Saturday, October 31, 2009

Congrats to my daughter!

My daughter has been taking skating lessons and today she graduated from Level One and now will go on to Level Two. Allow me some proud mama time please ;-)..... her class did a performance today and she skated so beautifully! Just one month ago, yes I said ONE MONTH :-D, was the first time she had ever had on skates in her life. She has gone from wall hugger to graceful beauty in that short of a time- we are so proud of her. Sooooooooo........

Congratulations Danielle!!!!!!!!!! You did an outstanding performance today!!!!!

Love Mom

Build a Bear Polar Bear

For several days I had a polar bear on my mind, so I finally got around to creating him. I just love the Stampin' Up! exclusive Build a Bear dies- they are too cute! I got them for my daughter, who loves Build a Bear Workshop (I have to admit I love Build a Bear Workshop too :-)), but they are so much fun- who can resist playing with them :-D. Obviously, not me! Llol! Here is my little polar bear....



I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and that you all have the best week ever! The clocks go back tonight- whoo hoo!!!! I am doing the happy dance- I HATE Daylight Savings Time and one of my favorite days of the year is when it ends!!!!

Blessings!
Barb

Stamps: Lovely As a Tree, Four the Holidays
Classic Stampin' Ink: Bashful Blue, Old Olive, Bordering Blue, Close to Cocoa
Card Stock: Night of Navy, Certainly Celery, Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray, Basic Black
Dies: Stampin' Up! exclusive Build a Bear Bear, Beary Essentials
Punches: Wide Oval, Boho Blossoms, Tag, Word Window
Accessories: Gold flat backed pearls, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, gold cord, hemp cord

Saturday, September 26, 2009

A New Use for Your Ornament Punch

Not long ago I found Andrea Walford's blog. What a great blog! She has awesome projects all the time. A few days ago she posted a video tutorial for making an elf's head from the Stampin' Up! Ornament punch in the Holiday Mini. It was sooooo cute I had to make one :D ! While I was working on my elf's head, I was thinking that it sure would be cute if he had a body. Sooooooo...... I pulled out my Build a Bear Workshop Bear die and it was the perfect size body for the little elf. Whoo hoo! I also added some ears to my elf using the Five Petal Flower punch. If you click on the link above to Andrea's video tutorial, you will find that his head and his hat are both made with the ornament punch. Is she not brilliant to come up with an elf head from the ornament punch :D ?!!!! I think so! Anywho, the clothes are die cut from the 'Beary Essentials' die. Even though they are 'regular' clothes, I think they worked out well for little elf clothes :). Isn't he cute?!

Today I made a girl elf to go with my boy elf. I haven't put her on a card yet, but plan to get to that tomorrow. I got to use my new 'Patterned Pines' stamp set for part of the background for this card. I just love the little pine trees in this set! I will be playing with them some more in the next week or so.

How is the weather where you live? It is starting to get a little chilly around here where I live! We almost have enough leaves now for a small pile to jump into. It was too wet today though. We've had rain for two days and the sun is finally going to shine tomorrow- yippee! We have had so much rain in my state for the last 2-3 years that I really, really appreciate sunny days. But, as I mentioned, the days are starting to get a little crisp now. Pretty soon it will be time to be making big pots of chilli and warm from the oven cornbread- mmmmm!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the weekend so far and hope that you all have a wonderfully blessed week!

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Card Stock: Old Olive, Real Red, Blush Blossom, Whisper White, Basic Black, Night of Navy
Paper: Sale a Bration 2009 -no longer available :(
Classic Stampin' Ink: Garden Green, Bravo Burgundy, Creamy Caramel, Regal Rose, Tempting Turquiose; Black Stampin' Write marker
Punches: Ornament, Five Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms
Dies: Build a Bear Workshop Bear and Beary Essentials
Other: white gel pen, gold cord, Stampin' Up! Dazzling Diamonds glitter

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Autumn is here...

Or at least it feels like it is! Seriously though, the leaves on our trees are already starting to turn colors. I'm not sure I'm ready for an early Autumn. Our winters for the last two or three years have been long ones indeed- hanging on clear into Spring. Now if we have an early Autumn, and early winter, and winter is gone by the end of January, I'll be happy :D. Here in our neck of the woods, winter weather usually hits around the end of November and is mostly over by the end of January. I'm not against Autumn at all. I love Autumn! I do love winter too, just not such a loooooooooooooong one.

Some of the things I love about Autumn are the colors!!!! So vibrant and beautiful and rich!! I love pretty Autumn skies and the smell of crisp, slightly chilly air. I love digging out my cozy, comfy sweatshirts and sweaters and I love my cozy jammies. I love the fact that the deer come out of the woods and play in the pastures. I love getting ready for winter- stacking the hay for the horses, stacking the wood for the fireplaces, giving the yard one last final clean up and tilling up the garden for the next Spring. Let's not forget that the apple orchards are abundant with fruit for the picking! Then the pumpkins are ready.....(sigh) Autumn is awesome :D. Since it has been chilly here at night now and sometimes during the day too (!), my mind has been wandering to the upcoming season. With my Autumn thoughts intact :D, i created two cards with Scallop Circle punch skies and Autumn color inks. This one was done on Whisper White card stock with Pale Plum and Apricot Appeal Classic ink. I used a very, very light touch of Only Orange to add a little more depth to the clouds.


On the next card that I made, I used Apricot Appeal and Only Orange Classic ink. Both skies remind me of that time of year when Autumn begins to transition over to winter. Here, where I live, there is a difference in the colors of the skies at that time of year. Since I wanted the skies to predominate on my cards, I didn't add anything more than simple stamped images.


Is it getting colder where you live yet? We barely had a summer where I live. We have a pool and we only went swimming five times this summer! It was either raining or too cool to swim. I will certainly enjoy the Autumn as I always do, and the snow (so pretty on the farm!), but here's hoping for a REAL summer next year :D. Well, with enough rain to keep the crops healthy, but plenty of sunshiny, summer weather days! Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Thankful- Stamps: Falling Leaves (115368), Wandering Words (116507); Ink: Apricot Appeal, Pale Plum, Regal Rose, Perfect Plum, Only Orange; Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Perfect Plum, Apricot Appeal; Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge daubers

Season of Frienship- Stamps: Season of Friendship (111776); Ink: Apricot Appeal, Barely Banana, Only Orange, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip; Card Stock: Apricot Appeal, Only Orange, Whisper White; Accessories: Stamp-a-ma-jig, sponge daubers

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Another Sneek Peek

I got to play with more new toys today. Play days are so much fun, don't cha' think? Since my very, very sweet hubby got me a Big Shot, I used the Matchbox die to make a matching set. I used the new stamp set from the Holiday Mini, 'Delightful Decorations' and a Hostess stamp set from the main Idea Book & Catalog 2009/2010, 'Christmas Punch'.


To make this card, cut Whisper White card stock to 4" x 5.25". I brayered the new 'Petals-a-Plenty' Impressions folder from the Holiday Mini with Old Olive Classic ink. You want to brayer the side that has the indentations for the flower. Place your Whisper White card stock inside the folder on the side that is not inked. Carefully, fold over the inked side of the folder so that the card stock does not shift and run it through the Big Shot. Next cut a piece of Rich Razzleberry card stock to 4.25" x 11". The next step is a little bit tricky. You need to adhere the embossed card stock to the Rich Razzleberry 'before' you cut it with the Curly Label Movers and Shapers die. Be sure to add several lines of adhesive close together in the area where the Curly Label window will be cut out of the card front. Lay the 'embossed side face down' over the Curly Label die in the magnetic area of the die. Place the Rich Razzleberry card stock 'exactly' on the lines of the Curly Label Movers and Shapers die. Just so you know, as long as you are careful to make sure the card stock doesn't shift on the die, you can use half a sheet of 8.5"x11" card stock instead of a 12"x12" sheet- less waste :D. If you click on the photo below you will be able to see the stitching lines around the cut out window in the lower right corner of my card.
After you die cut the Curly Label window in your card front, fold it in half along the score line. Line up the Stamp-a-ma-Jig on the card front and with the Holly Jolly stamp from 'Christmas Punch', stamp the sentiment inside the window. Stamp the joy ornament from 'Delightful Decorations' and punch it out with the Ornament punch (Holiday Mini). Die cut two sets of 'Little Leaves' from Old Olive. Glue the second set to the first set on top of the single leaf on the end and trim to fit the stem on the second set of leaves. Wrap gold metallic thread around the stamped ornament top and then around an area of the 'Little Leaves' stem. Line up the leaves on your card front and adhere. Then adhere the ornament making sure there is no slack in the gold thread. Punch out the little flowers and adhere as shown on the card. I ran some gold poster board through my Big Shot in the 'Petals-a-Plenty' Impressions folder and then punched out the centers with a 1/4" circle punch for the centers of my Real Red flowers. When you open the card, you will have a stamped sentiment inside as you can see below.

To make the matchbox, die cut the matchbox from Rich Razzleberry using the Stampin' Up! exclusive Matchbox die. Cut the larger label on the die with Rich Razzleberry and the smaller label on the die with Whisper White. Using one of the stamps from 'Christmas Punch', stamp "to: from:" on the Whipser White label. Layer the labels together. Cut Whisper White card stock
2 3/8" x 4". Ink up the 'Petals-a-Plenty' Impressions folder again with Old Olive. Insert the Whisper card stock into the folder as you did with the card front and run through the Big Shot to emboss. From your embossed card stock, cut the box top 1.75" x 2 3/8" and two sides
5/8" x 2 3/8". Adhere the top and the sides to the top of the matchbox die cut. Then adhere the layered label and put the box top together with Sticky Strip. Fold together the bottom of your matchbox. Cut a piece of Rich Razzleberry 1 7/8" x 2.50" and emboss in the 'Petals-a-Plenty' folder. Insert this into the bottom of your matchbox. All done!!

I hope that enjoy making this card and matchbox as much as I did :D. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Stamps: Christmas Punch (Hostess), Delightful Decorations- Stampin' Up!
Paper: Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White, Old Olive, Real Red- Stampin' Up!
Ink: Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive Classic Stampin' Pads- Stampin' Up!
Dies: Curly Label Movers & Shapers, Matchbox, Little Leaves- Stampin' Up!
Punches: Ornament punch, 1/4" circle

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Sneak Peek

I love the new 'Sweet Centers' stamp set coming out in the Holiday Mini on September 1st! So much fun and so easy to make cute little projects with it. I made two little projects with the set that were quick and easy peasy :D. I used brown M&M's to turn the flower stamp into a sunflower and what goes with sunflowers better than anything else? Bees, of course! I just love these little bees- I think they are so cute.




My next project was to use the Christmas ornament stamp in 'Sweet Centers'. I also used a Holiday Mini set for the sentiment below from 'Four the Holidays'. I will be giving these out with the Holiday Mini to my customers :D. This one was really quick to make!
The Holiday Mini is filled to the brim with awesome, awesome stamps and other surprises ;). I have almost everything in the mini on my wish list (sigh). Next month I will be getting the Build a Bear Workshop dies and one of the stamp sets for my daughter (honest! they really are for her... well I might play with them too... ;) ). I'll be back soon with another post. Wishing you all a wonderful rest of the week!

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Stamps: Sweet Centers, Just Buzzin' By, Cheep Talk, Four the Holidays- Stampin' Up!
Card Stock: Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, YoYo Yellow, Real Red, Old Olive- Stampin' Up!
Ink: Chocolate Chip, YoYo Yellow, Old Olive, Gold
Markers: Chocolate Chip, Blush Blossom, Summer Sun
Accessories: 'Holiday Windows' Movers and Shapers for the Big Shot, Modern Label punch, Word Window punch, 1 3/4" Circle punch, Sweet Treat cups- Stampin' Up!; M&M's

Monday, August 10, 2009

Holiday Mini Preview

I got my pre-order stuff a few days ago, but I was sick :(, so just got to play with them a couple of days ago. One of the new stamp sets from the upcoming Holiday Mini that I ordered is "Wandering Words". It comes with three great stamps that you will love! The Pumpkin Pie leaves on my card front are from a stamp set in the 2009/2010 Idea Book & Catalog- "Falling Leaves".

As you can tell, I tore and distressed the edges of my Whisper White card stock and then inked the edges with Old Olive and Soft Suede. I added a bow of hemp to complete the front.


The sentiment inside the card is also from the "Falling Leaves" stamp set. I stamped more of the leaves from the card front to make a border on the left edge after inking the edges. This card is a quick one to put together.

Gosh, I am really trying to make time for my blog and do apologize again, but life is soooo busy in the summer. I have several projects to post so hope to find the time to get them photographed and posted.

Sarah and John are doing well and John is back in Iraq :(, so we continue to pray for his safety as well as for all of our military and their families as well. We got some little quackers last week- they are so stinkin' cute! It is amazing how they can move together in one accord so well and I just love when they wiggle their little tail feathers before going into their little pool. Just cracks me up, lol! The little quackers live with our chickens since chickens and ducks get along so well and eat the same food. I'll try to get a few pics of them posted soon.

Oh, I have some more projects to post from the Holiday Mini, so please check back later in the week :D. I hope that everyone is having a great summer so far!

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Stamps: Wandering Words, Falling Leaves- Stampin' Up!
Paper: Dusty Durango textured, Whisper White- Stampin' Up!
Ink: Old Olive, Soft Suede, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip- Stampin' Up!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

So this is scary....

I am not- so- patiently waiting for Mr. Brown- aka the UPS guy- to bring me my Stampin' Up! order. You can only tap your fingers for so long and then you have to do something with yourself! Yesterday I bought a little purse sized planner at Wallie World.... it was pretty ugly, but I loved the inside planner pages. Since I am a fearless papercrafter I think to myself, "hey, you can totally alter that baby"! So while I am waiting for Mr. Brown (and I am STILL waiting- can you believe my house wasn't first on his list?!!) I decided to change the cover. Want to see it?
The green line is only in the photo and not actually on the planner :D. I smeared out my last name :D.

So, this is where it gets scary... .. .... are you ready? I was looking at my glue sticks and I was thinking that glue sticks are pretty ugly in general- don't you agree :D ? So I altered mine!!!This is the top of my glue stick. I did two of them and then decided maybe I should find something else to do with myself before I got down right dangerous :O !

But I know that you really want to see the barrel of the glue stick, don't cha'? Isn't it purty :D ?

So now you know that you don't have to put up with ugly glue sticks any longer :D. Hopefully, Mr. Brown will get here soon- I was eyeing the stove earlier ;o).

Blessings!
Barb

Details:
Paper: SAB 2009- Stampin' Up! (retired)
Card stock: Bashful Blue, So Saffron, Old Olive, Certainly Celery- Stampin' Up!
Glue Stick: Aleene's Acid Free
Dies: Book Plates- Sizzix, Little Leaves- Stampin' Up! exclusive
Punches: 5-Petal Flower, Boho Blossoms- Stampin' Up!