CAS Happy New Year

It's so hard to believe that it's the last day of 2014 already! Is it just me, or did this year fly by for everyone else, too?

Today I have a one layer CAS card to share. This was very quick and easy to make. Sorry for the poor photo, but it's another day with little to no sun.

I started with a top folding card base made with Neenah Solar White card stock. The Starbursts stamp is an older one from Hero Arts. I stamped it first with Versamark watermark ink and then embossed with my favorite silver embossing powder, Liquid Platinum,  by Ranger. I also embossed along the edges of the card, something I've seen Jennifer McGuire do to add more interest to CAS cards. If you've never visited her blog (where have you been?), you just must click  here now. She is a rock star and just an amazingly talented person.

My sentiment is a combination of two stamp sets, also embossed with Liquid Platinum. The 'happy' is from The Big, The Bold and The Happy by Winnie & Walter and the 'New Year' is from an old set by Papertrey Ink, Happy Day.

To finish my card, I added my favorite sequins, Sparkling Clear by Pretty Pink Posh, in both the 4mm and 6mm sizes. Paulina has the best sequins in so many colors. I love them so much that I seem to be using them on every card I make. Be sure to check out her new release on January 5th. I can't wait!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

     CAS-ology : light     

     Inkspirational Challenge #72 : photo

     Splitcoaststampers CAS 305 Challenge : Welcome the New Year!

     Simon Says Wednesday Challenge : Anything Goes

   

I wish everyone a wonderful New Year, filled with happiness, joy and good health. (Oh, and lots of crafty time!)

                                                                     Pam

Merry Christmas Easel Card

Wow! The month of December has flown by. I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone. Although I haven't had time to post any cards or projects, I did somehow manage to complete several. This was one of my favorites.

I used the gorgeous Penny Black Winter Pine stamp and colored wth Distress Markers. Some sparkle was added to the pine cones with my clear Wink of Stella brush pen. Red rhinestones from my stash were added to the holly leaves. I also scattered green sequins from Pretty Pink Posh's Classic Christmas sequins around the image. 

The papers are from the Believe Collection by Authentique and green cardstock from my stash. The sentiment is popped up with foam and holds the easel upright. Some buttons with twine were added on the sentiment piece.

The lovely ribbons are from the October 2014 Really Reasonable Ribbon Club. Click on the link to find out about this fabulous ribbon club. I love getting my assortment every month!

I wove the red organza ribbon through the red and white swirl ribbon and then heated it gently with my heat gun. I love the effect this has on the ribbon. Some sequins were added to the ribbons, too. I also added some mini pine cones from my stash to the ribbon treatment.

I hope that all of you and your families had a wonderful holiday. 

                                                                 Pam

Ornament Shadowbox

Wow! Where has the time gone? Between being sick and computer issues, it's been awhile since I was able to post. Hard to believe that Christmas is in less than 3 weeks. I have to get going on a ton of projects!

I'm making ornament filled shadowboxes for my family. I'm the oldest of 9, so you can imagine how many of us there are now. I always make a handmade gift for my siblings and my married nieces and nephews with families of their own. The little ones still get presents. (Can't help it - I still spoil them!)

Don't tell any of them, but this is what I'm making this year. (Good thing none of them read my blog.)

I was perusing Pinterest for ideas and found this by Dawn Montagano and several by others. Dawn graciously sent me the link with directions on how she made her beautiful shadowbox. I've switched up a few things to make it my own, but the basics are the same. Clink  here for her Facebook page.

Thanks, Dawn!

These are easy and quick to make. Obviously, the choice I needed this year now that we're getting down to the wire. I purchased the 6x6 frames and the ornaments from Michaels. Both were on sale for 40% off plus I used a 20% off total purchase coupon. The rest of the supplies are from my stash. 

After taking the back off the shadowbox, I adhered scrapbook paper to the frame backing. I didn't want the ornaments to roll around, so I hot glued them in place. I'm going to try one with jingle bells and I'll leave those loose. Who can resist shaking jingle bells?

I used Winnie & Walter's new  The Big, the Bold and the Merry Cutaways dies to die cut Merry Christmas from gold paper I found in my stash. I ran the die cuts through my Xyron and adhered them to the glass. Then I only needed to replace the frame backing and add a bow made from some wired ribbon. (Yes, I have a rather extensive stash of that, too. Sigh.)

I hope they all like their gifts this year, Also, they're all be getting new monthly calendar inserts for the calendars I made them last year. Just no time for new calendars this year. Maybe I'll start in January for next year - with a brand new Graphic 45 collection I just had to buy the moment it came in at Creativ You & Co, my local LSS, last week. (I can at least say I'll start. I know that no one will believe me.)

Thanks for visiting! I'd love to know your thoughts.

                                                           Pam

I Won the Fancy Pants Giveaway!

I was so happy when I found out I was the winner of this fabulous giveaway from Fancy Pants on the Paper Crafters Library blog! Just look at this!

All of these wonderful goodies filled the mailing box. I couldn't wait to make something - anything - with some of this cute Oh DEER! collection. So the first thing I did was grab one of the cute photo frames and turned it into a shaker card.

I used this red striped frame as the shaker cover. I love that saying, because it truly is the most wonderful time of the year. The snowflake paper was from the 6x6 paper pad in the prize. I cut it to an A2 size piece and adhered it to my Neenah Solar White card base.

To make the shaker, I added a piece of acrylic to the back of the frame. Using a dryer sheet on the acrylic will eliminate any static and help the sequins move around freely. Then, a double thickness of foam tape was added around the perimeter of the frame. The extra thickness of the foam gives the sequins you add lots of room to shake around. Also, use some baby powder on the sides of the foam tape so the sequins don't stick to the foam. 

Lastly, I added some of the sequins, a strip of ribbon along the bottom and adhered the shaker portion to the card base. Oh, I just love shaker cards, don't you? So fun!

Now I think I need to turn the rest of the frames into shakers. More cards for my Christmas card stash.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you, too, are enjoying whatever it is you love to do. 

                                                           Pam

Hope & Dream Card

Recently, I was asked by a teacher in my building to make a card for a student's parents who just became US citizens.  I decided to make my card using Tim Holtz products.

I found lots of goodies in my Tim stash. Starting with a kraft card base, I added papers from his Seasonal Paper Stash. I distressed the edges of the red background paper with the paper distresser, then ink distressed those edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. Two of the cut-aparts from the paper collection were distressed in the same way and then added to the card with foam for dimension. 

More pieces from Tim's Idea-ology line were added. I used a journaling ticket and two adage tickets. These pieces were also distressed with distress ink and added with foam. One of the mirrored stars was inked with Mushroom Alcohol Ink and then adhered atop the flag cut-apart. I also added one of the word bands to the bottom of the card with some linen ribbon and brads. 

My hope is that these new citizens from India will be able to achieve their hopes and dreams here in the US. 

Thanks for visiting and taking a look at my card. I'd love to know your thoughts.

As always, I hope you find some time to do whatever it is that you love.

                                                              Pam

Joy Double Tag

Hello. I've been busy making lots of tags for gifts. I love to use homemade tags on my Christmas gifts, so I make several every season. Today I created my first ever double tag using Sizzix Originals Die - Tags, Scallop Combo 2, which I believe you can find on clearance now. I love the shape and size of this tag die.

I die cut two of the tags from Neenah paper. The smallest stamp from the Stampendous Cling Jumbo Snowflakes set was heat embossed with white embossing powder. Next I stamped an old A Muse wooden snowflake stamp otro the tag with Faded Jeans Distress Ink in both first and second generation stamping. I then lightly went over the whole tag with the same DI. Notice how the embossed snowflake resists the ink. 

The joy and snowflake die cuts is from the W Plus 9 Seasonal Sentiments die, also cut from Neenah paper. I edged around the word joy with the distress ink and then added the snowflake on top of the "o" in joy. A white pearl was adhered to the center of my embossed snowflake.

On my second tag, I merely used a Julie Fei Fan Balzer mini stencil from my stash and inked with the distress ink. The two tags were attached with a thin white ribbon and I have another tag for my stash.

I'd like to enter this into the newest Tag You're It! Challenge #11,  inspired by this beauty by Maureen Merritt.

I am also entering into this month's Inspiration Journal at Inspiration Emporium - Happy Holidays.

Thanks for sharing some of your time with me. I hope you have a happy, crafty weekend! 

                                                           Pam

Snowy Trees

I made another quick Christmas card to add to my stash. Please excuse the photo. It's dark out now, but I wanted to post this tonight, hopefully to squeak into the latest Less is More  challenge.

My Neenah card base was embossed with a small dot folder to look like snow. The Poppy Stamps Mountain Top Trees were stamped with distress ink and then cut from the matching dies. Glitter was added onto the trees and the slope for snow. I also added a gold die cut Star of Wonder and a sentiment; both from Memory Box. 

I've missed the challenge deadline, but please check out all of the beautiful entries at Less is More.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you find some fun crafting time this weekend.

                                                                        Pam

Merry Christmas Tag

Hello. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. They go by so quickly, don't they?

I spent mine making more tags for another swap. During our holiday meeting of Paper Arts Club this week, we will be swapping tags.

The die cut tag is from Pretty Pink Posh, the Stitched Duos 1 die. I love the size of this tag. The holly die is Penny Black's Reds and Greens. The poinsettia is an exclusive from Simon Says Stamp, Poinsettia Parade. After layering several of the poinsettia cuts, I added a yellow pearl to the center.  Once again, I used my clear Wink of Stella pen to add some shine to the poinsettia. Rhinestones colored with a Copic marker were added to the holly for the berries,

The sentiment is an old A Muse wooden stamp. I love that font. The ribbon I added through the punched hole is from May Arts.

I would like to enter my tag into the Tag You're It Challenge #10. The challenge is based on Lynn Put's gorgeous inspiration piece here.

As always, thanks for visiting. I hope you found some time this weekend to do whatever you love to do.

                                                          

                                                                   Pam

Thanks - Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge #19

Hello. Today I'm sharing my entry into Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge #19 - For All That You Do - Thank You! I must tell you that I had a bit of a problem and that's why this challenge took me so long.

Lack of crafting materials or mojo? Nope. Would you believe I can't find my bin of wooden Thank You stamps? (If you know me, you'll believe it.) I moved a few months ago, and haven't been able to find anything in my new crafting area. But a whole bin of wooden stamps? Really? How far could they have gone? (Don't ask.) Fortunately, I have "a few" clear Thank You stamps.

On to my Thank You card. This is my very first 6 x 6 card. Of course, I had to use the three supplies I hoard  the most - Graphic 45 paper, ribbon and flowers. The paper is from one of my favorite G45 collections, Once Upon a Springtime. I just love green and pink together, don't you? Two of the pattern papers were layered onto a cream card base. All of the papers were inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. I used an image I love from the collection, the fairy and the frog, and popped it up with foam. 

I scrunched some pink seam binding and made a multi-loop bow. A crocheted flower and pink rose from my stash were added on top of the bow. The smaller pink roses are from I Am  Roses, I think. I love curling the stems.

My "thanks" stamp from Simon Says Stamp and the stamp below the image from CAS-ual Fridays were both stamped using Gathered Twigs DI. In hindsight, I think I should have used black ink. It's hard to tell from the picture, but I used my clear Wink of Stella pen on the fairy's wings so they would sparkle.

There is one (dare I say this?) brand new product on my card. It's the gorgeous bracket die cut that I stamped "thanks" onto. The die cut is from the By DIEzyne Stitched Bracket Dies designed by Rhea Weigand of Passionate Paper Creations and sold by C.C. Designs. These new dies were just released a couple of weeks ago and are fabulous! Quick, go check them out!

Thanks for visiting! Now I really must get back to looking for a bin of stamps. 

A Birthday Card for Michael Finnegan

Hello. Today when I got home from work I needed to make a quick birthday card for a special little boy turning two. I found an image I colored last year, before any Copic coloring instruction, so be kind, please. The image is from a Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps set that I can no longer find on their website called Special Boy Cocoa. I love this sweet mouse.

The image from my stash was of Cocoa and a baseball hat. I simply matted it on blue and black card. I also stamped one of the sentiments from the set and matted onto the same colors. The blue and black card was then layered onto my Neenah card base. Next I added a piece of birthday patterned paper from my scrap stash. The panels with the image and the sentiment were adhered with foam tape to add some dimension.

A simple, quick card  that turned out fairly well. Hey, when you're two you don't care about the card anyway, just ripping open some wrapping paper. I hope Michael Finnegan enjoys what's inside.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you are enjoying whatever it is that you love doing.

                                                             Pam

Christmas Holly

Hello. It was a very busy crafting weekend at my house. I was busy making swaps for a Splitcoaststampers gathering next weekend. If you're not familiar  with Splitcoaststampers click the link and check out the site. You will need to become a member and then you can wander all around a fab crafting community. There is so much inspiration to enjoy.

This is the card I made for my "shoebox" project. Everyone attending the gathering makes a shoebox project, usually a card. Your shoebox contains kits made up of all the pieces needed to make your project. During the day everyone has a chance to make the other participants' projects. It's so much fun to make the cards designed by others and the day is full of inspiration. Spending the day making cards with other card enthusiasts- what's not to love?

My card is fairly simple, as we do have time constraints. I used an old Stampin Up holly stamp on Neenah card stock and then colored with Tombow markers. I went over the holly berries with my clear Wink of Stella pen for some added sparkle. The panel is matted on green and red card stock and then adhered to my card base. A stamped Penny Black sentiment is also matted on green and red card stock. I used foam tape to adhere the sentiment to add some dimension. A simple card, but I like the simplicity of it, especially when you have to mass produce.

There are also several swaps held throughout the day that you can choose to do, if you wish. Of course, I signed up for a couple of those. I'll share them soon.

I'm also entering this in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you're enjoying doing whatever it is that you love.

                                                                  Pam

Halloween - to die for - a Vintage Journey

Today I have another card for a challenge. I am entering this into A Vintage Journey: Challenge 17  Halloween - To Die For.

I made a card for this challenge that was to use dies on a project that is strongly influenced by Tim Holtz. You know - Tim Holtz. THE Tim Holtz. The man himself. Yep - that Tim Holtz. The only non-Tim product I used is the paper and the adhesive, I believe. 

First  the inside of a Sizzix Texture Fades Halloween Background embossing folder was inked with Distress Inks. Then I embossed a piece of Neenah card stock with the inked folder. Love that look! That panel was adhered to a black card base.

My next step was to cut the Candlelight Fright Sizzix Bigz Die from black card stock. The die has both the candelabra and the spider. I used Distress Crackle Paint Clear Rock Candy to crackle the candles and  Distress Paint in Tarnished Brass to color the flames. These pieces were then added to my card with foam dimensionals. 

A bit vintage, a bit spooky and I like how it came out. 

As always, Thanks for visiting and I hope you're doing whatever it is that you love.

                                                              Pam

A Dreamweaver Christmas Card

Hello. Today's card was made to enter into the  A Happy HallowThanksMas Challenge at Dreamweaver Stencils. Isn't that the cutest name ever? The Dreamweavers Design Team had a collaboration with the Smeared and Smudged 31 Days of Halloween, plus a Christmas collaboration with Stampendous and Core'dinations this month. Hence the challenge named for several holidays!

I used Dreamweavers Stencil LG 746- Star Dream Christmas Tree for my card. I added gold ink to my Dreamweavers Embossing Paste to color it because I don't have the gold metallic paste yet. Also, irridescent glitter was added to give the paste some sparkle. I smoothed the paste over the stencil onto black card stock and let it dry.

Once the tree was dry, I added glitter tape onto two corners and matted it onto gold metallic card stock. The panel was adhered to a black card base. Some gold sequins were scattered about for some added shine. Sorry that my poor picture doesn't capture all the shine.

I have a few more Halloween and Thanksgiving cards to finish, and then I must get going on Christmas. It's less than 2 months away! Yikes!

Enjoy the rest of your day doing whatever it is that you love.

                                                        Pam

Mama Elephant October Challenge

Hello everyone. Today I'm sharing a card for the Mama Elephant October Challenge - Anything Goes.

Since I don't have any of the Mama Elephant Halloween stamps in my growing ME collection yet, I decided to make a birthday card. I have lots of birthdays coming up, so this seemed to be a great time to make one.

I used Peek a Frame Creative Cuts to create the base for a shaker card. I love shakers - they are such fun! Both the large outside frame and the smaller rounded corner frame were cut from Neenah card stock. For the top cut out piece, I placed the smaller frame inside the larger one to create the opening. Acetate was adhered to the back of the frame for the clear opening.

Gold Tsukineko Delicata Ink was used to stamp the large sentiment from the Make a Wish set by Mama Elephant on the inside panel. Lots of sequins from Pretty Pink Posh were added on top of the sentiment. I love all the beautiful colors of sequins that Paulina has in her shop. To allow the sequins room to shake, I added foam tape all around the edge of the inside panel. Then the clear panel was adhered to the top and the sequins easily move around inside.

Shaker cards are so much fun; both to make and receive. My fabulous niece turns 22 this week, so this will go to her.

Thanks for looking and I hope you're enjoying today doing whatever it is that you love.

                                                                             Pam

Thank You, Rhea!

For the past several months I have been taking a series of fantastic Copic Technique Classes at my LSS, Creativ You & Co, owned by designer Stacie Johnson. The classes have been taught by the outrageously talented Rhea Weigand of Passionate Paper Creations. Currently, Rhea is on the Design Teams for May Arts Ribbon , Little Darlings and Kraftin Kimmie Stamps. She also designs Rhea's Twisted Side stamps for C.C. Designs and has a brand new line of dies coming out for C.C. Designs this week;  By DIEzyne dies.

Rhea is an extremely gifted designer, instructor and color artist. She has given those of us lucky enough to take her classes an insane amount of knowledge about Copic markers. We've covered how to read the color code, the Copic color wheel, blending, texture, and light source. In addition Rhea's taught us how to color faces, eyes, hair, backgrounds, textures, pleats, folds, metal, wood and even jeans. She's given us countless hours of preparation and more information than I'll ever be able to absorb.

Today was our last class. We had a play day that was great fun! Rhea showed us how to use the air compressor, along with some fab techniques created with these awesome alcohol markers. We learned how to make some very cool backgrounds on stamped images.

                      

Aren't they fabulous? I just love all the things you can do with Copics and by adding an air compressor, the results are amazing.

We also used Copics to air brush on tiles. Using four markers, a stamp, some air and embossing powder on a plain white tile we created gorgeous coasters. I am in love with how this came out!

I want to send a huge thank you to Rhea for teaching these amazing classes. You really must visit and follow her blog, Passionate Paper Creations, to see her stunning creations. Rhea includes her well-known Color Palettes with her cards, enabling you to see all the colors used. Her blog is loaded with all sorts of amazing projects showcasing her many talents. Pure eye candy!

After visiting Rhea's blog, be sure to also visit and follow Stacie at her blog, Creativ You & Co. for even more fabulous creativity.

Thank you, thank you, Rhea! Now I'm so happy to be able to call you my friend! You rock!
                                                       
                                                                        Pam

Give Thanks

Today I'm sharing a Thanksgiving card that I created to enter into some challenges. I like doing challenges because they force help me create projects I might not normally do. That is not the case with today's card.

This card is made with hoarded  saved paper from my all time favorite company, and from one of my favorite of their collections, which is now retired. If you know me at all, you know it's Graphic 45 and the collection is A Place in Time.

I mentioned hoarding because once again, I created this card to enter into the Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge. My last entry shown here was selected as a Favorite by Gloria Stengel; the mastermind behind this challenge and biggest hoarder ever (tee hee), and her Design Team. I cannot thank them all enough for choosing my project. What an honor! Thank you! Thank you! I'm so happy you liked my project.

This is Challenge #18 - Layer It and I have a ton of layers on my card. The kraft card base was paper distressed and then ink distressed it with Vintage Photo. Next I added pieces from the A Place in Time November Cut-Apart page. (I only have one piece left - yikes!) The green check patterned paper was topped with a layer of frayed burlap, then I popped up the signature monthly post card over the burlap. 

Next came a die cut from the Tim Holtz Mini Tattered Leaves die by Sizzix. I clustered a postoid and a greeting cut from the page with the tattered leaf. All pieces were ink distressed with Vintage Photo. 

To add even more layers, I made a scrunched multi-loop bow from green seam binding. I used May Arts twine to form a flower over my bow, and topped that with a button. 

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

     Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Get Crafty and Use Kraft

     Simon Says Monday Challenge - Anything Goes

Have a wonderful weekend doing whatever it is that you love.

                                       

                                           Pam

I Chews You

Sharing another Halloween card today. This is an image from Undying Love, one of SugarPea Design' s new stamp sets from their latest release. I love this set! The zombies, a boy and girl, are just too cute. Seriously! The sentiments crack me up.

Yes, I'm still practicing my Copic coloring. I'm really liking it lately. Not stressing if it's the right way or not. Just having fun. 

I colored this cutie on Copic Xpress It paper and layered it onto an easel card base made from Neenah Solar White paper. The pattern paper is from my stash. I believe it's either AMuse or Memory Box purchased from a LSS that is sadly no longer in business. The black tulle and orange ribbon are also from my stash. 

Those gorgeous sequins are a new purchase from Pretty Pink Posh. This new mix from Paulina is the 4mm Trick or Treat with yummy purple, orange and green sequins. These are my new obsession. I love sequins and seem to be using them on every card I make.

Aren't those sentiments the funniest things? I think they're hysterical and so love my sweet little zombie. She was lots of fun to color and make into a card. 

I hope you're enjoying what's left of the weekend doing what you love. 

                                                                       Pam

Meet Tabitha

Can you believe Halloween is less than 2 weeks away? Wow, time is flying by. So many projects I need to complete and never enough time.

I've been practicing some more Copic coloring. This is Mo Manning's cute little witch, Tabitha. She's another image from the Penny Black Glenda & Frankie set that I used on my mummy card here. Isn't she the sweetest thing?

This center step card was fun to make. I followed this tutorial from Splitcoaststampers and made a 6x6 card. The card was covered with Bo Bunny Double Dot paper layered onto orange cardstock. My colored image was layered onto orange cardstock and popped up onto the center panel. 

The sentiment is from the same set and stamped onto a banner that is popped up. I used some buttons from my stash and May Arts natural twine was added around the buttons.

Hopefully my coloring is improving, a bit better every time, ever so slowly. I'd love some input from my coloring friends.

I hope you enjoy some time this weekend doing whatever it is that you love.

                                                                     Pam 

Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge #17

I haven't entered the Craft Hoarders Anonymous Challenge in awhile. It's a fabulous challenge run by the amazing Gloria Stengel of Scraps of Life. You really must visit to see all the stunning projects by the designers.

I finally finished my Halloween configurations box. Digging into the bin where I hoard store all of my Halloween and fall goodies to make this was so much fun. I  also used lots of older Tim Holtz products, of course!

First I painted all the pieces of the box with Tarnished Brass distress paint. I added some tiny scraps of  paper from the Lost & Found Seasonal Paper Stash that I have left inside some boxes. Then I used Hobgoblin Tissue Tape that I've had forever on the edges of all the little boxes . After hot gluing the boxes onto the base, I added more of that fab tissue tape to the outside edges. (I don't think it's available anymore, and I only have a little left. Sigh.) 

Next came the fun of adding lots of goodies in the boxes. There's skeletons, skulls, caskets, a bony hand and a crow from Michaels, I believe. I put some alcohol ink into an Idea-ology corked vial and then covered it with a bat label. The skulls are strung on hemp that is hanging in a box. I die cut some Spellbinders Tomb Stones from grungeboard and added them behind some of the figurines. There's also a die cut spider web with some spiders.

I also added an Idea-ology skull & crossbones and some Remnant Rubs from the Apothecary set. There's a tea light in one of the boxes that also has tissue tape on it. The feet of the box are wooden balls painted black. 

I first saw one of these made by May Flaum on her blog a few years ago when I started to become interested in more than just scrapbooking. It was the first time I had ever seen a project done with these. Thanks, May, for the fabulous introduction to these awesome boxes! 

So, that's my project for Challenge #17 - Happy Fall Y'all! Nothing says fall like a spooky Halloween. 

Happy Fall Y'all!

There's no school Monday due to Columbus Day, so I'm enjoying this long weekend. How about you?

I spent today coloring some more images with Copics and making some cards. I am really having fun with some new card designs to go with my colored images. It's unusual for me to make an easel or a step card, but I really love them. Just takes a lot more time to make, but they're so worth it.

This is a stamp set from Sugar Pea Designs called Bountiful Blessings. I love this sweet little scarecrow that comes with 2 pumpkin images and 5 sentiments. Not sure how well she's colored, but I'm ok with how she turned out. This Copic coloring takes so much practice! I hope I get better as I keep practicing.

I made a side step card from Neenah 80 lb. paper and layered her up onto it. She's colored on Copic XPress It paper. The other papers are all from my stash.The grass is made with a Martha Stewart punch.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend doing whatever it is you love.
                                                                            Pam

Boo!

It's been quite awhile since I posted here. Sometimes life leaves little time for crafting.

I have been taking the Copic Online Card Class, as well as some fabulous classes from well-known Copic artist Rhea Weigand of Passionate Paper Creations at my LSS, Creativ You & Co. Wow, that girl is fantastic! Be sure to check her blog. It's just loaded with fabulosity!

I'm only a beginner. Not a very good one, I must admit. Lots and lots of practice is needed to master even the smallest level of skill. Whenever I can I try to get a bit of coloring in.

Recently, I colored some of the images in the Glenda & Frankie set from Penny Black. The images of children in Halloween costumes in this set are so adorable. I made a couple of cards with the mummy image, which requires very little coloring. Gotta start somewhere, right?

                                        

I made the cards with the same papers and ribbon. On the first one I added some twists of tulle with sequins, something I learned from Rhea. On the second card, I left off the tulle and added cheesecloth behind the image. I think that goes better with that cute little guy in his mummy costume.

I'll share some of the sweet little witch images from the set as soon as I get them made into cards. Meanwhile, enjoy whatever it is that you love.

                                                                      Pam
                                                                 

Just because ...

Hello!

Today I'm sharing a card that was inspired by Maile Belles of Simply Stamped. I couldn't resist CASEing the gorgeous card she shared on her blog today here.

I exchanged Maile's butterfly image for the Ruffled Flower image by Hero Arts, which was stamped with Dandelion ink from Memento . Rather than leaving white space, I stamped some clusters of dots from the Lots of Dots stamp set by Simon Says Stamps in Lipstick Red  ink, also from SSS. The sentiment is from the Loving Thoughts stamp set by CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.

 A thin strip of paper was cut from my Neenah card panel. I then added a piece of yellow polka dot Amuse paper from my stash to the card base. Next I popped up the panel onto the card base with Scotch foam tape. A scattering of flower sequins from Lawn Fawn's Let's Polka mixed sequins and a button from my stash finish my card.

A big thank you goes out to Maile for her inspiration! Be sure to visit her blog.

Thanks for visiting and happy crafting!

Hooray

Hooray, I finished a card today! It seems like I've been unpacking and trying to organize my new apartment forever. Hopefully, my craft space is completely in order and I can get back to playing. Now if I can just remember where I put everything ...

I love Mama Elephant products so much and have purchased several recently. Today I used one of the sentiments from the Splendid stamp set. I heat embossed it in gold, along with some gold embossed sequins from the Scenery: Big Bang Bling set made by Winnie & Walter. Some gold sequins were also added. I cut thin strips from DCWV Glitzy glitter paper in gold and added them on the edges of my embossed panel. The the panel was popped up onto my Neenah card base with foam tape, leaving a bit of white showing on the sides.

Our challenge for the next meeting of my local Paper Arts Club was to create a card with the sentiment as the focal point. I love this big sentiment and am pleased with how the card turned out. Now I have to get back to work on two more cards for Club.

As always, thanks for visiting and happy crafting. 

Pam

Learning to Color with Copics

Wow, I've been MIA for awhile. Moving into a new apartment, a granddaughter graduating and summer school have kept me very busy. I'm still settling in and trying to organize my apartment. I need my craft area organized so I can get crafting.

I'm so excited about some new classes I'm taking at my LSS, Creativ You & Co. The fabulously talented Rhea Weigand of Passionate Paper Creations is teaching Copic coloring. Rhea is such an amazing person. She is an outrageously talented artist and designer, and a fabulous teacher. She's teaching technique classes and card classes. So far, we've had one of each class.

Here's my first attempt at coloring an image. The image is the adorable Bunny Luv stamp from Stampendous.

My coloring is pretty pathetic. I know I have so much to learn and I need to practice, practice and practice some more. I'll never be as good as Rhea or some of my other blog friends, but hopefully each attempt will be better than the one before.

Now I'll let you in on a little secret:  I never liked to color. I'm probably the only person in the world who doesn't. Actually, I should say didn't like to color - til now. Thanks, Rhea!

Have a great week and Happy Crafting!

Graduation Centerpieces & Moving

Just popping in to say I haven't been posting because I'm moving. It's so hard to believe that I have accumulated so much in the 12 years I've been in this apartment. I have to admit that probably 1/3 of my boxes are labeled stamp or scrapbook materials. That's wild, considering I didn't do either of these when I      moved here. So, it's been time to sort and purge.

Yesterday I did take so time to make the table centerpieces for my granddaughter's graduation. Thanks so much to my dear friend, Rosalie, for helping me assemble them. Thanks also to another dear friend, Lorraine, for the idea.

Skyler's school colors are orange and black, and I thought that they'd turn out looking like Halloween. I'm so happy that they didn't. I used orange flower pots & ribbon, black flowers & deco mesh and graduation straws used as skewers to hold the Class of 2014 foam pieces, with a silvery glitter star glued to the mesh. All of the materials were purchased at Michaels. I love the way they turned out.

Time to go back to packing boxes. Oh, I can't wait until this is over!

Triple Time Mother's Day Card

Hello and Happy Mother's Day! Today I wanted to share another Mother's Day card I made last week. Triple Time cards are quick and easy. Just temporarily mat 3 graduated size pieces of white card stock one on top of the other, and stamp. Then take the 3 pieces apart and adhere to card stock mats, alternating the stamped piece with the mat. I made 3 or 4 of these with different stamps and papers in a short amount of time. Here's my butterfly version in pink.

The stamp I used is from Stampin' Up's Papillon Potpourri. I love those butterflies. I used one of the Hero Arts mid-tone Shadow Inks in Bubble Gum to randomly stamp the butterflies. The card stock I used is from Tim Holtz's Core'dinations Distress Collection in Spun Sugar. The ribbon is Bubble Gum polka dot from A Muse Studio. After all of the pieces were adhered together, my card was affixed to a Neenah card base. The sentiment is from Hero Arts and stamped with Slate Pigment Ink from A Muse Studio.  

Instructions for making triple time cards can be found on this Splitcoaststampers Tutorial. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day. This will be my second Mother's Day without my mom, so if you are lucky enough to still have your mother with you, give her an extra hug. Thanks for visiting and enjoy your day!

Happy Mother's Day

Hello. It's getting close to Mother's Day, so I thought I should make a few cards. Even though my Mom is no longer with us, I like to make cards for other people. I really like how this one came out.

I love using vellum on my cards. For this card, I stamped an old floral favorite, the Hero Arts Ruffled Flower, on vellum with VersaMark and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I embossed the image three times so that I could cut out and layer the pieces on Neenah white card stock. A brad from my stash was added to the center. The sentiment was stamped with A Muse Slate ink and is from the Simon Says Stamp Best Mom Ever stamp set that was included in their May 2013 Card Kit. If you haven't seen Simon Says Stamp Card Kits yet, go check them out. They are fabulous and a great price.

My Neenah card base is the standard A2 card size, which is 4 1/4" by 5 1/2". I cut the panel to 3 3/4" by 5 1/2" and used dimensional tape to adhere it to the base. I love adding dimension to my cards. 

I'm participating in the Online Card Classes Watercolor class, and am off to catch up  on today's class. Watercoloring on cards is really on trend right now, and I can't wait to learn more techniques. You still have time to sign up if you're interested in this fun medium.

Thanks for visiting and happy crafting!

Forever 29

Yesterday my youngest sister turned 50. I'm very confused how she can be 50 when I am only 29. Doesn't seem possible, does it? Well, it happened and I just had to make her a special card giving her a bit of sisterly advice.

I used one of the fabulous Girlfriends stamps from Art Impressions, Out to Lunch. All of the Girlfriends stamps are so funny and I just love them! I stamped the image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Spectrum Noir markers. (As you can see, I still need lessons with my coloring, but I keep trying.) The panel was cut with my favorite die from Mama Elephant, Femme Frames, and added to a blue Memory Box card base with foam. 

I forgot to take a picture of the inside. CAS-ual Friday's WTF stamp set was perfect. Thank you, Michelle, for this great set that makes you gasp and then laugh at all the sentiments. Under WTF?, I stamped Who's turning fifty? Love it! So did my sister.

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks for visiting and happy crafting!