Christmas Season Starts

It's been a long time since I posted anything.  I have been doing some creating, but life has just got way of sharing it.

These are a few  Christmas cards that I've done recently.

This one is made using all SU supplies.
After stamping the sentiment the Christmas tree is cut using a die. Then I used the wood grain embossing folder for the texture. The hint is to do the embossing last. Using strips of DP I filled in the tree from the back. After attaching the ribbon I matted with  'cherry cobbler' and mounted it all on the green card base.

This card is done with a neat technique that reminds of the days when I did paper tole. (That was a long time ago) The image is stamped with Versamark heat embossed with 'early espresso' embossing powder. I coloured it with markers.  Then I die cut the image out using 3 successive sizes of spellbinders and after removing the centre one I sponged around the second and third pieces with 'baja breeze' before removing them from the dies. The image is then mounted on a larger die cut of 'marina mist' CS with the inner two parts popped up (the centre is on double dots to give extra dimension).  The card base has been stamped with snowflakes using Versamark embossed with clear embossing powder and lightly sponged with 'baja breeze'. The lower detail on the base is a small strip of embossed 'early espresso' CS and a strip of DP.  The sentiment "Warm Winter Wishes" does read properly..it just didn't scan well with the all the pop ups.

This third card is one that I made 8 of for stamp club exchange. Again it doesn't scan very well. I must look into trying to photograph my cards rather than relying on my very old scanner.
The image and sentiment are stamped with 'marina mist' and then die cut with oval spellbinders. The matting piece is a glitter CS from Micheals die cut with scalloped oval spellbinder. The star on the top of the tree is punched from the same silver glitter CS. I didn't have the corresponding size of spellbinder to use as a matting for the sentiment so I used silver Stickles around it.

Well, this is a good start on Christmas, and I've still got a month to go!

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Pretty, Quick & Easy in Pink

Today is my niece's birthday and this is the card I made her. We had a chance for a great visit over lunch today, something her busy schedule doesn't often allow.

I used Sizzex/Hero Arts 'Textured Impression' stamp and embossing set to make this card.  What a wonderful quick and easy way to create.  I stamped with 'spun sugar' Distress Ink on 'whisper white' CS. The label was sponged with the same before removing the die and stamping the sentiment in 'smokey grey' Versafine. Then it was attached to a sheer white ribbon. The embossed piece was popped up on dimensionals onto a 'whisper white' card base.
Cathy shares my love of pink so I'm calling this one pretty, quick and easy in pink.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Calendar Pages for April and May

With my life being what it has since the middle of March I really haven't had any personally made cards to show you...but that will be changing very soon as I finally have the complete use of both my hands. Yahoo!!!
I will be starting to create any day now.

 What I'm going to share with you today are my calendar pages for April and May.

If you want to see where and get the templates for my calendars they are from Lynette's blog My Stamping Addiction .

For April I used a stamp I've had so long I don't know who makes it. But I do love the way it looks like a cupcake of violets.



 
The May page is celebrating the wedding anniversary of my friends who I gave this calendar set to. All of the colouring was done with my prismacolor pencils and blending with OMS. Both the sentiments are stamped with the mini set of "Just Words" for PTI.








Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Wonderful Cardmaking Friends!

It's been almost a month now since I had my surgery and now that I can spend a little more time on the computer I wanted share with you all the fabulous cards I received with Birthday and speedy recovery wishes.

from Doreen W.

from Sheila B.

from Barbara B.

Birthday wishes from Doreen W.

by Kris M., we share the same birth date.

from Mary C.

from Mary-Jane

from Saundra H.

birthday wishes from Sheila B.

from Pam P.


Aren't I just that luckiest gal to have all these beautiful wishes that came from all over the world.
They came from England, Australia, U.S. and of course from here in Canada.

Thank you so much to everyone that has made me feel so special this month.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

March Calendar Page

For March I used some clip art from Microsoft as the image. It gave me a quick and easy start. After sizing and printing the images I mounted it on the calendar page and then used my ScorPal to create the lines of the frame around it. Unfortunately, the score lines don't show very well but they were quite effective in real life.  As a reminder I got the templates for my calendar pages from Lynette's blog "My Stamping Addiction" http://mystampingaddiction.blogspot.com/ She really is such a very talented lady!  If you are at all interested in card making I highly recommend her blog as one to follow.

March is going to be a very busy month for me. I probably am not going to be doing very much creating but I am really hopeful that once I recover from my surgery I will be back of the track for cardmaking fun!

Thanks for dropping by,

Sandy

One day 10 cards #1

This past Saturday M-J and I attended a fun filled day at a friend of mine who's a Stampin Up rep. She had all the prep work done for us and so we just had to spend our day putting 10 fabulous birthday cards together. To top it off she provided us with lunch too. How good is that!!! Boy is this ever a great way to get my stash built up.

This is the first card I'm showing. After embossing the background on creme CS I sponged it with 'early expresso' to  bring out the texture. The bird cage is stamped with the brown and then the bird was stamped. It amazes me how it looks like the bird was done first, but it wasn't. The sentiment was stamped on a piece of  'cherry cobbler'. This matches the sheer ribbon and brad.
I gave this card today to a neighbour.

I'm going to get the rest of the cards scanned and then share them.


Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

February Calendar Page

I know that posting is over a week late, but I've been 'under the weather' with a head cold and just haven't had the energy to do much of anything.

When I made this February Calendar page I was thinking that here in Calgary we would be having our regular winter weather. That usually means that we would be in deep into our winter. This year however, we are having a very dry and  mild winter and in fact we do not have enough snow on the ground to even make a snowball! This image is one that I've had in my collection for quite awhile. I do not actually have the stamp itself. I think it may be one that I used from M-J's collection. I coloured it with my prismacolor pencils and blended with OMS.  As with the majority of my calendar pages the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink "mixed messages" set.
As a reminder I got my templates for my calendar page from Lynette's blog http://mystampingaddiction.blogspot.com/
Now lets see it I can get some cards made this month.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Birthday card with new stamps from Australia

I am so lucky. When M-J was visiting Australia last month she brought me some wonderful stamps that are not readily available here in North America. One set is a fabulous set of flowers from 'darkroom door' called the full bloom collection.
I used one of these stamps to create a birthday card for a friend.

I inked up the tulip stamp using Distress Inks. I used 'victorian velvet' on the blossom and 'peeled paint' on the foliage. For the two darker images I inked and stamped the lighter on was stamped without re-inking.
I matted with pink and green Bazzil CS and mounted it on a white of A2 card base.
I'm really looking forward to working with the rest of this wonderful set.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

My First Calendar Page

There is a card maker who's blog I follow regularly and she has given me a lot of inspiration. Lynette's blog is called "My Stamping Addiction" and you can find a link to it on the right sidebar. One of the things she has been sharing for several years is a set of calendar pages. This year for Christmas I gave a couple of sets as gifts and through out the year I will share them with you.  Thanks Lynette for this wonderful gift idea!
Well, I just learned something for next year's calendar pages...If I'm going to scan white pages make sure that I put a dark background on the scanner first. They looked fine in my photo albums but as you can see I've had to make a 'greying background' change to my blog so you can see the edges of the page. Oh well, it is all part of the learning curve.

For the stamped image I used a clear stamp purchased in a bargain bin at a LSS. The sentiment used on this, and the majority of the pages I will be sharing for this year, is from and wonderful stamp set by  Papertrey Ink called 'Mixed Messages'. All of the stamping was done using Versamark along with silver detail embossing powder. The border for this piece to be mounted on was produced with the same embossing powder using the technique I learned watching Gina K video's. This way the silver in your stamped images match perfectly with your border.

I want to take this opportunity to wish all a very Happy New Year. May 2012 bring everyone health, happiness and for those who are my stamping friends...lots of fun times creating!

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

A Truly Recycled Christmas Card

This card is a truly recycled card, with a fun story behind it.

One of my very good friends put this tag on my Christmas gift last year. As soon as I saw it, my card making side thought "what a great start that it would be for a card". So I kept it with my Christmas card making stash. This is the card I made with the tag as the centre piece. I started with using my Cuttlebug to emboss a glossy white CS with the ornaments embossing folder. After trimming it to allow an 1/8" border it was mounted onto the blue CS and added to the A2 cardbase. The ornament tag is popped on some dimensionals and then I added the silver ribbon to finish it off.
The card itself was a great hit when we had a good giggle over the ultimate in recycling.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

I have been busy with all my Christmas preparation and as I sat down this evening I realized that although I have scanned all the cards I've made I have not shared any of them here. Oops!!! The follow are 10 cards that were made at a wonderful day at a friend of mine who had 15 people over for a "Stampn' Up card making day. Oh what a fun productive day it was!

For those of you counting...I know I said we made 10 cards, but unfortunately one of them didn't scan very well. So I will have to get my camera out and see if I can capture a better image of it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As for cards that I've made since the Blitz day. This is the one that I planned to mass produce.

It is a stamp set from Stampn' Up this year, that I feel I will get a lot of use of.  I stamped the image and sentiment with Versamark and then heat embossed them both with silver detail powder.  I used the same to make the border on the piece I matted the image on. Then it all on an A2 card base.  It is a very clean and simple look but that is what I wanted.
As I mentioned I was going to mass produce this one, but unfortunately I only got 6 made. Oh, well, in my card making life that is sort of mass produced.
 

This card is one that I made using a tag that I made at make and take at my LSS.  I really like the tag, but just felt if I mounted it on a 4 x 9" dark green CS it would make a good card.  The tag itself is made mostly using Tim Holtz dies, stamps and trinkets.  It is a fairly bulky card, but as it will be had delivered that isn't really a problem.
 
 
I do have a few more cards made ready to share, I want to make sure they've been received those who are getting them, before I post them here.
 
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy
 

A Start on Christmas Cards.

I know that there are some of my card making buddies out there who have all their Christmas cards done but I do have a pretty good start on mine.

This is a set of cards that I did and sent to a cousin who is going to be having to celebrate Christmas this year without her husband who passed away a few months ago. I knew that it would be a difficult time for her and thought that maybe having a few simple cards to use would be helpful.
The image is from Stamp'n Up a few years ago. It is part of M-J's collection. The sentiment "The Miracle of Christmas" is from a purchase from http://www.susanascustomartandcarddesign.com/  (sorry I don't have the manufacturer's name right now). I used Versafine black onyx (my go to ink). The stamped image has been matted with black. Then a simple black ribbon to finish it off.
I almost forgot, there is a small golden stick-on gem in the centre of the star.

I am working a my own cards but they are all in various stages of construction right now.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

My Nephew's Birthday Card

Tomorrow is my nephew's Birthday, I can't believe that it's been 38 years since he made his "early" appearance into our lives. The great family story is when my brother phone our parents to let them know they had a grandson my father was so thrilled that the next 'trick or treaters' that came to the door got the whole bowl of candy in their bags. Being born on Halloween does have some perks, there is always a party, I'm glad though that I don't have to find a costume every year for my celebrations. Chris has had some great ones over the years!

This card is a technique I learned at a make & take at a local Scrapping store. You take pieces of regular masking tape and tear them off in small uneven strips and cover the peice of white CS. Once it is completely covered, choose the color of Tim Holtz distress ink you want to use and sponge it all over the masking tape covered piece, and while it is still tacky cover it with clear UTEE embossing powder and heat set it. This gives you a smooth surface that has this rough look. The fabric leaves, arrow brad and a peice of twine doubled on itself finish of this look. I matted it with a piece of chocolate brown CS and mounted it all on a light brown making it a 41/2" square card.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Birthday card with Smooch Swirls

The card I'm sharing with you today is a technique that I learned at a make and take last month.

The background is created using the product called "Smooch" by Clearsnap. You need a tin foil type pie plate, the instructor warned us not to use one of our good pie plates as the clean up it not easy. You put a couple of inches of water in the pie plate. Then you place a drop of a couple of different colours of smooch on the top of the water. Then you take the last colour you want to use and swirl it on the surface of the water. You now take a piece of glossy finish CS (not photo paper) cut to the approximate size you want to use and submerse it, glossy side down, in the water. After lifting it out you turn it over and you have your masterpiece. You can either lay it aside to dry or use your heat gun to dry it quicker.  It really is amazing the different effects you get by mixing your colours. This particular one was done with pumpkin, taffy, kiwi and then swirled with molasses. To finish off this card I used a dragon fly stamped on vellum and then cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The piece across the bottom is some Tim Holtz tissue that is pleated. The little flower is attached to a piece of brown twine double on itself and attached to the card front before adhering it to the folded card base. 
I have sent this particular card off to a card making friend of mine who's having a birthday this month.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Another Birthday

This card is one that I made for a neighbour who's birthday was last week.
I used the paisley embossing folder that is part of the Cindy Loo collection. The card itself is blue Bazzil so I didn't do any matting other than for the sentiment piece. The 1/8" ribbon was part of my stash. I then added 3 dark blue pearls for just that little bit of bling. On the inside of this card I mounted another piece of CS with another "celebrate" stamp.

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

A Milestone Birthday for a Fabulous Friend

The card that I last posted was for 1/2 of a couple who I'm lucky enough to count among my friends . This card today is for his wife. She is someone I met as a neighbour 25 years ago when she moved to Calgary from Ontario. We hit it off immediately and although we haven't been neighbours many years I definitely call her one of my 'best friends'. This birthday is one of those milestone years. You know that one's where you enter a new decade? I'm not going to mention which decade, but I did enter it myself a couple of years ago.
Although this card doesn't specifically mention age the sentiment "days just seem to flutter by" is perfect I think. Both the butterfly and the sentiment are from a sheet of stamps I won from Repeat Impressions The House that Stamps Built this summer. Lucky me! The background of card is a technique we were challenged to try on our CCB Yahoo group. It is done by using Versamark on your CS then passing it through your cuttlebug with an embossing folder, adding clear embossing powder and finally heat setting it. I used one of the folders from the Cindyloo collection. The butterfly was first stamped on the same yellow CS I used for the sentiment.  I also stamped it on some vellum with my black onyx Versafine added clear embossing powder and heat set it. I mounted it with a could of pop-ups on the body, which leaves the wings free.
I truly enjoyed making this card and was glad I could give it to such a good friend!
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Where did August go?

I can't beleive that it has been so long since I last posted here. I know that I've been enjoying the summer weather that we in Calgary have been very lucky to have this year.  We really did miss summer completely last year and I don't remember the year before being that great either! But compared to all the horrendous weather events happening everywhere else we really are blessed here.

The card I'm sharing with you today is one that I made for a friend's Birthday in August. He really is a one of a kind great guy and he has this truck that he lovingly maintains so that it will pull their trailer. He and his wife enjoy trailering for their summer vacations and long weekend get aways.

I once again borrowed the stamp from M-J's collection. The background is stamped with one of the 'mustardy' tones of Tim Holtz distress inks (probably spiced marmalade). I really do need to make notes or post my cards while details are still fresh in my mind. I then used clear embossing powder over it. The centre image is done with my old stand-by black onyx Versafine with the same technique of the clear embossing powder. It has been die cut with a Spellbinder and then I 'ticket cut' the edges.
This was a fun card to make and it got me using heat embossing which is a technique many are using these days. I really need to be pushed to branch out of my usual comfort zone.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy



A Card for my Nephew

This week my nephew leaves to go to UNT in Denton Texas to take his doctorate in Musical Arts. He is a very gifted tenor and this is another step in his career.

This is a card I made for him.  It is from a recent 'make & take' class at my LSS.  It uses Tim Holtz stamps and distress inks.  When I saw it I knew that it was exactly what I wanted for Chris's card.
I am very proud of him and all that he has accomplished.  As I've learned through him the life of a performance artist is not an easy one.

My love goes with him as I hope he "Lives the Life he has Imagined"!!!

Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy

Step Card, Fun Fold a card with many names

The card I'm sharing with you today is one that can be found under many names. Some call it a "Step Card" others a "Fun Fold".

It was definitely fun to make and it has a step in it, as you can see from the side view.  The thing that I wanted to do for sure was make a card that would fit into a regular A2 envelope, so I had to go looking for the instructions that someone else had modified for these measurements. Right now I'm not sure where it was I found these but I will edit this posting later to give the credit to the original author.

 After starting with by base of white CS I added the golden yellow that was embossed with my go to favourite "swiss dots" embossing folder. The sunflower in the middle is a die from Spellbinders that is mounted on a piece of green Bazzil CS. Inside the sentiment is "Just wanted you to know how special you are!" It is another borrowed from M-J's collection.  It seemed perfect because when I made this card I didn't have specfic purpose for it and this way I can use it for many different occasions.
In looking at my stash I only have one more card I think I haven't shared, so I sure hope I'm going to have the time to do some creating very soon.
Thanks for dropping by,
Sandy



Two Quick & Easy Cards

A great 'yahoo' card group that I belong to called CCB has a challenge for this month to use two different embossing folders on a card front.

I had fun with this challenge yesterday and found that I could get a second different but similar card using what was left from the first card.
I used the CB embossing folders called "Jules Jewells" and one of the combo set "Cindy Loo".  I cut them using the approximate 1/3 rule.  The CS are both some Bazzil in a pale and moss green. The ribbon I purchased is a group of 'odds & ends' at a LSS in their bargain bin.  I used CB die cuts for both the slider and tag.

The sentiments are from a wonderful clear stamp set from 'Papertray Ink' called mixed messages.  M-J gave it to me for my birthday. I'm so lucky, as it is a fabulous set that is just so versatile.

I now have two more cards I can add to my stash of cards which has really been depleted lately due to my lack for productivity.

Thanks for dropping by,

Sandy