I Stink....

I am not capable of throwing away my scraps. I have bins FULL of cardstock and designer series paper scraps. Today it was time to clean off the stampin' table and I found a handful of Cottage Wall DSP scraps. I couldn't very well throw them away. They were so pretty laying there -- I knew that they could be made into something. The current Technique Junkies Newsletter has a quilting/background technique called "Herringbone". I did a Christmas card using scraps of cardstock, but I think I really like the DSP better. I added some faux stitching...okay A LOT of faux stitching to finish it off.

The Late Night Stampers have also challenged us to use our brads this week. Little Skunk is holding a pretty little flower w/ a rhinestone brad in the center. :) I love this skinky little guy....

Card Recipe:

Stamp: Pun Fun

CS: Certainly Celery, Pale Plum, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Ink: Basic Black

DSP: Cottage Wall

Accessories: Signo Gel Pen, Paper Stump and Gamsol, Black Colored Pencil, Fire Rhinestone brad, 1 3/4" circle, Circle Scissors Plus, Modern Label, Word Window, 2 way glue and dimensionals

Cuddly Top Note Treat Pouch

Each year, my husband's cousin and her family join us at our family Christmas. Her dad passed away a couple years ago and her mom lives quite a distance away and we have extra room. She has 3 little ones (the little guy isn't big enough for M&Ms so I will make him something else). Gabe and Natalie--I hope--will get a kick out of these little treat pouches made using the top note die. Now to come up w/ something for baby, Asher. :)

Treat Pouch Recipe:

CS: Old Olive, Whisper White, Baja Breeze *retired*

DSP: Ski Slope *retired* (A sweet blog candy gift from Kimberley Morris)

Stamps: Cold & Cuddly

Stampin' Write Markers: Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Basic Black

Accessories: Sticky Strip, Real Red grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" circle punch, BIG SHOT (from Santa) and Top Note Die

Treat Pouch Directions:

Using your Die Cut Machine :

-cut 2 Top Note Die from the CS of your choice

-cut 1 Top Note using DSP of choice and trim at the perforated edge

-Add trimmed DSP to one of the CS Top Note Dies and fold over top

-Using sticky strip put a piece of adhesive on the left, right and bottom of the backside of the CS and DSP top note to form the pocket.

-Lay onto the other CS Top Note carefully lining up the edges.

-Wrap ribbon around and tie then decorate as desired....

Easy peasy! :)

Friend to Friend Easel Card

I have been wanting to try the Easel Card for a couple months, but it always seems to take a back burner to all the other cards/projects that I want to make. Well NOT today! :) Today, I decided I wanted to make an quilt/easel card. Are you surprised with the quilt? HA! I bet not.
I participated in a group buy for 2010 calendars and thought that the little calendar was a nice addition to the card. I wish I would have bought more....these would be great cards for everyone that you didn't get Christmas cards made for.

Here's the Front View:


Here's the Side View:

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes, I {Heart} Hearts (Occasions Mini)

CS: Bordering Blue, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White

Ink: Chocolate Chip and Stampin' Write Marker

DSP: Bella Birds RETIRED :( I love this paper!

Accessories: Heart to Heart Punch, Paper Piercer, Mat Pack, Scallop Circle Punch, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Scallop Trim Border (SAB)

How to make an Easel Card:

Cut one piece of CS 4 1/4 X 5 1/2 (this is the front of your card)

Cut one piece of CS 4 1/4 X 11 & score at 2 3/4 and 5 1/2 (this will be your easel and bottom of card)

Adhere the 2 3/4 X 4 1/4 scored square to the top of the back of your project.

The first score line (2 3/4) should be a mountain fold the second score (5 1/2) will be a valley fold this will make your card stand up.

Decorate as Desired.

Wah-lah! :)

Enjoy Love--Valentine's Day

I have been pretty quiet the last week. I had a minor surgery last Wednesday evening and just haven't been up to stamping. This morning, I went back downstairs and took a stab at a Valentine's Day card.

Enjoy Every Moment could possibly one of my favorite SU! sets of all time. I would love to use it more often, but I know that sometimes I have to jump outside my comfort zone. Valentine's Day cards are OUTSIDE my comfort zone, but here is my first shot at one in almost a year. *WINK*











Card Recipe:
Stamps: Enjoy Every Moment, Teeny Tiny Wishes and I {Heart} Hearts (Occasions Mini)
CS: Very Vanilla, Pretty In Pink, Chocolate Chip, Real Red
Ink: Chocolate Chip
DSP: Sending Love Specialty (Occasions Mini)
Accessories: Chocolate Chip 5/8" grosgrain ribbon, Heart to Heart Punch (coordinates w/ the I {Heart} Hearts set)

Acetate Window Card

I spotted these cards on SCS and then one of my friends sent me one for Christmas. They are SO EASY, but I really like the way they look. The hardest thing about this card was taking a good picture w/ the acetate! LOL

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Many Merry Messages, The More The Merrier (hostess)

DSP: Merry Moments

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Old Olive

Ink: Staz On and Basic Black

Stampin' Write Markers: Old Olive, Garden Green, Real Red, Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Acetate, 2 way glue and dazzling diamond glitter, 1/4" grosgrain Chocolate Chip grosgrain

Little Red Bird

I wanted to make a card w/ this set so badly, but I'm a little disappointed how plain it turned out. I made the mistake of brayering two colors in the background (maybe it wasn't a mistake but it definitely made those two colors of cardstock CLASH w/ the background). Next time, I will try something a little different. BUT I will be using this set again---It's a KEEPER!


Stamps: Branch Out, Snow Swirled (greeting)
Cardstock: Whisper White, Going Gray, Real Red
Ink: Real Red, Almost Amethyst, Bashful Blue and Going Gray
Accessories: Mat pack and paper piercer, brayer, Signo white gel pen

Wild About Chelsea :)

My 11 year old daughter, Riley Kate has the nicest little friend Chelsea. As most of you know my little guy, Evan had surgery the beginning of December. One day shortly after his surgery, Riley Kate comes home w/ a card and package from her friend, Chelsea for Evan. There was the CUTEST stuffed giraffe and a WILD ABOUT YOU card.

Now isn't that the sweetest thing......

Chelsea's Card:

She REALLY likes crafts and I KNOW she is waiting for a card back.

Here's the Thank You that I made for her from Evan:

Recipe:
Stamps: Wild About You (Retired)
Cardstock: Close To Cocoa, More Mustard, Old Olive
DSP: Chocolate Chip
Ink: More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive
Accessories: Scallop Trim Border (SAB)

Peek A Boo Penguin Treat Bag Toppers

Today, I made a few of these little penguin treat bag toppers. They peek over the top of the treats. They were really quick and very easy to make. If you have been like me and procrastinated until the final hour these are quick and you could put anything in the baggie from puppy chow to trail mix.

The dimensions for the topper:

Basic Black cardstock base is 4 1/4 X 5 1/4 and is folded in half on the 5 1/4 side

Then I punched two 3/4" circles out of Basic Black cardstock and used my signo gel pen to give the eyes a little life.

Punch one Pumpkin Pie large oval and fold it in half for the beak.

I ran a Top Note Die through the die cut machine and cut it in half for the penguin body.

On the top of the Basic Black cardstock base, I rounded my corners with my corner punch to finish off my penguin.

Like I said----EASY! :)

Ghirardelli Stocking Stuffer

I love this little penguin. I think he's so sweet. I just couldn't do traditional colors for him though. He needed a little pizzazz--he will be in the girls' stocking on Christmas morning. I'm sorry that the colors are not true, but for some reason no matter where I photographed it--it wouldn't come through as Taken w/ Teal.

Ghirardelli Card Recipe:

Holder: 2 3/4 X 9 5/8 score @ 2 3/4, 3, 6 1/4 and 6 1/2

Stamp: Cold & Cuddly

CS: Taken w/ Teal, Real Red, Whisper White

Stampin' Write Markers, Taken w/ Teal, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black

DSP: Holiday Lounge

Accessories: 1 1/4", 1 3/8" and Scallop Circle punches, 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Word Window punch

Coke Can Christmas

Thank you so much to my Coca-Cola sippin' friend, Wendy. She sent me over some pretty coke cans to cut w/ my Snowflake die.

I had seen a similar card by Anne Hayward and wanted to make one.

I like that it's simple and elegant--especially for having a recycled pop can as the main image! LOL

Card Recipe:

CS: Real Red and Whisper White

Ink: Real Red

Stamp: Snow Swirled (I didn't think I liked this set when it came out--NOW I can't make a card without it!)

Accessories: Fire Rhinestone Brad, Paper Piercer, Coke Can, Snowflake #2 die, die cut machine

For My Friends

At Christmastime, I like to remember my special friends that are good to me through out the year. This year I made an easy little card with my FAVORITE sentiment that Stampin' Up! has in their catalog. It really does say it all.

Card Recipe:

Stamp: All Holidays

Cardstock: Soft Suede, Taken w/ Teal and Whisper White

Stampin' Write Marker: Taken w/ Teal (my TWT ink pad didn't match the CS or it could have been used--I think I need a new one! )

DSP: Holiday Lounge

Accessories: White 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, gold cord, mat pack & paper piercer, and Scallop Trim Border (SAB catalog)

Woven Wreath Ribbon Card

I absolutely loved making these wreaths using Stampin' Up! ribbon. They look hard, but they aren't. Actually, I have dial-up and by the time the video tutorial was done loading to make the wreath--I had one done. LOL

The tutorial is on Lynn Pratt's Blog. It's awesome! Thanks for sharing, Lynn!

Making elegant looking cards is VERY HARD for me so this card was a challenge to assemble. I like to make kids cards/cute cards. I was cruising along pretty well until I came to a bow for the wreath. Many disregarded bows later, I have a ribbon cinched w/ gold cord at the top of my wreath. :) I like the simplicity plus my bows were pretty sad. :)

Card Recipe:

CS: Gold, Whisper White, Always Artichoke

Ink: Always Artichoke

Stamps: Snow Swirled

Accessories: 1/4" Always Artichoke grosgrain ribbon, gold cord, gold brads, Real Red 5/8" ribbon

Soda Can Christmas

Today, the Late Night Stampers Group challenged us to go little non-traditional with the colors we chose for our Christmas cards and I popped over to Ann Fitton's blog and she too is looking for some non-traditional creations. Challenge me will ya? :) Well if Rich Razzleberry, Orchid Opulence, Old Olive and a recycle soda can isn't non traditional--I don't know what is. LOL

I am SO happy for these challenges. This card was so much fun to make and it is nice to get away from the Real Red and Garden Green.

I have seen a lot of crafters using their die cut machines to cut snowflakes using empty soda cans. OMGosh, I knew immediately that I had to try it. I 'borrowed' my husband's snips from his garage and cut apart a rinsed and dry soda can. I was a little nervous--boy, are those edges sharp! Be careful if you do this. I ran it through my machine and it was amazing. It rolled through NO PROBLEM and the edges were crimped so there is no worries of yourself or the recipient of the card getting cut. When I get Evan down for his nap this afternoon, I see many soda can snowflakes being cut at my house. :)

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

CS: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Ink: Rich Razzleberry

DSP: Cottage Wall

Accessories: Word Window Punch, Snowflake #2 die, Modern Label Punch, Silver Cord, Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain, clear rhinestone brad

Mom's Lil' Helper (Why I don't Stamp As Much As I Used To)

Let's see what Evan is helping with tonight.
Ah yes, he is cleaning my baking drawer....

He is a boy on a mission....just look at him throw....(groan)

And when he's in his cleaning mode, he's not afraid
to SPIT-SHINE everything he touches. He has found
that sticking the pan directly into his mouth distributes the
most spit.

Ahhh...just enough spit...on to the next pan...

Better double check & make sure I have spit on all of these already on the floor.
Yep-yep! They have ALL been in my mouth.

Whew! Almost done. What cupboard should I help Mom with next?!

I have to laugh because this is serious work for him, but now I have to go and load my loaf pans in the dishwasher and pick up his 'helpfulness'.

I would rather be stamping, but I wouldn't take back moments like these for anything....

Hugs,

~Wendy

It's a Herringbone Christmas

I have been a member of Technique Junkies for many years now. It is the greatest newsletter and online source for stampers that want to bump their cards up just a notch and definitely a great tool for demonstrators like myself. I love to wow my customers with a technique that they haven't seen. This card was so easy and so fun--I can't wait to teach them how to make a "Herringbone Christmas Card" themselves. If you would like to know more about Technique Junkies, you can visit the website at http://www.techniquejunkies.com/..... tell Pat I sent ya! :)

The BEST thing about this card--all scraps! Yep, I had a lot of misc. laying around on the table and just starting cutting strips for the card and WAH-LAH! LOL

Card Recipe:

Stamps: Snow Swirled

Ink: Chocolate Chip

CS: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Real Red, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Finial Press Embossing Folder, Signo Gel Pen, Lots of Tags die cut, scallop border edge punch, anywhere glue stick (carpet tape was recommended, but a girls gotta work w/ what she has)

Sock Snowmen

'Tis the season for Teacher Gifts. Last year, I saw these cute little snowmen by Samantha Parisi. She posted the .pdf file for their little faces on her blog last December. I couldn't resist making them for the girls' teachers this year. Every year it seems we give them chocolate or popcorn..... I see nothing wrong with that! LOL

I made a few out of old socks...

And a few out of leftover fleece...

Which do you like better?

How did I make the Fleece Hat?

I used a piece of fleece about 4" X 5 "

I put a little hot glue under a 1/2" flap on the 4" side and folded it up to make the bottom of the hat.
Flipped it 90 degrees and cut the little fringes and wrapped a narrow piece of fleece right under the fringes, cinched it up and tied it off--trimming the edges
Then I wrapped the hat around the snowmen's head and using hot glue I glued the back together.

SUPER SUPER EASY...

How did I make the Sock Hat?

Using a child's sock, roll up the cuff. (I saved a lot of odd socks over the years. These socks were worn by my girls when they were probably about 7 y/o or so.)

I pulled the sock straight and cut it off at about the heel of the sock. I then cut my fringes.

I cut another narrow piece of the sock off and wrapped around under the fringes and cinched it and knotted it--being sure to trim the ends.

Then I cut the sides off the toe of the sock and opened it up so it was about 7-8" long and cut w/ my rotary cutter a strip to make the little scarf.

AGAIN...SUPER EASY

Sketch Challenge Take 2

Tonight after the kids all were in bed and DH had fallen asleep watching the news, I went downstairs to enjoy the peace and quiet. It is so nice to hear the hum of the lights every once in a while and to be wrist deep in stampin' supplies---yes, my stamping table is a disaster. LOL I decided to take another stab at Gretchen's Challenge using scraps off my table. Unfortunately, the table doesn't look any cleaner--BUT I like the card. :)



Card Recipe:

Cardstock: Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Real Red

Accessories: gold brads, Petals-A-Plenty folder, gold cord, Merry Moments Designer Paper, 1 3/8" circle punch, scallop edge punch, mat pack and paper piercer, ornament punch and ticket corner punch

Inspiration In Action Weekend Sketch Challenge - IA113

I don't do many sketch challenges, but thought I would try out this challenge when I seen Gretchen Barron's beautiful creations using it.


If you would like to participate in this challenge, go to Gretchen's BLOG.
Here's her sketch:





Here's my attempt:











Card Recipe:

Stamp Set: Season of Joy
CS: Old Olive, Real Red and Very Vanilla
Ink: Old Olive
Accessories: Dashing DSP (retired), Always Artichoke Ribbon, dimensionals, scallop edge punch and Petals-A-Plenty Textured Impressions Folder

Homebound

This is day 3 of being at home. The snow started here on Tuesday and it just continued to fall for about 24 hours. I think when all was said and done we had about 18" of fresh snow.

We live VERY rural, about 7 miles from the nearest small town. We stocked up on some groceries and just have hunkered down at home. It's beautiful.... I love country living.

The kids had the day off school yesterday--they were in and out all day and LOTS of hot chocolate and dry mittens were given out.

I'm lucky to be home with them--I'm sure if I would have had to try to get out of our 1/4 mile driveway I probably wouldn't think it was nearly as gorgeous.

Ornament Bags

Every year at my Mom's Christmas, we exchange Christmas Tree Ornaments. I love seeing all the unique decorations. I'm setting all the ornaments aside for Dani now. Our tree could never hold all the ornaments that we have received and bought over the years and next year she will be graduating from high school and soon she will be decorating a tree in her own home. (Where does time go?)

I had a few inexpensive brown handled bags on hand just screaming to be decorated.

What is more appropriate for an ornament exchange than ORNAMENTS?! LOL I managed to make all 5 bags I needed while Evan napped. YEA!

Thank you for all your well wishes, thoughts and prayers for Evan. He is doing really well and we are headed back to the Children's Hospital tomorrow for his post surgery appointment. Hopefully, we will learn that the surgery was a success and everything will get back to normal. I love quiet and normal....it's great for stamping. :)

Bag Recipe:

Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Season of Joy (sentiment)

CS: Close to Cocoa, Whisper White, Certainly Celery (and DSP) and Real Red

Ink: Real Red, Certainly Celery

Accessories: bags (Walmart), Ornament Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Gold Cord

A Little Quiet Lately

I really haven't been stamping lately. My heart just wasn't in it as I prepared for my 13 month old, Evan to have surgery on December 4th. It was a minor procedure, but still very hard on the mommy. Honestly, I think it may have been harder on me than on him. I am hoping to get down to my Stampin' Room this next week and make my Christmas cards and I can't wait to share them with ya'll. BUT for the next couple days, my main focus will be my boy. He's such a good little guy.... keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Happy Stamping!

Love,

Wendy

Julie's Oct & Nov Swap Cards

My Sister-in-Law, Julie is just PUNCH CRAZY! Omgosh, I have received some beautiful cards from her during our swaps. She has more patience than me and it shows.

She's getting a little punchy using teenie tiny leaves. I don't know how she got them on so perfectly, but look at this card!

Here she goes again....punching it up w/ ovals for some Thanksgiving pumpkins. They are too pretty to make into pies, aren't they?

Joni's Oct & Nov Swap Cards

Every month, I receive SWAP cards from my two sister-in-laws and my mother-in-law. These cards are from my Sister-in-Law, Joni from LaCrosse, Wisconsin.

These are fun cards and I think they are so cute.

I have been waiting to try the tri-shutter card, but now I feel inspired to try.

Thanks, Joni! :) Is that I see? Ah yes, there is a little SU! in there! I love the green and purple.

Now I have seen these cards on Splitcoaststampers and thought they were so neat. They are made from a crimped envelope! LOVE IT! It is made w/ SU! retired set, Delight in Life. I sold my set long ago..... *sigh*.

There's even a decorated tag inside to write your message on.

Chilly Willy's New Accessories

Chilly Willy knows that December is quickly approaching here in Wisconsin. The sunny days while still sunny have a C-c-c-cold breeze and sometimes a few snow flurries fall from the sky to remind us that the winter weather will be here soon.

Well, the scarf didn't work so well in my last attempt w/ Willy. It just wouldn't lay the way I wanted it to so I went back to the drawing board. Willy is now sporting ear muffs and mittens. Just what every Wisconsin Penguin needs for the winter months, right? :)

Oh by the way, the mittens were pretty easy to make--Penguins don't have thumbs! See? LOL

Recipe:
Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Always Artichoke and Ruby Red (sponged on muffs and mittens)
Punches: large oval, curvy label, corner rounder, scallop oval
Accessories: Top Note Die, White Signo Pen, sponge, wire, pop up and regular glue dots

Mittens are 1/2 large oval (Garden Green) and then I punched a Real Red large oval and inserted it back into the punch to get the shape I wanted and then cut the top of the mitten so it was straight. Then I sponged everything and added a snowflake using my gel pen.

Muffs are a scallop oval reinserted into the punch and punched again to make a little smaller. I added the wire to the top note die using a glue dot and then sponged the muffs and covered the ends of the wires w/ a pop up glue dot and positioned the muffs on top.
Clear as mud, right?!

Quilt Set

Christmas is coming! I can't believe that it's only just over a month away. Where has 2009 gone?

To me, Christmas just isn't Christmas without a crackling fire, hot chocolate, Christmas carols playing softly in the background and a cozy quilt. You can't have too many quilts, right?

Well some people are starting to make fun of me and my addiction for these Quilt Cards. I absolutely love them! This Saturday, there are 20 ladies that are going to making these 4 cards as part of their Stamp-A-Stack. I hope they like them as much as I do.

Colorful Thanksgiving

Happy Fall!!

I love colorblocked cards. I thought a Thanksgiving card would be a perfect excuse to pull out a few different colors of paper. Can you think of anything w/ more beautiful colors than Autumn?

Recipe:

Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Ruby Red, Natural Ivory

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive and Ruby Red

Stamps: Branch Out, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Accessories: jumbo eyelets, linen thread, modern label punch, word window punch

Christmas Z-Fold

I have had a few emails wanting more views and information about my Christmas Z-Fold Card. I went out and took a few pictures (not the best quality, but I hope they can help answer your questions. :)
This is a really simple card to make.....

CLOSED:

OPEN:

SIDE:

If you would like to learn more techniques and great folds http://www.techniquejunkies.com/. Pat Huntoon puts out an awesome newsletter. :)

Christmas Stamp A Stack

Here are the cards I chose for my SAS. I like them and can't wait until I have time to make some for myself. :)

Double Flap Card

I CASEd this card--loved it! Thanks, Jenn!

This card makes me smile! :)

Ahhh..the famous quilt card. AM I CRAZY to try to do these at a SAS?

16 ladies making 4 of these a piece...so 64 quilts! EEK!

My first Z-fold card....I am going to make MANY MORE of these!

So easy.....