Friday 29 June 2012

Guess What? I think I'm a Card Maker!

Yes, my friends! I admit it! I know some of you have pointed it out to me a time or two! I am indeed a card maker...and today proves it! It wasn't that long ago that I was totally intimidated about making a card! Wait until you hear what I did!
Paulette at Create With TLC put out a call that she needed some help...well, that's the way I read it! Now when I see it again it actually says she was calling for *designer that does Steampunk or Vintage cards*  *I am going to be picky on this one* Oh, dear! I don't remember the "designer" part or the "picky" part! YIKES!! lol She needed someone who would be willing to make a card sample for a new image she had created, so I sent her an email, she took a peek at my blog, then sent me the image. I made a card with her lovely image. Then I made another card with her lovely image! Then I sent them to her...and waited...and waited...and WAITED!!! I was dying while I waited to hear from her. So then I heard that she had been busy posting them in her store! lol She liked them! So, I'm a designer that does Steampunk and Vintage cards, I do samples for stores, and you can be picky! lol I guess that makes me a card maker, right? It was a fun image to work with and the links to find it are HERE.


Image: Create With TLC - When You Have A King;
Papers: Basic Grey - Oxford, Recollections - Kraft;
Dies: Tim Holtz Alterations - Gadget Gears, Vintage Cabinet Card
Distress Ink: Faded Jeans, Walnut Stain;
Glossy Accents; Chain and Brads from My Stash.


On this card the playing cards are removable. They go along with the King of clubs. 
I like how it looks like he's looking up at the Queen! :o)


Image: Create With TLC - When You Have A King;
Papers: DCWV - The Timeless Type Stack; Recollections - Kraft;
Dies: Tim Holtz On the Edge - Steampunk;
Tim Holtz Gears; Glossy Accents;
Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher;
Ribbon and Playing Cards From My Stash.



Thursday 28 June 2012

52 Week Scrapbook Challenge - Rick Rack & Scallops Together On A Page...And A Kindness Update!

Hello, my friends!
You'll have to wait until the end of the post for the "Kindness Update"! ;o)

First, I want to show you my latest Challenge page. Guess what I did? I skipped right over a challenge! Yes, I did. The challenge was to "Create A Photo Montage." What's that? How is it different from a photo collage? Could someone please help me with that because everywhere I went for information they showed me a photo collage, and we already did that. So rather than stop...I skipped it...and I'll come back to it when you all tell me what to do! haha

This challenge was very evident...and lots of fun, of course! What's not fun about rick rack and scallops? I did start with a completely different idea in mind though. I went to my box of very old photos and pulled one out that had both of my girls in it. This photo was taken years ago in front of  their Nana and Pa's flower bed. Then I just played! I forgot at first that I like the look of the loose thread ends, so I actually did some over again to leave the ends loose! lol Then I frayed the ends of all the rick rack. I might be in some trouble when I get back to my quilting! Since I was already stitching the rick rack down, I went ahead and did some doodle-stitching around the outside of the page. I did some color-blocking with some plain cardstock and just used one Fiskars border punch for the scallops. Then I added a rick rack flower. Let me know if you're interested in how I made it. That's about it for my 8" page! There's only a couple more of these 52 Challenge pages left! :o)


Fiskars Border Punch
Everything else is from my Stash

Now, on to my Kindness Update! Thank you all so much for the lovely comments you left on my "Just A Little Kindness" post. I appreciated each one of them very much! In keeping with the theme of kindness...I put each of your names on a paper and put them in my special little ceramic bowl and picked out a name. I'm afraid I was here all by myself so you'll just have to trust me on the winner! The name drawn is displayed in the photo below:


I will be sending the sweet Dunja my kindness card, and a few other goodies! Again, thank you ALL for your continued kindness to me, time after time, as you visit my humble blog, and leave me your wonderful encouragement! It brings me much JOY! :o)

Wednesday 20 June 2012

Just A Little Kindness!


Hello my dear Friends!
Okay...I've tried starting this post three times...now I'm just going to spit it out! lol What has happened to KINDNESS?? As I was making my rounds of facebook, youtube and blogger I was so saddened to see how many people are dealing with hurt feelings because of mean comments people have left for them. There seems to be a trend going on these days. A trend of being unkind to each other. Have you seen it? How do you feel about it? I don't like it at all!
Then I went to my sweet friend Holly's blog and she had a wonderful quote about kindness (HERE). It said:

Always be a little kinder than necessary.
J.M. Barrie

Isn't that wonderful! By the way, I would encourage you to pop over and join Holly's blog, it's FABULOUS! Her posts are always short so they never take much time! lol Sometimes they are very thought provoking, and sometimes they are hilarious but they are always very encouraging! :o)
Anyways, after reading Holly's post I was inspired to create a post of my own about kindness. Of course, my favorite quotes always come from the Bible! 1 Thessalonians 5:15 says:

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, 
but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

The verse I used on my card is the first half of Ephesians 4:32. The entire verse says:

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, 
just as in Christ God forgave you!

I chose this verse because it really covers both ends of what I've seen. We are told to be kind. Since there are those that choose to be unkind...we are then told to be compassionate and forgiving. It certainly doesn't help the situation to be unkind back to someone who has been unkind to us. Perhaps we could maybe try to understand why they were being unkind in the first place. I think there are lots of very unhappy and hurting people in the world, and sometimes they just feel better if they lash out and make someone else feel a little bit of what they themselves are feeling. That can't be a fun way to live, can it? On the other hand, there are those that aren't even aware that they have been mean because they just don't know any better. Well, I say we should just start spreading as much kindness as we can and teach them better! I don't know how to do that other than by one act of kindness at a time; a smile :o), a kind comment, and an encouraging word! Oh, let's not forget forgiving the unkindness of those that don't know better! :o)
Hmmm...maybe we need to start a Kindness Challenge of some kind...


Papers: K & Company;
Image: Birdie Brown;
Prismacolor Pencils & OMS;
Dies: Spellbinder Nestabilities, 
Punch: Martha Stewart;
Ink: Stampin' Up - Soft Suede;
Ribbon: Offray;
Brads: Unknown;
Sketch: A Die For A Sketch.


I used the sketch from A Die For A Sketch again because I think it's such a fun sketch. I turned it a quarter turn this time. Thank you so much to those of you who have linked up at our fun new Challenge blog! For those of you who haven't joined us yet there's still time to link up. There's a great prize up for grabs. You'll find a link in my sidebar or right HERE.

Linking Up to Word Art Wednesday - Challenge #33 HERE

Thursday 14 June 2012

It's In The Bag...And More Guests In My Yard!

Hello, my friends! I've had such a busy week! My sweet husband took the whole week off, so we've been very busy having fun! It sure hasn't left much time for crafting or blogging though! lol I'll have lots of catching up to do next week!
I did have just a few minutes yesterday to quickly decorate this gift bag, and I thought I would share it with you. It was fun to make because I made it with an assortment of some of my new toys. I hope you like it! :o)

Papers: K & Company;
Pins: Vintage Findings;
Bag: Unknown;
All Else: Tim Holtz.

Now, I'd like to share a couple of pictures that I took in my garden yesterday.






Isn't God's creation incredible? Tomorrow we're off for more fun together as we're celebrating our 27th Anniversary! 
I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend! :o)

Thursday 7 June 2012

A Post Full Of Stuff...And My Surprise Visitor!

Hello, my dear friends! First of all I want to say a very BIG and heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every one of you for your congratulations and well wishes on my new Design Team adventure! I truly appreciate each one of your sweet comments! :o)

Today I have a new card for you. This is my first quilling project! Well, I did do that quilled flower a little while back but that wasn't quilling quilling! lol I believe I did do some quilling many years ago but we won't count that either! ;o) I placed the sun on black so that all the detail of the quilled pieces would show. However, after a couple of windy and cloudy days it was a beautiful sunny day here and I really wanted to use these papers. The rest of the card came together very quickly and easily. Well...there was a period of hilarity with a very warm Zot and a couple of decorative pins! LOL Seriously...if you're ever bored you should try that combination! Enough said! Here's my card:


Papers: K & Company - Sweet Nectar;
  Punches: Fiskars Border Punch - Grass,
Stampin' Up - Decorative Label Punch;
Decorative Pins: Maya Road, MM Vintage Findings;
Ribbon: Celebrate It;
Stamp: Stampin' Up - Pursuit of Happiness;
Ink: Stampin' Up - Soft Suede;

So I mentioned a surprise visitor I had. I looked out my sunroom window and what did I see running through my backyard but a BEAR!! Now, to some of you it may not seem unusual to see a bear in your yard. I live in a small town on the central prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada, and I have never heard of a bear appearance in the almost 27 years that I have lived here. In fact, when word started spreading around town, people didn't believe it and said it must have been a dog. Tell me, does this look like a dog to you?


I don't think so either. Here's another one of him coming right towards the house.


Then last night we had a deer come for a visit. He was very camera shy though and I couldn't get a very good photo. I don't know what's going on but I live in hope that my moose will show up! I've been waiting for him for YEARS! I wish you all much JOY and SUNSHINE! :o)

Tuesday 5 June 2012

An EXCITING New Challenge Blog Announcement!!

Hello, my friends! Do you remember a couple of posts ago I mentioned a brand new blog that was starting in June called A Die For A Sketch? They had a Design Team call out and I posted link. What I couldn't tell you at that time was that I was already part of the Design Team! Previously, I had received an email from the sweet Dunja inviting me to join her international team of talent in launching this exciting new Challenge Blog! I've always said no to that question before for various different reasons. What an honor it was to say YES!!

Here's how it works...on the 5th of every month the Challenge Sketch will be posted. You can create whatever you want; a card, a gift bag, a layout, etc. The only requirement is that you must use the current sketch and you must use a die of some kind in your project. Isn't that fun?

Here is the sketch for the very first Challenge:



Here is my card for Challenge No. 1:


It's such a fun sketch to use! I really hope you'll all come over to A Die For A Sketch and join in the fun! I hear there's even a prize involved! ;o) I've added a link in my sidebar, plus the names of all my new friends on the Design Team. You can also find all the information right HERE! I do hope to see many of you there! :o)

Just a little note about my sentiment. It's a little bit goofy, isn't it? lol Let's face it, there really aren't that many opportunities to use this "hullabaloo" sticker. This fun little penguin just looks like the right character for it. I did have something else in mind but had nothing in my stash for it. So I worked with what I had. I almost changed it because I wanted my first DT project to be perfect, but you know me...goofy works! :o)

My Card:
Papers: BASIC GREAY - lauderdale
              Cardstock - Recollection;
Brads: Recollections, Westrim Crafts;
Baker's Twine: The Twinery;
Sentiment: the Girls' Paperie Stickers;
Image: Birdie Brown Digital Stamp - Penguin in Summer 02;
             (button with link to store can be found in my sidebar)
Prismacolor Pencils & Odorless Mineral Spirits;
Punches: Recollections Flower Punch,
              Stampin' Up - Modern Label Punch;
Dies Used: Spellbinder Nestabilities - Standard Circles (LG),
               MM Slice Design Cards - Basic Shapes 1, Je t'adore;



Friday 1 June 2012

Summer Fun!

Hello, my friends! I have something a little different for you today! Well...not completely different since it is the second time I've done one...but not like this one! lol Okay, I'll just get to it, shall I? I have a slideshow for you!
I've just completed one of the bigger projects I was working on. It's this super fun flip book! I decided the best way to show you would be with a slideshow. Wouldn't you know Smilebox had the perfect template for it. I think it's just the cutest design and suited my mini to a T.
This flip book is for a dear friend and neighbor. She and her husband have the sweetest little boy and girl ever. So this was personalized for her to fill with their "Summer Fun" photos. I did have a different design in mind. Then one day when I was visiting my friends over on YouTube I happened to see Beverly's video for this Flip Book and knew this was the design I had to use. Beverly has the greatest videos, and you can see the inspiration video HERE...AFTER you've seen my slideshow! lol
The book measures 6" X 8 1/2 " when it's closed, and when it's fully opened it measures 24" X 8 1/2". Every flip and flap is decorated except for the very back. I used the Echo Park Splash Collection, cardstock from my stash, and a few unknown papers. There are some descriptions at the bottom in the slideshow. If you have any questions about anything, please ask! I hope you enjoy! :o)


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Photo slideshow made with Smilebox



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