I have a little card for you I made today.  The stamps are very old but the technique is NEW!  I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder of a honeycombed background , and in the center to leave an open area for stamping,
 I used the Tim Holtz Embossing Diffuser.  You can place the diffuser anywhere on your embossed image for an open space.  It comes in ovals and circles but I think they are going to release squares and rectangles later....I think.  You insert your paper in the embossing folder as usual then place the diffuser ON TOP of the embossing folder and run the whole sandwich through your Big Shot or Vagabond, and this is important, without the top plate!  The Diffuser takes the place of one of your plates.  Kind of fun huh! The stamped image was colored in with Copics and I used Antique Linen and Vintage Phot with an inking tool to go over the honeycombed background to highlight it just a little.  On the inside, I stamped a little bee in the corner! 

BTW, the cutouts of the Diffusers, can also be used in the same manner to create say an oval or circular area of just embossing anywhere on your card.  All kinds of creative possibilities with these.  I also got some new dies from Stampin' Up but could not get the leaves and snowflakes I made with them show up very well.  I'll keep trying.  Enjoy the beautiful fall weekend we are supposed to have!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins Everywhere

They're everywhere aren't they? Roadside stands, farms, grocery stores, pumpkin patches and heaven knows we all love the humble pumpkin!  They're a bit pricey in our area this year but then isn't everything?  This card was done on SU cardstock and K& Co designer paper.  The stamped image is one from Serendipity stamps which I colored with Copic markers.  Spellbinders Labels 1 and a little Recollections bling in the corners.  This was a great image to color.  Hope you all get out this weekend to enjoy the countryside and all it has to offer this time of the year.  I can't seem to get enough and it will be over before you know it.  So enjoy!

The Loveliness of Fall Leaves

One thing we all love about fall is the leaves Am I right?  I made this card today with my new favorite stamp set "Shabby Chic Vintage Autumn Leaves" by Just Rite Stamps.  The background is SU Ivory Mist, the second layer is a K&Co. fall DP.  The medallion is Spellbinders Lace Doily Motifs and sentiment is stamped on Labels 7 in TH Rusty Hinge ink.  The sentiment is also from the same stamp set.  I distressed the "book page" with the same ink, masked it, then sprayed the whole card with Tattered Angels Autumn Leaves glimmer mist.  I hope you can see it (enlarge with a click) as it gives a beautiful golden sheen.  Hope all of you are enjoying the fall weather!

Fall Version of SU Ornament

Here's a fall version of the SU ornament.  I used fall papers from K&Co. and some purple tulle.  You don't have to have the scalloped tulle that SU sells.  Any bridal tulle (the soft kind) will work.  Happily I found a little flat backed pumpkin button to go in the rosette and I spritzed the whole thing with Glimmer Mist.  I don't think you can see the sheen in the picture but it adds just a touch of glimmer.  Enjoy!  Happy Fall too!

Have you seen the Holiday Catalog from Stampin Up?  On the cover is the beautiful ornament you see here.  It's made with two SU stamp sets and a coordinating set of Sizzlets (small dies).  You can purchase them as a "bundle" and save money.  As complicated as this looks, it is really simple to make.  Trust me on this one.  In the version I made, all the little ornaments were stamped then cut out with the dies.  You can make this even simpler but just using the die on designer paper leaving stamps out of it altogether!  It looks as nice on the back as it does on the front.  The holiday catalog shows several versions of this that are even less work.  It takes two sheets of Very Vanilla cardstock.  I have also seen it done in a Halloween theme and I think an all white embossed one would be so elegant.  I don't work for SU anymore but I think this is a really nice project and worth the expenditure in supplies.  I could see a small tree with this ornament at the top and then smaller ornaments on the tree from the two stamp sets.  Hope you enjoyed this and will give it a try!

Fright Night in a Box

I have a great new Halloween project to show you today.  I took an old cigar box and removed all the papers except the piece that hinged the box top and bottom together.  I then sanded and painted it flat black.  It was then covered with the new Graphic 45 Happy Haunting papers.  I used UHU glue and a brayer to get my papers nice and smooth and well adhered to the box.  Beginning with the top picture, you can see the front which was the main picture in this collection.  I added a black rose and leaves with an orange Prima flower in the center and a little sentiment from SU on a scalloped circle.  I also touched up the owls eyes with Stickles copper.  The next pictures shows the back which I chose not to embellish so the box would lay flat.  The third picture shows the spine with the G45 paper and a Tim Holtz owl and a small spot of bling on the clock.  The fourth pic, which isn't too clear, just shows the short sides of the box with a strip of Recollections halloween bling all around three sides. The next photo is of the inside of the box on the right side and the next shows the back side of the lid with a little hinged halloween paper doll I did some years back.  She moved all over the place but can be tucked back into place when the box is closed.  The inside of this project is shown in the next post.....a Halloween mini book!

Fright Night in a Box ...2

Here are pictures of the book done on a blank chipboard mini book with four pages (that's all I could get in the box!). I used about a dozen different ribbons tied around the rings that hold the book together as well as a few charms including a large butterfly I colored with Tim Holtz alcohol inks, a key, and some gears.  The front cover is a large haunted house sticker I picked up at Michaels.  It has three layers and is very dimensional.  The moon came with it.  The second page is a game page with Trick or Treat card and vintage bingo markers, some dice and a few small Halloween type playing cards.  I believe all the papers on this page came from Crafty Secrets.  The next page is Best Witches with a holographic ancestor, a framed grouping of witches and a large witch sticker from this year's K & Co. collection. The next page is another large owl sticker from K&Co., a felt witches hat with beads which I made and a happy haunting card from Crafty Secrets. Another page has a G45 halloween poem card, a fortune telling gameboard, and a MS sticker from last year.  The Fright Night page has a witch I made from Character Constructions stamps.  The moon is G45,  Now the yellow and rust page shows a large laser cut card front I purchased eons ago along with its sentiment. Some Recollections florals and a creepy hand from Michaels finished it off. Lasty, the final page is a Tim Holtz tag I made a year or two ago and the word Halloween in blocks from Crafty Secrets collection. 

I had such great fun with this project and the whole thing took about 3 days to work on but I also did other things in between (like meals, laundry, and cleaning!!!  Eek!)  Hope you enjoyed seeing my project and will try out your creativity on your own Halloween decor.  If I can be of any help,don't hesitate to email me.  Enjoy the gorgeous fall weather!

Halloween! She's a Coming!

Well that time of year all we papercrafters love is just around the corner.  Can you believe that this coming Saturday is the 1st of September?  I have a project I made that I wanted to share with you.  I am a follower of Jim, the Gentleman Crafter's blog and people I have to tell you his genius knows no bounds.  And he's such an all around nice guy.  If you like this he has a sort of tutorial in two parts on his blog.  I urge you to visit him and see his amazing creations.  He's on the Graphic 45 design team this year and the paper used in my project is all from the G45 Happy Haunting collection.  You begin with a paper mache round box and go from there.  There's a little final on the lid with a rather frou frou ribbon tassel.  The lid comes off and inside is a little halloween tree, a bat, the fence and a cut out of a halloween figure holding her pumpkin and cat.  What makes this so special and you cannot see is that in the back is a small battery operated flicker light which you can buy at all the craft stores.  In a darkened room it looks positively cool with the light flickering and showing off the bat and cutout!  There's a nother lid used for the base and some wooden pieces make up the feet (as well as the top finial.)  I made two of these in one day.  Gathering all the supplies takes longer than actually doing it.  Jim's directions are very good.  Hope you enjoy it!

A Fall Thank You

I'm not sure how I like this card.  Ever been making a card and nothing seems to fit with anything else.  The scrap of designer paper went with the SU cardstock base and with the Copic colors of the pitcher of leaves but then getting the "something else" I need was elusive!  I finally settled on a Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three with the PTI Autumn Abundance saying on top with a label punch.  The pitcher of leaves is also from the same PTI set.  This little stamp set is wonderful for coloring.  I detail embossed the stamp after stamping it so coloring would stay in the lines.  Just a tip!  Have a good one!

Hoo Hoo Steampunk Owl!

I treated myself in the past week to a few new goodies.  The Steampunk Owl stamp from Stampendous was one of them.  He was so much fun to color in with my Copics.  The solid cardstock is SU and the designer paper is G45 Steampunk Debutante.  I added a few TH gears.  The sentiment is from PTI's set Autumn Abundance which is a beautiful fall stamp set BTW.  The little bling he is sitting on is a new product for me.  It's called Fragments and is a combination of mica-like pieces and glitter.  Lots of shine.  You just squeeze out a good thick glob of glue and push the pieces into it.  When dry, you shake off the excess.  This color was Tea Dye.  I also purchased a small bottle of one called Trick or Treat that is orange, black and white.  Can't wait to use it.  Hope you enjoy the card and that you're staying cool.  It is sweltering here in MD this weekend.  Good for creating inside! 

How many zeros is that??

Just wanted to pop in and thank everyone for helping me to hit 60,000 hits on my blog.  I know it's not a lot compared to some "famous" papercrafting blogs but it means just as much to me as a number in the millions.  Working on some halloween things coming soon!  Thanks everyone!

The Triple Crown....

Yes ladies and gents, three posts in one day! I think I see snowflakes out there.....nah.  Anyway, the story on this card is thus:  Background papers and Basic Black and white from SU.  The red is also SU Real Red.  I used the TH Brick embossing folder on it and then distressed the embossing with Vintage Photo ink.  The door was cut from Memory Box's Madison door.  The little sentiments were punched with the SU labels punches.  The sentiments and the wonderful bunting are from the Patriotism on Parade stamp set by Flourishes. The trees were cut from  the evergreen stamp from In The Meadow stamp set by PTI.  I cut two at a time from Handsome Hunter Green and Garden Green, then cut the two whole trees in half and layered them on with dimensionals so that they were slightly offset.  I also "pounced" the top layers with Handsome Hunter for a little texture.  I'm really happy how this turned out and even though the 4th is gone, it's never out of style to be patriotic (uh, well, lately the administration discourages it and we all know what to do about that, don't we????  Hint: November!!!)  I hope you like all the cards today.  I had great fun but now the menfolk around here want dinner.  The maid is off today but I have some great leftover roast, corn on the cob and fresh string beans.  They'll have to settle. 

The Other Half.....

You know.....you get two A2 card backgrounds from one piece of cardstock.....so here's what I did with the second piece.  I know, I know......two posts in one day....must be gonna snow right?  So here we have another piece of the Island Indigo cs with the Hello Doily stamp in Versamark and detail white embossing powder (so much fun!) and I added a Recollections flower with some of the Cottage Fern die cuts behind it.  The saying is again from the SU Blessings From Heaven stamp set.  Well, I think that's it for me today......but you never know!  Enjoy!

Cooler.......at long last!

We are finally experiencing some more temperate weather than the 13 straight days of 100 or higher here in Maryland.  Whew!  I was inspired to make this card by one I saw on Pinterest and I failed to capture the name of the original cards maker.  I used SU Island Indigo cardstock and created the fancy border with the Martha Stewart Spiral Arches deep edge punch.  I highlited that with a little bling in the way of Stickles dots.  The rose was stamped with the  Fifth Avenue Floral stamp using Versamark and white detail embossing powder on a scrap of SU Designer Paper.  I then colored with TA DA--the new Tim Holtz Broken China marker and used his waterbrush to spread the color around.  This was my first time using the markers.  I mounted the rose on dimensionals and tucked some Memory Box floral die cuts behind it and the sentiment is from SU Blessings From Heaven.  I'm really loving this set of stamps.  It looked fine but at the last minute I added some dots of white with an Inkessentials white opaque pen and I think that made it!

Hope you are staying cool and comfortable where you are and using the indoor time to get a little creative.  Works for me!

The Window Box

I recently purchased the Madison Door, Small Window and Window Box dies from Ellen Hutson.  I'm still waiting on the shutters.  These dies cut so nicely and when I saw this card on Pinterest I had to case it.  I don't think I did as good a job as the original card maker on the brick background.  I used the Tim Holt Brick embossing folder and highlighted the embossed area with some Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler and a little Vintage Tea Dye.  The window and box were cut from scraps as were the flowers.  I highlighted the flower centers with some perfect pearls.  The flowers and foliage were all cut from Martha Stewart punches.  I really like this card and I think I'll make more as it's sort of an all occasion card.  Have a happy fourth tomorrow and stay cool.  We're sweltering here on the East Coast!

Military Patriotism

I am resurrecting these older cards of the military uniforms which I made a couple years back because I think now, more than ever, we need to not forget what the men and women who wear these uniforms have done for our country, past and present.  On the top row of course are the marine and army dress uniforms and the navy is at the bottom.  I didn't have one for the Air Force, sorry guys.  I have career military people in my family and my husband served in Viet Nam so I feel very strongly about their contribution to our safety and freedoms.  I hope you feel the same.  I am entering these as a single entry on this week's challenge at Joan's Gardens.  The cards were to be red, white and blue, have stripes, and tags (I am interpreting the tags as the insignia on the uniforms.  The Marine one is particularly special.)

Little MS Flower

I know, I know, it's been an awful long time.  I had a little guilt trip everyday I didn't post.  Just so much going on at home, dealing with a bad back and a "still bad" shoulder.  Now the dog has to have surgery next week.  Please say a prayer his little lumps are benign.  I don't think I could handle it otherwise.

Popping in today to share with you a new little MS Punch called Embroidery.  What I did to make the little flower was punch three of these.  The bottom one is flat, the next layer is curled up a little and the top one I cut one section out of the circle and glued the ends causing it to really pop up a little....kind of like you do with the Tim Holtz roses.  I glued all three together and added a pearl brad in the center.  I think you could add a fourth layer by cutting out two sections from the circle.  I also tipped the edges with Tim Holts Iced Spruce Distress Ink.  I thought it made a cute little flower.  I hope you think so too.  Enjoy!

Spring Has Sprung, Can Summer Be Far Behind?

Here's a few shots of my garden.  Pots are taking off very well and annuals are just getting started.  My children all gave me plants and flowers for Mother's Day and that was A-OK with me.  Aren't the hanging baskets gorgeous?  I love gardening.....it's not just a hobby.  It's peace, contentment and solace for me.  Hope you are making beautiful the place where your heart resides!

The Middle Child

I recently worked on this scrapbook page showing my middle daughter, Sara, at age 5 and then all grown up in her twenties.  I'm not the world's best scrapbooker and I usually CASE someones page style or design but this I just winged it all on my own.   I'm happy with how it turned out.  I made all of the flowers and leaves but the large one just off-center of the center rose.  The bling was from Recollections and I split it into three pieces.  The clock is Dusty Attic as is the crown on Sara at 5.  The grown up crown is Tim Holtz.  Will be spending lots of time in the garden in the next week getting in some more perennials and herbs and my annuals if the weather warms up some.  Hope you are enjoying good weather where you are!