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