizzix Big); Label die (Taylored Expressions); bracket border punch (Fiskars); white prima roses painted pink. Diamond Stickles.  Rose ribbon and brown lace ribbon.

Monday Blessings!

Just Married

I'm still trying to get some things posted.  Here is a cute one.  I love this couple stamp from Stampendous, so cute and simple yet elegant.  I haven't done a chalkboard card in a while so I thought I would try it again.  And, I found the dorable easel card base in the  current issue of Paper Crafts Magazine.

I wanted an elegant and simple card so I kept to a black and white theme, except for the red heart hat pin.  I thought the doilies dressed it up.  I added an "I Do" 3D sticker and white silk rose.

This is for The Pink Elephant Challenge #219- Wedding/Anniversary:

SPIES:
STAMPS: Couple (Stampendous); Stars/Confetti (Inkadinkadoo); Sentiment (Our Daily Bread).
PAPER:  White and Black cardstock.
INK:  Versamark; Versa Magic Chalk Ink in white.
EXTRAS: 3D Sticker; heart hat pin; doilies

Smelly Feet

Happy Sunday!  I've been busy this weekend crafting away as it was World Cardmaking Day yesterday and I now have three days left before the craft fair.  So busy, I have forgotten to post!  And, never mind about the Patriots game, I don't even want to talk about it!  LOL  I've been cranking them out and have some to post for challenges so now I am taking a break to do that. 
 
I know I said it the other day, but I just, love the digital stamps at Bugaboo!  They are soooo stinkin' cute (pardon the pun)!  When I first started on this card, I had planned on making a black flower, either with a stamp or painting a Prima flower black with an orange button center.n  I wanted to use the black vegee bag and played around with it and finally decided to use it with the flower.  Thus, the idea of the black flower got derailed for now.  I remembered I had Halloween googly eyes so I used one of them for the flower center and while in my flower stash, I came across the purple feather and added it just because.

This card is for the Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge (see below).

Tuesday Morning Sketch #218

SPIES:
STAMPS: Witch feet and sentiment- Digital (Bugaboo Stamps).
PAPER: Purple and black cardstock.  DP: I don't remember where I got this because it is very old!
INK:  Lightning Yellow; Orange; Chrome Orange; Yellow Green; New Leaf; AMethyst; Cool Grey No.1 and No. 5; Special Black (Copics).
EXTRAS: Border punch (Martha Stewart); Tiny dot emboss folder (Cuttlebug); Flowers (Prima); Feather, googly eye and black plastic fruit bag repurposed!

Sunday Blessings!

Save the Hooters!

As I said earlier today, I've been busy trying to mass produce some cards to sell in an upcoming craft fair at the local hospital, where my Hubs works.  Of course, I couldn't do it without a little inspirational push for my creativity via challenges!  And, I'm early for once for them too!  LOL

Here is another breast cancer awareness project.  This time I made a bookmark along with a card. At City Crafter Challenge Blog the challenge is to make a matching card and gift.  So, As I was putting together the card, it dawned on me that it would look great as a matching bookmark too.  When I started the card, I didn't want to make the stamps too small for paper piecing.  Thus, I chose to make a tallish/slim card.  I haven't done that in a while.  And the sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch was perfect.

 This is the same bra digital stamp as in my last card post and I decided to paper piece these also.  I just think it makes them pop off the page.  The sentiment is from Bugaboo stamps again also.  I colored the bra straps  and the tiny hanger hearts all the same color, Copics Pink (RV11).  After coloring, I pieced the bras, then used Copics Spring Dim Green (G8s) and Cadmium Red (R27) to match the back straps to the pattern paper color.  I adhered the stamp sheet to red cardstock.  I cut two tabs from pattern paper with a tab die and then adhered added more pattern paper before setting it all on a light pink card base.  Final touch I added crystal Stickles to the hearts on the hangers.

I repeated the same steps for the bookmark except I just adhered a back layer of red cardstock for the back of the bookmark.  I got out my old Crop-a-dile and set an eyelet, after several practice tries on scrap paper.  I'm afraid my eyelet setting skills have never been up to par, probably why I don't do is more and probably why I should do it more, to get up to par!  LOL  Now all I have to do is find a plastic bookmark sheath for the bookmark because I don't want to laminate it.
























 I then perused Google for a good and quick tassel making tutorial and found this one here.

For Following Challenges:

City Crafter Challenge Blog Week 179 ~ Matching Card + Gift

CAS(E) this sketch #48

SPIES:

STAMPS:  Sentiment and Bras Digital (Bugaboo Stamps).

PAPER: White, light pink and red cardstock.  Patterned Paper:  Bloom & Grow (My Mind's Eye); This & That (Echo Park).

INK:  Computer ink; Spring Dim Green (G8s), Pink (RV11) and Cadmium Red (R27) - Copics.
EXTRAS: Tab die (Taylored Expressions).  For bookmark:  Green eyelet; Pink/white baker's twine tassel; Crystal stickles.  Card:  Crystal stickles.

More Hooter Blessings!

Save The Ta-Tas

Good evening!  Taking a break from the assembly line to post a couple cards.  October means Breast Cancer Awareness.  So I've made a few cards for the occasion.  What I sell of these cards, I will donate part of the proceeds to the Cancer society and what I don't sell, I will donate to the breast cancer center affiliated with the hospital where my husband works.  

Isn't this bra digital stamp from Bugaboo Stamps just the cutest thing?  It came with the sentiment too! After printing it and coloring the straps with Copics, I decided to paper piece the cups with pattern paper.   I also colored the bra side straps and in between center bra ribbon with Copics.  I chose a rose colored cardstock in the same shade as the pattern paper for the decorative circle die and then used two different circle dies to create the pink thin frame on top.  I popped it all up with pop dots on top of a paper banner out of the same pattern paper as the bra.  I made another small banner to place behind the sentiment.  Before I adhered it all to the card base, I embossed the base with a large dot emboss folder for more texture.  It just looked too plain without it.  I finished it all off with a tiny pink crystal on the sentiment ribbon and at the center of the bra!

For Challenges:

I am entering this into Shopping Our Stash for the theme challenge of Pink or Cancer Awareness.  SOS focuses on using supplies already in your craft room for their challenges.  I have to admit the stamp is new but everything else is quite old.  I used the sketch from Unscripted Sketch Challenge.

SOS #121 - Pink or Cancer Awareness/Support

SPIES:
STAMPS:  Sentiment and bra digital stamps (Bugaboo Stamps).
PAPER: White, light pink and rose cardstock.  Patterned Paper:  Fine and Dandy Girl (My Mind's Eye).
INK:  Printer ink.  Cadmium Red and Pink (Copics R27 and RV11).
EXTRAS:

Blessings For the Ta-Tas!

Spooky Window

TGIF and Happy World Card Making Day-Eve!  I've been pretty busy this week crafting for my first ever craft fair next week!  The hospital where my Hubs works is having a craft fair for employees and family members who want to participate as sellers.  So, I got a table and now have been trying to crank out the creativity mojo and crafts! 

Here's a cutie one for Halloween...

I recently purchased some digital stamps from Bugaboo.  They have so many cute images and designs!  I saw this cute ghost and had to have him to go with my window die from Taylored Expressions.  He also has several cute n' creepy friends which I bought too!  Can you say mass production?  hahaha

I originally was going to add a patterned background but then decided to go with total black.  So, I cut the shutters out of patterned paper and decided to break them up a bit to add a bit of that old haunted house eerie feel.  Then, I stamped the bat in Jet Black and added Glossy Accents to him so he wouldn't fade so much with all the black.  I cut out the digital ghost and fussy cut him, cut out some more patterned paper to use as a background behind the ghost and stuck the window frame to the front of them.  Lastly I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and embossed it in white.  Usually I do that first, but the first sentiment I chose was just way to large for my design.  And so, here it is---for Less Is More challenge this week.

For Challenges:

Less Is More Challenge #139, Sketch #10

SPIES:
STAMPS: Sentiment & Bat (We R Memory Makers); Ghost- Digital(Bugaboo Stamps).
PAPER:  Black cardstock.  DP - Black Widow(We R Memory Makers)
INK: Jet Black (Staz On); Versamark.
EXTRAS: White emboss powder; Glossy Accents; window & shutter die (Taylored Expressions).

Spooky Blessings!

Retro Friend

This is the last card I have to post this morning.  This was inspired by the Fusion Challenge.  I've been wanting to play in that challenge and finally got the chance to do so.  I originally had the plan to use a coffee cup but things took on a nature of their own!  LOL

I started with a black card base and all of the DP is from "Social Club" by Cosmo Cricket.  I've had this paper pack for over a year now.  I got it thinking it would be good for masculine cards, but as you see, I wound up making a feminine card.

I began by cutting out the leaves with a die from Taylored Expressions.  Then I arranged my background paper.  The top background is actually plain and I used a mini starburst stamp and stamped some teal and red starburst randomly.  Next I cut out the flower using several flower dies from Taylored Expression and Lifestyle Crafts.  I inked around the edges of each flower piece to help them stand out against each other and popped each flower layer up with pop dots.   I stamped the sentiment right on the upper DP layer.  I could have put some glossy accents on the inner flower or small, but I decided to keep it simple after using all that DP paper. 

SPIES:
STAMPS: Mini starburst (from stash); Sentiment (Taylored Expressions).
PAPER: Black cardstock.  DP - Social Club (Cosmo Cricket).
INK: Teal Zeal and Lady Bug (Memento).  Jet Black (Staz On).
EXTRAS: Leaf die cut, flower die cuts.

Have a wonderful Hump Day!

Blessings.

Autumn Blessings

My second Autumn card.  If it weren't for my hot flashes and the fact that this week the temps are in the 80s here in central North Carolina, I might be able to feel fall-ish.  The Hubs and I also have to get into the pool today to clean it out for winter prep.  Not that I'm complaining about that, it's just the last time we were in a swimming pool in October was 10 years ago when we lived in Orlando!  It just feels strange, good, but strange.

So on to the card ---

I love this leaf stamp from K and Company.  It's just so dainty and elegant.  I cut out a frame on a textured white cardstock, the Fleur De Lis from Spellbinders.  Then, I stamped the leaf with Versamark on and embossed it with three fall colors.  At that point, I wasn't sure what else I wanted to do but I did want a bit more color on the card.  So, I inked up an emboss folder with Versamark, ran some cardstock through it and embossed it with the same colors.  I adhered that embossed strip to the card base and popped up the frame on top.  Last, I added some gold bead gems and a dark red/purple gem and stamped the sentiment in timber brown.

SPIES:
STAMPS: Leaf (K and Company); Sentiment (Inkadinkadoo).
PAPER: White cardstock
INK: Versamark.  Timber Brown (Staz On); Pumpkin, dark red and golden yellow emboss powder
EXTRAS: Gold gems.  Reddish/purple gem.

Watch The Leaves Turn

Good Wednesday Morning and Happy October!  I can't believe it's October already.  Where did September go?  I still haven't dragged out my fall decor from the attic.  For some reason I can't get in the mood yet.  I am getting some cards posted early today.  Got to pinch myself because this is rare for me to post early!  The first two cardus are fall cards.  I figured maybe it would stir up some fall feelings in me.

This one is a CAS card for CAS Colour & Sketch and CAS-ual Fridays and Addicted to CAS.  Whew --- lots of CAS today!  I started with a brown card base.  I used a leaf stamp from Taylored Expressions and inked it up in Memento canteloupe, rhubarb stalk and morocco.  The sentiment, from Inkadinkadoo, is stamped in Staz On timber brown.  Lastly I wrapped some kraft string around it and added a colorful fall brad.  Clean and Simple!

 

 CAS Colours & Sketches - Sketch

SPIES:
STAMPS: Leaf (Taylored Expressions); Sentiment (Inkadinkadoo).
PAPER:  Brown and white cardstock.
INK: Staz On Timber Brown; Canteloupe, Morocco, Rhubarb Stalk (Memento).
EXTRAS:  Green floral brad.  Kraft string.

I'll be back momentarily with another post!