Christmas Card Club 2012

Good morning stampers! A group of friends decided to participate in a Christmas Card Club where each month one hostess send the rest of the group members materials to use to make a few Christmas cards. I was the first hostess. Talk about nervous! I haven't done one of these before and wanted to make sure the packet I sent would work for everyone!

The image I chose is from Waltzingmouse Stamps and Claire graciously gave us permission to make copies from a stamped image and send it to the group. I love the nutcrackers and other images in this set and am looking forward to seeing what everyone created with it! I think Meredith has a photo of the packet content mailed to each member. Meredith (craftymatchchick) is the organizer who organized the whole thing and she remembered to take a picture of this kit, I didn't. :)

Members could use as much or as little from the kit contents as they chose, but had to use the image.

I took a cue from a layout by Debby Hughes that I saw on pinterest and cut banners from my designer paper to lay on the left side of the layout, adding my image on the right lower end.

Make sure you stop by everyone's blog to see what they in turn, created! Hope they had fun with the kit and I'm looking forward to what we receive next month!

Kelli
Lee
Lydia
Meredith
Misti

Stamps: Waltzingmouse "Nutcracker Sweet"
Ink: black
Paper: white, Echo Park DP
Other: SU silver chunky glitter, Martha STewart glitter, snowflake die, PTI button, SU silver cord, copics, sakura gel pens

Robins and paper piecing

One of the things I like about open digital images is that you can come up with almost infinite paper piecing combinations depending on your store of patterned paper. I happen to own a lot. *cough* It just flies by itself into my hands! :) Okay, patterned paper is a weakness of mine.

And depending on the color scheme you use you can achieve a folk-art look, a contemporary look, soft and dreamy...it depends on the embellishments, the background and color combinations. I think this has almost a folk art look because of the browns and reds. This is one of those rare occasions when you picture something in your head and it turns out exactly the way you wanted. In this case, I'm not wild about how I placed the sentiment, but I do like the robin I created from these Prima papers and the Daydream Designs digital image.

I have another look at a different patterned paper combination using this same image on Sunday, hope you can pop back to look at it! Thanks, and have a great day!

Images: Daydream Designs Birds and Bees
Stamps: Papertrey Ink Everyday Button Bits for sentiment
Paper: PTI red, kraft, vanilla; patterned paper by Prima
Other: PTI heart die, MS heart border punch (tiny hearts on kraft panel, left), paper piercing tool

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 158 ...handmade

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ where all of our challenges are based on scripture. This week's hostess is our Lovely Linda who selected this verse from Psa 139:14 I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. Her challenge is to create a card/project with something handmade on it - could be a flower, stitching, patterned paper - show us your creativity!

And our sponsor this week is A Day for Daisies where you can find some lovely digital images like the one I used in my card. Funny I never used to use digitals and now I find that they are so versatile. 

My handmade item on my card is the cluster of hand-dyed chiffon flowers in the lower left corner. You take white chiffon, and cut it into small circles. Using dye-based ink refills, drop some of the ink on a sheet of wax paper. Then using tweezers and a small candle flame, once the chiffon is dyed you singe the edges of the chiffon to seal it with the candle flame and then spread matching colors of stickles on the very outside edge of the flower. 
I made this card for my daughter at college. She likes mermaids and I do miss her being so far away. 

I am looking forward to reading Linda's thoughts on her chosen verse. I think that verse becomes more of a personal challenge each year a woman ages. I am looking at 50 for my next birthday, no Spring chicken anymore and I never was the lithe, willowy type. Society's ideal of beauty and my looks don't mix, so when I look in the mirror I often forget this verse. I forget that the Lord made me and that His works are marvelous. 

Plus this verse doesn't really mention the outside person, does it? I am fearfully and wonderfully made...doesn't say "I am so gorgeous I'm going to become a model." The inner workings are more important than the outer shell and God makes all of it. When you think of us as a creation right down to the cellular level, the fact that they all need to cooperate to make the body function, that right now as I'm typing this the blood is flowing, oxygen being delivered to the right places, brain cells whirring...the human body is a fearful and wonderful creation. And then you tie emotions into the package; it doesn't stop with the body's functions, which can be recreated by machinery, but we have the capacity to love, to show compassion, to laugh, to grieve...all of which makes us so distinctly human. 

We are fearfully and wonderfully made and when I stop to think about it in the right way, "I know this full well." 

We look forward to seeing your creations this week in our gallery. Thanks for looking. Have a blessed week! 

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 154...dies or punches

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where all of our challenges are based on scripture. This week's hostess is the talented Diane, who selected this verse from Isaiah 64:8 "Yet you, LORD, are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Her challenge is to use punches, dies or shapes of any kind. Our sponsor this week is a grab bag of stamps and embellishments donated by Kelly Little, who had an online store but moved on to other pursuits. She generously donated some items from this endeavor to our challenge blog and we do appreciate it!

Please check out our home page to read Diane's thoughts on this chosen verse and to see the rest of the creations by our talented design team!

For my card I used dies and punches in combination. As long as I have owned this little owl punch from Stampin' Up, I have never used it yet. I pulled it out for this challenge as I need a birthday card for my middle daughter and she loves owls. I was going through some of my older cards recently and realized I hadn't done a shadowbox card in a while; the owl is perched on a branch outside of his home in the tree. The cardstock I used is cream colored although it comes out very white in the photo. The interior I used kraft.

I used a 1 1/2" circle punch to make the hole for his tree home and a petite scallop circle spellbinders die for his wings.  I have a wee flower punch from I don't know where that I used for the pom pom on top of his party hat, and I combined the owl with the Everyday Button Bits set from Papertrey Ink so he could have a bouquet of balloons to hold. Thanks for looking and we hope you can play along this week.

Stamps:  Everyday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink), Turning a New Leaf
Ink: Kiwi Kiss (SU), black
Paper: PTI off white and kraft, chocolate and random DP
Other: eyelets, chartreuse ribbon, SU owl punch, PTI buttons, PTI woodgrain impression plate, spellbinders die, small flower punch

Papertrey Ink blog hop August 2012

Hi hoppers! I was drawn to all the textures in the inspiration photo as well as the large flower, and the cream color on the lacy stocking. I decided to add the texture right onto my image using flowers for the central focus. The argyle seemed to really match the sunflowers pretty well, although my houndstooth folder was a close second and I have a lot of the vintage cream cardstock showing.

I went back this afternoon to make another, playing off of the darker tones, the browns and blues in some of the other photos in the inspiration. I paired it up with some mustard ribbon to match the wee dots of color in the patterned paper on the bottom. I didn't line up the letter as well this time but the recipient is not a stamper and will not know!

Thanks for looking and happy hopping!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink sunflowers
Ink: SU summer sun, pumpkin, orange, kiwi kiss, certainly celery, so saffron, close to cocoa
Paper: PTI vintage cream, random DP scrap (gotta love scraps!)
Other: PTI satin ribbon . . . chartreuse?, buttons, argyle folder, PTI grateful die plate, pop dots

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge ...only words

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where all of our challenges are based upon scripture. Our sponsor this week is Our Daily Bread Designs! The company has a wide variety of scripture based stamp sets and lovely images. We hope you can play along this week as one randomly selected player will receive a $15 gift card to their store. 

Our challenge hostess this week is sweet Candace who selected this verse from Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Her challenge is to use the sentiment only, no image at all. Please be sure to look at our home page to see the rest of the creations by the talented ladies on our design team and to read Candace's thoughts on her chosen scripture verse. 

I turned to the layout from Monday at Mojo Monday and selected a scripture verse from an ODBD set I own. We have a lot of things in consideration in prayer in our family, I'm sure you do too! So this card would be suitable for any one of my relatives! 

Don't quite know what happened with the photograph, the flower really does match the blue in the paper a bit better than it appears. The lovely patterned paper in the soft beige and blues was given to me by a friend. I cut the ricrac with a die and added glitter and that's about it! Thanks for looking and have a great day. 

Daydreaming of . . .the first day of school

Happy Friday! I had some time to play in the craft room this week and wanted to show off another stamp set from Daydream Designs, the new shop opened by my friend Diane Noble.

This set is called school supplies and as you might guess it contains multiple images we all associate with elementary school; the crayons, the pencils, the paint box and brushes. I liked the paintbox image because it just reminds me so much of those early years. Did anyone else have one that had a metal lid? I used a bit of the SU platinum ink to paint some 'shimmer' streaks on the lid of my paint tin.

And while visiting blogs this week I noticed particularly a card Becky Oehlers made using a word as a blank to highlight the paper underneath. Now we've all seen dies used as blanks before, but I also had looked at the CAS183 challenge on splitcoast and the two ideas sort of came together. I hadn't done the blanks with letters before; I like the effect though and I'll be doing it again.

One of the sentiments that comes with the school set is 'you color my world happy.' I cut up the words separately to use them with the blank that I punched out using PTI's alphabet dies.

Hope you have a fun weekend planned and thanks for looking!

Stamps: digitals from Daydream Designs
Ink: printer ink
Paper: white, black, Cosmo Cricket DeLovely
Other: copics, PTI dies, SU platinum paint

My Daydream Designs team member!

I have some exciting news to share! My friend Diane Noble, who is ultra-talented, is teaming up with another friend to introduce a new line of digital images, sentiments and papers through her new store, Daydream Designs. On Diane's blog (listed on my sidebar) you will find tutorials and great instructions for making mini-albums and all kinds of paper creations. 

She has assembled a design team and invited me to participate, alongside a wonderful group of ladies she will introduce more formally on August 20th! This is going to be a fun adventure. There are lots of great images already available. The images on my card I chose from a set called "Fall is in the Air." 

We have had such a hot summer! But a gentle rain is falling today and I know cooler temperatures are following behind. Fall is on the way and it is my favorite season! So I'm anticipating those cooler temps and bright colors just a bit. Thanks for looking and hope you find something you like at her new store! 

Stamps: Fall is in the Air . . . Daydream Designs
Ink: Printer ink
Paper: PTI red, brown, white, SP
Other: scor-tape, MS glitter, PTI button, gold thread, SU grosgrain ribbon, copic markers, twinkling H20

Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge 152 ...home

Happy Sunday stampers! It is time for another challenge from Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where all of our challenges are based on scripture. The hostess for today's challenge is none other than my good friend Traci, who selected this verse from John 14:1-6 "Do not let your heart be troubled;believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father'S house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am , there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going."

Her challenge is to create something that says 'home' to you. Our sponsor today is DRS Designs. The lemonade pitcher on my card is one example from their stamp line and so reminiscent of my childhood at home, drinking lemonade or other cold beverages during those long summer breaks from school. 

I love that verse that Traci selected; it is one of my all time favorites. My daughter had a dream the other night about events that sounded so like the rapture. It could come today and welcome! 

The struggles of this life can grow wearying. Or sometimes you just feel a general sense of being misplaced. That is because no matter how comfortable our dwelling here, no matter how loving our family, how rewarding our occupation or work, or how joyful our Sunday worship, none of it can compare to the rest and joy we will feel when we make it to our eternal home in heaven with Jesus. 

You can read Traci's thoughts on her chosen verse and see the rest of the creations by our design team on our home page here. We hope you find time this week to play along. Thanks for looking! 

Stamps: DRS Designs (image), PTI (sentiment)
Ink: black
Paper: PTI white, Cosmo Cricket DeLovely DP
Other: embossing strip, ric rac die, spellbinders, copics

Stampin sisters in Christ challenge challenge 151...babies or pastel

Good evening stampers! I am late for our Stampin' Sisters in Christ challenge; I was out of town and my photo for the challenge lives inside the computer. I didn't remember that until a bit late! 

We are pleased to welcome Denami Design as a new sponsor this week, and I used one of their cute owl stamps, cutting them out to pop them up on my card for this week's challenge, to either make a baby card or use pastel colors. I chose to use pastels and tried to paint my owls to match, using Stampin' Up water color crayons. Love that set, gifted to me by a special person years ago. Sentiment on the side is from a set by Papertrey Ink.

Our hostess this week is lovely Sandie, who selected this verse from I Peter 2:2&3 ...as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

You can hop onto our home page to find the lovely samples by the rest of the design team and read Sandie's thoughts on her chosen verse, right here! Thanks for stopping by and hope you can play along this week!