Crafters of Faith December Challenge!

There is a wonderful group of card makers on Split Coast Stampers called Crafters of Faith and I am fortunate to belong to this group.  Each month one of us hosts a challenge and we post our creations on the last day of the month.

Our challenge this month was to create a winter themed card, featuring snow, snowflakes, shimmer and shine.  We were also free to "bling in the New Year"!

Well, in my little corner of the world, we received fresh, powdery snow last night, then today the skies cleared and we had brilliant sunlight!  Surely a reminder of God's power and love for this world.  Of course I knew immediately that this would be my card:

This is a simple card, no layers, using only two stamps and some softly sparkling ribbon.  The main image is from an Impression Obsession's "Cover-a-Card" series, entitled "Birch Trees".  Of course you recognize the distinctive sentiment from 2004 Stampin Up.

It's inked onto plain white card stock with "Ocean" by A-Muse Studios.  I wanted to create the blowing snowdrifts outside my window, and the Cover-a-Card stamp is very large: 5.75 inches.  So, on a whim, I took a damp rag and swiped the ink off of the bottom portion of the stamp, thinking that I would use another piece of paper to create the snowdrifts.  Well, imagine my surprise when I looked at the end result!

The whole card front was sprayed with Stardust Finishing Spray by A-Muse Studios.  It creates a soft shimmery affect that I love.

I did like it just the way it was, but we were challenged to use some glitter or bling so I added small drops of Diamond Stickles.  This picture shows it somewhat, although it is hard to capture it in a photograph.

Give yourself a New Year's wintery treat and hop on over to the blogs of the other members (links are right there in my sidebar).  You won't be sorry, there's sure to be some glittery goodness to behold!

Dueling Darlings December Duel!

Yes, it's the 15th and time for another duel.  Michelle spoiled us Dazzlers with the greatest kit!  It featured "Snow is Overrated" by Whippersnappers as the image and some really wonderful papers and glittery ribbon and snowflake embellishments.

Here is what I came up with:

Isn't he just the cutest little guy? I just love how he seems to be smiling despite his little spill on skis.    He's colored with Spectrum Noir markers and a wee bit of sparkle was added to the snow and the bell on his hat.
This view shows more of his sparkle:

Michelle, you were so generous with this kit, how could anyone NOT create a wonderful card?!  Thank you!

Now, all of you reading this - get on over to the blogs of the other Divas & Dazzlers and admire their creations!  It will put you in the Christmas spirit for sure!

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your comments.  

Wishing each of you a blessed holiday season!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Dusting off my neglected blog right now...It's been sitting idle for a while now.  Thought that I would share what I've been up to the last several weeks:

These are 5 gift boxes made from glittery DP and decorated with glitter brads and cord ribbon for the closures.
They open up and have two sleeves inside for notecards or loose stationary, etc.

The idea is most definitely not mine!  (being slightly challenged in the fold it and build it department, LOL)  I searched and tried several tutorials from others more talented than I, eventually finding a gem of a tutorial from a blog by Tresa Black: Fabulously Artsy.  Check it out, because it's great!  Thank you to Tresa.

Her tutorial is for smaller boxes, sized for 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 cards.  Scroll down on her page to view the comments if you (like me) typically make the larger sized cards.  There are instructions for re-sizing it for 5X7 sized cards.






Here is a picture of the inside.  This DP was not double sided and not quite as heavy as I would have liked, so lining the inside with heavy cardstock helped IMHO.

These boxes fit exactly into a CD mailing box that you can buy at the Post Office!  They fit as though the box was made for them.  I put each one into a large zip lock baggie, folded the extra baggie around the box and slipped it inside the CD mailing box.  Such a perfect fit that I warned the recipients to cut open the mailing box carefully so that the contents would not get damaged.
























We filled them with an assortment of Christmas cards, sympathy, get well, thinking of you and birthday cards.  Depending on the thickness of your cards and envelopes, they will hold 8-12 cards & envies.

We sent these as gifts to family members and hope that they like them!  (My Mom has already called me and was really tickled with it, so that's nice).

I'll be back later to post some of the Christmas cards from this year's production.
Wishing all of you a wonderful day and a joyous holiday season with your family and friends.  Thank you for stopping by.

Mystery Image Swap Revealed!

We have a fun group on Split Coast that run a Mystery Image Swap.  Every other month the hostess (we take turns hosting) sends us images and we make 4 cards, send them to the hostess and receive back 3 creations from others.  It's loads of fun to see how differently we all create with the same starting point.

I am two days late in posting this (April, I hope that my tardiness makes you feel better! LOL)  On the 18th we were supposed to post our creations, however, my Dad's 81st Birthday was the 17th and my previous post was his card.  I wanted to give Mom & Dad a chance to see the post easily without having to search for it.  Anyway, enough of that.  On to this card.

A close up to show the pretty
embossed snowflakes.

It's navy card stock on a white base, the corners trimmed with deckle scissors.  The circle of snowflakes is a unique eBay find from many years ago.  It's embossed with a snowflake, glitter EP that is also a find from a stamp show many years back.  The circle is hand cut with an Exacto knife, so, it's less than perfect, ha ha.

Here is a close up of the inside panel with the adorable image chosen by our Hostess, Terry.  Isn't he darling?  He is colored with Spectrum Noir markers and accented with Snow flocking by Recollections.  His eyes and buttons are these tiny gems from Can You Digi It.  They are so small that they can be a challenge to work with but they also have Embellie Gellie to pick them up with and place them on your work.  A big help!

Below is a photo of everything used to make this card, including a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig since the circle on the rubber stamp is not mounted straight on the wood block.  Using this is the only way to get it lined up correctly.

Lesson learned: next time I'll add the snow flocking first and then glue on the gems.  I had a hard time keeping the glue off of the gems.

Thanks for stoping by and for any comments you may care to leave!  Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends!

Supplies used for this card.

Dueling Darlings: Planes, Trains & Automobiles!

Remember that movie?  The antics as two men struggle to get home in time for their holiday with their families.  This month our hostesses, Carol and Debbie selected this for our theme.  The Dazzler's hostess, Debbie, was very generous, and sent us two kits!! How great is that?!

Well, another post will show off a card from the other kit, but for the duel this month, when I saw the 57 Chevy image...it was all over.  No way could I not pick this kit for the duel.
Here's the card:

I know, I know, the coloring may not be technically accurate, but here's what I was going for:
In the very early '60's my Dad and Uncle taught my Grandmother (my Dad's Mom) to drive.  Ugh.  I remember everyone being about as happy during this process as we were when he taught my own Mom to drive! (My Mom eventually just went to a driving school).  Ha ha!
Anyway, eventually Grandma passed and got her driver's license.  My Dad and uncles bought her a black Chevy or Ford with HUGE PINK FINS!  It was the most amazing car I had ever seen.  Here's the kicker:  she NEVER drove it.  In fact, I don't think she ever drove once she had her license!

The wheels and headlights are perked up with some Crystal Effects, and "Are we there yet?" is cut out of the adorable DP that Debbie sent, mounted on a little Balsa wood oval that was colored with my markers.  Then it was also glazed with Crystal Effects and popped up with dimensional dots. (Creating the big shadow on my image in this picture)
My father's 81st birthday is this week so this card along with another card is on it's way to him on the West Coast.

As part of this challenge we were asked to share any memory of traveling during the holidays.  Well, one year in particular stands out.  My family lives in western Washington state, and I went to college on the eastern part of the state, near Idaho.  If you aren't familiar with the area, the Cascade Mountain range, and Mt. Rainier are right between the two regions.

One year in the mid-70's all the college kids got stuck on the mountain pass due to avalanche control.  Hundreds of kids set off to return to school after the holiday, expecting a 5-7 hour commute, depending on the weather and pass conditions.  What we got was a 24 hr or more commute!  It was a mess.  Cold, hungry, people running out of gas, etc.  But you know college kids - everything is an adventure and suddenly all of these complete strangers are all best friends.

Well, I've occupied enough of your time!  Get on over to all of the other Divas & Dazzlers blogs and see what they have made for this duel.  Links are on my side bar and thanks for stopping by!

Crafters of Faith October Challenge

I am fortunate to be part of a wonderful group of women called "Crafters of Faith".  Since joining a few months ago I have started new friendships with these talented women. We share our faith in God and provide support and encouragement for one another through prayer and our common belief in His grace.

Each month one member posts a challenge and on the last day of the month we post our cards in response..  This month's hostess is Sharon and here is her challenge:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

I Thessalonians 5:16-18

 From Sharon:

Wow, it's hard to believe that there is only 3 more months left of 2012...where has the time gone?? Some of you may know from reading my blog this week that Autumn is my favorite season of the year.

In Southern Ontario it is quickly making its appearance and where I'm from the colour of the changing leaves can be quite spectacular. It's so inspiring--I just love it!

Autumn also includes my most favourite holiday celebration--THANKSGIVING!! It's hard not to love a holiday that calls on us to give thanks for our blessings. I realize not everyone around the world celebrates this holiday, and our friends in the U.S. don't celebrate until November, so for this challenge you can choose to make either a card for thanksgiving OR a thank you card for someone who has been a blessing to you. Please use at least 2 designer papers and 1 embellishment, and most importantly, have fun!

Here is my card:

Those of you who have known me a while know that using DP is a new thing for me, ha ha.  I learned to make cards by using all blank stock and putting my own backgrounds and textures on it.  So using TWO DPs on one card was a good challenge to stretch myself.  Thank you Sharon!

So, if you can see, I actually managed to use 3 coordinating papers on the front! 

Here is a side view to show the depth of this card using those foam pop ups.  

Below is the inside of the card, with space to add a white panel for a sentiment.  The stamps and dies are from A Muse Studios and the DP is from SU, I think.  (I bought it from another card maker in a bundle so I'm not sure of the origin.)

I have so many blessings in my life.  My family, some exceptional friends, my career, my health...it's a long list!  The verse that Sharon selected for this challenge is so appropriate for this time of year.  Whenever I think that too many things are going wrong, I try to stop myself and remember all that I have to be thankful for.  It usually stops the "Woe is Me" train dead in its tracks.  To the members of Crafters of Faith:  each of you is a blessing to many, including me!

Be sure to visit their blogs also and admire their work.  Links are in my sidebar.  Thank you for stopping by and any comments that you may leave.  Peace be with you!

Dueling Darlings Tribute to Our Leaders!

Here it is the 15th of the month and time for another Dueling Darlings Post.  This month our sole hostess is Melina and she asked us to pay tribute to our Dazzling Leader: Jeanette!

This card was to honor all she does for us behind the scenes keeping the Dazzlers team organized and such.  Of course, many of us know her as the "Forest Ranger" on Splitcoast Stampers where she regularly hosts the Forest Swaps.  Besides just a swap, the Forest is a wonderful place to hang out and chat and many of us have formed fast friendships there.

For this reason our cards were to be forest related and Jeanette LOVES designer paper, so we were to use DP on our cards.  This is what I came up with:

Jeanette has a fondness for owls, and the stamp set and ink is from A Muse Studios, which Jeanette is also fond of.  The paper is from my dear friend, Carol, who sent it to me last year and I've been hoarding.  Hmmm, what better way to use it than on another friend's card, right?
This is one of those cards where the center panel flips around when you extend out the accordion folds.  So here is the flip side of the panel with a sentiment on it about friendship:

You can see that I had to piece the DP around the folds to make it work. But I really like the wood grained paper. It gives it a bit of a rustic feel.

Melina asked us all to surprise Jeanette with happy mail, so as this blog post is happening, this card is making its way via USPS to her mailbox.  I hope she enjoys our little card flood and knows how special she is to so many of us!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out the other Dazzlers & their tribute to Jeanette.  After that, visit the Divas and admire their creations in honor of their team leader, Kelly!  Links to their blogs are in my sidebar.

MFT's "Miss You a Latte" is Round 4 of Unidentified Image Swap

We are in Round 4 of the Unidentified Image Swap on SCS.  This round's Hostess, Terry, selected My Favorite Thing's "Miss You a Latte" as the image we received to work with.
What a cute and fun image it is too!  We were free to include any sentiment that we liked, so  I decided to pick a more generic one that could be used for various situations.

 

To the left is the front panel, the CS is a foiled, embossed stock from SEI's "Morocco" pack.
On the right is my attempt to show the shimmer that was spritzed on the maroon panel set behind the image.  I used Stardust Finishing Spray from A Muse Studios to spritz on the glimmer.  A touch of glitter was added to her headband, shoes & earrings for a bit of bling.

The image is colored with Spectrum Noir markers, ribbon and iridescent half pearls were bought from local stores and found in my stash.


On the right is the inside panel finished in a coordinating paper from the same pack.  It has the same foil finish.

To the right is the back panel of the card.

Thanks Terry for sharing such a fun image for us this round!  I can hardly wait to see what everyone else has created.  Thanks for stopping by!

Asian Best Wishes

Here is a couple of cards, recreating a card that I developed for our son's girlfriend on her birthday last month.  I always feel that family members should get a brand new card that I've never made for anyone else before.  Sometimes that puts a little pressure on me, LOL.  Maybe I should reconsider that...!



The base and inside panels are a shimmery purple and silver CS from DCWV's At Home & The Four Seasons packs - they are lovely.

Sizzix XL Movers & Shapers Windows die was used to cut the window panes and SU's Lots of Tags die was used for the sentiment.  All images are heat embossed with Rangers black EP: sentiment & Gingko branch are SU.  Inside panels are from a Fiskars set of Asian stamps.  Best Wishes is popped up.

The inside panels use the same papers and black EP.  I rather like how these turned out!  Only problem is that I've used all of that wonderful shimmery purple paper out of the pack. Isn't that how it always goes?  Thanks for stopping by and thank you for leaving your comments!  It's always a treat for me to read your feedback.
Blessings to you!

Welcome to the Crafters of Faith Blog Hop!

Welcome to the first Crafters of Faith Blog Hop! We are so blessed to have you stop by and celebrate the beauty of AUTUMN with us! The Crafters of Faith blogging group is a joyous blending of christian friends ~ joined together to fellowship, share our faith, build friendships and craft together! If you are just visiting and would like to hop with us, welcome! If you hopping along already, you should have arrived from Sharon's blog. This month, our hostess is Carol S! She gave us a wonderful Harvest challenge and here is what she asked us to create:  "I love FALL, the colors and the smells! I would like to propose that we make a card with fall colors, it should include fruits and vegetables to remind us of the harvest. When my kids were small, I canned peaches and pears, made pickles and such. So much fun to open those jars in the dead of winter! I am looking so forward to the fall festival of Sukkoth (Feast of Tabernacles). To Biblical historians, this is the actual time of Christ's Birth and many people believe this will also be the season of HIS return. Blessings All!" To celebrate in this glorious season upon us, here is a card that I created: Front & an angled view to show the popped up wreath and some of the textures. The wreath is an old PSX stamp that I've had for years..  It's stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa and colored with a variety of PrismaColor and Derwent Pencils, blended with Gamsol. Below is a close up of the wreath - and yes - I did use some glitter!  Rather a glitter novice here but wanted a bit of sparkle on this one.  It is also painted with Crystal Effects to give it some shine and enhance the colors. From here, continuing hopping to Jeanette's blog to see what Autumn splendor she has waiting for you! We also have a special little giveaway for one lucky hopper today and you can find that on Kelly's blog - the last stop on the hop!  Thank you for stopping by today! In this glorious season of Fall, and the wonders of the earth changing to gorgeous colors .... in a time of gratitude and thanksgiving ... we wish many blessings for you! To God who gives our daily bread A thankful song we raise, And pray that he who sends us food May fill our hearts with praise. Thomas Tallis (1505-1585)

So. Here's the Deal;

If you are looking for a card, move on.  This is Bijou the Bog Editor here.  My Female Pet is acting out.

She received something termed a "phone call" on Monday and she's been in a funk ever since.  I don't know what an "Aunt" and an "Uncle" are, but they are important to her.  And they live in somewhere far away called "Sacramento".  Anyway, it made her sad because it's a tough stage of life right now, when facing the end.

But then The Female found a post by her companion on SCS called "Paige".  It seems that loads of humans are posting on an "Amazon" site (what exactly is that anyway?) and submitting reviews on  some pens that are supposedly marketed specifically to women.

Well, thanks to Paige, my Female has been in a good mood and giggling all day.   Hmpf.  What's an editor supposed to do?  How can I possibly whip her into shape and meet my deadlines if she's all happy and "feelin' good" (how do you feel good without oat groats, sweet potatoes and safflower seeds anyway?)  
Seriously, check this out:
BicPensforwomen

Read the reviews.  Just don't drink anything while you are reading.  You may choke on your coffee like my Female did.  Nearly woke the whole house up in the wee hours.  Hmmmph.  

Are You Cured?

Here's my submission for Round 12 of the Mystery Image Swap on Split Coast:

This round's hostess was Samantha and she sent us the images.  It was up to us to color and create a card with her images.  She belongs to a card-giving group at her church and will use our cards for that purpose.

Isn't he just the cutest little guy, all tucked into his comfy bed?  I guess that I was feeling like Fall when making this card, choosing earth tones and an acorn theme.

He's colored with both Prisma and Derwent pencils, blended with Gamsol.  I do not know the origin of the quilt DP, since it was bought second-hand and already cut into 6x6 squares.  Ivory card stock stamped with a plaid BG stamp, then a small acorn peg-stamp from my stash. I rounded up 4 of the acorns in the bottom of a drawer full of "treasures".

Sam is very speedy with swapping out and I already have my returns back!  Thanks Sam for a great image for this round. And thanks for being part of such a fun group!  In 2 months we'll have another round hosted by Terry.  Thanks for stopping by!

The Best of the Dueling Darlings!

A monthly group of friends, called the Dueling Darlings on Split Coast, create cards from kits sent by each of us in turn when it's our month to host.

One of our members, Debbie, had a great idea for us to keep the leftovers from each monthly kit and in September, we create a card from these remaining items.

What to do, what to do...many ideas floated through my mind over the months as I stashed my goodies away.  But then, when it came time to make the card my other life took over and I was pressured, and late to meet our Dueling Deadline (cards should be posted by the 15th).

I really got myself into a tizzy about being late, but then I just thought about how special each of these women have become in my life.  Then it came to me!  Make a quilt using strips of each of their papers (well, the ones that I had left anyway) and make a big heart!

Card base is ivory, a navy blue panel, then the pink doily paper panel, trimmed with two different ribbons along the bottom and left side.

The heart is made of 1/2" strips of DP, woven and glued onto white CS.  Then I hand cut the heart, mounted it on navy CS and hand cut the border.  Some light blue ribbon was tied in a bow and fixed to the heart.

The sentiment is from one of the kits during the past months and says it all:

"A friend is what the heart needs all the time".

Here's the inside, which used up some more of the lovely papers that I had gathered through the months.


I cut out half of the Irish Blessing from March's kit and included it on the inside.

Today I had a meeting at church led by a dear friend, Carolyn.  I gave her the card, explaining it's origin and purpose and that I wanted it to go to another special friend, so now it belongs to her!







Thanks to all of the Dueling Darlings - for inviting me into your group, for tolerating me when I am late to post - for being caring and supportive of each other - and for sharing your talents with others!

Each of you has a special place in my heart!

Cards 5 & 6 In Gift Sets

Here are two more cards that I made while on vacation.  (these are also for the gift sets)

With Sympathy is on lavender CS and white embossed.  The stamp is Stampin Up's French Flair.  Sentiment is A Muse, from the Damask Greetings set.





















They are rather simple cards, but perhaps that's best for sympathy cards. the inside has a portion of the swirls & bird and a sentiment.

The next card has an Asian theme, and uses an old beauty from SU! "Oriental Paintings".  Red CS for the base, damask embossed black panel, image heat embossed with gold EP on red, mounted on shimmery gold paper.

I must admit, these two pictures have been giving me fits. This is the third day trying to make this silly little post.  Not sure what the issue was, but I just could not get these two pictures to upload to Blogger.

I haven't quite finished this set yet, still deciding what type of sentiment to add.  Probably a "thinking of you" type.

This makes a total of 60 cards made, 10 sets with 6 each. Not too shabby for a few days off from the office.

Thanks for stopping by and thank you for your comments!  I really enjoy it when you visit this bitty blog (and it keeps my editor happy, ha ha!)

Two More Cards for the Gift Sets

Many of you know that I took some days off last week to recharge.  What better way to recharge than playing with my toys, right?

So I pressed on toward my goal of making 10 sets of varied cards to give as holiday gifts this season.  Here are two more that were made last week:

I'm not happy with either of these photos, they don't accurately portray the colors: Mellow Moss, a very pale pink and Barely Banana.  I also used some A Muse Shimmer Finishing Spray on the moss panel.  It gives it a nice sheen and soft sparkle.  The picture taken from a slight angle shows it a bit better.


The inside is also stamped and decorated, but those pictures did not turn out very well.  If I manage to take a better picture, I will add it to this post.








Then I decided to make a fun birthday card so out came one of my favorites: Ronnie from Inky Antics!

Here's the card, and there's glitter on the DP.  She's colored with my new alcohol markers: Spectrum Noir.  I think I'm getting the hang of them, they are so different from my other, water based markers.  (Thanks to all of my friends on SCS who are experts with Copics.  Your tips have really helped me!)



 Here is a closer look at Ronnie.  Today she has on her usual bling and bright colors!








The inside says "Now you say it back to me" - I just love that!

Anyway, thanks for looking and thanks for your patience with my photography.  Someday when I have a life I'll have to take some lessons on photographing cards better.

Gift Sets of Cards

Hello!  I've been busy lately making sets of cards to give as gifts this holiday season. My goal is to make 10 sets of an assortment of cards and gift them to special people in my life.  So far I've made 4 sets. Hopefully I can get another 4 sets done before I go back to work on Tuesday.

Here are two of the cards I've made.  The first one shows that I was in an Autumn frame of mind:

The images, inks and matching papers are all from A Muse Studios:
Stamp Set: Beautiful Botanicals
Paper and inks: from their Fall Palette; Squash, Currant and Nutmeg
Cardstock: Wasau's Stardust (it has little flecks of color throughout) and the olive green is DCWV from my stash.
Ribbon: from my stash - it just happened to match the Squash color perfectly!

The second card contains one of my favorite color combinations: pale yellow, blues and brown. I decided to make a Criss Cross Pocket card and used some retired SU DP that I've been hoarding for a while:

Stamp: Inkadoo
Ink: SU Tempting Turquoise, heat embossed with clear EP, then colored with SU ink pads and blending pen
Papers: Close to Cocoa for the base, and the inside panel and side panels are SU's Twitterpated DP





The small decorative strip of blue paper across the front was stamped with an old filigree background stamp from Stampin UP and also clear embossed.

The circular bird image was cut out and popped out with dimensional foam dots.

Here are two, tomorrow I'll post two others.

So far I'm leaving the cards blank to give more flexibility in how they can be used.  But I'm still undecided about that.  What do you all think?

Thanks for looking and I wish you all a great day!

Dueling Darlings Do Bingo!

Greetings from Dallas, TX! I'm in the airport, waiting for my flight and trying to do my blog post today for this month's Dueling Darlings Challenge! (my hubby calls this being cyber-woman, LOL)

Our kit this month was over-the-top fun, thanks to Jeanette! Unfortunately, I did not bring with me the listing of fabulous papers, embellishments and the identity of the image, so I can't give you specifics. (sorry Jeanette)

Well, I can't seem to figure out how to move these pictures around now that I finally have them loaded up, so you'll just have to read & then scroll down to see them.

I used Tempting Turquoise for the card base, and colored the fun image with a combination of markers and pencils, and die cut it and the starburst panel that was in the kit with Nesties. (The bottom picture shows the embossed panel better) I'm not sure if you can tell, but she is wearing enormous pink sparkly earrings, compliments of Stickles.

Part of this month's challenge was to try something we've never done before. Can you believe that I have never put a button on a card or made a ribbon flower before? (gasp!) So, after a wee bit of research on SCS, I took the ribbon that was in the kit and made a flower, attached a button and voila!











Aren't the papers great? I must admit that this was a great challenge, got me out of my comfort zone a bit in a fun way. Thank you Jeanette!

Now, I'm off to visit everyone else's creations, and I hope that you will also. It's sure to be a big treat!

Thank you for stopping by! Hugs and blessings to you.
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