T Slide Tutorial

T slide, T shape...  Which is it?  I really don't know but you get what I mean.  Are you ready for my tutorial?  I hope so because here it goes...  AND REMEMBER, you can click on any picture to make it larger to view ~ just hit your back button to come back Ü

Here's a sample of what you will need, I kinda added and subtracted as I went.  But here is a list:

• 5 1/4" square of card stock (card base)
• 5" square of 2 sided (prefered) designer paper (card front)
• 3 1/2" x 1 1/4" piece of card stock (for inside sentiment)
• 4" x 1" strip of card stock (for slide mechanism)
• 4 1/2" x 1" strip of card stock (for slide mechanism)
• 1" (or 1 1/4") circle punch
• Stamps, ink, embellies, cutting mat, metal ruler and scrap DP and card stock

You will take your 5" square piece of DP and flip it over to the "wrong" side and make your pencil lines.  Make pencil lines 3/4" inch in on each side.

Now you will make a cut on 3 sides along the lines and a score along the last line.  You will also take the center piece and measure 1 1/2" in and score, then again and that should leave you with a 1/2" score at the end.

On the end with the 1/2" score mark approx. 1/2" in from there and make 2 parallel lines approx. 1 3/8" in length and cut to make a place for your hidden message to come out of.  I like to use my metal ruler to make the cuts ~ it insures that you make a straight line.

Now your paper should look like this.  You will have 3 cut sides and one scored side.  You will have your 2 score lines 1 1/2" from each other on the flap and one that is 1/2".  You will also have the notch cut out where your slider message will pop out.  And remember, this is all on the "wrong" side - the other side will be the card front.

Now turn the paper 180 degrees so the score line is on the left.  Take your 3 1/2" x 1 1/4" strip of paper and score 1/2" on one end.  You will add adheside to the 1/2" end and adhere it down to the edge of the scored side of your 5" square peice.  (Did I explain that right?  Sometimes I know what I want to say and it does not come out that way...)  Then tuck the other end in the slot that you made.

I love making these cards, they are fun.  It's kinda cool to watch when you give people a card you've made and they can "play" with it.  Some people are amazed that you've made something like this...  It puts a smile on my face to watch them.

So now you will take the 4 1/2" x 1" card stock strip and insert it thru the hole of your 1" circle punch and round off the edge.  If you want to add a piece of matching DP cut it at 4 1/2" x 3/4" and repeat the same process to get the matching rounded edge.

Then tape the two together.  This will make it so you don't have to add a tab to the end that you pull.  I find that when you add a tab or circle on the end it hangs up when you try to close the card.  With this there are no pieces to get caught when you close the card.  If you've made the card the way that the tutorial asks you will notice the difference.

Now add the piece we just rounded to the 4" x 1" piece as shown.

Still working on the "wrong side" you will attach tape to the 1/2" scored piece on the flap as shown.  Take your T Slide piece and adhere it down.

Ok, if your still with me, you are almost done ~ really.  This is how your card should be looking like now.  You have your message slider (the green piece) under the T slide mechanism.  Now take your tape and apply it to the outer edges of the card front.  Make sure that you dont apply tape to any area too close to where the T side will go.  Once that is done you will flip it over.

This is where you will adhere it to the 5 1/4" square piece of cardstock.  BUT, before you do so if you'd like another piece of DP to coordinate you would need to add it to the 5 1/4" square piece before you add your card front that we just worked on.  I did not in this tutorial, I just used stamps, but the other cards I did I cut a piece of DP 4" square.

This is also when I add the sentiment to the inside slider instead of at the beginning.  This way I can make sure that it is hidden in case I goofed on a score or measurement.

Now is when you can begin to decorate your card.  If you add a panel to the front make sure that you only adhere it to the far right side 1 1/2" scored area or the card will not open properly.  The panel can be bigger than that area, just make sure that the tape is not applied any place else.

This is my finished card.  The base card is Cherry Cobbler that I layered with Gable Green and DP from Creative Imaginations called Iron Orchid Designs.  The image is from Darcie's that I colored with my pencils and gamsol.  I stamped the swirls from The Angel Company called Butterfly Swirls. 

The sentiment inside is also from The Angel Company, it was their gift with purchase stamps.  I stamped that with Real Red ink and punched it out with my Marvy super jumbo scallop oval punch.

I wanted to add some ribbon to dress it up a bit so I added some ruffles with my red grosgrain ribbon the edge.  As an after thought I put the button on the pull tab and just added a piece of ribbon thru the holes. 

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial, and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

More Mother's Day

Yup, more Mother's Day cards to show you!  I hope that it sparks some type of inspiration for you.  I know that sometimes I need all the inspiration I can get...

Here's another one of the cards that I made to send to my friends this Mother's day.  You can't forget your friends either on Mother's day.  Friends, sisters, Aunts, cousins...  Anyone who is a Mother.  It really is a thankless job sometimes, but it is so very rewarding.  I would never change a thing about it ~ the ups, the downs, it's all worth it.  I ♥ being a Mom and would not do one thing different.  Whoops, there I go again - off track...  sorry.

The base card is Barely Banana (I'm going to miss that color.  It's so feminine.) and I layered it with Blush Blossom and Certainly Celery.  I stamped the image from Darcie's and colored it in with my pencils and gamsol then layered it on to a piece of Certainly Celery and adhered it to the card.  I also paper pierced the card at the upper left and lower right corners - it looked just too plain without it I thought.

I stamped the word "friend" in Pink Passion ink and punched it out with my word window punch.  I had a piece of scrap of Certainly Celery that I ran thru my cuttlebug with the swiss dots folder so I punched it out with my Modern Label punch and adhered the sentiment on to it and added it to the card with pop dots.

Inside I took a piece of Blush Blossom card stock and adhered it to the card and matted a piece of white card stock that I stamped the words "Happy Mother's Day" in Certainly Celery ink.  I took a piece of Certainly Celery card stock and punched it out with my Martha Stewart punch and added that inside for a little more detail. 

If you look at the up close picture you can see that I added just a little touch of stickles to the flowers for a little extra "pretty".

I hope that you enjoy it and there is a spark of inspiration that it gave you! 

Wishing you all a wonderful Mother's day!

Just a card today

I don't have much to show you today ~ I made a card for Danielle's boyfriend.  She asked me to make a card for him for his birthday.  She's the one who can sit down and whip out a card in 15 minutes and it looks great.  Me, well it takes a tad bit longer than that (ok more than a tad - 1/2 a day!!).  And of course I wanted it to be nice because she is at this stage where she's kinda picky and if it was not right I'm sure that I would of had to put it in my stash and start over. 

To be safe I asked her to pick out what she wanted on the card - and the colors.  I figured that way I could not get it too wrong, huh??

She picked out an image from Darcie's and the colors blue.  I had a hard time coloring the image because I wanted to do cute pinks ~ but it was for a guy, so I had to refrain.

The base card is Pacific Point and she wanted layered it with Bashful Blue.  So I found a cute piece of DP that had the blue stripes and it did not have a maker on it, so sorry.  I colored the image with my pencils and gamsol and a couple markers.  Then I used my stickles on it and let it dry overnight.  I cut the center out and made a shaker card.  The little confetti inside is blue, gold and silver birthday cakes.  The card actually measures 5 1/2" x 5 3/4".  I cut a half inch off of the right side of the card so I could use my cuttlebug to emboss the dots on the right side opening.  So, you think he'll like it??

Sorry this post is short today ~ but I've got things to do...  Appointments & such.  I'll be back tomorrow!

OH!  And don't forget to check out this post for the blog candy that Julie is giving away.  Have a great day!

Happy Friday!

I can not beleive that next week is Christmas!  Where the heck did the time go to?  I'm not ready for the year to end and the next to start.  My little girl will be leaving us for college soon.  I so have to get started on all that.  But seriously, when did she grow up?  When did I get all this grey from? 

I've been working on some more Christmas cards ~ wanna see?

One of my favorite stamp companies is Darcie's.  I used to love to go to the shows in CA and pick up their images.  I've got quite a few of them - Danielle has quite a few of them too.  And this little guy is one of them.  They used to sell their UM stamps that were "seconds" in a bin and most of them were $1.00!!  I can hardly ever see the "ooops" on them - can you??

I wrote down the recipie for this card and now I can't find it ~ sorry.  I know that the base card is Garden Green and that I used Chocolate Chip and Garden Green nesties but I cant remember the name of the DP.  It is SU! but I just don't remember which collection it was from, sorry.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts and I used my Stamp-a-ma-jig to place it so I could use my oval punch on it and I punched a piece of Garden Green with my Super Jumbo Marvy punch.  I also added some fun flock to the hat for a little added touch! I guess I do remember more than I thought, huh?

I'm off to make a few more things for Danielle to hand out.  I've still got to shop for hubby - all else is done.

I hope that you all have a great day!

Milk it Baby!

A friend of mine had a little procedure done the other day and I wanted to make a card for her. She's always busy, busy, busy. If they ever needed to make more hours in the day she could use them.

When I was talking with her she said that it was really no big deal and she'd be home in no time. Well I mentioned to her that she needed to milk it for all she could. Then it hit me, I had a stamp that said that. Of course I had to use it. Then I thought I had cow print paper & a cow stamp... Oh we all know where this is going, don't we?

The base card is Basic Black that I layered with Real Red, SU! Summer Picnic and Darcie's cow print paper. I stamped the images from SU! Comfort Food and TAC's SWAK and colored them in with pencils and gamsol. I then punched them out with my marvy punches. The saying I stamped in Real Red ink, punched out with my 3/4" circle punch and layered it on to a 1" Basic Black circle and then again on to a piece of Real Red that I punched out with my designer label punch. I added some dots with my gel pen and I didn't forget the ribbon, she loves ribbon! I thought that it turned out cute, don't you?

I'm off to create something ~ see you back here later!

So sorry!

I'm so sorry it's been a while since I posted. I knew that last week would be a wacky one with hubby home. But I've got a few things that I'd like to show you... So ready or not, here it is...

Last weekend we went to a gathering in Northern Kentucky. On SCS there is a forum where you can search or even start a thread about getting together with others in the area to stamp or scrap or whatever. We went back in April when we went it was decided to do it again, and this time it was Christmas in July. I want to show you what this group of VERY talented ladies made. There was 15 of us total. I was blown away with all the talent that these ladies have. And all these punches! Look at these cards with all the punches. I would never of thought of those!! But now I know what I will be making for Christmas this year *Ü*

I've had my card done for a while but I did not post it because I did not want to show it in case one of the ladies was looking. So here is mine...

First let me say that I am sorry for the bad picture, I don't know what is wrong with the camera. Sometimes it takes great pictures ~ sometimes it doesn't.

The base card is Pacific Point (I loaded up on this before it went away!) and I layered it with Riding Hood Red (yes, I did the same as the Pacific Point) and DP from Darcies. I had to call them to order more - I've had some for years, but not enough for 18 card sets.

I stamped the image and colored the smore, cup and the penguins feet with pencils and gamsol. I then colored the hats and cheeks with markers. I then used stickles on the marshmallow and cut the image out with my nesties and inked the edges with Real Red ink. The white piece behind the image panel was run thru the cuttlebug with the snowflakes folder then added to a piece of Riding Hood Red as well. You can't see it in the picture, but behind the image panel and the CB panel there is a piece of white organdy ribbon going straight across.

Well, that's my card - you like?

Yesterday was stamp camp at Anne's house. I did not go last month but I would not miss this month. I love going to her house and creating. You wanna see what we made yesterday? Of course you do!

We used the die cut from SU! to create this adorable little box and then we made these little note cards!
We made these two cards too. Actually we made 3 cards, but I've already used one of them and forgot to take a picture!

The minute I saw this medallion I knew that I HAVE to have it! When I first saw it in the catty I thought it would go on my wish list - but now I know for sure it's the next thing that I want. And the little robots, aren't they adorable?! I'm not a fan of robots, and they are popping up all over - I think it's because I don't have a little boy. I don't know. But this card she created for us was adorable! It's hard to tell in the picture, but the little bellies are stamped on colored paper and cut out and pop dotted on to the card. It really is adorable!!

So - how is that for the day? Did I make up for not being around? No, I know. But I hope to create more today for you!

Have a great afternoon!

Top o' the mornin' to ya!

Good morning everyone! I hope today finds you well.

I got a little of my mojo back yesterday. Not much, but enough to make a couple cards. When I make cards I generally make at least 2, sometimes 4 unless I am making something special for someone - then it's just one - or if I'm in a swap then it's however many. I think that it is an OCD thing. I just cant make an odd amount of something. Yes, I know. Mrs. Monk honey. (He calls me that a lot!)

One things first! I'm not sure I mentioned it last week or not. My DD and I got into an argument last week. She had to prepare a speech for her floral class and she did not want to get up in front of the class and do it. I tried to tell her I understand, but we all had to do it. Well, it did not end well. She said she'll just take an "F" and she stormed upstairs. Then the next day she's down here asking me how this sounds and how that sounds. She did it!! The speech was to be anywhere from 4 to 6 minutes. She was just over 6 minutes and she received an A+! Well, the best part was her teacher kept her after class and told her that she wanted Danielle to speak at this FFA thing for horticulture in front of judges and Danielle said ok. Yes, I did remind her about the argument we had and she said she was nervous and excited too!

For her class she had the whole week to prepare, but for this they gave the topic and she had 20 minutes to prepare. Well she did it!! And I was as proud as can be!! To top it off she was chosen to go to regional's!! How cool is that! I told her she could do it, she just had to put her mind to it! So now I'm as proud as a peacock!!

Ok, enough ramblin' you came to see something creative!

I sat down to create something for St. Patrick's Day and this is all that came out. I've been looking for some paper and of course they don't have it in town. They are waiting for the items from CHA to arrive so I have to improvise!

The image is from Darcie's and I colored it in with my pencils and gamsol and sponged it with Glorious Green ink. The base card is Kiwi Kiss and I layered it with some Garden Green that I ran thru the CB with the textile folder. I then stamped some clovers from My Sentiments Exactly in gold ink and embossed them with Judikins detail gold powder. That is the best EP I've ever used. I layered that on to a piece of Glorious Green added the image with a photo corner and I was complete.

Another card I made was with some stamps that I love! They are from Ann-ticipations. I know that they are not St. Patrick's ~ but I love them and thought if I made them in green no one would know..... he he he.....I've had this silly stamp for years, it's from Ann-ticipations. It is an old Scandinavian saying and it tickled me the first time I read it.

The base card is Dark Green. I layered the card with Certainly Celery that I ran thru the CB with the Swiss Dots folder. I stamped the saying and undies on white paper. I also stamped the undies again on green polka dot paper and cut out and paper pieced it on to the white. I colored the ruffled and the frog in with my pencils and gamsol. I sponged the two layers with Green Galore ink and I was complete. It was a quick card, but it tickles me to read it!

I hope that's enough for today. I'm waiting for the Fed Ex guy and I think that I'll go stamp something!

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

**Edited for Poem on Card:

May the light always find you on a dreary day, When you need to be home may you find your way. May you always have courage to take a chance, and never find frogs in your underpants.

Happy T.G.I.F!!!

Thank goodness!! This week's been a long and slow one for sure! It seems like last weekend was years ago. I just want to sleep in tomorrow and stay under my warm blankets.


It started snowing this morning when hubby left for work ~ here it is almost 10:30am and it's still coming down. Not as much, but it's still snow. I'm so afraid that our trees are going to snap. It's so sad to see the trees snap, break and fall. They take so long to grow and look so nice ~ it's a shame.


Well with the weather the way it's been I had nothing else to do but craft. Ok, yes I did ~ but shhhhhhh, don't tell Ü


The first thing that I made yesterday was a little card with another Darcie's stamp. I'm sure that I've used this before, but here's another take on it.

The base card is Pink Pirouette layered with some DP. The DP does not have any maker on it, sorry. I added a piece of pink polka dot ribbon (that happens to match) along the seam of the two papers. I colored the image with my watercolors, sponged some Pink Passion ink around it and layered it on to a piece of Pixie Pink and some Purely Pomegranate that I scalloped the edges.

I stamped the bath brush and soap and colored them in with my pencils and gamsol. I cut them out and placed them on the card. I then took the sentiment and inked the word "soaping" with Real Red ink and stamped that on white cs, sponged some Pink Passion ink around that panel and layered that on to a scrap of Purely Pomegranate. I placed that on the card with pop dots. I finished the card off with some Fruit Punch stickles on the bubbles and a couple of flowers and a button. I think that it is kinda cute. All the stamps are from Darcie's.

Here's another stamp that you may or may not of seen me use. I use this every Valentine's day. I just love it, it's simple. Of course I just used the last of this paper. I've had this paper for years and I'm sure that I'll never find it again ~ but hopefully I'll find something close.

The base card is Chocolate Chip and I layered a piece of Creamy Caramel that was run thru the CB. I took the two pieces of DP from Frances Meyer and layered them on to a piece of Pink Pirouette. I then stamped the image from Embossing Arts Co. (who's gone out of business, sorry) and colored it with my markers. I sponged some Close to Cocoa ink around that panel and layered it on to a piece of Close to Cocoa and Pink Pirouette cs before I added the image panel to the front of the card. Then I knew that it needed something else so I punched out a candy from the DP with my 1" circle punch and layered that on to a piece of Creamy Caramel punched with the 1 1/4" circle punch. The 1 3/8" circle punch is Pink Pirouette and the scallop circle is Chocolate Chip, and I used my paper piercer to make the holes in the scallop.

I just love that stamp. Since I am showing something that is no longer available - I know, not too nice ~ if you really feel the need to have this stamped image just e-mail me and I can stamp a few for you! It's the least I can do Ü

I think that I've mentioned to you that my SIL is starting to (finally) get into making cards. After 3 1/2 years of watching she's finally taken the leap. Ahhhh, I've infected another ~ he he he.... Years ago my dear friend Janet infected me. With the cute little bunny box she made for Easter with the M & M's. I vowed to infect as many as I could too!! It's only right...

Anyway, she pretty much has to start from scratch. Like we all did. She had given me this baby food jar that my niece had left last time she was visiting. I thought it was perfect for her for little flowers and such. I jsut decorated it up and filled it with some flowers for her. I think that she'll like it. Every time I go out there I bring something new for her to play with. I've got a whole drawer full of different pattern scissors. Heck, they are all dusty from not being used in years ~ so she's getting some of those too...

Well - that's enough for today. I'm off to make a calendar for my purse - something cute I had seen on Julie's Paper Pleasing Ideas. If you haven't been there you really need to take a peek. She's such a talent!

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Good (cold, snowy) morning everyone!

Brrrr. It's been a little chilly here the past couple of days. We've been hit by a storm. Actually this is our first real snow since we've been here. It's snowed a little here and there, but this is the actual first bit of weather we've had.

Yesterday hubby came home from work because 1/2 the plant didn't show up again and there was no work so he came home. To his amazement there was no TV!! It really was not too bad without the TV because we've got movies to watch, it's just listening to the news on the radio was no fun. With the TV we can re-wind if we missed something. And of course I was moving from the front window to the back one to catch a glimpse of what was going on. There's been some houses on the street around us that have lost their trees, they've broken off or fallen. I'm worried about our huge weeping willow out back. It keeps leaning farther and farther over. Then of course we put in some Italian Cypress trees 2 years ago, we paid to get the larger ones ~ they are even leaning over. I hate to see the trees break, it takes so long for them to grow.

Well enough of that jibber jabber... Wanna see a card?

I'm still working on Valentine's cards. Just got a few more to make. I've had a piece of this paper from Darcie's for a long time and I've been wanting to use it. I keep it on the table next to me in case something pops into my head, and it finally did!

The paper is from Darcie's and I got it a long time ago from a show. I kept looking at it thinking that I wanted to do something with it and finally remembered that I had this cookie stamp. And of course, brown and pink ~ I think the perfect color combo ~ so voila! the card!!

The base card is Pink Pirouette that I layered with Chocolate Chip (of course!) and a piece of the Darcie's DP. I then took a piece of Chocolate Chip cs and used the Martha Stewart lace border punch along the bottom edge. I stamped 3 chocolate chip cookies from Ann-ticipations in Close to Cocoa ink, and highlighted the chips with my Chocolate Chip pen. I cut them out, sponged Close to Cocoa ink around the edges and layered them on to the Chocolate Chip panel. I added a length of brown and pink ribbon at the top of the panel.

I then stamped the sentiment from SU! Oh So Sweet set in Close to Cocoa ink and used my Pink Passion and Garden Green pens to color the little flower. I sponged Close to Cocoa ink around that panel and layered it on to a pieces of Pink Pirouette and Chocolate Chip scraps. I used pop dots to adhere to the card. The word "Valentine" is also a Darcie's stamp. I stamped that in Chocolate Chip and sponged Close to Cocoa around the edges, layered that on to a piece of Chocolate Chip scrap and adhered that to the card.

You can see the inside of the card at the bottom. I sponged Close to Cocoa ink around the edges, and added a piece of DP that I used the Martha punch on. I stamped the chocolate chips from the Oh So Sweet set in Chocolate Chip and the sentiment from Whipper Snapper that I shaded in with Close to Cocoa and Pink Passion ink.

I love this card. I may have to give it to myself Ü

That's all for today. I hope you like it!!

Have a great (warm and safe) day!
Hugs,

Joani

My turn at the tutorial

It seems that some of you enjoyed the video that I found for you to look at. I will try to find more interesting things for you to look at. I don't have a camera, so I cant make a video for you. But I'll look around to find things to share....

I wanted to show you my version on the tutorial. Basically it is the video tutorial and the SCS sketch challenge 212 for the week. Might as well kill two birds......

I used my little cupig from Whipper Snapper again. This is one of two that were together for a SOTM once. I just love them!! They are the ones I grab first when making my Valentines cards.

The base card is Pink Pirouette. I layered the card with Purely Pomegranate and Heidi Grace DP. I used Mel's label templates (Thanks so much Mel!!) for the top note dies. I cut a medium one out of the Pink Pirouette and a large one out of the Heidi Grace DP and added a brad at each side. For the "medallion" I use Pixie Pink and Basic Black.

The 3rd layer is just Pink Pirouette and Purely Pomegranate that I cut an inch wide and made an arrow point to it. I water colored the piggy and I added some stickles around the white because to me it looked a little plain without something. Once that was done I punched a scallop circle out with my Marvy punch, sponged some Pink Passion ink around the circle and layered the medallion on to that. The sketch called for an oval at the bottom so I used my coluzzle to cut out the ovals from white and black paper. I stamped the word "cupig" with Real Red ink and sponged some Pink Passion ink around that layer, I added a scrap of ribbon behind that before adding it to the Basic Black layer. I added two more brads to that and I was complete.

It looks more complicated than what it really was. It really took no time to do this card. Sometimes things look more complicated than what they are. Of course writing it out seems to sound more complicated than it is too. I know what I'm saying but the words don't come out on the keyboard like I want them too!

Another card that I made was with one of my daughters Darcie stamps. Well, she does not use them, so I think of it as conditioning the rubber Ü

This image is from Darcie's. I stamped her and water colored the image. The base card is Real Red. I layered it with Pink Pirouette and some DP from Li'l Davis Designs. I then cut a piece of the Real Red and used Martha Stewarts border punch along the bottom and then layered that on to a piece of Pink Pirouette and added two heart brads to each side. On the image panel I sponged some Real Red ink before layering it on to a piece of Real Red and I was done. Quick and easy!!

Well, I must go now. Betty is coming over for a fun day and she should be here any time!

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Here's my turn at my sketch

Howdy everyone!


Today I'm kinda lost a little. My hubby went back to work today ~ after being off for almost a month. The plant had a shutdown since before Christmas and he's been home. I like it when he's home. But after being in a routine with him for the past month, today feels weird. I suppose I should do something useful. I'm in the process of making some cards, but I thought that I'd take a break and show you what I did with my sketch.

The stamp is once again from Darcie's. Those little bears are adorable! I miss going to the shows and seeing them there!

The base card is Pixie Pink that I layered with Rose Red, Pretty in Pink and some DP from Heidi Grace. I stamped the image and colored it in with my watercolors, sponged some Pink Passion ink around that panel, then layered it on to Rose Red. For the top sentiment panel I used my SU! Scallop Circle punch, the designer label punch and the tab punch. I punched the edges with my slot punch and looped some ribbon around it, then secured it with crystal brads. Once everything was in place I added some stickles to the soap bubbles and I was done.

Sorry for the short post today ~ but I've got to look like I've done something today Ü And don't forget, I still have a few days left of my blog candy. I've added a T.A.C. set to the mix also!!

Have a great day!
Hugs,

Joani

Monday Monday

Good (chilly) morning everyone. It is very, very chilly out this morning. They said that we were to hit about 4 degrees last night. So we slept with the heater on. Of course I've got my own personal heater - I'm always sleeping with the covers off. I'm not sure if it's that "time". You know, I am getting older ~ but I'm not cold. Everyone else is always cold - and I just sit with a shirt on as they've got 5 layers of clothes. A friend back in California once said that "your having your own personal summer".

I want to show you a few things that I've done. Yes, they are Christmas - and I hope to soon be starting on Valentines. When I was out shopping yesterday I found some cute pink tins at Big Lots. I'm always on the lookout for something. So, I've got my start for that holiday.

Here is another of the Music Makeover boxes that I did. They are so fun and easy to make. I made these for a couple people at hubby's work. When I was blog hopping and was on Lauren Meaders site I saw that she has the templates available to purchase. I thought that using those would make a great little gift. She has many different ones available, you've got to check it out.

I used the Walmart paper pack. When Betty stopped by last week I think that we used up that pack, there is just a few scraps left ~ so I probably won't be talking about that again. I used my Mega Scallop Circle punch, my SU! scallop circle & square punch, a foam snowflake (that I've had for years! From WAY back when Danielle was little!) and a crystal brad. The stamp set that I used was SU! Punches Three. I stamped the image in Real Red and Glorious Green twice. I then used my scallop square punch to punch out the images, then I cut the rest of the way with scissors so I could layer the 2 colors together. You can see that I stitched around the top flap of the box too. I used Velcro to keep it closed.

I made matching cards too!

For these cards I used the SU! set Sleigh Bells Ring. I stamped them with versamark and heat embossed them with Judikins gold EP. When I folded the card (Glorious Green and Riding Hood Red) I cut off the edge about 2 inches so you can see the inside. I layered it with DP and then layered the image on to cs before attaching it to the card. I added a white piece of paper inside and stamped the sentiment at the lower right hand corner. For just a touch of bling I added 3 baubles above the image panel and I was done.

For this little cutie I robbed Danielle's Darcies stash again! I just love snowmen, and this little guy is adorable. The base card is Bashful Blue. I layered some Walmart paper on to Old Olive cs and added a piece of giant rick rack. The image panel I colored with my watercolors and layered on to a piece of Certainly Celery. For the sentiment in the corner I stamped 'tis the season from my old SU! polar bear set and layered that on to Certainly Celery. I punched a piece of Old Olive out with my designer label punch then a piece of Certainly Celery with my circle punch, and I added the white dots with my white gel pen before adhering the sentiment. I thought that this turned out kinda cute, it's a fun card.

Well, I think that is enough for today. I still need to head off to the store for those last minute stocking stuffers. I think that stockings are so important. Even if it is little stuff, it goes to show that you took the time to find and pick out items for that person. Items that you know they will like and need or use. I had the same stocking for 30+ years, and when we moved out here my stocking was lost. I was actually heart broken. And to top it all off that first Christmas my stocking ended up empty. Hubby thought Mom got the stuff to fill it and Mom thought hubby bought stuff for it. I was sad. The first time in all those years that my stocking was empty. Now everyone makes sure that it is filled....

Good Morning

I hope your morning is better than ours! It's been rainy so far this morning. It's just kind of icky, dreary outside. But I was up bright and early before 5:30 finishing a project I was working on. I just decided to take a little break and jump on the computer. I really don't know why I've got all this energy this morning, but I'll take advantage of it.

Wanna see some cards? Well, here we go!!

This little guy is from Darcie's. Like I mentioned before, when we used to go to stamp shows when we lived in California we bought a lot of Darcie's products. When we used to go I gave my daughter money to spend on things she liked, and she liked Darcie's. She would go to their bin where they had tons of UM rubber to look thru. She'd stand there forever and look thru it and pick out what she liked ~ so actually a lot of the Darcie's is her's. But of course Mom get's to use it Ü

The base card is Riding Hood Red that I layered with a piece of Kiwi Kiss that I ran thru the cuttlebug. Before adding the ribbon to the card I sponged it with some Ruby Red ink. I stamped the image and colored it with watercolors, sponged some Ruby Red ink around that layer and mounted that to a piece of Riding Hood Red as well. With some scraps I made the photo corner with my SU! scallop square punch and my 1" square punch, then added some glitter to the snow for some sparkle and I was done. I thought that it made a cute card.

When I made this card I thought it was a little simple. Maybe because there was not that much to color, but the more I look at it the more I like it. I stamped it one night and colored it in, then I thought I'd add stickles to the stars and the falling snow. I let it sit for a couple of days then came back to it still thinking it was a little plain. I did not want to waste the images so I grabbed them to put on a card.

The image is from A County Welcome. The base card is Baja Breeze that I layered with Riding Hood Red and a white piece of cs that I ran thru the cuttlebug with the snowflake folder. I added the image panel to a piece of Blue Bayou after sponging some Not Quite Navy ink lightly around the edges and I was done. It was a quick card, but I think that it turned out kind of nice.

I think that is enough for today. I will be back tomorrow with more to show you.

Have a great day!
Hugs,
Joani

Wednesday, already?

My goodness how the time flies! Do you realize that it is almost Christmas? I don't even have any shopping done ~ no decorations up. I better get going!!

I'm still on the never ending mission of Christmas cards. I made a few more that I thought I'd show you. I knew that I wanted to put some out to sell, and who I generally sell to wanted quite a few - that left me with none for myself, so I'm back at work on those. Which is fine, each day I am creating something so at least now I know that they are just not going to go in a box and sit.


Some of you might remember this paper, it's a SU! discontinued paper - Dashing. I'm kinda feeling a little retro this Christmas. I usually make cards with off Christmas color's, but this year I'm kinda in a red and green mood ~ just not traditional red and green I guess.


I stamped the image from Darcies and colored it in with my watercolors. I sponged some Close to Cocoa ink around the edges and layered it on to Chocolate Chip paper. I added the different color brads to the edges. The base card itself is Kiwi Kiss that I layered with Riding Hood Red and the Dashing DP. I mounted the image panel with pop dots on the card and added the saying, from Christmas Cardinal on scraps in the lower right corner. I made a photo corner with my square scallop punch and my 1" square punch and I was done.




See what I mean about a little retro? Who makes Christmas cards using orange and kiwi colors? I guess I do! I'm one step out of the ordinary, most people who know me can say that's true!

This image is from my TAC set In the Snow. I just love snowmen, they are adorable. And yes, Frosty was my favorite cartoon when I was younger....

I stamped the image and colored him in with my watercolors. The base card is Baja Breeze, layered with Tangerine Tango and DP from SU! Holiday Treasures that I cut with my scallop scissors and Frosty Day. I used my Mega Scallop Square punch to cut out the image and layered it on to a piece of Kiwi Kiss. I used my circle punch to cut out a piece of Tangerine Tango and my Designer Label punch to cut out the Kiwi Kiss piece. I thought that it might add a little zing to the sentiment. I used my white gel pen around the edges to make the dots. Once I added a length of ribbon I put it all together and I was done.

I hope that you liked my couple of cards today. I will be back tomorrow with more Ü

Hugs,
Joani

Howdy everyone!

Good morning everybody! I'm a little later than I thought I'd be but I'm here.

I've got a few cards to show you, so let's get to it

I generally like to make Christmas cards that are not traditional colors. I really like to make them with blues and browns - but with the new In Colors this year I think that you'll find most of them are those colors.

For this card I used that adorable set Holiday Lineup. I think that they are so cute! The base card is Riding Hood Red. I layered it with Kiwi Kiss and some DP from Frosty Day that I inked the edges with Ruby Red ink. I remembered the package of punch out ornaments that my dear friend Betty gave to me, it the SU! Star Bright Ornament package. I punched out a star and inked the edges with Ruby Red ink also. I colored the image panel with my watercolors, inked the edges with Ruby Red ink, layered it on to a piece of Chocolate Chip cs and placed it on the card. I thought that it turned out pretty well.

Remember yesterday when I showed you the sneek peek, well here is the card.

This is another stamp that I pulled out from my Christmas tubbie. I have a lot of wood mounted stamps that I've bought over the years from different companies. The tubby is HUGE and heavy. As a matter of fact I keep it under my craft table all year long ~ it can almost be used as a footstool! So when I do pull the tubby out it's almost like getting something new. All these stamps packed away all year long, then opening it up to see them again, that kind of get's me in the spirit of the holidays!

This stamp is from All Night Media. I colored it in with my watercolors and pens, and inked the edges with Glorious Green ink before layering it on the cs. If you notice I colored another "O" and used pop dots to attach it to the card over the other "O" to give it a little dimension. The base card is Glorious Green. I layered it with YoYo Yellow, DP from Marcella K and Real Red that was run thru the CB. I added a length of ribbon and I was complete.

I would like to show you one more card today. This stamp is one of my old but favorite ones. I've had it for years and love it. Not too long ago I was looking thru my 8 1/2" x 11" patterned paper drawer, I hardly ever look in there - and I found some matching paper! This paper I'm sure I purchased years ago when I used to go to stamp shows. Darcie's was one of our favorite places to shop when we went to the shows.



For this card I cut the base lengthwise just to create a different fold. The base card is Ballet Blue. I layered it with Bashful Blue and the Darcie's DP. I took a piece of white cs that was run thru the CB and layered it on to a piece of Ballet Blue. I found some cute brads that Gabby sent to me a long time ago and attached those to the piece. Before I laid all that down on the card I added a length of ribbon to it. I stamped the image and colored it with my watercolors. I then sponged some Real Red ink around the edges before I layered it on to a piece of Real Red. It really was a quick card. I thought that it turned out cute.

Well ~ that's enough for you for today. I plan on getting to the craft table soon, as long as I can get off the computer.

Have a great day!!
Hugs,
Joani