2010 Top Ten and New Year's Resolutions

Hello Everyone!! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are ready to ring in the New Year.  I'd like to take this time to thank all of you who visit my blog and are kind enough to leave me comments.  I hope we continue to stay connected by this amazing thing called the www and that we can continue to inspire each other in the coming year. 

New Year's Resolutions ~ the crafting ones.
Susan R. over at Simplicity is always going on about her New Year's resolutions!!  I believe her to be the only one in the world who makes resolutions and actually sticks to them for more than 1 month!  Last year she resolved to use all of the stamp images she owned and she has pretty much done it!  She talked about it all year long -- man, she is amazing!!  She was talking about resolutions again on her blog which got me to thinking that I should do the same.  So, what are my crafting resolutions????

1. To use, use, use the supplies I have!  (I am famous for buying "stuff" but never using it)
2. To use up the scraps as I make them (or at least use some of them)
3. To be more organized (both in terms of my scrap room and supplies but also in terms of getting cards finished and posted in time to enter them into the challenges they are created for - you all know how bad I have been at that over the last few years!! LOL)

Top Ten cards from 2010
Now on to the TOP TEN ... of course these were picked by myself and you may disagree and think some of these cards are not worthy of a top ten list ... but that is the beauty of a personal blog ... I get to decide what goes on here LOL!!  I have picked these 10 either because they were a fav of mine, because of some element, or maybe even because of who I gave it to.  I hope you enjoy this little "re-run".

Design Paper Tree (original post here)

Shaped Card(original post here)

Friendship(original post here)

Gold Medallion(original post here)

Elegant Birthday Butterfly(original post here)

Woodgrain Damsel Fly(original post here)

Summer Sunshine(original post here)

Decorative Doily(original post here)

White, Light Blue, and Kraft Lighthouse(original post here)



Apple Cards(original post here)



Well, there you have it ... the end of 2010!  I have really enjoyed blogging and getting to know many of you bloggers.  I wish you the best in 2011!!

Donelda

Holiday Break

Hi Everyone!! 

My mom arrives today to spend the holidays with us.  Therefore we will be busy, obviously, over the next few days.   I will be taking a break from blogging and will resume hopfully next week.

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanuakkah, or whatever tradition you celebrate.  I hope you get an opportunity to enjoy time with friends and family.  

See you all soon.
Donelda

Femine Flowers

I love, love, love this technique ... faux watercolor.  The image is actually one that I've had for a long time.  When I first started stamping I had taken this image from Petal Prints (Stampin' Up!) and created various colors using my SU! makers and watercolor paper.  These yellowish orange ones haven't been used .. until now.   The background green cardstock was stamped with Background Basics: Text (Papertrey Ink)  using Versamark ink for a nice subtle look.  The sentiment is from Wishing You (Papertrey Ink). 

Thanks for dropping by my little stamping world.  I hope you have a great day.

Donelda

Arnold's 50th

Well, it finally happened ... my big bro turned 50!!!  I love to tease him becuase he is quite a bit older than I am.  I do have to be careful though becuase he can always get me back!  LOL.


Here is the card I created for him.  The numbers are chipboard that are painted yellow and then covered with gold glitter.  The owl (Nature Graceful Journey,  Tattered Angels) was colored with my Copic markers. The letters are from Fresh Alphabet (Papertrey Ink), a perfect size for this kind of thing. 


Well, I'd better go and get ready for work.  Enjoy your week.

Donelda

Masculine Fern Birthday

As you know if you follow my blog at all I like to try to keep a good stash of masculine cards.  There are a lot of men in my life :-) !!!!

This one started out with the small fern stamp from Text Boxed (Papertrey Ink).  Then, I masked it and stamped the woodgrain over top (Hero Arts).  I cut a circle of the woodgrain and then hand cut the bottom edge of the fern.  The senitment is a piece of a bigger sentiment (Around and About, Papertrey Ink).  I love the size of the sentiment ... small with a clean font.  I seem to use it over and over again!

The rest of the card is pretty straight forward (made with scraps!). 

Many crafters find making masculine cards hard.  I think it is just that masculine cards need to be cleaner and simpler than female cards ... and if you are big into embellishing then keeping it clean can be difficult.  I like clean and simple so that makes it a bit easier for me!!  Additionally, I love earth tones which also make for great masucline cards. 

Well, I hope you have a spectacular day and enjoy your weekend. 
Donelda

Calendar Page - recycled

I had participated in a Calendar Swap a few years ago!  The end result was an awesome House Mouse calendar with some great images!  After that particular year was over I couldn't bare to throw away some of the images, so I have kept them and will create cards from them.  Here was the November iamge - the page I was responsible for!  I used this piece of image from the House Mouse stamp called "sleeping with the strawberries".  I hand drew the scarf and cut it out to add to my mouse.  I also hand drew the tree and colored it in by sliding ink pads directly tothe paper.  A few punched leave were added for some "movement" on the image. 

To create the card I took the calendar page and added it to this square of houndstooth from my scrap bin.  The sentiment (from Paper Tray, Papertrey Ink) was stamped with Chocolate Chip ink and then I inked aorund the edges of the paper.   Added the whole thing to a 4.25" card. 

What can I say, I like to recycle.

Have a great day!
Donelda

Christmas Gift Card Holder #3

Here is my 3rd gift card holder.  I like this one the best.  The colors are a bit dark in this photo, it was all a bit softer in real life. 

You might recognize this ... it is a total CASE of Nichole Heady's card HERE (scroll down, it's the 4th project down).  I loved it so much.  However, I had to be creative in making the tag as I didn't have the same stamps that she used.  Sadly the colors on my card are not true to life ... it looks less orangy and more subtle in real life ... sorry about that ... it is really lighting issues still when I photographed it. 

Well, that's it for Chrismas for me!  You'll have to go elsewhere for any Christmas inspiration!  Now I'm off to create some moer birthday cards :-)

Donelda

Christmas Gift Card Holder #2

Here is my next Christmas Gift Card Holder.  My friend really liked this color combo - it was fun to create something Christmassy with them! 

Supplies: Flourishes (Inkadinkadoo), sentiment from Take a Bough (Papertrey Ink); True Black twill (Papertrey Ink), black crochet yarn, dimensionals, Score Pal (see the scoring around the edge of the green paper!).

Have a great day!
Donelda

Christmas Gift Card Holder #1

I bet you were wondering where all my Christmas items were ... well, I have decided not to make Christmas cards this year!  Too much stress.  I have created a few and will simply keep them for next year.  I did, however, make a few gift card holders that I will share over the next few days!!  Here we go ....

Yes, my friend asked me to make a few gift card holders for her.  She likes non-traditional colors.  That makes it so much fun!!

Here is my purple snowflake holder.  The snowflake stamp was painted with purple Twinkling H2O and stamped ont the cream cardstock.  Easy peasy!!

Supplies: Stamps - Snowflakes (retired - Stampin' Up!), sentiment from Take a Bough (Papertrey Ink); Other - Twinkling H20,, Rhinestone Stickers (Recollections), dimensionals, Lavendar Moon silk ribbon (Papertrey Ink).

Thanks for dropping buy.

Donelda

Good Luck Trees and Circles

When making cards, I try to create a few cards for a specific occasion so I have a few on hand.  A few days ago, I had shown you a farwell card.  When I made it, I had also made this card. It is a more masculine good bye card. 

This card started out with that small circle.  It is actually a left over piece of copper embossing that I had used for an old project.  I had created a circle of copper embossing punched out a 1&1/4" circle, then realized I needed a 1" circle.  The left over was this great copper circle with some crackles in it.  I couldn't bare to throw it away!! 

I found a farewell sentiment that would fit inside the circle (from Mixed Messages, Papertrey - a must have set!) and started pulling the card together. 

I kept the card masculine and rustic.  Lots of sweing and sponging.  Trees always work for guy cards (Tree Cluster small from Stampscapes). 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!  I can't wait for today to be over and to enjoy my leisurely weekend! 

Donelda

Misted Frame

I purchased a package of Glimmer Mist (Tattered Angels) and I wanted to play around with them.  This particular color of blue - electric blue -  is so beautiful (the color is a bit washed out in this photo).

I also am continueing to "use what I have" and while I was poking aorund in one of my craft drawers I found a bag full of pieces from one of those old Stampin' Up! sets where you pop out all the die cut shapes to create a mini album of some sort ... do you remember those??  Well, I have a ton of pieces in this bag so I decided to try using at least one piece up.  I took the frame and misted it with the glimmer mist.  Then, I stamped it randomly with this demask image (Demask Designs, Papertrey Ink).  I looked through my sentiments to see if there was one that would fit in the smaller opening and the birthday sentiment from Demask Designs fit perfectly!!  I laid the frame where I wanted it on the card and then stamped the sentiment (love clear stamps!).  Then I added dimensionals to the frame and adhered it back onto the card.  The butterfly was a little guy I've had in my scrap bin for a while, so I sprayed him with a little pink glimmer mist - viva pink - and added him to the card.

I am slowly but surely working through all my scrap bins!! 

Thanks for dropping into my little scrappy world!  Enjoy your day.
Donelda

Miss You Owls

There was a co-worker that was leaving and his team asked if I would make a going away card for him.  I instantly thought of Lucy Abram's card that used owls representing the whole group.  I only needed a team of 3 so I thought of using the Wise Owl set (Papertrey Ink). 

I stamped the little owls on some pink and yellow designer paper and then the big owl on some blue paper.  I added some googlie eyes which make them look so cute!  Finally, I added some branches from Rustic Branches (Papertrey Ink) and some spots from Polka Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink).  The leaves are colored in with pencil crayons (Prismacolor). 

Thanks for dropping by.
Donelda

CAS Designer Paper Focus

Here is another card I created using more of that yummy Basic Grey designer paper (Phoebe collection) that my Secret Sister Banu sent me in a swap a while ago (thanks again Banu!!). 

This paper was a scrap piece from a previous card.  I loved that big white flower so I decided to use it.  I put it on a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 card base.  I added the sentiment (Round and Round exclusive stamp set by Papertrey Ink) on a white scrap that is popped up with dimensionals.  Finished the card off by rounding the corners! 

Can't get any easier than this .. it's easy when the paper does all the work!

Have a fantastic day!

Donelda

CAS Designer Paper Cards

These cards are a few more that I created letting the designer paper do all the work. 

The main images here, these birds, were on the designer paper (Basic Grey, Phoebe collection).  I cut the strip of birds out and adhered it to a white card base.  The scalloped bottom was also from a piece of the designer paper.  It had various layers of different colored scallops.  I trimmed out this strip of green and blue which matched the birds.  A bit more green paper for the top, some ribbon (Ocean Tides satin on front card, Ripe Avocado Twill on the back, both Papertrey Ink), and a sentiment (Birds of a Feather and Bird Watching) and the cards were done.

Since the designer paper is a 12 inch sheet, you can take one sheet and create two cards like I have done here.  Handy to increase the stash on hand!

Thanks for dropping into my small corner of the web.  Hope you enjoy what you see!  Leave me a comment so I know  :-)

Donelda

An Award

I was so honoured to be the recipeint of the Stylish Blogger Award.  One of my blogging buddies, Angela, was sweet enough to pass it along to me along with seven other great bloggers.  I will be forwarding the blog on to 8 others who truely have style!! I'm supposed to tell you 8 things about myself but truth is that I am not all that interesting :-)  Just imagine 8 exciting things about me, hehehe!!!

Have a great evening.
Donelda

Home-made Lace Sympathy

Godelieve over on her blog has done some awesome work with making 'vellum lace'.  I had tried some earlier HERE.  This time I decided to try adding some to a sympathy card.  (It is along the bottom edge of the blue panel - it appears hard to see as it is white on white.  Click image to make it bigger)

On this card, I also combined white, vanilla, and Ocean Tides (Papertrey Ink).  Usually, if I use one neutral on a card I generally don't add a second.  However, I tried it an I really like it! 

The vines were stamped on a vanilla cardstock and heat embossed with clear powder.  Then the Ocean Tides ink was sponged over top.  The lace was made by heat embossing white powder onto vellum and cutting out the strip of images. 

Stamps: With Sympathy, Round and Round (exclusive), Demask Designs (Papertrey Ink).

Have a great day today!  Thanks for the visit, I certainly do appreciate it!!
Donelda

Away

Hey my blogger friends.  I just wanted to let you all know that I am away this week on a course.  It is pretty intensive and there will be a need to study in the evenings so I won't be able to be posting this week.  I had hoped to schedule some posts but the weekend was just too busy.  It must be that time of year. 

So, enjoy your week but don't forget to come back next week!! 

Donelda

Fin-tastic Fish

I love this fish (from Inkadinkado).He was in my scrap bin.   I colored him a while ago with my Copic markers.  It was so much fun!!

Used some of the BasicGrey papers (Phoebe collection) that my Secret Sister sent me (thanks Banu!!!)

Sentiment is from Papertrey Ink (Pond Life  Additions). 

Thanks for dropping in.
Donelda

Elephant Parade

I continue on my quest to use up stuff from my scrap bins.  These elephants were punched out of some watercolor paper I had 'painted' with some reinkers.  Before punching out the elephants, I sprayed the paper with some water that had Perfect Pearls (Ranger) in it.  It gives the elephants a funky shimmer (see the smaller close up!). 

I added some starbursts (Martha Stewart) punches cut in half like a scallop border.  Very different and I like it!  The sentiment is from this year's anniversary set from Papertrey Ink called Round and Round , I really like the fonts used in the sentiments.  The background paper is BasicGrey (Phoebe collection). 

The elephant punch and the Basic Grey paper were given to me in a swap by my Secret Sister, Banu.  Isn't she the best??!!

Have a great day!

Donelda

Butterfly Flight

A while ago I was playing with transparencies and alcohol inks.  Back then I had made this focal point, which then got put into my "use later" bin.  There is a lot going on in that focal piece.  I started out by cutting a piece of clear acetate or tranparency with a Labels 1 (Spellbinders) die. Then, I used some green alcohol inks (Ranger) to color it (probably Lettuce and Meadow).  Next, I adhered some text paper from an old book (bought at a garage sale many years ago).  Finally, I added the butterfly (Rubber Stampede) and flourish (Fancy Flourishes, Papertrey Ink) using StazOn ink. 

So a few days ago, I pulled this piece from my bin and wanted to add it to a card.  I decided that I liked the piece so much I wanted to keep it the 'main attraction' so kept the rest pretty clean and simple.  I added a round birthday sentiment also found in my "use later" scrap bin (an old retired Stampin' Up set).  To finish off the card, I used my .3 black marker (Prismacolor) and a ruler around the edge of the card. 

Lots of white space on this card.  If you can (I realize this feature does not seem to work for everyone) click on the picture so you can see the focal piece close up and check out everthing going on there!

Thanks for dropping in today!   Have a good one!
Donelda

Deer Wishes

I was in a swap a few months ago and my Secret Sister Banu sent me this aweosme  paper!  Is it not the best colors ever?  I certainly think so.  I wanted to make a card to hightlight those yummy colored stripes. 

Pretty clean and simple, hey!! 

Stamps: deer is from Friends (American Crafts), sentiment is from Mixed Messages (Papertrey Ink).

Have a wonderful day!
Donelda

Faux Ribbon - Ahoy

See that "ribbon" ... it's not really ribbon but actually a strip of designer paper that I have had for a long time.  It was the last edge of the paper but the design was running lengthwise, making it hard to use.  But then I started seeing some "faux ribbon" made from strips of designer paper with stripes like this.  So I tried it out.   

One of the reasons I had the designer paper around for so long was because I was having trouble matching the colors as they are such bright blues, pinks, and greens.  I did find that the Papertrey Ink's Spring Rain was a close match so used it to color in the sailor hat (from Out To Sea, Papertrey Ink).  I used only part of one sentiment in the set and added a scallop circle (Spellbinders) cut from Spring Rain cardstock.  The background was created by stamping the various small images from the stamp set onto some K&Co. designer paper.  I added some Close to Cocoa (SU!) ink around the edges and on the "ribbon" to help distress it all a little. 

Off to work.  Hope you have a great day!!

Donelda

Masculine Cheers

I was asked to make some masculine birthday cards.  It's one of the things that I try to do on a regular basis since I have a lot of guys in my life!

This card started with the argyle on the strip of blue cardstock.  It is a small stamp set from g studio that I found at Michael's.  I don't own any of the latest argyle being put out by companies so I picked it up for $1.50  - definately at my price range!!

The drinks come from a cube stamp from Stamp Craft (it's quite old).  I stamped them and then colored them using a blender pen and a little ink.  The sentiment is created using the letters from Fresh Alphabets (Papertrey Ink) - always a nice way to add whatever sentiment you want!!

Cheers to you for dropping by.  Have you made any masculine cards lately?
Donelda

Loonie Stamper's Challenge #118 - One Layer Wonder

The Loonie Girls are at it again this week with a great challenge.  This time it was Regan's turn to pick the challenge and she went with a one layer card.  Well, that's no real challenge for me!!  LOL!!  But I'm pretty sure there will be a few loonies struggling with this one!

I was also looking around on another blog and saw something about a "shape" on the front of the card which reminded me of this cute bear stamp I got from Cornish Heritage Farms (which is no longer in business) and have yet to use.  Can you believe it!!  I knew I wanted to make a shaped card from him and these 2 ideas blended together to result in this one layer shaped card!!!

I stamped the image onto a regular 5.5 x 4.25 folded card.  Then I cut around the top of the image leaving a place at the bottom for a sentiment.  I colored him in with my Copic markers.  I checked out a few tutorials on how to add fur (I clearly need more practice ... and markers!!).  I added some doodling lines around the bottom edge and a sentiment from Everyday Classics (anniversary set from Papertrey Ink). 

I love how this turned out!!  Better than I had even imagined!!   I think I might re-create a few and change up the colors.

Now off to see what the Loonie girls created:
Regan, Dee, Wendy, Jewels, Maria, Char

Thanks for dropping in!  Have a wonderful Sunday, hopefully filled with lots of craftiness!!!

Donelda