Paper Trey Stamps Card

I love ladybugs and now I can make them any color I want to make them. We always seem to be finding ladybugs around our home and garden. When I had a vegetable garden I found out that ladybugs eat aphids and all kinds of bad bugs so I am happy to have them live with me :-) I ordered several sets of Papertrey stamps a while back. This stamp is from Little Lady. The sentiment stamp is from a clear set I got at Hobby Lobby. The printed paper is from a Sharon Ann Paper kit by Deja Views. It is vellum. The background paper is from a DCWV Paper Stack. I antiqued the edge of the white and the dotted paper. I love this stamp but it is hard for me to get it to line up. I have to stamp about 5-6 to get a good one. If you have any ideas that would help me please leave a comment!

More Encourager Cards

For this first card I used a CTMH Hydrangea stamp. SU has a set almost like this so you could use that instead if you have it. This little 2-step stamp comes in handy for backgrounds and filling white space. I think the yellow dot is Memory Makers paper. The ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

This next card is my favorite. I cased it from a Christmas card in red and white. I would have made it the same color but I could not find red and white floral paper. This patterned paper is Anna Griffin. You can hardly see it but I stamped the purple paper which is Creative Memories with Autumn Leaves Swirls stamps. The SU set I used is Gentler Times. I antiqued the edge of the large floral stamp and used a Paper Salon "friends" stamp. These are rubber but backed for an acrylic block.

For the next card I used SU Polka Dot Posies. This was a stamp set which I searched for quite a while. The green polka dots paper and orange cardstock is from Creative Memories.

For the last card I bought this stamp set just to use with this ribbon. I bought the ribbon for a dollar at Michael's but the fruit stamp set cost about $10 with shipping from Clear Dollar Stamps. The flower stamp is a Paper Trey stamp. The funny thing was that the ribbon only had 3-4 feet so I already used it all. Sometimes that $1 ribbon is not such a deal :-)

Encourager Cards

My church has an Encourager Conference in the Summer for pastors from all over the US. Two weeks before the conference we send cards to each pastor and his family - one each day. These are some of the cards I have made for the conference. For the first one I used SU Bitty Backgrounds and an old wood mounted CTMH flourish stamp. The Happiness Always is from the SU Happy Harmony Set. The patterned paper is by Paper Adventures and a little bit of Basic Grey!

This card was made with Anna Griffin patterned paper and the Classic Rose Wood Mounted CTMH Stamp Set. I got this set on Ebay and I think it was my first stamp purchase.

This card was made with the SU Delight in Life flower. This little flower comes in handy on a lot of projects. I put some tiny self adhesive "jewels" in the center of the flower. I made a birthday card for my 13 yo to give his girlfriend. It looks a little more like a teen than most of my cards.





This card also used a SU Delight in Life flower. The sentiment is from SU Mixed Greetings.



These last two cards use Best Blossoms leaves and more Anna Griffin paper.

Quickutz and the Cuttlebug

I got a new die from a great seller on Ebay - brredr1234. I got it for about half price. Revolution Flourish by Quickutz. It is $18.00 at my LSS and I got it for $8.50 plus $1.87 shipping. I love bargains.

It came with the foam separated so you can add the foam if you are using thin paper or not add it if you are using thick cardstock or chipboard. I added the foam and it would not cut all the way through Bazzill cardstock so I peeled off the foam around each image and used it with A, B, & C mats. It worked great.

The thing I love about the Cuttlebug is that you can use so many different brands of dies and I got mine for about $50.

These layouts are from our 2005 Disney trip. I leave the vacation pictures until last to scrap so I can keep up with my boys individual albums. Patterned cardstoack is Basic Grey (of course) Infuse.

Getting addicted to making cards has definitely put me a little behind.

My Latest Jewelry Designs

I made several necklaces for gifts this year. The first was for my mom. I saw the design on Neimans website for $1600. Mine cost less :-) It is sterling silver, black onyx, and white and gray pearls.

Next I made a black onyx and Swarovski starshine crystal necklace and earrings set with sterling beads and findings.

The last set is for myself. Vintage crystals with liquid silver. I was inspired by a necklace a friend of mine wore to her Chirstmas party. It was really large and so pretty.

Holiday Tag

Found this tag on 2BCrafty's blog (changed a few questions) and just thought I would answer the questions.


1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate *** Hot Chocolate

2. Favorite holiday decoration***Dickens Village

3. Colored or white lights on the house *** red

4. Do you hang mistletoe *** No

5. Favorite holiday dish *** Pecan Pie

6. Favorite holiday memory *** Watching the boys wrap presents anf going to the candlelight service

7. Favorite Christmas Eve tradition***Eating Homemade Soup and Cornbread and opening 1 present

8. How do you decorate your Christmas tree - retro colors - red, lime green, hot pink with red lights

9. Snow - love it or dread it *** Love it but don't get it enough

10. Favorite holiday gift *** anything from my dear hubby which was my digital camera last year

11. Most important thing about the holidays *** Celebrating Jesus' Birth

12. Favorite holiday tradition ***waking up early and watching the boys play with their gifts

13. What tops your tree *** Wax angel from Germany for 25 years

14. Candy canes - Eat em or decorate with them - Eat em.



HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Monogram Cards for Christmas Gifts

I made these cards for Christmas gifts for my dh coworkers and friends. The stamps are by PSX and since they are OOB they are hard to find and are quite pricey but worth it, I think. Most of the papers are Basic Grey, Lily Kate. This is my favorite printed paper company. I made three covered tins and four matching totes. Each had ten cards and envies. The pink paper is by Doodlebug Designs and the red/purple paper is by Paper Adventures. All teh other paper is Basic Grey.

I made the "S' tin first. I used Mod Podge to stick the paper to the tin. You need to use quite a bit of it to stick the paper to the tin so that it does not separate later. Then you coat it with thinner smooth coats after it has dried. Be careful - once the paper sticks together you cannot safely remove it without damaging the paper. Also, be careful not to touch the uncoated paper with sticky hands or you may damage the paper. I would suggest you practice on a cheap tin or box first. By the third tin I was feeling more confident with the technique.

I used watercolor pencils for the letters. After the first set I decided to go get some Copic markers. I read how much others like using them on other blogs. They did blend well but I don't think they are worth the money. They are a lot like Pantone markers I used when I worked at The Houston Post. They look good blended - you cannot see lines like regular markers. But I like the look of watercolors so I went back to the pencils. I definately like the Prisma Pencils the best. The leads seem softer and the colors brighter once you add water. The Copic markers may be better with larger areas to fill in. I got some larger Hot Potatoes stamps this week so I may try the Copic markers with these stamps and let you know how it goes. I only bought 7 markers. They were 30% off at Hobby Lobby and I still spent about $30. Ouch!

Another new item I used with these cards was the ATG. I got it for my birthday. I used to use about $4.00 worth of adhesive on six cards. I like things to stick!!! With the ATG - Adhesive Tape Gun by 3M I use about $2.50 worth of adhesive for 30 cards. You can read more about these on Split Coast Stampers Discussions Boards. The gun is about $35 plus postage but after a while it more than pays for itself and you don't have to feel guilty if you have a lead hand with the tape :-)