Stampin Diva Donna

Celebrate

2011-11-07T08:56:00.004-05:00

Hello!

This card was CASE'd from a card in a magazine. My friend Jenn gave me this paper because the flip side had music notes on it, and I used that side to make a Christmas card, which you will see later...

The sparkle brad on this card, is actually a Stampin' Up brad from the antique brad collection they sell. I stuck the rhinestones on it, not sure if they would look ok, but it turned out similar enough to the one on the card that I was CASE-ing, so I kept them on.

The ribbon on the original was this gorgeous black, shiny satin ribbon that was double the width-very elegant. Unfortunately, this was all I could find. But overall, I like how the card turned out.

This was a card that I made while at Jactopia. My friend Jacqui lives in a farmhouse, complete with barn and garage. The garage has three little kitten inhabitants who are absolutely adorable! As soon as you pull up in the driveway, they are right there, greeting you when you get out of the car, rubbing your legs and purring. They are sooo affectionate and adorable, they are irresistible. I don't have any pets because my girls have allergies, so I was holding on to one of the kittens every moment that I could. I told Jacqui that if one of the kitties jumped into my car, and I didn't realize until I had started driving away, that I would just have to continue on my way and take it home with me! ;) Jacqui said I could certainly take one or more! Oh the temptation! Unfortunately, I didn't discover any stow-aways in the car on the way home...I guess I'll have to go back to Jacqui's and try again! LOL

Have a great day, and if you have a pet, give it a hug for me! ;)

Donna

A Week Late...

2011-11-07T05:55:00.002-05:00

...and a Snickers bar short?

Ok, so clearly, I have to get back into the routine of blogging, but last week went by super fast! Sorry this is a week late, but I am going to post again today, just to apologize. Will that make it alright? :)

So these are the little lunchbox love notes I made for my girls for Hallowe'en. I'd been trying to get my mojo back, so I thought making 3" x 3" cards would help kick start things. Turns out I was right about the kick start. I got that, but I didn't get creative past that! LOL Still working on that mojo thing...

Ok, so I'm off to find the next card to post.

See you soon!

Donna

Hello!

2011-10-28T09:00:00.005-04:00

Hello! I am back! I would like to thank you for your patience with me. I hope to post lots of great stampin' projects and cards to reward your patience. :)

As you know, this past weekend, I was at Jactopia. It was a great weekend! Jenn, my friend from B.C. was there. It was so nice to finally get to see her again. We all miss her lots, so her visits are very special to us. And this year, she just happened to visit during Jactopia, so it was like old times!

It was nice to see everyone (Jacqui of course!, Vicki, Tami, Kim, Andrea, Sheila) and to be surrounded by so many wonderfully creative minds. I think some of that creativity was soaked up by me, so hopefully that was the cure for my lost mojo. I did manage to create some cards, but I didn't pack very well (I packed in a rush. Bad Donna.) so I wasn't able to do some things that I wanted to. But I did manage to make do and come up with a few cards that I can actually show to people. lol

Today's card is not one I created, but one that was given to me by Jenn. Isn't it gorgeous? I know, right? You can't see it from here, but the paper is shimmery, so it looks even better in real life.

Below is a close-up of the card, highlighting the cute pin (what do you call it? A hat pin?) that she placed in the knot of the ribbon. Jenn knows I love my sparkles! ;)

I didn't realize until I returned home and pulled it out of the clear envelope for the picture, that Jenn had written in it! I should always check, even if it's a card made by a card maker. Silly me. lol

I would love to post pictures of the weekend, but unfortunately, since I packed in a rush, I forgot my camera. I'm hoping that someone will send me pictures of the weekend so I can post them here.

On Monday, I will post a couple of Hallowe'en Lunchbox Love Notes that I made for my girls. After that I will start to post Christmas cards. I like to take my holidays one at a time. I wish the stores would do that too, don't you? I don't need to see Christmas lights and ornaments as I choose my Hallowe'en candy. lol Oops, did I say my Hallowe'en candy? I meant candy for the trick-or-treaters. Freudian slip there. Yes, I do get into it sometimes. That's why I usually give the candy to my mother-in-law until Hallowe'en. This year I didn't, and guess what happened? Yep. Gotta go get some more....lol I really have to stop buying candy that I like to eat.

Have a great weekend, and stay out of that Hallowe'en candy! ;)

Donna

Jactopia is almost here!! Jactopia is almost here!!

2011-10-20T07:36:00.004-04:00

Ok, so I have been away for over a year, posting sparingly, eagerly awaiting the day when I would be free to stamp to my heart's content, and not worry about having to study or finish an assignment. But after school was done, I had my licensing exam to write, so I had to study for that.

Well, I wrote that exam on Tuesday, and now I am finally free!! I'm FREEEEEEEEEE!!! I will finally, fin-al-ly have time to get back to stamping again! Yay me!

To help me get my mojo going, my friend Jacqui, has chosen this weekend to host Jactopia (such good timing!). I can hardly wait for it to come for several reasons:

1. I get to stamp with my stampin' girls all day and all night! We will catch up, share some laughs, and inspire one another creatively, which I really, really, need right now! (both the laughs and the inspiration.)

2. It's an overnighter (or two), so there is lots of time to get a lot of stamping done!

3. I get to get my bake on! Woo hoooo! I want to do some baking for this thing. I haven't done much baking in the last year. Hellooooo chocolate! lol

4. Vicki will be here from Kingston! I didn't get to go to her place this spring because I had a huge assignment due shortly after, and as a result, I was a very pouty girl. I really hated school that weekend. As it turned out, I missed out on a little adventure that Jacqui and Kim had when they made a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of the tracks in T.O. LOL I'm sure I missed out on a lot more, but my friends were kind and didn't say just how much fun they had. I think they could hear the pout in my voice! lol

5. I am hoping I will get to see Tami again-it has been way too long. We have so much to catch up on, it's ridiculous. I can hardly wait to see her!

6. I get to spend time with Kim again-we've tried to get together to stamp but it just hasn't been working out. Finally, we will be stamping together! lol

7. Our hostess, Jacqui-truly one of the funniest, kindest people I know, and I can hardly wait to spend some serious stampin' time with her! (and laughing with her!)

8. Jenn will be here from B.C. !! Oh my gosh, I am so exicted to get to see her again! I hope her hubby is prepared for her to not come back-we may not let her go once we get her! lol I've missed her a lot and can hardly wait to see her again!

So there you have it-so much for me to look forward to, I can hardly stand the wait! But in just over 24 hours, I will be getting ready to go and see my girls! Have I told you yet how excited I am? ;)

So on Monday, this blog should have some fresh life breathed into it. I am looking forward to getting some stampin' done and to show you what I accomplished this weekend!

I hope you have a weekend as great as mine!

Donna

Have You Seen My Mojo?

2011-09-05T18:37:00.003-04:00

Hello! I can't believe today is the last day of summer already...wow it went by fast, didn't it? My girls are not looking forward to going back to school at all. In fact, we aren't allowed to say the "S" word around here. I can't tell you how happy I am that I do not have to return to school tomorrow. (thank goodness!) One year was enough. Sooo glad that's over!

I have been having a hard time getting my stamping mojo back. Fortunately, I do better with a challenge, and one came along. My oldest daughter, Kaitlyn, was turning 12 a couple of weeks ago, and wanted tags for her goody bags. Since the theme for the birthday party was "Makeover Madness," we had to create something very girly. The paper for these was from a new block of designer paper I had purchased earlier in the summer, and I used SU's felt flowers and sparkle brads and ribbon. Kait helped me create these, which made for some nice bonding time. I'll turn her into a stamper yet!

Have a great week!

Donna

I'm Free!!!

2011-07-09T08:29:00.004-04:00

Wow! I can't believe the day has finally arrived when I am finished with school! Just last week, it seemed like this day would never come, that it seemed so far away, even then. It has been a long, tough, and very stressful year. I am very happy that it's done, and excited for what lies ahead!

Yesterday, I took the girls and my mom out for lunch and a bit of shopping. It was such a great feeling to be able to spend an entire day with them and not have to worry about how much homework I had to do once I got home. I suspect it will take a while before I get used to not having homework or studying to do.

I found these beautiful flowers waiting for me when I got home. They are so gorgeous! I am truly fortunate to have a husband and girls who supported me during the time I was at school.

I also know how lucky I am to have stamping friends who have been patiently waiting for me to finish and to get back to stamping! I am so looking forward to seeing them again, and catching up on the past year! I can hardly wait!

I am not sure when I'll start stamping, but it will be soon. Hopefully my creative mojo will be ready to go too-I feel like I'm out of practice a bit, but with such creative geniuses as friends, I'm sure it won't be long before it's up and running!

And finally, thanks to you, too, for being patient, checking in on me, and waiting for the day I came back. Thank you so much! I hope the wait will be worth it, and that I'll soon have a lot of creative ideas for you to look at! I look forward to hearing from you and getting back into my stamping groove!

Have a great day! I know I will-it's homework-free! :)

Donna

4 More Days!!

2011-07-02T23:38:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it, but there are only 4 more days, and then I'll be done school! 4!! Woo hoo! It will be nice to have no more homework at night-I'll be able to spend time with my girls, and my honey, and I might even be able to watch tv! I'll be living large! LOL
And, of course, I will be able to sit at my stamping table again! Oh yeah! My stamps have been calling me for a long, long time now. I can hardly wait to sit down and create something again. It will have to wait until after some quality family time, but I will be stamping again soon.
I'll be back soon!
Donna

I'm still here!

2011-05-15T00:05:00.001-04:00

But I'm really wishing I were here (St. Thomas, BVI). Isn't it gorgeous! I love St. Thomas, and not just because of the awesome shopping there. Although, St. Thomas is where I fell in love with jewelry. Ah, a story for another day!

I was fortunate enough to be in St. Thomas this past March with my family. The girls were very excited to go on their first cruise! I was just happy to get away from school work. I didn't take anything with me, homework-wise. No regrets! It was a fantastic vacation, and I was glad to be able to completely relax. Unlike me these days...

This school thing is becoming more stressful.. We are currently at the end of our third term. This is our last week of class, and next week is supposed to be our exam week. However, since we have 8 finals to write, they've pushed some into this week. So this means we have 4 exams in three days this week, and 4 exams in two days next week. Yuh-huh. You read that right. Stinks to be us. This past week wasn't much better, we had two assignments and three tests in four days. If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone didn't like us... lol

Last weekend I finally got around to cleaning off my stampin table...and it's been sadly calling for me ever since! I would love nothing more than to sit at the table and stamp until I've made up for these past 9 months of not stamping. However, I can't. Not yet. Once this term is over, my friend Kim and I are supposed to get together and stamp, so I am hoping I can make it until then!

Then the next time I can stamp won't be until after July 8th. That's my last day of classes...I can hardly wait! It's only 8 weeks away, but we have a lot of learning, studying and examing to do before then. I'm at the point now where I wish I had the Click remote. Have you seen that movie? It has Adam Sandler in it, who plays this guy who has a remote that he can use for his life. So in one scene, his wife is angry with him for something, and lecturing him and he learns he can hit the mute button. And then he discovers the fast forward button, so he can fast forward through all the boring parts of his life. Well, I wish I could fast forward to July 8th! That would be nice...

Anyway, if you can hang in there for another 8 weeks, I'll be back a little more regularly at that point. I'll try to check in every now and then. Until July, if you happen to find one of those remotes, could you send it to me? My stampin' table is calling and I don't know how much longer I can ignore it.

Have a great week!

Donna

Mini Album Part 8

2011-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Today we have, I think my favourite of all my pages-the tag page. I must have been struck with some creativity by this point. Either that or I had some tea (or chocolate, I'm not gonna lie) and my brain was awakened and came up with this little gem. On the left is a pocket in which you could put a picture, and another pocket in which you could put either a smaller picture or a little note with some journaling. On the right, of course, is a tag on which you could place a picture and there is just a little bit at the bottom where you could put a date or small phrase.

These pages are neat-the same thing for both pages turned on a different angle. Must have been some chocolate I had. Yup. I think so!

Here again, almost the same thing for both pages, just a slight variation. Not too bad for early, early in the morning, if I say so myself! LOL

Well I guess that's it for now.

Have a great day!

Donna

Mini Album Part 7

2011-02-03T07:00:00.001-05:00

Hello! Hope your week is going well so far!

Here is another simple layout using the scrapbooking kit from the fundraiser kit that Stampin Up! had for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Simple, but I like it. I could have added some bling here, but thought maybe I shouldn't overdo it. ;)

Now these pages are super simple, but you have to think I did most of these pages in one night, staying up past sunrise to get this book done. So as you can see, the creative juices weren't flowing at this point. LOL But like I said in my last post, sometimes it has to be about the pictures, and not the pages!

These pages seem to indicate that maybe there was a little more creativity going on...the bottom of the left page used a couple of different border die-cut. The right has a little label for some journaling, but again, only one to use.

Normally I wouldn't use pumpkin, but I really liked how it worked for this kit. I do however, love to use olive, and it goes with everything, so it's very easy to work with.

Well, no funny anecdotes for today, so I'll end here. There are just 2 more days' worth of mini album, so I will have to hurry to take pictures of what I've worked on recently! Yikes! :)

Have a great day!

Donna

Mini Album Part 6

2011-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello and welcome back! I hope everyone had a great weekend! Maybe you even got to squeeze in a little stamping time?

Well, I am back with a few more pictures from the mini album. The first pages above have a little star theme going on...I don't know what you would do with the star page...you could either cut a picture out in a star shape, or even in a small circle to put in the centre of the star and then do a bit of journaling all aroud the star...I guess it's up to a person's imagination. I didn't really have a plan in mind, I just liked the star.

You know when someone says "Ew yuck!" and you turn to look? Well my husband is watching a movie right now (The girl who kicked the hornet's nest) and that is exactly what he just said. Instinctively I looked. Silly me. I just caught a glance of brain surgery-they removed a piece of skull with a hole in it to remove a bullet from the brain. Ew yuck. Why or why did I have to look?? LOL

The pages above are basic, but I loved decorating the center of the paisleys with the bling (I'm all about the sparkle, as you know!). Nothing too fancy, but that's ok, because sometimes it has to be about the picture, not the page, right? At least that's what I keep telling myself, anyway. Works for me! lol

The one page where I brought in a colour (red) not in the kit. I didn't have any buttons to match the other colours, and this page was just begging for another button, so red it was! Another set of pages to highlight the picture! ;)

That's about all for today. Just keep in mind the moral of today's post-if someone says "Ew yuck!" Don't, for the love of your sanity, look in that same direction! It might really be gross!! LOL

See ya soon!

Donna

The Last of the Mini Album!

2011-01-29T22:51:00.003-05:00

Here it is! The last few pages of the mini album! So after you've read this post, you will all go out and make albums of your own, right? I've inspired you, right? No? ;)

So as you can see in the pages above, I was starting to really like turning the layout a little for the second page. Easy on the brain, nice to look at.

These pages used up, not the border die-cuts, but the bit in between them. Yuh huh! What was in between them! Neat, eh? I liked the look of the orange and blue, so I stuck it on these pages the same way I did the strips of paper with the buttons that I showed you a couple of posts ago. We paper people are pretty good at making sure we don't waste too much, aren't we?

This is the last page in the book! I used up all my scraps of paper to make sure I had the four triangles behind the blue guy. This page kind of ties it all together--colour-wise that is. Nothing fancy on this page, just a larger piece to mat that perfect, end-of-the-book picture!

This last picture shows the front cover and the back cover. I don't think I've shown both together. I love the design SU made for this. It looks-creative, and interesting.

Well, that is it! No more pages from the mini album to show you, so now I can get back to showing you some cards! Stay tuned!

Have a great day!

Mini Album Part 5

2011-01-27T17:15:00.001-05:00

Hello!

Welcome back! I think I've finally figured out how to publish posts in advance, so I'll be able to publish without having to log on to do it! Nice!

Ok, so this instalment of mini album pages, has some interesting pages in it. I like this first one because the two pages are very different, not two halves of one design. I think that sometimes even when you're working on 12"x12" pages, sometimes just starting with one and working on it individually, rather than trying to tackle two at once, is a great way to go when you're creativity isn't flowing. In this case, the frame was only going to fit the one page, and I didn't want to try to make a second one for the other page, only to have it look like I tried, but missed.

This one was one of the simpler ones, with just the cute die-cut word tag added for interest. Simple, but it works!

Here is another example of not wanting to do the same thing for both pages. This way, if you use two pictures in two different styles it will still work. And you can use the page that works best with the colours in the photo. Of course, if you use black and white photos, they all work best!

I didn't mention it yet, but I gave this album to my mom for Christmas. I'm happy to report she seemed to really like it!

That's all for now, but I'll be back soon!

Have a great day!

Donna

Mini Album Part 4

2011-01-24T07:00:00.003-05:00

Hello!

Since this is my first post of the 2011, I just want to say Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday filled with family, happiness, and love.

I had a nice Christmas and New Year's, but it went by way too fast. Before I knew it, it was time to head back to school.

I did have a chance to do a bit of stamping in the last few weeks, but before I get to those (I still have to take the pictures), I thought I'd continue with what I started, the mini album.

The layout pictured above was fairly simple, I cut out two squares, and then cut a piece of the die-cut adhesive border from the kit to put on the sides of the squares.

This layout was essentially the same, just with an extra layer, and different colours. And the border was placed at the bottom so it was a little different from the layout before.

This layout was just one of those creative sparks. I don't know where I got this idea from, if it was something I'd seen or if it was just really late, and I was feeling a little creative, but I cut the circle/star die-cut in half for this one. It doesn't loan itself well for a larger, rectangular picture. Maybe something smaller with a bit of journaling either above or below it.

So that's all for today, but I will be typing up the future entries for the rest of the album, so that you will have something to see when you come back later this week. And I will have to work on the more recent cards I put together for when this album is done.

Have a great week!

Donna

Happy Friday!

2010-12-03T07:50:00.002-05:00

Hello!

As promised, here is a picture of a Christmas card. This one was created for my piano teacher. She loves the colour red, so I used that as the main colour of the card. The ribbon ties on the right side of the card to keep it closed, and it is a gate opening card. You can't really tell from this picture but I sprayed the red cardstock with Pearl Ex powder (remember that stuff?) in some cheap hairspray. It gave the paper a nice golden sparkle. You know me-I'm all about the sparkle! LOL

Anyway, I should go-gotta go to school!

Have a great weekend!

Donna

More Mini Album

2010-11-29T20:52:00.002-05:00

Hello!

Well, I am happy to say that I survived exam week! Woo hoo! I think I actually did alright on my exams, but I won't know for sure for three weeks! I don't know how I am going to be able to wait that long...

This past weekend, since I didn't have any homework, I thought I would get a whole lot accomplished for Christmas. Yeah, not so much! I spent Friday lugging a very heavy tree up the stairs (in two parts and it still felt like I was lugging an elephant up the stairs!). Once I got it upstairs, I looked for the stand...and looked, and looked. I finally gave up and started pulling out other Christmas decorations to set up...and I eventually found it in the storage room behind some Christmas totes. So then I set up the stand, and now the two elephants I lugged up the stairs, and I now have to stand them upright and connect them...more struggling! I finally got it put together, and thought I'd plug it in and use the remote to turn on the lights...then I couldn't find the remote! Longer story short-the only thing I accomplished this weekend was the tree! Geesh.

Today I am posting two more pages of the mini album. I have some Christmas card pictures to post, and I should be able to put them up this week, so stay tuned!

These two pages mark the start of my own creativity-I no longer had instructions to work from, so I had to think these up all by myself. Hope you like them!

Have a great day!

Donna

Mini Album Part Two

2010-11-19T07:13:00.002-05:00

Hello!

As promised, here are some more pictures of the mini album that I worked on this summer. This album was a part of a kit I bought from SU a couple of years ago. They were selling these kits to raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. They had instructions on how to put together the cover and these pages, but the rest I had to design myself. The kit itself came with a number of die-cut adhesives as well as designer paper and matching textured paper. My goal was to complete the album, and use up as much of everything as I could, to see if there was enough fixin's for an entire album.

Guess what? It worked! I finished the entire album with what they had in the kit. I don't think there was too much left over. So I am posting these four pages today. The next post starts the pages I designed myself. Some are simple, some are a little more involved.

Hope you like it! See you soon!

Donna

Christmas Shopping

2010-11-14T21:13:00.004-05:00

Hello!

This past weekend my hubby, girls, and in-laws travelled to Birch Run-Frankenmuth for our annual shopping trip. Usually I manage to get a fair bit of Christmas shopping done on this trip. Last year, as we were driving home, I realized, in a panic, that I hadn't bought a single gift for Christmas, and I would have to do all of my shopping at home! This year, however, I was a woman on a mission-I had to cross more names off the Christmas shopping list than last year! LOL Anyway, I accomplished my mission at the Cracker Barrel where we had lunch on our way to Frankenmuth.

Then we went on to Bronner's Christmas World that night-have you ever been there? It is awesome! If you like Christmas, you'll love Bronner's! It has everything. It's a great way to kick off the Christmas shopping-just walking around the store puts you in the mood for Christmas.

On Saturday we went to the outlet mall at Birch Run, only to realize it was Deer Widow's Weekend. We made the mistake of going to Birch Run on Deer Widow's Weekend about 5 years ago. Oh my gosh...there are women everywhere! You see, the weekend is the same weekend as the start of deer hunting weekend, so all kinds of women are shopping in droves, and it is busy! It usually takes about 7-10 minutes to get to a parking space from our hotel, and this year it took at least a 1/2 hour!

However, being on a mission, I managed to cross off even more names from my list. This weekend was a success! I'm not done, but I have a good start. I'm good with that!

Ok, so speaking of Christmas gifts...

I made this mini album, thinking at some point it might come in handy to give someone as a gift. I didn't finish it for a couple of years, but pulled it out this summer when I was visiting my friend Kim. I am posting it in the hopes it can work as a jump-off point for anyone out there who is considering a mini-album, and who may be like me, and has a hard time trying to figure out page layouts.

Hope you like it!

Donna

Thank You!

2010-11-05T07:51:00.003-04:00

Hello and Happy Friday!

Before this September, because I stayed at home, Fridays didn't mean too much out of the ordinary, usually. I just tried to tidy the house so we could have a clean house for the weekend. Now that I'm back in school, Fridays have taken on a whole new meaning, and I am extremely grateful when they come around! It means a little break from school, I get to sleep in, and hopefully I have more time to work on my homework. Hopefully. ;)

So today's card is appropriate not just because I'm thankful for Fridays, but also because I'm thankful to those of you who are hanging in there and still reading my blog, even if I forget to post at the beginning of the week. It means a lot to me that there are those of you who still check in to see what's new with me or my stamping. So with all my heart I say Thank you!

On to the card for today...

To make this card, I dug into (aka dusted off! LOL) some old designer paper, and a technique I hadn't tried in a while! The card (dsp part) started off as a circle, and then I scalloped it by removing the paper guide from the corner rounder (remember that technique?). I carefully tried to line up the scallops, or rounded corners to create a (somewhat) even scallop all around. It's pretty easy, and I like that it's different from my usual quarter-fold card. I made sure to cut the circle to a size that would fit into the usual envelope, just so I wouldn't go crazy trying to find the right-sized envelope in my mountain of unused envelopes. It's best to stay away from there....you know, in case of "avalanche"! LOL

Well that's it for today-have a great weekend! We are going as a family to see Megamind-I'm not sure who's more excited about it, the adults or the girls!

I will be back next week with a mini-scrapbook series!

Bye for now!

Donna

All You Need is....Amour!

2010-10-19T07:10:00.003-04:00

Hello!

Just a quick post today before I head upstairs to get ready for school (there's a phrase I never thought I'd be using again!). This week was supposed to be pretty stressful, originally I had 4 things due (2 presentations and 2 tests, all worth huge marks!) but the one presentation was moved to next Tuesday, the other to Monday, which leaves me with two tests. One is on Friday, and the other was yesterday morning-what a great way to start the week! My entire weekend was spent fighting a cold, taking care of my girls (DH was away until Sunday, so I was flying solo for most of it) and trying to study for a test that covered so much material there was no way I could cram it all into my noggin' in a weekend. So yesterday morning I was a little nervous about how I was going to do. I think, in the end, that I did ok. We'll have to wait and see for the mark, but I felt ok coming out of it. Let's hope I do as well (or better!) with Friday's test!

But about the card for today...

This card was a straight case. Of course, I made it so long ago, I can't tell you whose it was. ( If you know, or if it's yours, drop a comment) I liked that this was a different way to use this stamp-most of the time you see it horizontally. I always like to see how people use stamps in a way that most of us don't think to use it (ok, that I don't think to use it! LOL) and this was one of those times. It used some of the new dsp (blueberry crisp? or am I just hungry?) which I was itching to use, and of course, you throw in a little bling, and I'm all over it! LOL

Ok, now I really have to go, have a great day!

Donna

Because I Care...

2010-10-08T19:14:00.004-04:00

Hello!

Here is another one of those cards that I liked so much in one colour that I made it in another colour. Mostly because I started using the new In Colour called Pear Pizzazz, and because I bought the In Colour kit, I only had a few sheets of it in the sampler paper pack. So I made a few of these, then switched over to Pacific Point for a more monochromatic look. The dsp on the Pacific Point card is new as well (and of course I can't remember what it's called!). Oh look! I happen to have a catalogue here-let me see...oh there it is, and it's called Blueberry Crisp-so not what I thought it was called, good thing I didn't guess! LOL

Don't these two colours look great together? I think this new Pear Pizzazz goes with everything!

As you know, I've been in school for about a month now. It hasn't been too bad so far, but the homework/test stress vs housework stress can drive a woman to drink! LOL I've been doing ok, but this is only the first term-I've heard that the second term is "tough". And I'm pretty sure it keeps getting harder until the day I finish. August 21st. Yikes. I guess I should just soak up all this "easy" that's happening right now, and enjoy it while it lasts!

Fortunately for me, and a select few, it's that time of year! That's right! Jactopia is right around the corner! Oooh I can hardly wait! In just 13 more sleeps, I'll be headed to Jacqui's house and stampin' to my heart's content, and I am one excited girl! The week leading up to Jactopia is going to be stressful, so it's nice that I have the weekend to look forward to, and to keep me going. I can hardly wait, I seriously miss stamping. I have to get crackin' on my Christmas things, or I won't have any time to get it done. Jactopia is timed perfectly for getting started!

Well, I'm off. I think I hear my girls squabbling downstairs, and I have to get ready for this weekend. It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, so to all my Canadian friends, Happy Turkey Day!

Donna

Hello and Happy Monday!

2010-10-04T23:08:00.004-04:00

Hello! Just a quick post tonight as my eyes are starting to burn-I need some sleep!

This card of one of several that I made using this non-SU paper. I have pictures of cards made with the flip side of it, too. I'll have to post one for you soon. I liked this paper a lot! And who doesn't need a card that 's good for men and women? I know I do!

The candles were made with paper that I believe was about 3/4" thick. Then I ran them through the crimper on an angle. The flames were made from the punch with the bird and the branch. I can't remember the name of it-I'm too tired! LOL I then covered the wing/flame with two-way glue and stuck them into Dazzling Diamonds, one half at a time. I raised the flames on Stampin Dimensionals, as well as the Happy Birthday.

Neat idea for the bird's wing, don't you think? I didn't think this up myself (I'll bet you knew that was coming! LOL). I had told my friend Kim about how I'd seen the wing used as a flame, she came up with the card, and I cased it. And now you can case me-isn't it fun how it works? ;)

Ok, I have to go. I am one pooped little girl. Have a great night, and I'll try to come back soon!

Have a great week!

Donna

Hello Stranger!

2010-09-22T06:22:00.003-04:00

First of all, I'd just like to apologize for being out of commission so long-I'm sorry! But I think I have a decent excuse. Are ya ready to hear it? I, being a glutton for punishment, have decided to go back to school. (I know it's crazy, and there are 25 other people in my course who are just as "crazy" as I am-LOL No, seriously, they're all very nice peeps!) I am taking paralegal studies, because I find law interesting. Going into it, I find that although I knew I didn't have the best knowledge of law, in all reality, I had no clue compared to what I'll know by the time I'm finished with the course (knock wood). Wow, there's a lot of stuff! LOL And today I have a presentation and my first quiz, so they will be a good indication as to how my ol' brain is doing, jamming all that information into it! Let's hope I don't crack! LOL

In keeping with my news, I thought it only appropriate to post this card, given the sentiment on it seems to apply to me today. My dream for today is to not only survive another day at school, but to do well in both my presentation as well as my quiz. Wish me luck!

The flowers on this card are pretty simple to make. For the larger flower, I used the new large (or is it extra large?) punch flower. I believe I punched out five of them. Then you (or more specifically, I) have to clear a space on your stamping table, lay them out and spray them with water. You'll want to use a fine mist sprayer (did you know they sell those specifically for stamping?). Once they're damp enough to become pliable, then you crumple them up, smooth them out, punch a hole in the center, put a brad in the hole, and then work them by crumpling and/or un-crumpling (is that a word?) until you get the look you want.

These are a slight variation on the flowers I made for my Matchbox Drawers (see here) but there are more flower layers here, and the center is paper, not corduroy brad. The smaller flowers can be made with a smaller punch (ie scallop circle) or one of the dies that SU offers (I think mine is called flower fusion?). One word of note: if you use designer paper to make your flowers (so pretty!) you don't need to spray with water. See how easy that is?

Well, I'm off to study. (gulp!) I will be back again with another card soon. And hopefully the news that I did ok on my quiz and presentation! Bye for now!

Donna

Happy Friday!

2010-08-06T12:44:00.002-04:00

Hello and Happy Friday!
For today's post, I had to dig into the archives, as I haven't found the time yet to take pictures of new stuff. I'll be away next week, and I still haven't had any success post dating an entry, so hopefully I can tap into the internet while I'm away. When I get back, I will be meeting with my stampin girls, so I will definitely have a lot of new things to show you!
Last year at about this time, we had Jenntopia. If you forgt what that is, just click here and here for a little reminder. Jenn had flown in from out west, and we met at her mom's house and took it over for the weekend. We stamped until the wee hours of the morning and had a blast. This year, we'll be at our friend Kim's, and I can hardly wait! So I guess I'd better hurry up and show you the "old" projects before the new ones!
Anyway, this picture is of a box that opens from the top-the part with the ribbon and scalloped edge lifts up- and inside are two compartments for cards. I only have time to show you the outside right now, but I will show you more when I can.
In the meantime, have a great weekend!
Donna

Candy Bouquet

2010-08-03T09:01:00.002-04:00

Hi there! I was looking through my picture files yesterday when I came across a couple of projects that I hadn't shown you yet, which is great news for me since I need to take pictures of what I have been creating lately. I'm a bit behind in my photography, but I'll work on it soon, honest!

I first saw the idea for this bouquet on a blog called "Create with Jane" last year. Hers was much bigger and it was gorgeous, I knew at some point I would be trying it. I ended up making it for the secretaries at my girls' school and for my youngest girl's teacher for the end-of-the-year gifts. I used up a lot of scrap paper making these daisies in different bright colours-it was awesome! The pipe cleaners I used for the stems were found at the local dollar store, and I twisted two colours together to make them stronger and more colourful. Of course, me being me, I had to match at least one pipe cleaner colour to one flower colour, and then tried to choose the candy that would match those colours best. No, I don't have issues, why do you ask? LOL

To put them together, I put together the daisies first. The daisies die from Stampin Up creates a hole in the centre of the flowers, so I would put the pipe cleaner through the hole from the back of the flower and then fold over about half an inch of the pipe cleaner, then tape/stick it in place. Then I stuck the kisses to both the pipe cleaner and what was left of the center of the flower. I learned the hard way that if you use the caramel kisses, don't push too hard on it to stick it down, because it'll leak!

The Lindt chocolates and the Werther's, because they had the extra wrap on the ends, were held in place by twisting one end into the pipe cleaner and then putting it through the hole, and then glueing it in place so it wouldn't droop.

The ribbon was the final touch. I just lightly curled it and tossed it over the top of the bouquet, working some of it through the flowers so it wouldn't fall off.

It was pretty simple, but if you want to make this, you have to start in advance. The flowers take a while to put together, you definitely shouldn't wait until the night before!

All in all, it makes a really bright and cheerful gift!

Have a great day!

Donna

A+ Bookworm

2010-07-25T22:33:00.003-04:00

This past year, I volunteered at my girls' school with the reading program. I spent Friday mornings reading with 5 students (the same ones every week), and over the course of the year, I got to know them. I was very fortunate to have great kids who were sweet, and I was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the year. I gave them each a book to read over the summer, and this card to go with it. I loved the idea of giving them a card that said "bookworm" on it, and I explained what it meant, and that they could each consider themselves a bookworm, since each of them had advanced their reading by several levels. It was great to see their faces light up when I explained the bookworm idea to them. Isn't it great that a little card like this could bring so much happiness? Making cards seems so worthwhile when they have a happy ending like that, doesn't it?

Have a great day!

Little Birdie on My Easel

2010-07-13T18:20:00.001-04:00

Something wonky is going on with my Blogger. Instead of pictures, all I see is a bunch of computer "talk", and I can't choose my font. I can spell check though, which I don't really use. (watch, now I'll make spelling mistakes everywhere, just because I said that! LOL) Hmmm...I sure hope this is temporary.
Anyhoo, I wanted to post this picture of my little birdie easel card. I used the Friends 24-7 set for the bird and the background. If you look at the band across the bottom of the picture, it looks like a piece of paper that is folded accordian-style. But look closely:

Isn't that neat?! It's actually little mini tiles, that I painstakingly sorted out by colour and then put one grey, one black, etc until I reached the other side. Neat effect, eh?
I love the colour combo for this card. I think black looks great with most colours, and when you use Olive, which is a bit darker, using white as well just makes it pop! I left the bottom empty so I can use the card for whatever occasion I may need it for. I will probably find a sentiment that will fit in an oval punch and then mat it with the scalloped oval and center it on the bottom piece.
Are you watching The Bachelorette? I can hardly wait to see what Frank tells her in Tahiti (or is it Fiji? Somewhere dreamy and warm, anyway) next week. And how disappointed am I in the Canadian guys they had on the show this year? Geesh, talk about bad representation! The first one was a bully with a I'm-a-hot-guy complex, and the second guy was on the show to advance his career. Jeepers, are these the best Canadian men they can find? I could find them better, if they're interested! LOL
Have a great week! I'll be back with some more stuff later this week!
Donna

Happy Birthday Season

2010-07-05T22:24:00.012-04:00

When I was young and still living at home with my parents, the birthdays we celebrated were concentrated in the spring and summer. We started with Mother's Day, and then we had almost all the family birthdays (both grandmothers, aunt, cousins, uncles etc) and come September 4th, my sister's birthday marked, for the most part, the end of the birthday celebrations. Now, my sister, cousins and I have children and I have my husband's family to add to our birthday collection. My birthdays start in February and don't end until the end of the year! If I'd have been a stamper as a child, I would have only needed birthday cards for 4 months! But now, I have to make sure that I constantly have plenty of cards all the time! Yikes! There has been more than once, where I've had to dive into my stash to pull out a birthday card on a moment's notice (ok, some of that is mommy brain where I forget to make one in advance!) and been grateful to have a choice of cards from which to choose!

So, when I make a birthday card I like, I will often make more than one and in different colours, just in case family members are comparing! LOL This card, was no exception!

I loved the olive with black, and was fortunate to have some black bling to throw on the flowers:

Here it is in Pretty in Pink and Olive:

The dsp is Cottage Wall, in case you didn't recognize it. The polka dot was definitely not the side I saw first because there were so many pretty, fancy sides in the collection. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from a Sale-a-bration set that I am now kicking myself for not having ordered it when I had the chance! I love the swirly-fancy part, and the simple part that offsets it. It's perfect for a semi-fancy card!
Have a great day!
Donna

Birthday Hugs

2010-07-02T15:33:00.004-04:00

Hello! Happy Friday! I thought I would give the lunchbox love notes a break, and show you a regular birthday card today. This one uses the Parisian Breeze dsp, the same dsp I used on one of my lunchbox lovenotes in an earlier post. My friend Tami and I saw this card somewhere and decided to case it. It uses Baja Breeze and Pacific Point paper, which were once In Colours, but as of yesterday, are a part of the regular colour collection! I am pretty happy about it, because as you can see, these two colours look great together! Not bad, considering this card is covered with hearts, that the main colours are blue and brown!
This picture shows the pretty bling at the bottom of the card...the jewels are all the same colour, but it's neat how they each look a different colour in this picture.

This picture is supposed to show you how some of the hearts are popped up for more interest.

The card itself was simple enough to make, but cutting out the hearts was a bit of work, I'm not much of a cutter...unlike some people (Hi Jacqui! yes I mean you! LOL)...

Well, I'm outta here! DH and I are going out to a restaurant to celebrate our anniversary, and then we are going to watch Eclipse! Ooooh, I can hardly wait! Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope you have fun too! Come back soon!

Donna

Kimmie's Purse

2010-06-27T10:23:00.004-04:00

My friend Kim has to be one of the most talented stampers/scrapbookers I know. The best part is that she is always trying something new, which often gives me the nudge I need to try it too. Sometimes, like in the case of this purse, she makes one for me to keep! I don't return the favour as often as I should...but I am truly grateful to have such an inspiration as a dear friend.

Kim made this gorgeous purse from 1 sheet of 12" x 12" dsp. One sheet! Some smart cookie figured out how to fold and glue together one 12"x12" piece of paper to make the cutest little purse. Of course with Kim's flair and style she can turn "cute" into "stunning" and "have-to-try". Isn't this adorable?? If you want more info, click here to head over to Kim's blog to get the deets. And while you're there, you're sure to see other projects to capture your imagination.

I'll be back soon! Have a great day!

Donna

Lunchbox Love notes part three

2010-06-21T22:33:00.004-04:00

Hello and Happy Monday!

Here is my third lunchbox love note. I used the same heart from the I {Heart} Hearts set, and then used a second heart from the same set to use as a dotted outline. I stamped it and matted it in Melon Mambo, and used just a bit of Razzleberry Lemonade dsp. Of course, I had to add some sparkle, so I threw down a few gems on the bottom.

Is anyone else out there watching the Bachelorette? I don't know why I like watching it, I guess I'm just a sap at heart. I think because Trista and Ryan made it, so I keep watching, hoping that the latest couple will end up as happy. I believe I saw a blurb that said that Jake and Vienna have broken up...no surprise there. Now Ali is looking for love with the remainder of her bachelors. It's always fun to see who ends up in the final 10 or so, and to try and guess who will make it to the end. It's almost never who I think it will be, and Ali has it narrowed down to some pretty nice guys, so I'm looking forward to seeing who gets to stay and who gets booted next. So far, I think Kirk has some big marks, as does Chris L. Both seem sincere, and have big hearts. Frank is hilarious as he talks about the torture of seeing Ali with other guys. I'm not laughing at his torture, just at the way he describes it as he smiles. Roberto seems like one of those guys who's always gotten what he wants, so maybe he'll end up with Ali? We'll have to see...Craig and Ty both seem like nice guys, but we haven't seen a whole lot of them yet. And then there's Justin, the wrestler from Canada. He looked like a sincere guy, even shedding a few tears when the guys were giving him a hard time. He had me in his corner, but on Monday, it is revealed that one of the guys has a girlfriend, and I think from the footage they showed that it was Justin. Whoever it is, is a stinker. You'd think that after all the negative publicity Wes suffered when it was revealed to Jillian he had a girlfriend back home, and the only reason he was on the show was to forward his music career, that it would serve as a warning to others who wanted to try the same. Apparently not. No matter what happens, Monday's show promises to be juicy!

Ok, enough rambling. I have some work to get to, so I will get to it.

I will try to post again tomorrow, so come back and see what I've got for you! Hint-it's a 3-D project, not a lunchbox love note!

Have a great day!

Donna

Lunchbox Love Notes part deux

2010-06-15T10:02:00.004-04:00

Hello!

Don't you just love it when you start on a project, not exactly sure of what you're going to do, and then a little surprise comes your way and it helps you to figure it out and finish it better than you thought it would turn out? That's what happened with this card. You see, I had pulled out Parisian Breeze designer paper, wanting to use it, but I was stumped creatively. Then I happened to catch a glimpse of this heart in the I {Heart} Hearts stamp set. Don't they match nicely? I would have never thought of it on my own, but it fell into place when I needed it.

I love the softness of the Baja Breeze on this card, and I'm glad it's coming back. Blue isn't usually a colour I would use for a heart, but I think this turned out ok in blue. I embossed the heart, then cut it out and matted it onto Baja Breeze. The white square it is matted on is painted with shimmer paint, so in real life, it has some sparkle.

The great thing about this love note is that you could alternatively use it as a gift card for a wedding gift, or bridal shower, or anniversary gift...the soft colour works for any of these occasions.

Well, I still have quite a few lunchbox love notes to show you, so stay tuned!

Donna

Lunchbox Love Notes

2010-06-14T16:50:00.007-04:00

Hello and Happy Tuesday!
I hope everyone had a great weekend! I did! My friend Kim came over to stamp on Saturday and stayed overnight too! I wish I could say that I got lots and lots done, but I didn't, partly because I was working on this scrapbook page and it took me forever to get it finished. It was a huge sigh of relief when it was finally done! I'm working on a few more things that I hope to show you soon, but in the meantime, I pulled these cards out of my hat.

A few years ago, I started making 3" x 3" cards for my oldest daughter when she first started school. (I now also make them for the youngest!) I call them lunchbox love notes. I love the idea of giving them a little something in their lunchboxes that lets them know I'm thinking of them, and I love them, and hope they're having a good day. It's like giving them a virtual hug! I just polled the girls and they said they do like receiving them in their lunches. I asked if they liked looking at the outside of the card to see what I did, or reading the inside of the card more. They like both. I gave one to my DH once, and he liked it too, and said it made his whole day!

Making the little cards is also a great way to jumpstart your creativity when you feel a creative block. I like trying different techniques, and often, I will use a stamp set for a little card before graduating to a larger one. These cards were made with leftover butterflies from this card, in case you think they look familiar. The background was stamped with the funky fleur-de-lis stamp from Friends 24-7 onto textured cardstock (Razzleberry and Bermuda Bay). The words came from a Sale-a-bration set that I borrowed. Once I started using this set, I wished I had ordered it... :0(

I also made some other lunchbox love notes that I'll be showing you over the week, so stay tuned!

Have a great day!

Donna

Matchbox Drawers

2010-06-03T23:10:00.004-04:00

Hello! I am back with a 3-D project today. I am not sure where I saw this since I first saw this so long ago, but it was one of those things that I knew I would have to try...someday. LOL Of course, mine would have to be made with Rich Razzleberry, as it is my favourite colour....I sure hope you are not sick and tired of Razzleberry...I'll try to use different colours, which will be much easier when the new catalogue comes into effect next month! I can hardly wait to see it!

Okay, so all this project is made of is four matchboxes with covers which are sandwiched between two larger squares of paper. I used the fancy scallop punch on my squares, and Razzleberry Lemonade dsp to decorate the top. I also used the same dsp to create the flowers on the top of the box. The leaves are made from the giant Bird and Branch punch. I used both the branch and the bird's wing to create the two sizes of leaves.

Then I adhered the drawers so that the back of each drawer touched the side of another. This next picture helps to illustrate what I'm saying:

All in all, a very simple project to make. The hardest part is deciding what to put inside the drawers, and who to give it to. What would you put in the drawers?
That's all for now. Enjoy your week, I'll be back!

Button Tree #2

2010-06-01T22:39:00.003-04:00

Well hello there! Here, finally, is that picture I promised you! This is the second button tree that I made. Is this how you pictured it when you saw the sneak peek? I have to say, I love the colour of the buttons on this tree. Turquoise is such a gorgeous colour, don't you think?

So last week was the finale for Biggest Loser, and I was so excited! It was great to see everyone return. I was happy to see that the twin brothers, James and John, seemed to be making some progress, but sad that it wasn't more. They were such nice guys, it was such a shame that they left the show so early. I was hoping that they were going to tell the brothers they were coming back, but no such luck. Of course, the one person I wanted to see was Shay, the heaviest-ever woman. She was going to earn $1000 per pound, and then Jared, the Subway guy showed up with a blank cheque (or check, for you Americans ;) ) and told her she had a chance to earn more! And of course, the winners-first was Koli, who won the at-home prize, and then Michael, the heaviest contestant ever, won the grand prize. He was the winner by just a handful of pounds over Ashley. It was a nail-biter to the end! Now to wait for the next season! LOL

Well, I should head to bed, it's getting late. I will be back later this week with another project! Until then, take care!

Donna

Sneak peek

2010-05-14T19:02:00.002-04:00

Hello!

Ok, I know I don't usually do sneak peeks, I just show you what I've made, when I've made it. No secrets here! LOL However, the tree project that I wanted to show you didn't photograph well, and I had even taken time to photoshop it, hoping to fix it, and it still looked bad. Not wanting to mislead you into thinking that the project was wonky looking, I decided to ditch the bad picture, and show you this pretty one.

On this second tree, instead of the sparkly buttons, I was lucky enough to mooch some beautiful aqua and sea green buttons from my friend Jacqui (thanks so much, Jacqui!). Then it looked like it needed something else, so to break up the blue/green, I added pink and white jewels. I layered some of them, as you can see in this close-up shot. Overall, it was a nice effect, I thought.

Is anyone else watching "The Biggest Loser"? I have it set to tape so I don't have to worry about trying to remember when it's on. The added bonus is I can fast forward through the commercials (which they always time at suspenseful moments!). Right now it is down to the final four, which means we are two weeks away from the big reveal in the season finale! It's my favourite part of the season because I love to see everyone come back after they've been home for a bit, working hard to look good for the finale. I can hardly wait to see how everyone looks! I root for everyone and hope they all come back looking healthy. Of course, there is always a person or two who you don't recognize because they look so different with the weight off. This season finale will be extra awesome because Shay from last season is supposed to come back. She was the heaviest woman to ever appear on the show. In the beginning, she weighed in at 476 pounds, and left the ranch 172 pounds lighter! She had done well, but still had way to go to reach her goal weight. To keep her motivated (and to help ratings, no doubt!) at last year's finale, they presented her an offer she couldn't refuse: for every pound she lost, she took home $1000!! Every single pound! So naturally, I can hardly wait to see how she's done!

The final four this year are Michael, the heaviest man to ever appear on the show (526 pounds), Koli, who with his cousin Sam, ruled the challenges, Ashley, who is known as the girl who fell off the treadmill the first day only to come back from it only to be the last woman standing, and Darius, the quiet, sweet guy that everyone underestimated. They are all worthy of the final prize, so I am chomping at the bit to see how it goes for them. The four of them are all very competitive, so it will be a tough prize to win. Who do you think will win?

Well, I have to go, busy day ahead of me-my nephew is having his First Communion today! I know he is looking forward to today, as are we! Have a great weekend, and I'll see you Monday!

Donna

Happy Monday!

2010-05-10T09:06:00.003-04:00

Hello! I hope that all of you mothers out there had a great Mother's Day yesterday, and that you were spoiled by your kids! I know I was-I didn't have to cook or clean yesterday which was really nice (ok, I'll be honest-it was AWESOME!), and my girls gave me beautiful handmade gifts and cards-what more could a mother ask for? Besides a maid, chef and chauffeur, I mean? ;) It was great to spend the day with our families, it just seems like we don't get together often enough anymore, so it's always nice to have a happy excuse like Mother's Day!

Ok, so on to some stampin' stuff! Today I am showing you yet another project I completed while I attended Victopia this year. My friend Kim and I saw something similar to this when we visited a stamping store in Toronto, and we knew that by the end of Victopia, we were going to have to make one of these! Isn't this a cute idea? The original was created with buttons for the leaves. I don't know about you, but I have a whole bunch of buttons that I have hoarded so they aren't "accidentally" used on clothing instead of cards. LOL What I don't have are a lot of buttons in similar colours, at least not enough for a whole tree. However, I did happen to have these little guys hiding deep, deep, in the bottom of my odds and ends carry-all. I had bought them last year, with the intention of using them on Christmas trees for Christmas cards. Well, Christmas came and went, and guess what? I hadn't even thought to use them, so I thought that this project would be the perfect opportunity to finally pull them out of hiding. Here's what they look like up close:

Aren't they cute? I like the way it turned out, probably because I am dazzled by the sparkles in these little things, more than because I like the colour of them (it's all about the sparkle, baby! LOL). I made a second tree with differently coloured buttons, which I will post later this week, so you can see what I mean about the colour. The sentiment I used I had borrowed from my friend Vicki so unfortunately, it isn't SU. Too bad, I really like this sentiment. And I really like the way this turned out! It was a good thing I had made two, because when I returned home and my girls saw them, they immediately asked me if they could have one in their room! We'll see if mommy feels generous.... ;)

The sun on this one is a ginormous golden button-can you believe it? I can't even begin to picture what that puppy was attached to! LOL Kim had it in her collection, but I don't remember her ever wearing something that would work with this big ol' button...maybe if I ask her nicely, she'll show me what it was on...LOL

Well, I guess I should stop chatting your ears off (or your eyes?) and get to work catching up on the laundry I didn't do yesterday. Have a great day, and I'll be back soon!

Donna

Beautiful Wings

2010-05-06T13:25:00.002-04:00

In a recent edition of PaperCrafts magazine, I saw a beautiful card made with a flurry of butterflies. They looked as though they were about to fly off the card, it was so gorgeous! Of course, once I had the Beautiful Wings embosslit in my hot little hands, I knew I had to give it a go. This is my take on the card.

I started off with white butterflies, but soon realized it would be too plain, so I tried to "fancy up" my butterflies. In the winter mini, SU had three kinds of sparkly paints. This one I believe was the Champagne Mist. It gives it a bit of sparkle, and a slight tint. See what I mean?

Here you can see the brush strokes, but the overall effect is very pretty. When I attached the butterflies to the card, I wanted it to look like the butterflies could fly off the paper at a moment's notice, so I attached just the centre of the butterflies (the body part) and folded the wings upward. This is what it looks like from the side:

This is definitely a card that is better to give in person than to have squished in the mail! LOL

I am still considering some kind of sentiment, but haven't decided on anything yet. Then again, maybe this card is meant to be without words...what do you think?

Come back next week for more of my Victopia-made projects!

Have a great weekend!

Donna

My Sunday Morning...

2010-05-02T16:22:00.005-04:00

This morning I was in Victoria Park with the girls and my mother-in-law, cheering on my hubby as he ran in his first 1/2 marathon! John did very well, and although he was pretty tired when he was finished, he did say that next to marriage and having children, this was the best thing he'd ever done! LOL (So sweet!)

As you can see, we are all very proud of him! (Aren't they cute!)

I wish I could say that I haven't blogged because I was busy doing something important like training for my first half marathon, but that just is not the case...the only excuse I have is that I was a bad blogger, and have been spending this week trying to catch up on laundry, etc. Today, since we were up early to head out (well, early for us on a Sunday, anyway), we are just relaxing right now, so I've been going through and photoshopping pictures to put on the blog this week. This is the first one:

Here is the first of the many projects I completed at Victopia last weekend. I bought a 1/2 inch square charm because I've been curious about the Simply Adorned collection that Stampin Up is carrying. I got this one because I figured smaller is easier. Wrong! LOL I was almost cross-eyed by the time I finished, it was such a tiny medium! The butterfly in here is the smallest from the butterfly embosslit that SU has in their last mini. Of course, there is both Rich Razzleberry and sparkle in this little thing, because that's what I am all about! LOL I used a tiny piece of Cottage Wall dsp, then stamped one of the Spring Silhouettes (? I think that's what it's called. It's four stamps with different flower silhouettes) and used teeny tiny jewels as flowers. If you can't see it, here's your close-up!

Of course, when I finished, I realized that there is a window in the back, so you could stamp on two sides of a piece of paper. I think I'll dig into my mini alphabet set and put my initials on the back and then clip this onto something of mine...you could use it on a keychain, or as a zipper pull, even as a cute tag/mini gift on a present! The possibilities are endless!

That's all for today, I will be back in a couple of days with another project!

Donna

Hello!

2010-04-25T19:58:00.002-04:00

I just wanted to let you know that this weekend I was in Kingston for Victopia, a weekend where I get together with my girls at Vicki's house and stamp, laugh and have a blast. I was hoping to let you know before I left, but I just didn't get the chance. I was busy running amok (I think that work should be spelled amuck because that's how you say it! Just a thought...) and I didn't get online before to let everyone know where I would be, and explain why I didn't post anything last week.

Well, let me tell you! I had a verrrrrry productive weekend and I am so excited to share them with you! Unfortunately tonight I am smack-dab in the middle of my life, and I haven't got time to take pictures before the daylight goes. I will take the pictures tomorrow and start posting tomorrow as well. Wait until you see what we did!!!!!

Ok gotta go put my Olivia to bed. See you tomorrow!

Donna

2010-04-13T08:51:00.002-04:00

Hello! Today I am posting two cards, simply because I've shown a few Build-a-Bear cards, so not much new there. This is the second card from the Stamp-a-Stack, so again I used the designer paper from the mini.

This next card, the last one from the Stamp-a-Stack, was a little different from most. I based it on a card that we made at Regionals last year. I liked that it was different from the usual half-page card that I make way too often. On this one, only the red piece opens. Although this makes a great card, it doesn't stand very well for display purposes. So it has beauty but no functionality (is that a word?). Oh well, you can't have it all! LOL

I sure wish I had some interesting story to tell you, but I don't! LOL So I guess I will end this here. Have a great week!
Donna

Buckle Up!

2010-04-10T08:24:00.003-04:00

Hello! Remember way back in February when I said I was doing a Stamp-a-Stack with my friends Kim, Jacqui and Laurie? Then I said I would show you the cards I had designed? Then I didn't show you? Wasn't that so mean of me? ;)

Well here is the first one! This is a buckle card I had designed. We were using the Valentine's designer paper in the mini. Can you see the sparkle on the big pink flowers in the buckle? That's the embossed part of the dsp. Isn't that great? SU is starting to dabble in textured dsp, so we thought the stamp-a-stack should feature this awesome paper. The stamp-a-stack was a great day, and I got to meet some very nice ladies who were funny and lots of fun! I still have two more cards to show you, so I'll be back soon to do that!

Have a great weekend!

Donna

Happy Wednesday!

2010-04-07T16:13:00.003-04:00

I hope your Wednesday is happy-mine is a bit on the soggy side. It is pouring cats and dogs outside right now. It's the kind of day where I'd like to sit on the couch, watching a good movie, snuggling with my hubby and girls, wearing my jammies...and maybe eating some chocolate too...yes, definitely some chocolate! LOL
BUT I can't do that...for one thing, I have piano lessons tonight, so I have to wear something besides jammies...it's so comfy at the piano teacher's house, it's always warm and cozy, and the couches she has are soooo comfy. While my girls each have their half hour lesson, I just sit and wait for my turn (yes, I'm learning too!). The only problem is that I am too comfy, and I become very, very relaxed. Almost sleepy, in fact. By the time it's my turn, I'm a-yawning, and a-blinking, trying to wake up before I have to play. It's hard to listen to your piano teacher while holding back a yawn! LOL Just thinking about it makes me sleepy and yawn-y! Ok, change of topic!
The card posted here is one that I made with my friend Kim. We wanted to try this fancy cut and fold technique. It looks so neat, doesn't it? The fancy technique I mean. The card isn't half-bad either, if I do say so myself. Of course it uses Rich Razzleberry, my fave!
Well, I should try and make some dinner before we head out for lessons. Have a great Wednesday! I'll see you again Friday!

2010-04-03T09:05:00.003-04:00

Hello! It has been way too long since I've blogged...I am very sorry for being such a bad blogger...forgive me? I have been busy with a project that I can't show you yet, but I do happen to have a few others to show you in the meantime.

My sister's youngest son loves dinos, and we were talking about invitations to his birthday. I mentioned that I might be able to come up with something that would work. This guy is made completely with punches! His teeth are made from the My Way punch (the one with the three arrows). I used the largest arrow to make his sharp, scary teeth. I did have to go non-SU for the texture of his skin, but everything else is non-contraband! LOL

Well, my sister loved it, so she came over and we worked on them. We didn't get them done, but it was no problem for her to take them home and complete them because the punches make everything so easy! My nephew liked the invites too, but he did point something out to me that only a true dinosaur expert would notice. He told me, "But dinosaurs don't have eyebrows!" LOL

Kids say the darnedest things, don't they?
Have a great Easter! I will be back soon with more projects!
Donna

Egg-stra Egg-stra! Read all about it!

2010-02-25T12:18:00.003-05:00

Bad puns aside, I think this little guy is cute! A year or two ago, The SU magazine that they send out to all of their demos featured a picture of a plate/bowl with 6 or so decorated eggs. They had used a larger flower punch, sparkles and different Easter coloured paper to decorate the eggs. I know now why they used a bigger flower! LOL It took a while to assemble this one.

I used the flower trio punch and Razzleberry Lemonade dsp to make my flowers. Then I curled each one against the end of a pen, put a mini glue dot on the bottom and stuck it to the styrofoam egg. Looks cute, no? The big problem came after I took the picture-the flowers started popping off! There was a scattering around my egg, and at first, I couldn't figure out who punched the extras and placed them around the egg, then I realized my egg was molting! LOL

I would have love to have tried this with pins that have the pearl heads, they would have stayed put much better, I think. However, with this method, my fingers were kept hole-free, which is just how I like 'em! LOL

This Sunday I am getting together with my girls (Jacqui, Kim and Laurie) for a card Stamp-a-stack. I can hardly wait! It is going to be a blast! So on Monday, I will be able to show you the cards I designed for the class.

Until then, have a great weekend!

Donna

Wishing For Spring

2010-02-22T11:02:00.003-05:00

About this time of year, I start wishing for spring to hurry up and get here already. As I type this, there are big, fluffy flakes falling outside, and I can no longer see grass, my driveway, nor much of anything, because there is so much snow. Blech! It's hard to believe that just yesterday the sun was shining, squirrels were out, and the girls, my hubby and I were skiing and sweating from the heat! I wasn't even wearing mitts or a hat because it was so hot! And then I woke up today, and it's like yesterday's hint of spring was all a dream....dang!

So as an invitation to spring, birds singing, and the end of another way-too-long Canadian winter, I made this card. This flower pot card doesn't open. Instead, you pull on the flowers, which are attached to what looks like a wide bookmark, which is where you would sign and put your hugs and kisses to Mother Nature, in the hopes that she would be sweet enough to end winter just a tad earlier than she'd originally planned. LOL I love making cards that are not your typical quarter-fold card, so this one is right up my alley. Plus, I was able to use not one, but two of my Big Shot dies (the daisies and the leaves) for this card, plus an embossing folder (ok, not SU, but relevant to the spring theme). The Big Shot can make life (ok, not all of life, just the card-making, and 3-D project-making part of life, which is pretty important, no? ;) ) so much easier, don't you think? Yeah, me too!

I have another 3-D project to show you on Friday, so I hope to see you then! Have a great week!

Donna

Fantastic Friday!

2010-02-19T16:14:00.003-05:00

Hello and Happy Friday!

As promised, I am here, showing off my latest 3-D project. As I mentioned, I cannot take complete credit for this little beauty. The original idea came from an e-mail I received from Andrea Walford, in which there was a link to the instructions to make this box. Hers was a Christmas box, and the top incorporated a Christmas card. Mine was adjusted to use non-Christmas stuff, so it would be more applicable to spring. And of course, I had to incorporate my new fave colour, Rich Razzleberry. Plus I had a lot of extra Cottage Wall dsp, so it was very convenient to use the Razzleberry for this project.

I love using transparencies to create butterflies, but on their own they're hard to see. So I used white Staz-On to sponge around the edges, and then some swirly parts from Baroque Motifs to decorate the wings. It reminds me of the new SU embosslits that cuts and embosses 5 (?) butterflies of different sizes at once. The biggest one has a bit of a swirl at the bottom.

Not wanting to over-think things and take too long to put this together, I made the cards inside the box identical to the top of the box. Original, no? LOL Well, at least this way, you'll know exactly what's inside.

I just changed the sentiments on the cards, since the cards are versatile for a variety of occasions. (As you can see above)

This is a peek at the drawer that is inside the box. I think this is so neat, to make a box that contains a drawer!

And this picture proves that I made it so you could close the drawer. Thank goodness for great instructions! LOL
So there you have it! What do you think? Drop me a comment, I'd love to hear from you!
Have a great weekend!
Donna

A Little Birdie Told Me...

2010-02-17T09:03:00.003-05:00

Hello! I am back from Vegas and adjusting to real life once again, which means that I have made some time to stamp (and have done some housework too, but let's stick to the fun stuff here!). Having a nice clean stampin' table, and stampin' area has been like an open invitation to sit and be creative. It is so nice! *sigh* Maybe it was bad feng shui that was cutting into my stampin' mojo, because it would seem that under all that clutter, I've found it again!

Just before I left for Vegas, I had my Stampin' Divas over for the first time in a long time. It was great to catch up with them again-I've really missed my ladies! I borrowed some of the new things in the Occasions mini and the Sale-a-bration mini from my friend Kim (hello! and thanx!) and came up with a couple of cards for my ladies to make. This was my favourite of the two. The bird and branch were created from a new punch that SU has just released. Isn't it adorable?? I love this idea, because this bird is so versatile, you could put any sentiment on this card--thank you, birthday, sympathy, congratulations on the news a little birdie told me...and on and on! See what I mean? Unfortunately for me, I had to give the punch back to Kim (pout) but I have ordered one for myself (yay!), but it is on backorder as far as I know, so I'm not sure when I'll get mine (pout again). I am looking forward to making more of these cards. I like the scallop circle card idea, it's something different from the typical 4 1/4" x whatever card (no, I am not awake yet, why do you ask? LOL).

The clouds in the background of this card were a neat little trick my friend Jacqui (hello friend!) showed me not too long ago. You just punch out a scallop circle (the punch one, not the Big Shot one). Then you use a sponge inked with Bashful Blue (on bashful blue paper here on my card). Start at the top and ink around the top of the scallop circle. Slide it down (or over), and ink along the top of the circle again. Continue downward until you have enough clouds. It's that easy! I have to say that in real life, the clouds are not this hard to see on the card. The picture really blanched them out, and I couldn't bring them back with Photoshop. So if you're trying this technique remember that you don't need a lot of ink to create a dramatic effect.

If you happen to make a card with the bird punch or try the cloud technique, send me a link in the comments section, I'd love to see what you've come up with!

On Friday, I will be back with a really neat 3-D project I just completed last night. The only hint I'll give you is that it is AWEsome (modest, aren't I?) and you're going to LOVE it (more modesty!). That's your hint! LOL If you want to see it, you'll have to wait for the post on Friday! But I think you really will like it! (ok, you'll love, love, love it, but I'm trying to keep the bragging to a minimum! LOL) In all seriousness (and modesty) I can't take credit for all of it (but it won't stop me from trying!), just some of it.

See you Friday!

Donna

Vegas, baby!

2010-02-09T22:34:00.004-05:00

Hello!

Good news! My stamping area is organized, I can see my stamping table again, I know where most of my things are (LOL), and I am ready to sit down and stamp! But I can't today...I'm in Toronto, and tomorrow my hubby and I, and 10 friends are headed to Vegas! Yahoo!

But I will be back early next week! In the meantime, I've dug up a picture from Regionals when I went last February. Isn't this a cute little frame? Simple yet fabulous!
Have a great week!
Donna

Where's January??

2010-02-03T09:19:00.003-05:00

Hello!

So sorry I've been AWOL this past month. I haven't been doing any stamping, because I've been slowly working on organizing my stamping space. Not just the table I stamp on, but the closet where I store my things, the cupboards that house my stamps, Big Shot dies, punches, Christmas stamps, unfinished projects, 3-D items, and on and on....needless to say it is a huge undertaking! LOL I have so much stuff, I never realized how much I had! I found things I had forgotten about, and things I couldn't remember buying (shhhh....don't tell my husband! ;) )

At any rate, it is becoming more manageable with each passing day, and yesterday I actually saw the top of my stamping table (well, hello there, old friend!). I am now so close to being finished that I can almost taste it! I am sooooo looking forward to getting this job done! My goal is to have it completed by the weekend, which I think is reasonable. I then will have a nice, clean, organized area to stamp in. Doesn't that sound like a piece of heaven? *sigh*

Wish me luck, I'm headed back into the tornado in just a few minutes!

Have a great day!
Donna

Decor Elements

2010-01-05T21:17:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday, was spoiled, ate too much, spent time with loved ones, and had a lot of fun! (maybe even found a little stamping time?)

I had a great Christmas (I was spoiled!), and then we went skiing up north. Which, despite the falling, was still fun for me!

I did not find much time to stamp, as I was busy getting ready for Christmas and then for our trip up north, and once Christmas was over, I was very busy reading the third and fourth books of the Twilight series. Sooooo good! Oh my! I finished the fourth book last night, as I could not possibly go to bed with only 50 pages left to read! LOL It was worth staying up late and being a little slow to wake up this morning, just so I could find out what happens in the end. If you haven't read the fourth book, I won't ruin it for you, I will just say that the story is riveting to the end. You'll find it hard to put it down for the night with only 50 pages left to read-trust me!

Of course, now that I'm done....I have all kinds of time to catch up on the housework I've been neglecting while I read! Hopefully I'll get to squeeze in a little stamping time too. But since my stamping area is a mess waiting to be organized and tidied (hello, New Year's resolution!), I thought I'd finally post these pictures of the Decor Elements that I put up in Olivia's (my youngest) room. She really likes butterflies, so selecting these was a no-brainer. I'd been wanting to try my hand at the Decor Elements, but hadn't found any that I thought my hubby would approve of (he's our decorator-no, really! He has better taste than I do, and unfortunately, he knows it! LOL), so I was a happy girl when these came out. The picture above shows what the wall looked like in the middle of the process. I cut them out of the giant sheet, and taped them to the wall, so Olivia and I could see how it looked before we committed to anything. Some of the butterflies had two layers like the one below:

With this one I started with the Certainly Celery layer, and then added the Tempting Turquoise layer. This layer was supposed to appear just as polka dots outlining the wings. So what I had to do was carefully peel the strip, and make sure I left the dots behind:

See how the strip looks? It's dangling here, just so you could see how this looks in the middle of the process. The second layers really added a lot to the butterflies, and of course, more colour! (The wall in Olivia's room is a light purple, not quite as light as Almost Amethyst, but in the same colour family.)

This is what the butterfly wings look like, before and after peeling the strip.

This is the finished project. Olivia was very pleased with the way this turned out, and I was too. The good part about these is they take up more space on the wall than a picture would, so it really fills the space. And, I have to add, they are a lot more fun to put up than a picture!

Well that's about all for me today. I will be back soon! Have a great week!

Donna

Hello!

2009-12-27T21:37:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to let you know I am still kickin' around, and that I've survived Christmas. I hope all of you had a great holiday and were able to spend some time with the ones you love. I got to do that, and I was spoiled with Christmas gifts too! I'm a very happy girl!

Currently we are up in Collingwood, visiting family and skiing. I went out skiing today for the first time in about 15 years. Uh huh, I am crazy...how did you guess? LOL Ok so I played it smart and I had a lesson today so I could remember what I am supposed to do on skis. It felt weird to have them on my feet-like my size 10's aren't big enough, now I had to contend with ski feet! I did ok at my lesson, and only fell four times. In an hour. That's once every 15 minutes. Is that bad? I actually had a headache when I was all done, because every time I fell on my tush, my head hurt a bit more. I guess we know where I keep my brains! That explains a lot, actually....

Anyway, I didn't bring my stamping stuff up because I figured the car would be full enough with the girls' and my hubby's ski stuff(and when I pack stamping stuff, I am not a light packer!), and because for Christmas I received the last two books from the Twilight series, and I brought one with me. I should have brought both! I'm already 3/4 of the way through number 3 and I am going to want to read number 4 right away! And it is getting really good! I can hardly wait to see what happens, but I don't want to give anything away for anyone who hasn't read it but wants to. You have to hurry to read it so I can talk about it, ok? I am restless, not knowing what happens!

I would like to send out a big Happy Birthday to my friend Jacqui! Hope you had a great day! I've been thinking about you today-yeah, thinking about how hard you'd laugh watching me trying to ski! LOL I would have laughed at me too, I bet it would have been hilarious to watch! Anyway, I hope you were treated well and spoiled rotten!

Have a great day!

Festive Friday #3!

2009-12-11T12:16:00.002-05:00

Happy Festive Friday! I hope you're having a great Friday so far...of course, Fridays get better with each passing minute, because you inch that much closer to the weekend! Even though I don't work outside the home, I love Fridays because it means my girls are here for the weekend, and every other weekend my husband is here Saturday and Sunday (not just Sunday). Also, on Friday mornings I volunteer at my girls' school with the reading program. Every Friday, I have the same 5 children, one at a time, who sit with me and we read. Of course, I also like to chat with them about their siblings, their plans for Christmas, what they're asking Santa for...and so on. I could just sit there with them for an hour and just chat, they are all so adorable! Now that I've been doing this for almost two months, they've started to come out of their shells a bit, so they open up more and have fun. I really look forward to my time with them every Friday.

So, for today's Festive Friday, I've decided to showcase a cased card I made. I know we've all seen a Christmas card or two, but I thought this one would be appropriate because it is elegant and quick to make, which doesn't always happen. I love the Dasher stamp that SU has this year, he is so beautiful. Of course, all of those swirly things around his antlers are just screaming for some kind of bling, which as you may know, I love to use! As you can see here:

I stamped Dasher in plain old Real Red, and didn't emboss him (because he looked pink by the time I was done with the embossing gun). The white embossed piece was done with SU's pointsettia embossing folder. I like SU's folder a lot (and hope they come out with many, many more!) because unlike some other folders, this one embosses the entire card, and there are no un-embossed borders left on the outer edges. It's true! I trimmed down the white piece for this card, but what I trimmed was all embossed!

Well, I'm done patting myself on the back for being on time this week, I'm off to run errands. Have a great weekend!

Donna

An Ode to Mugs...

2009-12-08T10:24:00.002-05:00

I'm very sorry for not posting last Friday. I didn't forget, I just didn't have anything to show. The weekend was a bit of a blur, too. I'm just now catching my breath, and only because my youngest is ill, which makes me homebound for the day. Otherwise I'd be running about, working on my Christmas shopping. So it's stamping, cleaning and hopefully baking on the agenda for me today! Oh, and blogging!

The idea for this mug came from the SU mini. They had a picture of a nice white mug with a silver snowflake rub-on on it, and it looked gorgeous! So of course, the next time I was out and about, I checked out the coffee mugs to see if there was one that would fit a snowflake or two on it. I found these ones, and they weren't that costly-always a plus! So I picked up a couple, washed them, and put the rub-on snowflakes on them. The pictures above are of the front and the back of the mug.

This is what it looks like all decked out. Unfortunately, I still have to spray some acrylic (?) spray on it, so the mug can be washed without the snowflakes falling off. I think what I'll do is put tape around the top of mug so no one is putting their lips on the spray stuff, and then wrap it back up.

I'm thinking I'll put a gift card in it and the girls can give this to their bus driver. She is very sweet and the girls love her. When I rode the bus in elementary school (a loooong time ago!), my driver was this whacky lady who used to talk to herself! LOL And every once in a while she'd try to shift gear and the bus would groan loudly. I don't know if she forgot to use the clutch, or it was fussy and only worked when it wanted to.

When I went to high school, I had the same lady, but she didn't seem so whacky. I came to understand that when she talked to herself it was a kind of road rage (I'd be lying if I said I never complained about other drivers, especially when I'm late for something. Which is always! People in glass houses, you know...). Of course, it was a mild, 80s version of road rage, not the scary kind we hear about now. She was, all in all, a sweet lady, and was complaining to herself more than anything else. I don't think I ever gave her a gift, which she would have definitely earned, dealing with some of the kids on our route! And because she came to know my sister and I, and how we were always late-even in high school I was not a morning person! There were many a morning my sister and I got in our workout for the day by running to the bus stop as she patiently waited for us! LOL My sister always got to the bus before me. I always blamed that on the fact that my books were heavier and I had to take home more of them, since I was older and had more homework! LOL That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

So one gift down, lots more to go! I'll be posting some of my Christmas cards on here this week, too. So stay tuned! I will be back this week!

Take care!

Donna

Festive Friday #1

2009-11-20T23:03:00.005-05:00

Welcome to Festive Friday! This is my first post in this series, so if you happened to stumble on this by chance, don't worry, you haven't missed any FF projects! ;)

This first one is a 6" x 6" Tag Pouch. It's very simple to make, and it makes a nice gift too!

What you need to make one of these:

-a piece of cardstock that measures 6 1/2" x 8 3/4", which is scored at 2" and 2 1/4"

-one 6" x 6" page protector, with the holes carefully cut off. You just have to be sure that you don't remove so much of the side that you're removing the part that keeps your pouch sealed shut.

-designer paper that measures 5 1/2" x 1 3/4", set to the right of the small flap of your pouch

-scallop circle punch

-snowflake rub-on

-velcro closure

-tags (I used my Big Shot and a tag die to cut mine)

-I used a Simply Scrappin' kit to create my tags and the centre of my scallop circle. I have to say I love how fast I could put this together with the kit!

-and finally, some gems and glitter, 'cause it's all about the sparkle!

Pretty simple wouldn't you say? Yeah I thought so too. Which is why it makes such a perfect gift. Who says your gifts have to be complicated and time-consuming? At this time of the year simple is good!

Ok, so the reason why this one is posted so late, is because I spent today volunteering at my girls' school, and then once we were all home, we had my nephews and niece over for Christmas photos in front of the Christmas tree (yes, it's up already! LOL) and then to dinner and then....here comes the best part of my day---my honey and I went to see New Moon! Oh yeah, baby!! I have to say, it was pretty mushy, but I loved it anyway! I don't want to give anything away, but I can tell you the special effects were awesome! Now I have to run out and buy the book so I can devour it. I saw Twilight and then read the book which was fun, because I loved the movie and reading the book was like a behind-the-scenes look. There was more detail in the book than any movie could offer, so it was interesting to learn some new stuff. So now, having loved the second movie, I am looking forward to the next behind-the-scenes look! I know, it's backward of me. Usually you read the book then go see the movie, right? I actually prefer it this way. Then I don't spend the movie comparing it to the book, I can just sit back and enjoy! And enjoy it, I most certainly did! I can hardly wait for the next one.....is it here yet??

Enjoy your weekend! I'll see you again next week!

Donna

A Couple of Announcements

2009-11-16T09:10:00.003-05:00

Hello and Happy Monday!

I hope that everyone had a great weekend! Mine was great, first because I got to spend time with my girls and hubby. We have recently started playing a game called Blokus-have you ever heard of it? It makes you use your brain, it's a fun challenge! My husband is very competitive so I like to make sure I keep him humble by kicking his butt at games(this only works sometimes!). LOL Of course, our girls are both very smart and often show us up by kicking both of our butts, keeping me humble. Secondly, I had a great weekend because I had a fun stampin' day with my girls and some great ladies yesterday (see post below). And now, on Monday, my fun continues! I was informed by my friend Jacqui that her sister Diana had a special somethin'-somethin' on her blog that I should check out. You can see it here, but remember to come back for the second announcement. Ok go, I'll wait....

You're back already? Did you see me? I was the very smiley girl in the top centre photo. Not a bad picture for me, considering how un-photogenic I am usually. These pics were taken at Victopia which I attended in the spring of this year, which you may remember from posts I made in April.

Ok, on to the second announcement. I have decided to commit myself (no, not to an institution! Although....) to a special series of posts about Christmas-only creations. Being the person I am, I had to come up with something catchy so I could remember what day I committed to, so I've decided to call the series "Festive Fridays"! See how even I could remember that? So be sure to check in on Fridays, where I will post pictures, and in some cases tutorials, on certain creations I've come up with for Christmas! There will be ideas for Christmas gifts, cards, and fun stuff, so check in with me this Friday for the first one!

I will be posting on other days as well, so you won't have to wait for Fridays with bated breath for me to make a post! (ha ha) But for sure I'll have Christmas ideas on Friday.

Have a Happy Monday!

Donna

Stamp-a-Stack Sunday

2009-11-15T22:11:00.004-05:00

This afternoon, Jacqui, Tami, Laurie, Kim and I hosted a Christmas-themed Stamp-a-Stack. We used the Christmas Jingle Simply Scrappin' Kit so we could demonstrate how simple and easy it is to create cards from a scrapbooking kit. Out of one half of a kit, the ladies attending made 8 cards and 8-3" x 3" note cards. These were the cards I designed for today's event, and I can finally show them to you!

On the top card, the large ornament was covered in versamark then I used a mixture of embossing powder and dazzling diamonds to cover it, embossed it and adhered it to the card with dimensionals. The ornaments on the second card were decorated using 2-way glue and dazzling diamonds.

As you can see, I made smudges on both of these cards with the red ink. I did that on purpose, you see, so when the ladies made their cards, they wouldn't have to worry about accidentally picking up my card and taking it home. Wasn't that nice of me? ;)

Hope you had a great weekend! I'll be back this week with some more!

Top Note Purse

2009-11-07T12:56:00.002-05:00

Isn't this so adorable????
My friend Kim and I went to the Creative Festival in Toronto a few weeks ago. There were a lot of great vendors and samples too! I saw this Top Note purse idea there at a Stampin Up display(I believe it was Caroline LeBel's) and knew I had to try it! Fortunately, I was headed from the Festival, straight to Jacqtopia, where I spent the weekend stamping, so I had plenty of time to make this. Not only do I love this idea because it is yet another awesome use for the Top Note, but also because it was a perfect excuse to use my build-a-brads, which I've owned for over a year and never used! LOL
I have been trying to make this card in a smaller version (this one measures 5"x5") so it would fit into a regular envelope. I like this size better because it gives me the room to mat the main part of the card with a complementary colour. Hmmm....I'll have to keep trying!
I know I haven't posted the picture of the Hallowe'en treats I made for my daughter's class. I'm sorry. I spent this last week preparing for this weekend. I am currently in Frankenmuth, Michigan, on my yearly family trip. Every year my honey and me pack up the girls and head out with his mom and her hubby, and his brother and family, and we head out here to see not only Bronner's Christmas Store, but also to head over to nearby Birch Run to shop at an outlet mall. A huge outlet mall. I usually get a fair chunk of my Christmas shopping done here, which is great, because then I don't have so much on my list when I head back home. I love it! And of course, you can't help but get into the Christmas spirit once you've strolled through the Christmas store. They have everything there. And by that I mean everything. You want to decorate a tree with birds? Fruits? Sesame Street characters? No problem!! Oh my gosh, it's awesome there! Can you tell I've already been? LOL
Ok so now I am headed off to go shopping at the outlet mall, but I wanted to post something, and to apologize for the lack of posts this week. It's a lot of work to get ready for this weekend, especially when I let the housework and laundry slide the week before!
I will post again this week. And stay tuned for my Christmas post series....I'm brewing up some fantabulous ideas!
Have a great weekend!
Donna

My Friday

2009-10-30T22:16:00.002-04:00

I'm sorry I didn't post my last Hallowe'en project today. My oldest girl was home sick with a fever today, so my plans were changed a bit...I will try to post tomorrow. I had made little somethings for my youngest daughter's class which I wanted to show you, but I sent her off to school with all of them, so I had to wait until she came home from school. Hopefully I will be able to show you tomorrow.
Happy Hallowe'en!
Donna

Crayon Card Tutorial

2009-10-28T09:29:00.007-04:00

Good morning! As promised, I was hard at work yesterday, coming up with the tutorial to this simple, fun project. Here is what you will need to begin:

-Green Galore- 4 1/4" x 11" and another piece that measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" and is scored at 3/4", 2 6/8", 3" (place the long side along bottom of your cutter)

-Window sheet- 5" x 4 1/4" and scored at 3 1/4"

-White cardstock- 4 1/4" x 3 1/2"

-Ballet Blue- 4 1/4" strip with one long edge scalloped

-Striped dsp(I used a piece from Pawsitively Prints)-6/8" x 4 1/4"

-orange grosgrain ribbon-14"

-Black Staz-On, Green Galore ink, crayons, sticky strip, 1/2 a velcro dot

1. Start off by stamping your image on the white cardstock. Adhere the scalloped Ballet Blue strip to the top and back of this piece. Adhere to the front of the card, leaving enough room for the striped dsp piece which should then also be adhered to the card. Tie the orange ribbon around the card and let it sit between the striped piece and the image piece. Set aside. (note-I've used a piece of green galore only for the purpose of the picture so you can see the white cardstock, I haven't adhered it yet to the card.)

2. This is what your scored piece of green galore should look like. Sorry it's so dark, but I couldn't light this picture and have the score lines show up. Fold the first score (3/4")out (mountain fold), and the other two in (valley fold). Decorate the 3/4" flap with a small stamp and Green Galore ink. It should look like this:

3. Once the scored piece is folded, fold the score in the window sheet using a bone folder to secure your fold. Use sticky strip on the edge of the short side of window sheet(the long part hangs over the crayons) and adhere to the back of the green galore scored piece, as shown above.

4. Using sticky strip, line the outer edges of the green galore and adhere together as shown. Put crayons in your box. Fold the window sheet over the crayons, and use a half of a velcro dot to secure closed. Your green galore/window sheet piece should now resemble a kind of crayon box that is self-contained.

5. Adhere your "crayon box" to the inside of your card, and voila! You are done!

See? Easy peasy! This could be a great idea not only for a birthday card, but a great replacement for sweet treats for a child's class both at Hallowe'en and Christmas, or a great idea for a child in a hospital or home sick, or.... the possibilities are endless!

Wow! I don't know if you are watching the Biggest Loser, but I am, and I am having a hard time with this week's show. Abby on the show just told her story about how she lost her husband, 5 year old daughter, and newborn son in a car accident. Oh my gosh. I could barely contain myself, that poor woman! Her whole life wiped out in a moment. Then, if that wasn't enough, Shay talked about life with her heroin-addicted mother-oh my gosh! So sad, that even as an adult, even though her mother died, she still yearns for her mother's love...poor thing, I can't imagine how hard a childhood that is.

Then there's that Tracey. There is something about her that sets off the bells and whistles. I noticed too, that even though she was jubilant that she'd lost 5 lbs and was out of the 200s, and her team was clapping for her, not one of them was smiling as they clapped-not even Bob, her trainer!! (I just hit rewind three times to make sure that observation was right.) So apparently, I'm not the only one who's unhappy she is still on the show. I haven't watched the whold thing yet so I don't know if she gets the boot this week or not. Darn, the other team has to face an elimination, not Tracey's team. Shoot. Maybe next week...

Anyway, if you happen to make one of these, please send me a link to your project in the comments section, I'd love to see what you did!

I have one more Hallowe'en project that I will post either tomorrow or Friday, so come on back!

Have a great day!

Donna

A Stampin' Up CASE

2009-10-27T10:06:00.003-04:00

Stampin' Up has a magazine just for their demonstrators that we receive monthly. Often, they have great creative ideas for their latest products which I love, but never seem to get around to trying. This is one of the few that I've actually tried(yay me!)! I love this Build-a-Bear stamp set-the little girl and boy bears are so cute, and (bonus!)you can use them for either a girl or a boy birthday card. Here is the neat part about this project: as you can see, the image on this card is uncoloured. But wait! When the birthday boy or girl opens the card to see who would give them a partially finished birthday card, look what they find inside:

Isn't that a great idea?!? It took me a little bit of time to figure out how to fit the crayons in there without them falling all over, but I did it! Kinda. Now that the card has been completed and carried around to show various stamping friends, I have noticed that the crayons have been travelling a bit and marking the inside of the card. Hmmmm....so now I have to find some way to prevent that. The obvious answer would be to keep them in the box, but it doesn't seem as inviting (to colour) that way....so it may require a clear envelope somehow...I will be working on this today so that tomorrow you can come to see the tutorial, ok? Yes, I said tutorial! I will take pictures and measurements so you can make one of these little beauties too!

So until then, have a great day, and go diving into your stamp collection to find a stamp set you can use to make one of these! I'll see you again tomorrow!

Donna

My First Christmas Card!

2009-10-22T11:22:00.002-04:00

This past weekend, I was in Woodstock with some of my girls, stamping up a storm! Our hostess, Jacqui, has been holding Jacqtopia for 5 or 6 years now, and this was the third year I've attended. It is such a blast, and I really do look forward to it, planning in advance who will take care of my girls, trying to talk my hubby into letting me sleep over for extra nights, and packing my stuff to go. This year, Vicki (some of you may know as Summerthyme Studio) brought these plastic bubbles and challenged all of us to create something with it. You could practically smell the smoke, we were all thinking so hard, trying to come up with something to do with the bubble! LOL In the end, we all came up with very different projects-it was interesting to see what everyone came up with.

This Christmas card was what I created with the bubble. I love this tree from the Snow Swirled set, it is so, so elegant. I didn't have any micro beads to put into the bubble, so I decided I would pull off the "legs" of my star brads and use those instead. Here is what they look like when you shake the card:

If you want to see what the other ladies came up with, and read Vicki's blog entry about Jacqtopia, you can click here. But be warned, the picture of me is not the greatest(ok, I think it is downright scary! LOL)-I don't sleep and I don't wear makeup when I am at Jacqtopia, all of that frivolous stuff just takes away from my precious stamping time! LOL But seriously, consider yourself warned!
As I look at my pictures here, I realize I lost a gem on my scallop circle! I didn't even notice when I took the picture, I notice only now as I look at it...wonder where it went? Anyway, inside the circle it says Merry & Bright. The scalloped circle, and paper were from last year`s Christmas Simply Scrappin kit. I still haven`t used it all, fortunately for me, because I like the way it looks with this tree.
Well, that`s all for today, but I have a bunch of other projects that I completed this past weekend that I can hardly wait to show you, so stay tuned!
Have a great day!
Donna

Bonus post-test tube holder

2009-10-15T23:19:00.002-04:00

This is my bonus project-a test tube holder all decked out for Hallowe'en. I first saw one of these last year, and I am finally making one of my own! These are pretty simple, and I will have to post the directions next time for you so you can make yours next year! LOL I'm sure that you won't wait as long as I did!

I don't have any Hallowe'en designer paper, so I had to use my Spooky Nights stamp set. At least, that's what I think it's called. This set comes with a cat who has his fur standing on end, and an owl, and moon and two word stamps. I used to own a black cat years ago. My hubby gave him to me for my birthday. Little advice on the choosing a cat thing--do not pick the cat that's the most energetic, pouncy thing of the litter! That's what my honey did, and he must have picked the craziest cat ever! When he was a kitten, he would bite you on the hand in the web area between your thumb and forefinger, his front legs wrapped around your wrist, and his back legs wrapped around your forearm. No joke! I could literally pick him up and hold him off the floor like that, except that it was pretty painful with 5 of his 6 ends being pointy and sharp! I still have scars from him on my arm...I loved him anyway, the crazy coot, but we gave him to someone who owned a farm, so he could be outside all the time, and not hurt anyone. So back to the stamp set, the cat in this set may have his fur standing on end, but he is smiling, so you know he wouldn't hang on your arm like it's a jungle gym...

Oh, and inside the test tube (which were ordered online by my downline, so I'm not sure of the site, but there are lots of 'em!) I used a package of Sour Peaches. The Hallowe'en ones are tiny, so they fit nicely in the tube. Incidently, this is not a good project for peanut M&M's, in case you're wondering. Unless your objective is to jam just one in there, and watch someone go crazy trying to get it out!

Ok, well, I have to go and get ready for my stamping weekend. Yikes, I have a lot to do yet! Have a great weekend!

Donna

Bad Blogger, Bad Blogger!

2009-10-15T23:08:00.003-04:00

Ok, so here I thought I was soooo smart, thinking up this kitty using the same technique I used for the Jack o'lantern bucket. No sooner do I finish my kitty, when I went onto Splitcoast, and lo and behold, someone's already thought this up! So much for my flash of genius! lol

Even though it was not the first kitty bucket, and I am terribly disappointed that my brain is so slow (LOL), I still like him! Isn't he cute? I didn't stray too much from the other bucket, except here I used black paper, I applied white craft ink to the edges, and gave him long whiskers. I couldn't figure out what to do for the mouth and was toying with the idea of not having a mouth at all, until my Kaitlyn suggested just simply giving him a smile. I think it works. It works much better than the teeth I was trying to cut out for him-what a disaster that was!

Since I didn't post this when I said I would, I decided I would add another post today so that you are not upset with me for too long. I am headed to Woodstock to stamp at my good friend Jacqui's tomorrow night. I am hoping to have lots to show you on Monday!

Look above this one for the bonus post!

Isn't Jack cute?

2009-10-07T21:53:00.002-04:00

As promised yesterday, here is the project that I finally got around to trying-isn't he cute?? And super easy too-he's made with the pillow box die from SU! Funny, I was thinking not that long ago, that there must be something else that can be done with that die besides cute pillow boxes. Then *poof!* the tutorial for this little guy magically appears! As soon as I saw him, I knew it must be fate, and that it was a sign that I had to give this guy a try! LOL

If you'd like to give this jack o' lantern bucket a try click here to see the tutorial at Splitcoast.

I'm hoping to have a chance to try something else out tonight before I hit the hay, so I just may have something else to show you tomorrow...stay tuned!

Have a great night!

Donna

Happy Bearthday!

2009-10-06T09:17:00.002-04:00

This September, my nephew celebrated his 7th birthday. As I've mentioned before, I have a difficult time coming up with cards for males of all ages. Lucky for me, the month of October gives me the chance to practice! LOL I have no less than four birthdays, all male, to create cards for this month. Oh the stress! LOL

Fortunately, I have this new Build-a-Bear stamp set, which works perfectly (well for the boys in my family, anyway)! I love this little guy! The best part about him, is he has a "better half"! LOL A girl bear comes with this set, too, so any card I can think of for a girl, I can now create for a boy, and vice versa.

So for my nephew's card, rather than try to stamp a background, I punched out 3/4" circles in colours that matched his clothes, party hat and balloon, and adhered them to the main card. In this replica of my nephew's card, however, I had a bit more time (what, me wait to the last minute to make a card? never! Ok, maybe sometimes...) so I cut out his clothes and party hat. I just couldn't mask his head and party hat to make it look right. It either looked like he was wearing his hat on his forehead, or it was floating above him!

This picture shows how his clothes and shoes are raised above the bear image. To make the circles stand out, I followed my oldest daughter, Kaitlyn's advice, and inked around the outer edges so you could see the Green Galore circles on the same coloured background.

For the balloon, I punched a 3/4" circle of Real Red, raised it with a Stampin' Dimensional, put a couple of white gel pen lines on it to make it look like it was shiny, and then added more shine with Crystal Effects. I love using Crystal Effects on a card because of the kind of extra dimension it adds, especially to a balloon! It helps make the card more fun, don't you think?

I think I've mentioned before, that I love to colour, I find it calming somehow. Must be a throwback to my little girl days. So you can imagine how happy I was to pull out the watercolour crayons to colour this little guy and his party hat! I don't use my crayons enough, and there are so many different ways to colour with them. For this card, I coloured on the paper, then used my aqua painter to spread the colour around. When I wanted to highlight, I squeezed out the excess water from the bristles, and picked up colour directly from the crayon, and then painted it on the image.

Tomorrow, I am going to show you a cute little project for Hallowe'en that I've seen and finally tried!

Until then, have a great day!

Donna

I'm back! Sort of... ;)

2009-09-23T21:28:00.005-04:00

I am so sorry I haven't posted in so long. Last week, I was busy, we were away on the weekend, and now, I have a cold. Being sick stinks! It's so hard to find your creative "mojo" when you're constantly looking for kleenex! LOL So, I went digging through my pictures and found these that I had not yet posted. I thought I would post two, since it's been so long...

I made these with a Simply Scrappin' kit. These two cards were a part of a set of four that came in a special card holder, which I will have to post at a later date. But I have to say, Simply Scrappin' kits are awesome for putting together cards very quickly! Which is a good thing to know, if you're like me, and you tend to wait for the last minute to pull things together! LOL

Well, I am off for now, to chill out and hopefully feel better soon.

Have a great day!

Donna

Build-a-Bear part deux

2009-09-11T15:12:00.003-04:00

As promised, here is my other Build-a-Bear card! Isn't he so cute? I couldn't resist putting together one of these little cuties! The dsp SU has for this die is priceless...I just love the plaid on this little guy. It goes so well with his jeans. He has no shoes because his mom spent it on his sister's bling. Poor little guy-good thing he's a bear!

It looks like he's waving at someone-must be the other bears I've been putting together for other cards...ah, but that's a story for another day.

Well, my first week without any girls during the daytime is about to end, and my girls are about to come running in the door to shed their backpacks and lunch boxes in a flurry of activity and chit chat. I'll end this for now, but I will be back!

Have a great weekend!

Donna

2009-09-06T11:57:00.002-04:00

When my youngest daughter, Olivia, and I were looking through SU's Holiday Mini, we both drooled over the new Build-a-Bear Workshop dies and stamp sets. In fact, Olivia "put in" (more like commanded!) an order for all things Build-a-Bear! LOL Fortunately, I found them as adorable as she did, so I did order some dies and a stamp set or two, for both of us to play with. When the order arrived, Olivia kept thanking me for getting her the Build-a-Bear items! LOL If only she knew.... ;)

Of course, we were both equally excited to play with the new dies, and we happily played to our hearts' content. This card is my first bear-isn't she precious!?! SU has a special package of designer paper to use for the clothing-so smart! Here, I went with a pink plaid for the skirt and matching jacket, and a green herringbone for the cuffs and shoes (the shoes have to match, after all! LOL). I couldn't resist dressing up her shoes with little flowers, and then putting one in her hair. And since I am "all about the sparkle", I added a pink jewel to her hair flower. Isn't she so cute??

The idea of dressing little bears is somewhat similar to this Barbie designer thing my sister used to have when we were younger-and oh, how I loved to design outfits for Barbie and then add flowers or stripes to the skirt and shirt I had chosen, or to turn a skirt into the bottom half of the wedding dress...I had a lot of fun helping the Barbie drawing get dressed! Then many years later, when my eldest daughter, Kaitlyn, was about 4, my mother-in-law purchased this wooden puzzle set that had different fabrics for skirts, shirts and shoes that you could mix and match and dress the little puzzle girl. I had more fun with that than Kaitlyn did! (I wonder where it is now? hmmm....) Anyway, I have always had more fun dressing other people, both wooden and real, than I have dressing myself! (I really hate shopping for me). This new set of dies and designer paper are perfect for me! I get to dress adorable little bears now! LOL I really do have fun with these ones! There are going to be a lot of people receiving Bear cards from me-and all of them dressed differently too, no doubt! LOL

I've also put togther a little boy bear, but you'll have to wait to see him! Stay tuned!

Happy Labour Day weekend!

Shelli's SIP Challenge

2009-08-25T12:42:00.004-04:00

This month's challenge given by Shelli Gardner (co-founder and CEO of Stampin' Up!) was to create a SIP card. That is, a card using only Stamps, Ink and Paper. No ribbon, no brads, not even dazzling diamonds! (yikes!) A tough challenge for me these days, as I like to use embellishments to add extras to give my card more dimension and pop, especially since I am not one to layer, layer, layer, like so many of my favourite stampers do. However, I was determined to come up with something for this challenge, because it seemed it would be fun to challenge myself the SIP way!

This card was great fun, as it turns out! I decided to try weaving, which was recently written about in a Stamping Success magazine (SU's magazine for demos). So I weaved. And it was fun! I used the new Cottage Wall dsp. (Don't those stripes look sharp when they're weaved like that?) Then I ran it through the Big Shot with the clear circle die. As a background, I cut a Rich Razzleberry Scallop circle (my new favourite colour! But chances are, you already knew that-LOL). I have recently acquired the Many Thanks sizzlet die and thought I would try it out. And of course, the Butterfly die provided me with the perfect finishing touch! Normally I would use some kind of bling for the butterfly's body, but used the horizontal slot punch-it fits in there perfectly!

So that's my challenge for this month-I did it! I hope you like it! If you happen to try some weaving in a card, please feel free to send me the link in the comments so I can check it out!

Have a great day!

RMHC class

2009-08-19T10:39:00.004-04:00

This is the second half of the class I recently showed you the cards for. I cased this purse from someone, and couldn't remember who, so I couldn't post this without first doing a bit of research so I could give the proper credit. I now know, I cased this from Becky Roberts over at Inking Idaho. Her cute little purse was so adorable, I knew I had to try it. I didn't have the cute polka dot paper she had, but I did have the new dsp with my new favourite colour (Rich Razzleberry!) in it. (you know I had to throw that into today's post! LOL) So this is what I came up with. I was able to use the new clear circle die instead of the coluzzle to cut the circle-shaped dsp for the top of the purse. And, because I just received the new daisies die, I used the smallest daisy with a jewel brad as the clasp on the purse.

So the class I held to help support the Ronald McDonald House charity consisted of this purse and the four cards in the previous post. Janice and Anne joined me last night to put together their purse and cards, and it was a great time, chatting about Disney World and other places we've travelled to. It turns out that Anne and I were at Disney world at the same time this year-and we didn't even know! What a great surprise that would have been if we'd have seen each other there! It would have been quite the surprise!

If you decide to try this purse, send me a link in the comments section, I'd love to check out your version of this adorable purse!

Have a great day!

A Worthy Cause

2009-08-12T12:28:00.004-04:00

Here is a portion of a class I'll be teaching this Thursday and next Tuesday. It uses the Very Thankful set on the back inside cover of the catalogue. This is a special set because it is this year's Ronald McDonald House Charities set from Stampin' Up!. That means that every time someone buys this set, $2 goes to the Ronald McDonald House Charity. As a mother to two healthy girls (knock wood), it's easy for me to take for granted that I don't have to go to a hospital just to see my girls, and that I don't have to watch them be subjected to tests, needles, drugs, and operations.

I can't imagine what it would be like, living with that kind of stress, and feeling like there was nothing I could do to take away the hurt. It was bad enough for me when my niece, who was born prematurely this spring, was being pricked on her ankle so the nurses could have a blood sample. They were a-squeezing away on her poor little ankle trying to obtain enough blood, and she just wasn't giving it up! Although she was born that morning, she was surprisingly patient for most of it, but after a minute or two of constant ankle squeezing, she finally started to become upset, and so did I. I actually had to sit down because I was starting to feel squeamish, watching her poor little ankle go red and not bleed, forcing the nurses to prick and squeeze again. I couldn't watch. And that was just one "little" blood sample! I'd probably pass out if I had to watch my girls go through other, more complicated tests. They'd need to make sure the bed next door is empty before they started anything while I was around!

As a result of the work done by this charity, I am proud to be able to offer a class using this set, and hopefully make a small contribution to help those families who have to live with this kind of stress. It's sad that this kind of charity is even needed, but heartwarming to know that someone is doing something to help people in this kind of situation and that I can help!

If you live in this area, and would like to take this class next Tuesday, please e-mail and let me know! I still have a few places left and the cost of the class ($28) includes the set. (dstollery@yahoo.com)

My next post will show you the purse that these cards fit into (also part of the class).

Have a great day!

Rich Little Birdy

2009-08-09T20:47:00.003-04:00

Here is another of my projects from Jenntopia, again with the Rich Razzleberry! (Have I mentioned yet today how much I love Rich Razzleberry?) I had the opportunity to use Jacqui's scallop oval punch, which I also love, love, love! I was playing around with colouring the rubber stamp with the blender pen and ink. It wasn't as dark as I'd hoped, but I like the general idea behind this card. I am supposed to have my own scallop oval punch in my hands tomorrow, so I am looking very forward to using it a lot more!

I still have a couple more things to show you from Jenntopia, so come back soon!

Have a great day!

Donna

Look Donna! The sun is coming up!

2009-08-01T22:30:00.004-04:00

So last weekend, I was stamping with my best girls until all hours of the night-literally! Saturday night, I stayed up extra late with my girl Jenn who had come down from BC and was hosting us at her mom's house. Finally, at 5:30 or so, I decided to head to bed.

Jenn was still on BC time, so while it was 5:30 am for me, it only felt like 2:30am to her. Jenn and I were sharing a room, and as I tried to close my eyes and catch a few winks, it was very clear that she was in no mood for sleeping! She walked up to the window and pointed out that the sun was coming out and mentioned that she wanted to go take pictures of the sunrise. I said I was tired, and tried to go to sleep, but it seemed that my nocturnal friend Jenn was not going to let me sleep. She kept talking and giggling, and finally she got out of bed, walked to the window, and yanked up the blind to show me that the sun was coming and we really, really should go out and take pictures!

So, out we went, in our jammies, with cameras in hand, and we started snapping away. Of course the mosquitos were out, so we would take a picture or two, and smack at the mosquitos bothering us, then take another picture or two, then smack! In between the attacks, both Jenn and I did manage to capture some nice shots of the sunrise. Hopefully this is the last sunrise I stay up to see for a long, long time! LOL

Have a great day!

Razzleberry, razzleberry, oh how I love my razzleberry!

2009-08-01T22:14:00.006-04:00

Last weekend was a blast! I had so much fun stamping with my girls! It was a great weekend, and as I had predicted, there were tears and laughs. And there was a lot of stamping! I don't remember the last time I had such a productive weekend!

This first card was one that I had made for the sole purpose of trying out the many thanks die from SU. I also got to use the Cottage Wall dsp, and, most importantly, my new favourite SU colour, Rich Razzleberry. I think every one of my projects from last weekend had this colour in it! LOL I'm hooked! The ribbon on this one was the polka dot razzleberry ribbon, but I flipped it for a more elegant, less busy, look.

So this is only my first project to show you. Tune in for more!

Have a great day!

Off for the weekend!

2009-07-24T08:49:00.002-04:00

Hello!

I haven't posted this week because I have been busy getting ready for this weekend. I am headed off for another stampin' weekend with my best girls!! The best part about this weekend is that I'll get to spend time with a dear friend of mine, Jenn! She is coming in from Vancouver, and I am sooooo excited to see her! It has been a year since we've seen her last, and we have all missed her terribly. It's guaranteed to be a bit tearful this weekend, first with the hellos and then, of course, the dreaded goodbyes at the end of the weekend. But, I am not thinking about that yet--I am way too excited to see her and my other stampin' girls! I will definitely have pictures for you next week!

Have a great weekend!

My Tin Challenge

2009-07-16T10:23:00.003-04:00

Well, I haven't had a chance to work on the tutorial for the pop-up card yet, so I am showing you this box in the meantime. I will work on the tutorial, though, honest!

This was an empty tin given to a group of us as a challenge during my stampin' spree in Kingston. I can't remember who gave this to us (Diana Gibbs? Kim Pargeter? darn my bad memory! LOL), but I tried to figure out how I was going to tackle this challenge. You see, I'm a tin-hoarder. LOL I have so many tins in my stampin' area, just a-waitin' for me to put them to good use, and I shudder to think that I may not do them justice. So they sit there in my tin basket (and my stampin' closet, and...) looking naked and sad. I didn't want this one to join the group and set out to do something fun with it.

Kim gave me some gorgeous paper so I had to use it, and this was a perfect project for it! Then I realized I had rub-ons in a colour that would match. Ok, my bad memory strikes again, but this rub-on set was the one with owl on it from the last catalogue. I figured out that these words would fit beautifully in the window-how lucky was that? Then I tried to emboss in orange around the edges. Tried to emboss. It wasn't easy, and some of the powder jumped into areas I didn't want and decided to melt and stay there, so there is a bit of a speckled look. Don't look too closely! LOL If I were to try this again, I would definitely use the embossing buddy, and probably the Versamarker for the tin edges where I wanted embossing.

Despite the speckles, I thought this turned out pretty cute. Hey, I may even have to pull out one of my other tins and try again! Maybe not.....LOL

Have a great day!

Donna

Pop! Pop! Pop-up card!

2009-07-10T13:42:00.006-04:00

As you may remember from an earlier post, I attended SU Regionals here in London in February. I love Regional meetings-a day filled with stamping, surrounded by ladies who love it just as much as I do! And it was my friend Kim's birthday that day too! Which made it even more special for me! But I digress...

During the course of the day we had presentations given by a few of our fellow demonstrators. There were many fabulous ideas-Stampin' Up! has quite a talented group of women working for them. One of these women, Ally Fereday, demonstrated how to make these fun pop-up cards. Instead of using paper to pop out your image, you use strips of window sheets! Isn't this neat?!?

This particular card was for my nephew's birthday, which is why it was made in primary colours. With an easy change of colours and stamp sets, the possibilities for this kind of card are endless! You could suspend hearts for Valentine's Day, flowers for Mother's Day, birthday candles, butterflies, Christmas ornaments, or, as I made for my youngest, letters, spelling out Happy Birthday, and then the recipient's name. (I'll have to find a picture of that one to show you!)

I will try to post a tutorial for this card for you soon so you can try your hand at making one too!

Have a great day!

Donna

A Crinkle in Time

2009-07-06T09:05:00.001-04:00

This was the Father's Day card for my Dad. My dad is an avid golfer and big fan of the game. I grew up knowing all the great players of the 70s and early 80s; Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, Bruce Leitzke, and on and on...In 1979 I went with my dad and uncle to the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey. I have a bad memory, but I remember vividly a lot of parts of that day, and how much fun I had seeing the pros in real life. I had brought an autograph book with me so I could collect autographs from all the players. One by one, I collected the autographs of all these men I had watched on tv since birth! I stood at the eighteenth hole patiently waiting, along with 15 or so other kids, for the players to finish for the day, walk to where we were, and sign our autograph books.

Of course, the one autograph I really, really wanted was Jack Nicklaus' ! I could hardly wait as he finished his putt on the 18th. Neither could another 100 other people who suddenly showed up out of nowhere! Unfortunately for me, there were too many of us, so he didn't grab my book to sign. A group of us kept walking with him as he headed toward the golf cart. One man was walking in front of him, backwards, talking to him about something, like he was trying to sell him on some kind of idea. I don't remember what he said, but I know I thought he was a pain in the butt, and besides, if he didn't want an autograph, he should leave poor Jack Nicklaus alone, so the rest of us could get one! Well, as if turns out, because he was walking backwards and couldn't see where he was headed, he knocked down a little girl, who immediately began crying. He hastily picked her up and asked her if she was ok, leaving the rest of us to our business of trying to get an autograph. Well, now Mr. Nicklaus was at his golf cart, and I still didn't have an autograph! I wanted one very badly-getting it would be like having the goose that lays the golden eggs! And I was so close! So as the golf cart pulled away, I did the only thing any kid would do-I ran after the cart!! Now imagine for a moment, I had a backpack on my back with cans of pop that my mom had packed for us to have. There were still a few left, and there they were, bouncing around, clanging behind me as I chased after one of the greatest golfers of all time! Fortunately for me, golf carts don't go very fast, and I was able to keep up. Once he and his driver got to the clubhouse, the cart stopped, he hopped out, and the 10 or so of us who had chased him down, were there waiting, panting like dogs, and my pop probably fizzing like crazy and being just mere moments from exploding right out of the cans. We stuck out our autograph books and papers, and one by one he grabbed them and signed them. He finally got to mine, I gave him my pen, and guess what?? It was so cold my pen wouldn't work!! Augh!! All that hard work, and running with clanging bells on my back and for what?? Stinkin' pen! Fortunately, Jack grabbed a marker someone else had, and used that to sign my book!! I was so excited!! I walked back triumphantly to my dad and uncle, and showed them my prize! What a great day that was! But I digress!

The only reason I bought the stamp set "The Back Nine" was so I would have something to use whenever I made a card for my dad. I like this set because the style of it is different from most that I have, in that it has an antique feel to it, and the images aren't necessarily ones that you absolutely have to colour. I have used this set a couple of times already, and wanted to try something different with it, so I tried what I call the Crinkle Technique. The paper that I stamped the image on, if you look closely, is antique-y looking. What I did was run that piece through the crimper three times (horizontally, vertically, diagonally). I crumpled it into a tiny ball, then straightened it out. When you look at your cardstock on the side, you can see that the sheet is layered. If you pull the layers apart very gently, you will then have two pieces of paper, and the inside has a softened, suede-y look to it. This is the part I stamped on. This stamp set is perfect for antique-ing, don't you think?

I don't have a Happy Father's Day stamp, and I purposely left off any sentiment, so my parents could use this card for another golfer for a birthday. From what my dad said when he saw this card, I don't think they give too many of them away-my dad mentioned something about having a nice collection of cards! LOL It's nice to know people appreciate my cards-almost as much as I appreciate my Jack Nicklaus autograph!

Have a great day!

Thank you, thank you...

2009-07-04T09:43:00.002-04:00

Last month, my DH organized a surprise birthday party for my "29th" (I won't tell you how many times I've celebrated my 29th birthday! LOL). It was a very well-kept secret, and I was very surprised! We started by going to the beach with the girls for a walk along the water's edge. The water seemed very cold to me and my toes, but it wasn't too cold for some-there were people swimming in it! Yikes! Fortunately we were there just for a walk and to soak up the beautiful sunshine. As we were leaving the beach, my hubby pulled a blindfold out of his pocket and I got into the car without knowing/seeing where we were going.

Little did I know that he was driving in a crazy pattern, trying to throw me off course so I wouldn't realize we were headed back toward my mother-in-law's around the corner from our house. What he didn't realize was that after the second turn, we were driving out of my mental directional grid, and I was already lost! He kept driving for about 25 minutes, up a hill, down a hill, turning left, turning right, doing a three-point turn, and on and on...I was actually starting to feel carsick! LOL Fortunately we reached our destination before I was too ill, and I got out of the car, still blindfolded, and was guided into the backyard. I was told to remove my blindfold, and discovered where we were, and that there were a lot of witnesses to my getting older! LOL It was a great day, catching up with friends and family and just being surrounded by so many people I loved!

Of course, being a stamper, I just had to come up with a gorgeous, yet quick, card to thank all of my guests for their generosity, and for helping to make my birthday so special! I wanted to personalize it with my initial, since I have this graceful alphabet set that I've yet to use. This card is what I came up with. Normally, I am a fan of blue, or softer colours for a card, but I had used the Raspberry Tart dsp, and the Rose Red was the only colour that would make this card work. I liked the idea of using a shorter piece of ribbon instead of trying to tie (and mail!) some 20-odd bows. It would have been too much stress trying to tie my bows perfectly for each card! LOL I know, I have issues...

All in all, for a card that isn't normally my colour choice, I liked the way it turned out to look flowy and graceful, and feminine! Just like what I want to be, when I grow up!

Have a great day!

Kusudama

2009-06-15T09:14:00.004-04:00

When I was in Kingston in April, I visited my cousin one afternoon. She took me to a tea store there called Cha Cha tea, that was run by the nicest Japanese lady. I love origami, so I was looking around at her decorations as well as the tea. I think I surprised and impressed the woman when I asked her about the kusudama in her store! Her face lit up and we started talking not only about the kusudama, but also the 1,000 cranes decoration she had hanging in the front window, and of course, we talked about tea. Her kusudama was different from the one I made here, but I have yet to see a kusudama that I don't want to try!

This one in particular is made from 60 pieces of 2" x 2" paper. Each piece makes one petal, then you attach them in groups of 5, and then you make a half of the kusudama by attaching 6 flowers together, and then you glue the halves together. Sounds simple, right? It is! The only thing is that making a kusudama requires patience. It takes a while to complete one. My friend Sandra made one all at once, and it took her four hours! That is a long haul, so I break mine up, allowing the glue to dry overnight, and then tackling a little bit the next day. Not to mention, folding 60 pieces of paper makes your fingertips raw, so having a bone folder handy is essential.

The tutorial I followed is found on a site called "Folding Trees", and it has excellent step by step instructions and pictures. I loved making this one, and am trying to find instructions for a different fold, but have not found one yet. You'll know when I do!

Have a great day!

Yikes! What happened?

2009-05-25T09:50:00.002-04:00

Well, I tried to schedule this post to appear while I was away, but it seems it didn't work...and here I thought I was so smart! LOL That'll teach me! Anyway, we're back from Disney, and phew! What a week! And it was toasty!! My poor girls wilted like flowers in the heat, and I turned into a sprinkler! I swear I was the only one sweating, everyone else looked like it was just a lovely spring day! Of course, we come home and it's 13 Celsius (brrr) and the shuttle driver tells us it was 27 yesterday! Wha?? Is that right? Maybe he was in Orlando, too! LOL
So here is the post that was supposed to magically appear while I was away. It was a tribute to the beautiful simplicity that is rub-ons! Doncha just love 'em?

They can make quick work of a project! This was a little mint tin I just emptied (they were good-now I need to go out and buy some more!). All I had to do was peel the label and add the rub-on! Now to figure out what to put into it!

I will slowly get back into the stampin groove this week and I'll be posting more. Maybe I won't try to schedule anything to magically appear until I get it figured out! LOL

Have a great Monday!

M-i-c-k-e-y ....

2009-05-24T16:14:00.002-04:00

Well, we're on our way to Disney on Monday, but I did manage to set up one post to show up magically while I'm away. I don't have time to do another one, and I won't have access to my computer while I'm there (gulp!), so even though I have a lot of stuff to show you it will have to wait until my return...I hope everyone has a great week!

Twinkle, Twinkle...

2009-05-24T09:29:00.002-04:00

This is the gift I gave my sister for her shower on Friday night. I have had this idea brewing in my mind for quite some time, and had actually started with a yellow star and pastel coloured letters, but then my sister had her baby girl, and I saw how pink her room was, and I knew my yellow star wouldn't look as nice as one done with the Raspberry tart dsp. My friend Kim let me borrow her star die and I have the die for the letters (I can't remember the name, but it is the long thin die with the alphabet). I had bought that die thinking I could use it to personalize cards since the letters were so small, and they worked perfectly for this project too!

It was a great night and I was able to catch up with some of my sister's friends whom I haven't seen in quite a while. I was a good girl and didn't try to hog my niece during the entire shower, although I really wanted to! LOL She's just so sweet, I can't help it!

Have a great day!

Purses, purses, I love purses!

2009-05-17T09:30:00.004-04:00

Don't you? It's funny, I see a lot of women carrying purses that I love, but when I go shopping for one, I can never find one that I like as much...maybe I should just walk up to those women and offer to buy their purse on the spot. That would definitely save me some time! LOL

Here is a purse you don't have to shop for! And you can make it just the way you want it! I loved this project from the moment I saw it, and knew I had to try one. It turned out so well, that I even made extras for those times that I needed a quick hand-made gift. I love the idea of a cute purse holding cards! There are tons of variations, of course, and I think this is only the second purse style I've tried, but I have to say, I'm hooked! I love these cute little purses!(did I say that already? LOL) They are perfect for girlfriends, moms (ie on Mother's Day, although I didn't give my extras away on Mother's Day...I'm such a hoarder! LOL), sisters, etc. The Fifth Avenue Floral is perfect to decorate the outside, but there are a few other sets that come to mind (ie Baroque motifs) that would work just as well. And you could create this in the recipient's favourite colour...the possibilities are endless! I also thought that as the button for the purse, using the largest flower from the Pretties kit would be an elegant touch. You could colour it to match and use either a pearl or a jewelled brad...see? Endless!

If you decide to try one, send me a link in the comments section so I can see your version!

For all of the Canadians, Happy Victoria Day weekend! Hope you get out to enjoy the sunshine, friends and family!

Happy stamping!

Time flies!!

2009-04-21T13:59:00.004-04:00

Hello again!

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted yet this month! Yikes!

This weekend I will be travelling to Kingston with some stampin' friends to go visit some other stampin' friends to...you got it! To do some stampin'! I can hardly wait! I need some inspiration to get me going and what could be better than a room full of fellow stampers? Think of all the creativity that will be floating in the air! LOL I can hardly wait! I am sure I'll come back with at least a few projects to show you, so stay tuned!

Have a great weekend!

Mini Photo Album

2009-03-26T21:52:00.004-04:00

Hello! Today I am sharing a mini photo album I made. I just love pink and brown together, don't you? So for my first mini album, I decided to use one of my favourite colour combos.
For this album, I dug into the archives a bit, pulling out Purely Pomegranate to go with the browns and Pretty in Pink. The dsp on the edge is also an oldie but goody. In fact, I used this to determine my colours-makes it easy on the brain that way! Now normally, I don't like to cut too much (unlike some of my stampin' friends...hey Jacqui!) because it is not one of my strengths, and so cutting all of these flowers took me a lot of time-then I had to sponge the little gaffers! I survived the torture and managed to put the album together though!
I think this is the only time I've used the Build-a-brad (bottom right), but I really do like them-so fun! This album was made so that it could hold 4x6" pictures, because sometimes, you just don't want to cut a favourite picture! In spite of the fact that this album has 5 pages, plus front and back cover, putting the jumbo eyelets in to hold it all together was a cinch-don't you just love the crop-a-dile for that! It saved my fingers-especially after all that cutting!

Well, now I guess I should find some pictures worthy of being inside my pretty little album...

Have a great day!

Donna

Happy Birthday Kim!

2009-03-15T22:12:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I attended the Stampin' Up Regional Conference in London. It was a great day! I got stamp with my girls: Sandra, Kim and Jacqui. We were having a blast whether we were stamping or listening to one of the many talented presenters. I have my head full of great ideas now, I just have to find the time to put them to use!

Saturday was also our friend Kim's birthday! We tried to get them to announce it on the mike so that the whole room would then sing Happy Birthday to her, but they wouldn't do it. What they did do, however, was come over and sing Happy Birthday to Kim personally during our lunch break. Wasn't that sweet? And what better way to spend your day than stamping! I hope Kim had a terrific birthday-she certainly deserves it!

Here are pictures of Kim doing some serious stamping, and being serenaded by the SU ladies. See how she's smiling? If I'd have sung Happy Birthday to her, the picture would have been a little different-she'd have her fingers in her ears and be hiding under the table! LOL

Birthday Cards and the 70's...

2009-03-03T19:11:00.006-05:00

Hello again! Today's card is quick and simple, and it is "translatable" into either a male or female birthday card! I have a hard time coming up with cards for men and boys, probably because I tend to by stamp sets with flowers and flourishes, and other girly delights. For some reason, guys don't really appreciate flowers and princesses, accented with birds, butterflies and glitter...

This card uses the Wow Flowers stamp set, but that one flower looks more like a cool retro 70's thing...it actually reminds me of these tin stars or flower thingys that my mom had hung in our basement when I was little. My grandma had them too, now that I think of it. They kind of looked like they were made from pop cans, but they were store bought decor...I wonder if one of them bought some for the other...at any rate, even as a five-year-old, I recognized these as some strange kind of decor pieces, but of course I'm sure one day my girls will be asking me what I was thinking when I used (fill in the blank here) to decorate our house. At which point I will defer to my hubby since he buys most of the accents for our house, and I'll tell my girls lovingly that it is their dad, not me, with the wacky taste. I was just quietly stamping in the basement, not decorating with wacky pieces, I'll say...

Any way, my point here, is the one stamp doesn't really look like a flower which is why I think it works for a man's card. Ok, so I threw a gem in the centre of the card, but you could certainly remove it or not use it if you think it would offend the male receiving the card. You don't want to offend anyone on their birthday, of course. But you can see how using more masculine colours could "man up" this card, and make it acceptable for the man in your life.

These cards measure 4" x 4", which is a perfect size to fit all of the circles with just a hint of room to spare around the edges. I like using different sizes of cards, just to change things up a bit, and to challenge myself. Using this basic template, imagine all the different images you could use around the sentiment. It wouldn't even have to be something that fit perfectly inside the 1 1/4" circle punch...the possibilities are endless!

Ok, I think I've said enough for now. I will let you go (to stamp!) here, but I'll be back soon with more creations.

Have a great day!

Donna

Butterfly Bookmark

2009-02-27T09:25:00.008-05:00

Since my sister is in the hospital and starting to feel better, she has been doing a lot of reading. When I visited her one day, I noticed she didn't have a bookmark, so I decided to change that! I like making bookmarks because they give you just a small amount of space to work with, which is perfect when you have that creative block. And I need a creative jumpstart these days! So this was a perfect excuse to get me stamping without feeling overwhelmed.

I used a sentiment from the old Sale-a-bration set called "Happy Harmony". I don't often like the sayings they make stamps of, but I really do like this one. It's perfect for butterflies, or if you were scrapbooking pictures of your children as babies, or a grandparent-with-grandchild photo, or a favourite pet as a youngin'....the possibilities are endless with this sentiment!

I attached butterflies to it instead of flowers since there were flowers on the dsp I used. I thought stamping the butterflies (from the Dreams du Jour set) on window sheets (in Staz-On) would be fun. I cut them out, attached them with mini-glue dots (so quick and neat!) and folded up the wings a bit, as you can see in the close-up, for a neat, 3-D effect.

On the back of this bookmark I attached a mini calendar for 2009. It seems that the life of "luxury" my sister's been living in the hospital has blended all into one luxurious stay, and she isn't sure of which day it is-although she has a general idea of the day of the week, she's not sure of the date. So I thought this would be a welcomed idea.

Now that this bookmark is finished, and I look at these pictures, I see a beautiful card in here somewhere. See how simple it was to kickstart that little bit of creativity? Sometimes thinking outside the box for a bit makes going back to the box a lot easier.

So my challenge for you, to help you get started with your creativity, is to create a bookmark, and then the card it inspires! Don't think about a card as you create your bookmark, just focus on making a bookmark. Only think about a card after you've finished your bookmark. If you would like to post a link to your picture of your creations in the comments section, I would love to check out what you've done!

Happy creating!

Donna

I'm back!

2009-02-25T09:18:00.005-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. I've been preoccupied with my sister, who was ill and in the hospital. A month later, she is still hospitalized, but she is showing signs of improvement (finally!), and as my stress slowly melts away, I am beginning to think of stamping again.

This is the card I made for my sister. The style is called a Joy Gate fold card. I love this style, because I like the way it opens/closes. A part of the front tucks in behind the medallion on the main part of the card, which I think is the best feature of this card. I like the fact it isn't your basic open and close fold.

You can find instructions for this card here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/joy_fold_card/

The instructions are easy enough to follow, so I hope you will give it a try!

Until next time!

Donna

Merry Christmas!...a little late...lol

2009-01-25T21:08:00.003-05:00

As promised, here is the picture of the ornament that was hidden in the basket! I used Purely Pomegranate ink, Dazzling Diamonds, and a rub-on, and voila! One beautiful ornament that is perfect as a small gift for a friend, or a decoration for your own tree! Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to either give this away or use it as decoration. This ornament fell to the floor, and came to be no more via a spectacular crash yesterday morning...ah well, it gives me the perfect excuse to make more! lol Such is the life of a fragile creation!

I am looking forward to sharing my latest card with you! Come back again!

Take care!

Christmas Basket

2009-01-22T17:46:00.004-05:00

Well, it's been a while since I've posted (already! lol) but I haven't found time to stamp lately. Today I was in a mood to play with my new camera and came across this project which I made, obviously, before Christmas. I love the Baskets and Blooms die for the Big Shot! The basket, I discovered, is a perfect fit for the ornaments I bought from Michael's (woo hoo!). So I put one together and had fun with the embellishments that you also cut with the same die. Of course, I had to add some "bling", hence the jewel in the flower's center. Next post will be the ornament, which you can just barely see sitting in its basket (that's where the sprigs of ribbon come from). Here's a hint on what it looks like: my favourite stamping saying is, "It's all about the sparkle!" LOL

It's easy to see, with different dsp's, how this basket could be used for any special day-from Easter (oooh! I can hardly wait to play with these for Easter ideas!), to party favours for birthdays, showers, etc, to Mother's Day, and on and on...I am looking forward to experimenting with this die so much more! What kinds of occasions have you used yours for? Or which occasions would you use it for if you had one? I would love to hear from you!

Take care! Until next time!

2009-01-12T19:27:00.000-05:00

In keeping with my hope that my blog will inspire, I want to share with you a source of inspiration I discovered recently. I was at my brother-in-law's place in Collingwood over the holidays and had brought a few things to stamp. One of the stamp sets I had brought with me was "A Rose is a Rose". My sister-in-law took one look at it, and a few minutes later, came back with a cushion from my niece's room. The flowers and leaves on the cushion and the stamp set were almost identical! One thing that struck me was the softness of the look of the cushion, which I immediately set about replicating as best I could with the colours I had packed. The most interesting part of the colour scheme was that the leaves were yellow with green highlights. I would never have tried that kind of combo on my own, but with the other elements and colours in the cushion, it worked!

I invite you to have a look around your house-you may never know when something will inspire you!

A New Year, A New Beginning!

2009-01-11T19:09:00.000-05:00

Hello!
Welcome to my blog! In the days and weeks to come, I hope to turn this blog into a resource for those of you who want to learn a new technique, as well as a source of inspiration. I look forward to hearing from you-whether it is constructive criticism, comments on a project I've posted, or just a "hello"!
Thanks for stopping by, have a great day!