Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Another Sketch Challenge

This card is for a sketch challenge over at Our Creative Corner. You can find the challenge here.

I first stamped the Whimsy Tree from Verve on Certainly Celery and white cardstocks. I cut out the tree and the grass and adhered them to the white. I stamped the sentiment, which is from Thoughts and Prayers by Stampin' Up! I matted with a brown cardstock that I got from a friend. I embossed the white background layer with a Sizzix embossing folder and the celery layer with a Cuttlebug folder. The border is punched with an SU! punch. I added a little flower, per the sketch, and added a rhinestone to the center.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon! 

Monday, March 29, 2010

Amelia Danielle!

I'm sorry - I almost forgot to post this today!


Our granddaughter arrived at 1:40 this afternoon.  She weighed in at seven pounds ten ounces and was twenty inches long.  Her name (in case you couldn't guess from the title of my post! LOL!!) is Amelia Danielle.  My daughter does not want me to post a picture of her - sorry.  Mom and baby are both doing awesome!  She looks like her brother - who will be 18 months old on Friday.


Because I could not sleep and got up at 2:00 a.m., I was able to get five cards made today.  Most of them I can't post yet, though, since they are going to friends who read my blog.  But, I'll have something to post tomorrow or Wednesday.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Fall-To Layout #84 - Thinking of You

Here is my take on the Fall-to Layout for this week - #84.  It was supposed to be a square card, but Natasha said, "If it's not working out, that's okay, as long as you're inspired!"  So, I was inspired, and my card is not square! :)


I got a couple new stamps from Verve, and I wanted to use a set for this card.  That's the main reason it's not square - the image was too large.  This set is called "Enjoy."  The flower can also be a butterfly.  I used VersaMagic inks for all the stamping.  The colors are Spanish Olive, Purple Hydrangea and Spring Pansy.  I used Oval Nestabilities for the main image panel, and rubbed the Purple Hydrangea on the edge of the white panel.  The colored cardstocks are Rich Razzleberry from Stampin' Up! and Ripe Avocado from Papertrey Ink.  (At least, I THINK it's Ripe Avocado.  I got a variety pack of papers from PTI, so judging by the color names, I'm pretty sure that's what I used.)  I used Martha Stewart punches for the border and the butterflies.  The main image panel is mounted on Pop Dots.  The butterflies have rhinestone embellishments.


I know this is kind of a funny time for me to post.  I thought about just pre-posting this for tomorrow morning.  But, tomorrow I will have another post - a non-stamping one.  Our daughter and son-in-law will be having their daughter tomorrow!  She is going to be induced, so around noon or so, we'll have a granddaughter!!  I'll share a picture if I can, and her name with you all tomorrow.  So exciting!


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Friday, March 26, 2010

More Daisies

Another card today using a digi image from Tiddlyinks.  I actually colored this one last week (and paper pieced her dress) for the Flutter By Wednesday challenge.  However, I realized when I had it finished, that I couldn't use her for the FBW challenge, because I had colored her wings as part of a large hat!  I really think the image can be used either, way, though, so today it's her hat:)


The embossing is done with Cuttlebug folders and my Scor-Pal.  The daisies are a sticker from Martha Stewart that I picked up at Walmart when I was visiting my mom and dad on Monday.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics.  The image and matting are cut with Circle Nestabilities and are mounted on Pop Dots.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Clean and Simple Birthday

I just received this Cuttlebug folder last week from an on-line (and local, but we haven't met - yet!) friend. Thanks so much, Kris!  I made a card with it right away, and am finally posting it here.  It's been rather busy around here.  My sister and niece surprised us and drove up from Atlanta!  They have been here a few nights and we also drove down Monday to visit our parents and spend the night.  I'll get to stamp again some day soon:)

OK - about the card.  I have two (young adult) nephews with end-of-March birthdays, and they both are receiving this same card.  I brayered Buckaroo Blue ink on to the embossing folder before I embossed with it. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics and is stamped in Buckaroo Blue and the panel is embossed with my Scor-Pal. Both layers are matted with Buckaroo Blue.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Another Fairy Sketch Challenge Card

I made this card using the Taylored Expression's sketch challenge #105, found here. I also made it for Flutter By Wednesday's challenge, which this week is to use green - and a butterfly, angel or fairy, of course! :) You can find the challenge here. The main image is one I got free from Danni on the FBW blog. It's by Christy Croll and is available in her Esty shop, TiddlyInks.

I paper pieced her hat and dress, and then colored the rest of the image with markers. I used Star Dust Stickles for her wings. The paper is all from SU! I used two Cuttlebug folders and my Scor-Pal for the embossing. The daisy is from Martha Stewart. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Monday, March 22, 2010

One-Layer Card

Even though my cards all almost all Clean and Simple, I rarely make a one-layer card. But, I made one last week:)


I stamped the flowers with a stamp from the dollar bin at Michael's. (It had a sentiment on it, but I cut it apart so I can use them separately.) I stamped the sentiment (from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics) over the stems. I scored five lines on the left side with my Scor-Pal. I put some pink on the flowers with a colored pencil, added Star Dust Stickles to them, and then gave each one a pearl center. That's it!


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

About as "Vintage-y" as I get!


I made this card for the Creative Belli Challenge #87. You can find the challenge here.  The challenge is a sketch and also to use a clip of some kind.

I used a Spellbinders die for the cameo. The embossing is done with a Cuttlebug Tapestry folder. I sponged the edges lightly with copper ink. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics set. I stamped it with copper ink and embossed it with glittery coppery embossing powder. The cardstock is Very Vanilla.  The copper is a shimmer cardstock.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Lucky Me!!

I linked a card up to Flutter By Wednesday last week, and lo and behold - I won blog candy from Danni!  How lucky can I be?  Here is a link to the post about my winning.  Thanks so much, Danni - and Christy, too!  And here is a link to Christy's Tiddlyink Etsy shop.


This card uses one of the digi images I won.  I colored her with two of my three Copic markers and one SU! marker.  I added Star Dust Stickles to her wings.  (They were still a little wet when I took this picture.)  I cut out and embossed her with a Circle Nestability.  The matting is cut with another Nestability - called Blossom.  The colored/patterned paper is from a Stampin' Up! pad I have.  The sentiment (surprise - not!! ) is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics.  The sentiment and image are mounted on Pop Dots.  I made this card using SplitCoastStampers Sketch #272.  It also qualifies for the No Time to Stamp blog's Stamp Simply challenge - to add texture to a Clean and Simple card.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Two Cards - One Sketch

I am sharing two cards today, using the same sketch.  They were both made for this week's SplitCoastStampers Sketch Challenge (#272).  


There is almost no stamping on this card - only the sentiment, which is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics and is stamped in Stampin' Up!'s Riding Hood Red ink. The papers are all from Lasting Impressions Summer Love. I cut out the flowers on the circle. The entire circle panel and the sentiment are mounted on Pop Dots.
This second card is done entirely in Very Vanilla and Close to Cocoa. I used four different Cuttlebug folders for the texture. The circles were cut with Nestabilities. The owl stamp is from Michael's and the birthday sentiment is again from PTI's Birthday Basics set. (What did I ever do without that set! LOL!) I sponged around all of the edges.  The sentiment and owl are mounted on Pop Dots.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thanks, Suzie!

Suzie - thanksThis is the card I made for my friend, Suzie, after we visited with them down in Florida.  It’s very similar to one I made for my brother last June.

I honestly don’t even remember what colors I used.  I know I did each shell in a couple colors.  I know I used Bliss Blue, Almost Amethyst and Sahara Sand, plus others.  At any rate, I used a brass stencil and first stippled the color on to the Very Vanilla cardstock.  Then I added embossing paste, removed the stencil and added the glitter.  The corner embellishments are some “studs” I got in the jewelry department at Michael’s.  The image panel is mounted on a grayish-tan piece of cardstock.  The sentiment is stamped with Sahara Sand and is from Stampin’ Up! – a set called Much Appreciated.  The card base is a light blue linen-y piece.  Thanks for sending me the picture, Suzie!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you’ll come back and visit again soon!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

SCS Color Challenge Birthday


I made this card yesterday for the SplitCoastStampers Color Challenge - Orchid Opulence, Old Olive and Rich Razzleberry. When I first saw the colors, I said, "Eewwww!" But I saw there were some very beautiful cards in the gallery. So, I gave it a try.

The stamps that I used (six different ones) are from Gina K's Tropical Flowers. For the flowers with five petals, I inked them with Orchid and "rolled" the edges in Razzleberry. The "bunch" ones are inked with Orchid and "thumped" with Razzleberry. The three petal ones are colored with Old Olive and Razzleberry markers. The leaves are all done with Olive. I added centers of Razzleberry cardstock. I punched the corners on the top two layers (with a corner punch I got clearanced at JoAnn's) and left the bottom layer with all square corners and then sponged Old Olive around the edges. I added Star Dust Stickles to the flowers and Crystal Stickles to the flower centers. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics and is stamped with Rich Razzleberry.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Speedy Recovery

I made this card for my friend, Diane, who had surgery on her thumb yesterday.  I used the color combination in the SplitCoastStampers CAS (Clean and Simple) challenge for this week - green and brown.


The branch (flowers?) is from an Inkadinkado set.  I stamped it with Papertrey Ink's Fresh Leaf ink on patterned paper from Stampin' Up!  I highlighted using a white gel pen.  I have never done that before, but I like the effect.  I mounted it on brown cardstock.  The sentiments are from Verve's Wishing You set, stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Monday, March 15, 2010

Another Sketch Challenge Birthday

Well, I didn't get a chance to stamp again yesterday, so I started my day out today with making a card:)


I again used Taylor's sketch challenge for the week, which you can find here.  The patterned papers are all from Die Cuts With a View Holiday Collections Winter Matstack.  Well, except for the butterfly (which I just happened to find in my "card parts pile" this morning and is from a pack of paper from Michael's.)  The solid blue is from a scrap pack.  The tulip is from Papertrey Ink's "Wishing You" set and is stamped in Versamagic Aloe Vera and Aegean Blue.  The sentiment is from PTI's "Birthday Basics" set and is embossed with detail white embossing powder.  The border is punched with a Martha Stewart punch and scored with my Scor-Pal.  The butterfly is also punched with a MS punch, has pearls for the body and is mounted on a piece of a Pop Dot.  I think that's it. I could easily forget to mention something - like yesterday I forgot to say that the main panel is mounted on SU! Dimensionals. :)


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

A Sketch Challenge Birthday

I made this card this morning using Taylor's sketch for the week.  You can find the challenge here.  I plan on making another card with it soon, using patterned paper.  I think it's a great sketch!

The embossing is all done with Cuttlebug folders - a full sized one, two border ones, and a small one.  The scalloped border is done with a Stampin' Up! punch.  I also used my Scor-Pal on the punched border piece and the embossed border piece.  I added just a very thing strip of white on the border, also.  The white cardstock is mostly PTI and the colored is also from Papertrey, called Aqua Mist.  I'm not sure where the flower came from, but I think it's a Prima I got from Kim Hughes once upon a time and the button is from PTI.  The sentiment is from PTI's Birthday Basics set.

Thanks so much for looking, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Friday, March 12, 2010

A Pink and Green Challenge - with a Sketch Challenge, too

Here is another card for the Sketch Challenge on SplitCoastStampers.  It's also for a couple challenges to use pink and green - the Flourishes challenge and Sharon Johnson's blog challenge.


The stamp is from Northwoods.  I colored it with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.  I sponged the edges with Stampin' Up!'s Garden Green.  The image, the sentiment and the bottom layer are matted with SU!'s Garden Green.  The patterned cardstock is from Debbie Mumm's Baby Girl matstack.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics set.  I sponged that, too.


Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

SCS Sketch Challenge - Just Because

I made this card last night for the Sketch Challenge on SplitCoastStampers.  I realized this morning that I didn't follow the sketch exactly - the sentiment should have been between the layers.  Oh well!  

Super simple.  I stopped in to Michael's yesterday while I was out and picked up this stamp by Studio 18 in the dollar bin.  (It's a wooden one.)  Actually, now that I'm remembering, I think it was only fifty cents!  I colored it with Stampin' Up! markers - Garden Green, Ruby Red and Only Orange.  I "variegated" the sentiment.  The patterned papers are from Die Cuts With a View - Fun in the Sun Summer Matstack and are matted with SU!'s Garden Green.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Birthday Butterflies

My neighbor turned fifteen yesterday, and this is the card  made for her.  I tried several things, but ran out of time and ended up with this.

The butterflies are punched out of vellum with a Martha Stewart punch.  I ran them through my Xyron and covered them with glitter.  They have pearl bodies and are mounted on Pop Dot pieces.  The border is also a Martha Stewart punch.  I put a thin strip of green under the leaves.  The flower centers are pearls which I colored with a yellow Sharpie marker.  I scored a couple lines with my Scor-Pal and sponged the edges with Stampin' Up!'s Bliss Blue.  The sentiment is from SU!'s Sincere Salutations, stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and embossed with Kaleidoscope embossing powder.

Edited to add:  This qualifies for "Flutter-By Wednesday," too.  The challenge this week is to use a butterfly, angel or fairy on your card.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Vacation!

We're back from our vacation to Ft. Myers Beach, Florida.  If you're only here to see cards, you'll be disappointed:)  I hope to do some stamping today, so hopefully there will be something new tomorrow.

We left a week ago Saturday, and returned last Saturday.  I thought I'd share some of our pictures.  The above picture is a picture of our hotel, taken from the beach.  It was probably taken on the warmest day, which still wasn't very warm!  It was cold and windy the whole time we were there.  Our room was on the top/fifth floor.  It was a super place to stay.

Here is a picture of the kitchenette.  It was really nice to have the microwave and refrigerator and a countertop to eat at.  We would eat the complimentary breakfast at the hotel, one meal out, and one meal in our room.  It helped us eat a little healthier!

Here is the view from our room.  It was taken the day we arrived and it was a little overcast when we got there.  The first day we just got settled, went out for a late lunch/early dinner, vegged in our room, and went to bed very early.  (We had gotten up around 3:00 a.m.)
The second day we met up with my best friend from high school.  She lives about three hours from me at home, but she was visiting her mother-in-law and was about three miles from me in Florida.  (It was VERY windy!)  We walked the beach and found lots of awesome shells.  (She said it was her best day of shelling EVER - in more than 20 years.)


The sunsets were awesome, and we could watch them from our beach, or even from our room.

The next day we walked the beach a lot and spent time at the pool.  It was still cold, but the pool was sheltered from the wind and the sun felt wonderful.  We ended the day with ice cream with our friends.


Tuesday morning it was warmer, but rained hard and was very, very windy.  We walked on the beach anyway - about six miles.  It was great!


In the afternoon, we went to Ft. Myers and visited the winter homes of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford.  (This is Edison's house.)  There is also a museum there.


Wednesday we went to the Everglades and went on an airboat ride and took a nature walk.  We had forgotten our camera and had to buy a disposable one, so no pictures to share from there since I haven't gotten the pictures developed yet.


Thursday was spent on Sanibel Island with my friend, Suzie, and her husband Mike.  I met Suzie through SplitCoastStampers and had met up with her once in Minnesota.  She now is a Florida resident.  We had an awesome day with them.  We even saw dolphins right from their house and also when we were at the beach.


Friday, we went back to Ft. Myers and attended a Twins Spring Training game.  How fun!!  We got to see the starters and even got to see them win:)


Alas, it had to come to an end, and we got up at 3:00 a.m. again and arrived home safe and sound around 1:45 on Saturday afternoon.  It was nice to be home at that time, because it allowed us to get the laundry done and get caught up, and then have Sunday to just relax.


Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll be come back and visit again soon!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Another Lavender Birthday Wishes

I made this card a while back and decided to try to submit it somewhere for publication.  However, I tried one magazine, and gave up!

The flowers are from Gina K's Tropical Flowers set.  I used Stampin' Up! markers to color them, and added pearl centers.  The sentiment is from Gina K, also - from Elegant Post. I sponged the edges with Lavender Lace ink from SU!  The lavender cardstock is also from SU!  The strip is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder.  The second layer from the top is from Die Cuts With a View - the white textured cardstock.  The bottom layer is punched with a Martha Stewart border punch and sponged.  I used my Scor-Pal for some decorative scoring. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Thinking of You in Green

Just a simple "thinking of you" card for today's post.  I had cut the swirl and the flowers little while ago, so I thought I should use them on a card and get them off my table:)

They were cut with a die cut from Cuttlebug.  They are adhered (with my Xyron) directly on the card front.  I scored lines on both sides. Then I added the patterned paper, which is from DCWV Nana's Nursery - Girl.  The sentiment is from a Heidi Grace set I got on clearance recently from JoAnn's.  The butterfly is made with a Martha Stewart punch.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Happy Birthday, Nancy!

This card is for my friend, Nancy, from my Yahoo! group.  Happy Birthday, Nancy!

I got this stamp from another member of our group.  Thanks, Andrea!  It's from Sweet Pea stamps.  I colored it with two Copic markers and the rest with Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol.  I added various Stickles to the wings, the tail, the candle, the "bubbles" and her eyelids.  The background is from Debbie Mumm's Baby Girl pack, and the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink's Birthday Basics set.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!

Monday, March 1, 2010

March Calendar Page

Here is my calendar page for March.  Once again, I will offer the file I made to print my pages.  Just email me at LJNeus@hotmail.com if you would like the Excel file.

The image is from Rubber Stampede.  I colored it with Stampin' Up! markers and matted it on shimmery pink paper.  The "Spring" stamp and the shamrock are from a Studio G.  (I'm pretty sure:)  I'm too lazy to go check for sure right now!)
Happy March to you all.  Sure hope it's spring SOON!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll come back and visit again soon!