Something Old, Something Blue

I don't have anything photographed to share with you yet.

I have been busy working on my son's birthday invitations and an order of cards for a friend. Other than that, my mojo is a bit low these days.

Anyway, here is an old card I made. The white base has a layer of tempting turquoise cardstock that was stamped with close to cocoa and the Flannel Plaid background stamp. The large mat is done using Walnut Stain and Broken China Distress Ink from Tim Holtz. I love those colors together. The image is on white cardstock and watercolored using the same inks. The wing has crystal effects over it as does the thinking of you sentiment. The ribbon is some white organdy.

All supplies are Stampin' Up with the exception of the distress inks mentioned which are from Ranger)

Thanks for visiting. I hope to have some new items to post soon!!

Donelda

Another Bookmark

Here is a second version of a bookmark that I made using a different color combination. HERE is the first one. This new one uses Always Artichoke and Regal Rose. The image is Forever Flowers wheel from Stampin' Up and the sentiment is from the Green Thumb stamp set from Papertrey Ink.

The holder is sewn with my sewing maching and the butterfly is hand cut from light cardboard and bent slightly to have some dimension when attached to the bookmark.

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

Window Card

Well, I was laying in bed one night and thought of this concept. I wanted to make a soft cloudy look on acetate that would lay over top of a great sentiment! I didn't know if ink would work and imagined that I might need to have a template that is more durable than the home-made paper one I have. So, I made one out of stiff plastic (from some packaging I've saved for a good purpose...love recycling).

Started making the cloud on a small piece of acetate using a dauber and Buckaroo Blue. It took a bit of time to dry but I think it turned out great in the end. Ultimately, I could have just used my paper template after all!!

For the card, I made a 3 1/2 x 5" card size. Cut a 1 1/2 x 2" rectangle in the front as well as in a second piece of white cardstock that was 3 1/4 x 4 3/4". I stamped the sentiment through the cut rectangle - I did it that way to make sure the image is in the right place! Then I adheared the cloud acetate behind the cut out window and then the second piece of white card stock on the inside of the card to cover up the edges of the acetate.

For the rest of the card, I stamped a small swirl from my Build a Flourish set by Gel-a-tins in Night of Navy ink. A few Swarovski crystals finish it off. As well, I used my cutter and handy dandy Pampered Chef scraper to make score lines around the edges of the card front. This is a subtle technique but really finishes off a card!!

Supplies: Paper-Whisper White (SU!), Stamps-Happy Harmony (SU!), Build a Flourish (Gel a tins), Ink-Buckaroo Blue, Night of Navy (SU!), Accessories- crystals (Swarovski), scraper (Pampered Chef), acetate (unknown), dauber (SU!), home-made cloud template.

Thanks for visiting. Donelda

April Blog Hop!

Yeah, another blog hop!! Nichole over at Papertrey Ink has challenged us this month to use some bits and pieces of her newest designer paper Father Knows Best sneak peek collection which she provided for us to download (go check it out!).

Well, I recently saw a great scrapbook page made by Jules with some small squares of designer paper and thought this would be a great way to feature Nichole's awesome paper bits! It was also nice to make a beach page that does not feature blue for a change. All our family vacations center around the beach - somewhere - so I am always trying to find new ways to scrapbook the beach!

Supplies: Paper-Father Knows Best sneak peak collection (Papertrey Ink), Kraft (SU!); Stamps-Borders&Corners{square} (Papertrey Ink); Ink-Chocolate Chip (SU!); Accessories-11/4" square punch (McGill), Chocolate Chip marker (SU!), Shells (beaches around the world).

Thanks for stopping by my blog! Have a great day.

Donelda

Bird Gift Set

I made this card set a while ago. If you saw the butterfly set I made for my son's teacher, this was a set that I made first and before that butterfly set!


Stamped a few individual stamps from Papertrey Ink sets in a very organized way (not random like usual). Then I stamped the branch from Take A Bough also from Papertrey Ink.


Then I drew this awesome bird and a wing for him and cut it out of lightweight cardboard. I traced it onto four different colors of cardstock. I cut out the birds and wings and adheared them to sit on each branch. I popped up the wing slightly by attaching a few layers of cardstock under them. Finished the card set off by adding four differnt sentiments. I think this will make a great gift set for someone.


Supplies: Paper-Orchid Opulance, Summer Sun, Tempting Turquoise, Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White (all SU!); Stamps-Text Boxed, Borders &Corners{can't remember which one}, Take a Bough, Faux Ribbon (all Papertrey Ink); Acccessories - none other than scissors and adhesives :-).

I should add that I was awarded with this from my Papertrey Ink pal, Erica. Isn't she just the sweetest!! It is an Arte y Pico award which means Art and More. Thanks Erica, I am honoured.

Thanks for visiting. Donelda

Olive with a Black Accent

I love the color Old Olive! It will always be one of my favorite greens (althought Wild Wasabi is a close second). So I decided to make it the main color for this card!!

I took the small leaf shape stamp from my new Papertrey Ink limited edition set called Simple Little Things and made some background paper with it. You see, because it is a leaf, I could stamp one direction for one row and then turn the stamp around and it fits in nicely! I love the effect!!

I actually used one of my Maya Road velvet flowers! These flowers are so increadibly beautiful that I have a hard time actually using them (I'm such a hoarder -- trying to work on that!). I added a Making Memories circle brad to the center and some green hemp for "leaves.

I found out today that I have a package sitting at the post office which I can pick up tomorrow. I believe that it is my Papertrey Ink order for this month, here in record time!! I can't wait! I'll be busy tomorrow night so expect some new projects with some new stamps!

Supplies: Paper-Old Olive, Whisper White, Basic Black (all SU!); Stamps-Simple Little Things (Papertrey Ink); Ink-Old Olive, Basic Black (SU!); Accessories-black velvet flower (Maya Road), brad (Making Memories), colored hemp (unknown).

Thanks for visiting.
Donelda

Background Stamp Challenge

Well, Nichole from Papertrey Ink issued a challenge. She wanted us to make our own patterned paper by layering images over a background pattern. You should see her card, it's amazing!!

Well, I didn't want to use Polka Dots since Nichole and others used them as their background stamp. I wanted to try something different. So, I took the leaf stamp from Text Boxed set and stamped onto Close to Cocoa cardstock with craft white ink. Then, I used that cute little grasshopper from Green Thumb and stamped over top with Versamark. I finished off the card with a sentiment and another little grasshopper on an oval. I threaded some linen thread through the oval and attached it over top of a thin piece of white twill. This is all layered on a thin white mat and then added to a card base of Cool Caribbean, one of last years' In Colors from Stampin' Up.

Well, it doesn't look nearly as nice as Nichole's card but I like it!!

Supplies: Cardstock-Cool Carribean, Close to Cocoa, Whisper White (SU!); Stamps-Green Thumb, Text Boxed (Papertrey Ink); Ink-White craft, Versamark; Accessories- white twill (Offray), Linen thread (SU!), Coluzzle.

Thanks for dropping by, again :-)

Donelda

It's FREE!!!

Nothing is free anymore...right??!! Well, that just isn't so! You see, about a year ago, Papertrey Ink released it's first stamp set. The company appreciated it's customers so much, that one of the owners, Nichole Heady, announced that if we bought 12 or more sets, we would receive a limited edition free of charge stamp set. Well, my wonderful hubby bought me 12 sets for my virthday last year which mean I qaualified!! My set arrived yesterday! It is amazing and versatile. I LOVE IT! Thanks Papertrey!!!!!!

This card is the first card I've made with my new FREE set. I'm sure you'll be seeing lots more cards made with the many other great images and sentiments from this set.

Edited: Since posting this picture, I've added a sentiment along the top edge of the stip using Versamark. It just seemed to need something to break up the symmetry!

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

Admin. Assistant Thank You!

Our admin assistant, Jenny, is a sweetie and enjoys scrapbooking so I decided to make her a little package of things she might use around the office.

A long and thin note pad for the many lists of things to be done, one of those cool pop-up sticky note holders (I got it from staples - really cool, it kinda sticks to the desk with a rubber circle!) and 3 megnetic clips (I also found at staples and knew they'd come in handy some day and they are perfect for altering!!! Check them out!).

I know that Jenny likes bright colors so I decided to create the ensemble using this funky and colorful paper from an older Provo Craft pack. The colors match better in real life. The sentiment "a little note" was perfect and was in one of the little packages of clear Studio G stamps that you can get at Michael's for $1.50 (hey, how come we are still paying &1.50 for this stuff????) as were the 3 different flowers that I used throughout (they came from 3 different sets).

When I packaged it all up, I added a small 3x3 card that matches the long note pad. I hope she can put some of this stuff to good use.

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #44

Beate always has a great layout for her weekend sketch challenges. It is always fun to play!

This challenge was a great blocked layout. I started out making this butterfly embellishment by cutting it out of light cardstock and then stamping the retired French Script background from Stampin' Up in Chocolate Chip. I sponged the edges to give it a soft feel. Then I made a mini version without the script.

The paper is the yummy Two Scoops paper by Basic Grey. The swirl and very berry sundae sheets were used but this whole pack is absolutely yummy and aptly named!!

By this time, I had decided that the card would be for my parents. They have had a really hard last few years so I thought they could use a little surprise in the mail. I wanted to use a sentiment that said how much I loved them but it had to match the elegance of the script and swirls. I started out with a sentiment from Faux Ribbon by Papertrey Ink but it wasn't the right font. So, I used part of it (Love You) and then added the work Always from Happy Harmony, a Sale-a-bration set from Stampin' Up. Using my new Stamp-a-ma-jig made it a possibility!! It has taken me forever to actually buy one but now I couldn't stamp without it.

Finished off the card with some bling - a small swarovski crystal bead - those things really shine in real life! The card is filled with pictures from our Mexico trip with lots of their grandson. That will definatly make them happy!

Thanks for visiting. Donelda

Barn Yard Swap without any stamps

My friend Chris is hosting a card swap, the theme -- Barn Yard. Well, I really wanted to play but I don't really own any barn or farm animal stamps. But then I had a great idea!!

I remembered seeing this faux wood technique and I had this great stamp sentiment that I won from Dina (see Mama Dini's Stamperia on the side of my blog for link) from Biblical Impressions so I put them together to make this card! (the sentiment says, "Look at the birds of the air; They do not sow or reap Or store away in barns. Yet your Heavenly Father feeds them Matt 6:26).

When I first saw the technique, it looked really hard so I was prepared for a lot of work...but turns out, it is amazingly easy!!! Give it a try!!

Thanks for visiting. Donelda.

Fall Leaves Birthday

This was just a fun card I decided to make. I started out with a 1" strip of white cardstock and stamped the tip of the branch from Take a Bough (Papertrey Ink). Then, using fall colors (pumpkin pie, summer sun, garden green, ruby red, really rust - all SU!) I used the individual leaf stamp from the same set and added leaves. I decided to do some rock and roll technique and also stamped off for a few leaves for lots of dimension.

I used a sponge and my really rust ink pad to change some white grosgrain ribbon into really rust grosgrain ribbon. Added a birthday sentiment (Faux Ribbon, PTI) and voila, a simple birthday card!!

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

Hannah's Name Frame

I know...It's Tuesday and I am supposed to have a Design Lesson here but there isn't one. Well, I've got to say that reading the book, making cards, taking pics, writing out the entry and everything was actually becomming a bit "stressful". Since I started this blog to HAVE FUN, that wasn't feeling so good to me. So, I've decided to reduce the stress and go back to the fun. I'm still reading, no... pouring over the book (Design Basics Index by Jim Krause), but from now on, I will be sharing information with you when something really jumps out at me. I hope that you will all understand!!



On to my project to share for today! I found these great frames for $1.00 at a local discount store. I thought they might make great name frames so I bought a bunch to use as gifts.

It is my neice's birthday coming up so I decided to make a frame for her. I thought she might like to put it on her door. She's a real girly girl, so I got to use lots of lacey stuff and flowers!! And lots of pink and red too!!








I don't have permission to use her photo on my blog so I decided to just cover it up. Sorry, it looks so much nicer when you can see her pretty face!


Supplies: Paper-K&Co., Very Vanilla (SU!), Stamps-Beautiful Blossoms (Papertrey Ink), Ink-Real Red, Regal Rose (SU!), crystals (Swarovski), 1/2" and 1/4" circle punch (SU!), small heart punch, Coluzzle, various ribbon, sponge dauber, metal charm and butterfly charm. Note: Letters are "chick" font and printed onto the K&Co. paper in reverse and cut out using my hobby knife and the edges sponged with close to cocoa ink for dimension.

Thanks for stopping by!

Donelda

I Love Polka Dots!

I do, I really love polka dots!! So, when I saw that Papertrey Ink was coming out with a whole set of Polka Dots, I knew I had to get it!! And I did.

I made this set using 2 of the sizes of Polka Dots. The little purse (on the left) is a template I found on bydonovon.com. It closes with a small bit of velcro and has that strap. The cards are pretty straight forward! I used some Maya Road clear flowers but to make them stand out I rubbed them with some Pomegranate ink before attaching them! Supplies: Cardstock-Kraft, Baisc Black (SU!), Ink-Pomegranate, Basic Black (SU!), Stamps-Polka Dots, Borders & Corners{square and oval}, Faux Ribbon, Beautiful Blossoms (all Papertrey Ink), Accessories-clear flowers (Maya Road), double stitched pomegranate ribbon (SU!), black marker (zig). I'll upload a few pics from our trip tonight to share. Thanks for visiting. Donelda

I'm Back!!

Wow, what a great break!! Sun, sand and palm trees!! But I've really missed my stamping!! I'm ready and anxious to get back at it. I'm sure you'll understand that we have lots of laundry and what-not to do tonight.

See you tomorrow night :-)

Donelda

Off to Mexico.....

..... so my blog will be down for a week!! I'll be here for the next 7 days------------------------------------------------------------------->>>

Donelda

Beautiful Girl's Castle

Our goddaugher is beautiful and a real princess when she was little so I wanted to make this cute photo holder to hold some of her photos from when she was little. I used the new Polka Dots stamp set from Papertrey Ink to make paper and then used it to create all the embellishments. As well, the "flags" are stamped with the small polka dots and embossed with white. The crowns, butterflies and heart are all drawn and cut by hand as was the castle itself! You can click on the image to see the details better! Supplies: Cardstock-Orchid Opulance (Stampin' Up!), Designer Paper-Pamela Woods design (Creative Imaginations), Once Upon a Time (Die Cut with a View), Stamps-Polka Dots, Beautiful Blooms (Papertrey Ink), Ink-Creamy Caramel, Orchid Opulance (Stampin' Up!), Versamark (Tsukineko), Accessories-Ribbon (Making Memories and Offray), White Embossing Powder (Stupendous), buttons (Hero Arts), Crystals, Crystal Charm (Swarovski), Metal Word Fetti (Making Memories), dauber (Stampin' Up), heart charm (dollar store), light weight cardstock for base. Thanks for stopping in to visit!! Donelda

House Mouse Mail

My friend Jessica is running her 5th House Mouse swap and I definately had to play. You see, Jessica is one of the best hostesses ever!! and the swaps I get back are AMAZING every time. She just brings out the best in us all! So this time, she ran a card or an ATC swap but I am stuck on making House Mouse ATCs so I decided to stick with a good thing.

I decided I wanted to incorporate a "home made" stamp using an image from one of my previous House Mouse ATCs that you can see HERE. There is this really cool web site that allows you to frame your images and one of the frames is to make it into a postage stamp. I've done THIS card with the same web site.

So I decided to make a the stamp and place it on an envelope for my little mouse to be recieving. But then, I needed him to 'be somewhere'. So, I decided to use the faux wood technique to make him on a wooden floor. I tell you, when I first saw some cards with this technique it looked hard...but it is so very easy!! You should definately try it if you haven't already!! I made another card for Chris' barn yard swap using the same technique (this link will be provided when I get the card loaded into my gallery-thanks for being patient). The little mouse is colored with prismas and odorless paint thinner (my fav way to color in these guys).

I sure hope everyone likes him! It was a fun ATC to make!

Thanks for visiting.

Donelda

April 1 - Design Basics Lesson #13 (no fooling!)

Today is the 13th lesson in my own exploration of Design Basics. I am using a book called Design Basics Index by Jim Krause. It is an excellent book and I am learning so much. If you can find it, I would totally reccommend it!! If you have missed some or all of my previous lessons, you can check them all out conveniently by checking on the right side of my blog. Have fun!! Today we are continuing on the concept of FLOW. In our last lesson, we learned how certain images can DIRECT THE FLOW within a layout. We looked at images where the animal or person is looking off the card will direct our eye that way whereas if it is looking into the middle of the card it will keep our eye within the layout! This lesson is on CIRCULATING FLOW. When a card has a variety of elements, Jim says it is important to arrange the items in a way that keeps the eye moving within the element. This top card does that since the items are arranged in a circular shape. (I have read before about arranging items in a triangle shape....to me this is the same thing!!!) Again, this is also a concept that is applied in scrapbooking!! So, when looking at this top card, the eye tends to start with the strawberry images, to the sentiment, then down to the flower and back up again. Now, on this second card, the same items are arranged in what Jim calls a "visual landslide" and previously referred to it as "stair stepping". Jim says this type of layout is never a good idea and expalins that this leads the viewer's eye down and off the page at the bottom. Thus, the eye does not continue to circle within the layout but goes off the page. Additionally, there is so much white space on the bottom corner of this card that it also detracts from the whole card!! Yuck!! Supplies: Stamps-Green Thumb (Papertrey Ink); Cardstock-Mellow Moss, Very Vanilla, Ruby Red (all Stampin' Up) and Cosmo Cricket designer paper; Ink-Ruby Red, Mellow Moss (Stampin' Up); Accessories-flower (prima), brad (Stampin' Up). Note, the flower was a plain beige flower which I stamped with the strawberry image making it polka dotted and creating harmony between elements within the card! Also note how pretty that Cosmo Cricket paper is...I saw it on everyone's blog who went to CHA and I just knew I'd have to get my hands on some. AND, I already cut into it!! Wow, no hoarding these days for me :-) Thanks for visiting. Donelda