Merry Christmas!

I had a few minutes here to post this little gift card holder I finished just in the nick of time. This is the 'Peppermint' Quickutz mini-album dies from their holiday release this year. The cover is a KI Sheer Delights and the little cocoa mugs are punched from velvet paper with a Martha Stewart punch. All paper is the fabulous SEI WinterSong and I also used QK Sonja, Banana Split, and Nutmeg on the front cover.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

but I don't care because I'm having so much fun inside with my new Quickutz Santa's workshop dies! I just finished up this little mini-album that I'm using as a gift card holder. It's SO perfect for this! I had a lot of fun making this and I'm really glad I decided at the last minute to pick up the add-on dies to these mini-albums. The whole lot of them was ridiculously expensive, but I've got so many ideas for these, I can already tell they're going to get a workout! There are a bunch of super cute ideas in the QK community gallery using these dies as well. If you get a chance, be sure to check them out!

I used more MME glitter paper on this. I'm a little upset with the glitter paper these days. Love the way it looks--hate the way it broke my new paper trimmer. Lesson learned. I'll use my cheap old trimmer from now on with this stuff. I created the little tag on the front with a Nestie die. I used a K&Co rub-on on a piece of vellum(found out rub-ons don't rub on vellum very good at all), backed it with a piece of MME, and then covered it with a piece of transparency. I held the 3 pieces together with the eyelet(no glue involved).It was a real lightbulb moment for me. I've been wanting to make covers for these little mini-albums out of thin clear plastic, but couldn't find plastic thin enough--until I remembered my packages of inkjet printer transparencies!! I'll be dabbling with that soon... One other thing I forgot--the spine of this mini-album was cut from velvet paper. It adds a really pretty texture that isn't captured in these pics. What a cool use for all the velvet paper I have!

Have to run to the post office now to hopefully get these gift cards where they need to go by Christmas day. Wish me luck...

Look at this cute $ stamp!!!

Is this not the cutest little cheap stamp you've ever seen? Well, probably not. There's a lot of really cute $ stamps out there, but most always seem too small to use in card-making as the main image so I tried to work around that with this one.

The reindeer and 'no peeking' are part of a Studio G set from this year and the tree is a single ezmount stamp but I can't remember the manu on this one. I did a masking technique with the tree, colored him in with Prismacolors and added some stickles. The 'do not open til...' stamp came with the Quickutz Jolly giftset from last year. And, of course, another Martha border punch used here, some Nesties, and a CB embossing folder along the top of the card. All paper is MME.

This was the last design I came up with this year for cards and I ended up liking it so much, I churned out about 10 of these one night. I might make these in boxed sets next year to give as gifts. They came together quick and were just fun to make.

Today I'm working on a gift card holder using the new QK Santa's Workshop mini-album dies. Well, if I can get the rest of my Christmas shopping done first... kinda still have to buy the gift card to go in it...

WHEW! It's over!!

I was SO flippin relieved yesterday to be out from under the Christmas card-making stress!! I promise promise promise I am going to start earlier next year. I hate when scrappin becomes a chore instead of a fun outlet and that's what it's been the past week. Yesterday Jeff and I ran around for 8 hours running errands, Christmas shopping, going to lunch, checking out some fun new toys and shopping for ourselves(of course) and it was a fun day! The most exciting part of all?? My new ATG714 gun arrived on my doorstep!! I am absolutely IN LOVE. It's ugly as sin but truly a thing of beauty!!

Anyhoo-- here's another one entirely done with die-cuts. I used QK Holiday for 'Peace' , Nesties Label One, and Sizzix holiday dies. I partially embossed with a CB folder and I can't say enough good things about those little half-beads Recollections brand from Michael's. They're cheap and they stick!

I'm off to play with my new tape runner now...only wish I would've bought it sooner to use on all these cards...

Just a quick post today...

I'm not opposed to using untraditional Christmas colors which is probably why I was drawn to this year's MME stack at Michael's. I must've looked at it on 5 or 6 different trips (of course, picking up all those new Martha Stewart punches each time) and decided finally to just buy it. I've used a good bit of it and thought it was perfect for a card for my 6 yr old niece. She's a tomboy at heart but still loves all things pink and girly(it's a weird mix, for sure) so I think she'll like this. She LOVES getting mail so it could be brown,black, and blue and she probably wouldn't care!

No stamping on this one. My real love lies with die-cuts anyway...shhhhhh...don't tell anyone...

I used the QK retro bird, moxie, and the new santa's workshop alpha and label die. The peppermint candies are a Martha punch.

I didn't finish my cards yesterday. I still have 10 more left. Ugh. I'll be working most of the weekend, but the weather is completely nasty here so it's the perfect time to hole up in my scraproom.

I have more die-cut goodness to share tomorrow...

Indecision is a killer...

I'm running out of time to finish my Christmas cards and I promised myself I'm not doing this again. ever. No, of course I'll keep making Christmas cards(Jeff would completely flip out if I sent out store-bought cards instead of using the ever-growing and slightly obnoxious stash), but I'm never going to leave it so last minute again. Yeah, right.

I thought I had it all figured out too. I made 5 different designs this year with the intent of just knocking them out after the hard part of coming up with the design was over. Then, after I started knocking them out, I realized I like some WAY more than others and had decisions to make as to who gets which card, that person saves my cards, that one doesn't, etc., etc.,etc.

This card today I've decided is not one of my favorites, but I invested the time last night in recreating 3 more of them and so-- they will be mailed. I was inspired for this one on this blog here although I don't think I did it justice. Loved the MME paper she used though and I really wanted to use my new MS deep edge punch.

You might be asking why I'd bother to share a card on here that I'm just not 100% crazy about?? Probably because I'm stubborn like that and again--I invested the time to make it so I thought I'd share it (the good, the bad, and the ugly). I've seen a lot of chatter lately about people not wanting to continue this hobby because of feelings that their work is not "good enough" and maybe I felt the need to show that sometimes not everything you make is your favorite, but maybe somebody somewhere out there WILL be inspired by what you've created.

So why not share it?

More cards to come in the next few days. I'm still busy working away on them. Hope to be finished tomorrow...

A little Dasher elegance...

This has got to be my all-time favorite reindeer stamp EVER. I thought last year's SU Winter Post set had the cutest reindeer ever, but no, I was wrong. They did it again--only better. All of the papers on this one are MME Signature Christmas. Dasher was stamped in Versamark and embossed in Powder Keg's Honeycomb ep. Some of the other accessories I used are Nesties, MS flourish and lattice border punches, snowflake and branch punches, and the gorgeous QK Harvest alpha. This one doesn't take too much time to complete and that's a very good thing since I've got to make 5 or 6 more of these in the next day or so.

Gotta run--too many cards to make, not enough time...

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Reminds me of the mean guy on Frosty the Snowman, but that's what I've been lately. Too busy. We had an AMAZING weekend in Annapolis. I never thought Jeff's company holiday party would be that much fun. Oh yikes. There had to have been over 400 people partying at the Westin Annapolis until all hours of the night last Saturday. I feel sorry for anyone staying there that wasn't involved in that party. The live band rockin' into the early hours must've been heard all the way to the top floor. Crazy, crazy good time!

So, I haven't had a whole lot of time for making Christmas cards this year and that really bums me out! I've bought a TON of fun Christmas scrapbook stuff the past few months and I'm finding that a lot of it will have to wait until next year's cards. I think I might just get started on Christmas cards for the troops next year so I can use this stash AND make sure I have time to donate to this oh-so-awesome cause!

BUT--here's one of the 6 or 7 designs I've come up with this year. This was a little time consuming, a little frustrating, but definitely worth it in the end. Love how it turned out(but I only made 2 of them due to the time involved)

Here's the details:
the snowman stamp is Inkadinkado stamped in VF onyx black on a piece of SEI Winter Song pp, fun flocked on the hat, colored with Prismas on the scarf and then coated in Diamond Glaze, fringe on the scarf embossed with Powder Keg ep and an embossing pen, little half-pearls from Michael's added as buttons and then cut out and pop-dotted.

All of the pp is SEI and I used the Martha Stewart icicle border punch and an EK Success flourish border punch and the HSN cuttlebug snowflake flourish embossing folder.

The "Merry Christmas" is an Inkadinkado stamp in Cat's Eye ink and then embossed with UTEE.

Hope you're taking it easy during the stressful holiday ramp-up and accomplishing all that you want to!

Crazy busy these days...

Just wanted to post a few cards and pics from Halloween that I never got around to sharing and a layout of pics from our costume party. What a blast! We just might have to make it an annual event. Decorating for it was the best part but taking it all down the next day was not a lot of fun.

I'm crazy busy with Christmas fast approaching and trying to make a bunch of cards and gift packaging while shopping, decorating, and just basically trying to squeeze too much into every day. We have big weekend plans in DC attending a holiday social for Jeff's new company (I could seriously get used to this whole civilian life thing) and it's just been non-stop things to take care of for the past month or so. Maybe things will slow down a bit in January. Keeping fingers crossed.

Just a quick post today...

Here's another Halloween card to share. We FINALLY got our fabulous news on Friday and now maybe life can get back on track. We are totally loving the civilian life, hubby's new job, and well...just being together and FREE!!!

Eek!

Nothing says Halloween like a black cat. We used to have one many years ago. She was a demon cat. I couldn't help but think of her while I was making this card. No more black cats ever again. Well, how bout no more cats ever again. Love em, just not in my house.

I made this invite for some friends of ours who love cats a little too much. They have 5--or maybe it's 6 now. The black cat stamp is inkadinkado(they really do Halloween right) embossed with black ep and the spider web is also Inkadinkado. Some more BG Eerie on this one, as well as the QK label die and QK Haunted font. I finally used one of my Marvy Giga punches that take up entirely too much space(the scalloped square) and played with the Martha Stewart spider web punch duo. I don't really like being confined to certain dimensions with these punch-around-the-page sets, but it's working out ok.

Just one more invite to make. I mailed off what I had done yesterday and I have 2 stragglers to get in the mail tomorrow. Then it's time for a few more Halloween cards for my niece and nephew and the start of Christmas cards for the troops. I'm excited to do my first batch for Operation Write Home. It's given me a great excuse to stock up on more Christmas stash. If you haven't heard of this great cause please visit their website here. Cutoff for Christmas cards to reach the ladies who mail out the packages of cards is Nov. 1st.

I've been a bad girl...

Instead of finishing my party invites, I hit the road yesterday in desperate need of a shopping fix to take my mind off life for a little while. I still can't share any good news seeing as how the powers-that-be are still holding our lives hostage and don't appear to want to speed the bureaucratic mess up in the foreseeable future. S0--I thought my stress levels that have been pretty darn high for the past 3 months would be all but forgotten about by now but no--I was forced to shop my worries away.

I got some fun new toys though! Some new Cuttlebug embossing folders, more Powder Keg embossing powders, some Graphic45 Christmas papers, some flower soft(had to see what all the fuss was about) and more nesties.

I have a few cards completed that I haven't shared yet, but I'll space them out and just share this one today. The inspiration for this card came from SCS here This black cat stamp is from that Inkadinkado Scary Night Halloween set and I added some diamond stickles to the tail. More BG Eerie and of course, that cute QK label die again. I used the argyle cb embossing folder along the bottom.

It's another nasty rainy chilly day here again so I'm off to work in my scrappy zone all weekend. Hope you enjoy yours too!

Once upon a midnight dreary...

...I created this spooky raven card with the most awesome Halloween stamp set ever!! (this is Inkadinkado Scary Night in case you find yourself dying to buy this set) It also includes the creepy skull and a fabulous black cat that I'll share in tomorrow's post.

More BG Eerie on this one. While I loved this spooky tree scene pp, I had no idea exactly how to use this on a card. Then--stepped a stately raven. I'm really happy with how this turned out, ok I'll stop gushing now. The spires on the gate screamed EK fleur de lis border punch and I can't say enough how awesome those QK CC labels are. If you don't have them by the end of this week, you should seriously have your head checked. I know, I know, you already have the SU TopNote die AND the Nesties Labels 8, you say?? Nope, sorry. These QK labels are a necessary addition to your obnoxious label fetish. They're--for lack of a better description--squished. Totally different from the others. Well, not totally. In fact, not really that much different, but they do cut that thin border strip as well and your nesties don't do that. When oh when is QK gonna contact me for that sales rep position??

Anyways, I stamped the raven image in Versamark and embossed with black Powder Keg ep and sponged a little SU almost amethyst over top. The sentiment was embossed with Powder Keg's Jackpot ep. It's difficult to photograph the varying colors in this ep, but it has tones of purple and silver and sparkly stuff and was just what I was looking for to fit the feel of this card. I was never much into embossing until I discovered that little company and their unique powders. They're truly gorgeous.

Gotta run. Our invite list got longer(thanks Jeff) and I have to crank out more cards!

Happy Haunts

So I originally was going for "happy haunting" on this card but do you ever just get stuck on using something and you just refuse to veer down a different path? Sometimes I envision a project a certain way using a particular product and I can't not use it. That's what happened with this card and the QK Haunted font. Oh yes, I was gonna use it. It wasn't gonna go down any other way. Only one small problem. This font's pretty big and there was no way "haunting" was gonna fit. So, it's happy haunts. I like it better anyways, so there.

I used all kinds of fun goodies on this one. A little nesties, some BG Eerie again mixed with that awesome new QK font and an oldie but goodie QK Indigo font that I think really goes nicely with Haunted. I used the MS drippy goo and graveyard punches again seeing as how I'm trying desperately to justify their purchase with their somewhat limited uses. So far so good.

The creepy skull stamp is Inkadinkadoo. I used a pearlescent Wausau paper,stamped the image in Versamark and embossed it with a Powder Keg antique copper ep. I then masked the skull and sponged SU More Mustard and Old Olive inks over top. Just gotta knock out 4 more cards and get these in the mail!

More Halloween spookiness

Here's another party invite I finished this week. Progress is not going so good on these but I work best under pressure so I'll get them done by the 15th. Even if it means pulling a few all-nighters. I'm having a blast using all this Halloween stash though! Loving the MS punches and I was seriously itchin to use the QK Haunted font. I'll be squeezing that in on a few more cards for sure.

On this one I stamped the Inkadinkadoo trick-or-treaters(too cute!!) and colored them using Prismacolors and baby oil. I decided to bling it out a bit with some SU iridescent ice ep on the witch's dress. I just used a versamark pen over the dress after I had finished coloring the image. I used the same ep on the "boo" diecut title and used pop-dots for a little dimension. The 3 panels behind the stamped image were run through the branches cuttlebug embossing folder.

It's funny how much the colors of the BG Eerie collection are so similar to the colors in this 3 or 4 year old SU dsp. I can't even remember the name of the collection it's been so long that it's been gathering dust in my stash. It feels good to use stuff you've been hoarding forever. Off to find what other Halloween goodies I can use this weekend!

Hello October!

Seriously, where does the time fly? Lots of big changes happening in my little world lately and I finally figured out--scrapbooking and cardmaking is really relaxing and an awesome diversion from life in general. Wish I could say the stress around here is done and over with, but unfortunately we're not quite there yet. When we are(hopefully this week) I will share what's been going on. Until then, I think I'll be posting more pics on here as I lock myself away in my scrappy haven and lose myself in paper, punches, and ink.

I'm working on Halloween costume party invites. Yes, you read that right. We're throwing the Halloween to end all Halloween parties on well, Halloween night, of course! It should be a ton of fun. Jeff and I got our costumes all figured out a few weeks ago and I totally scored at JoAnn's last weekend with a matching costume for our dog! I can't wait to post pics and I'm forcing myself to scrap them right away. (I'm so flippin excited....I already have the papers and embellies for the layouts)

I've seriously hoarded a TON of Halloween sb product this year. It's bad. REALLY bad. Because of this, I'm making each one of the party invites different and mailing out a few Halloween cards to friends and family this year that won't be able to attend. Here's the first card. I plan on using the BasicGrey Eerie collection for probably all of the cards. They really knocked this one out of the park. What an awesome collection for Halloween!! This one uses a Stampendous stamp I picked up at Michael's and the Martha Stewart graveyard and spider web border punches. I used a nestie and a Recollections stamp set on the inside of the card with some of the spider web corner and border punch accents again. Oh, and I almost forgot about the cute little batties--they're from the EK bat border punch and the spooky branch is Martha Stewart, all are coated in black diamond stickles.

I have a confession to make...

I'm really not scrappin this summer as much as I planned. Oh, I started off with the best of intentions, bought some new stuff (well, indulged a little too much on new QK the past couple months), cleaned and re-organized my scrap room, took a bunch of pics on vacation--and then nothing. I'm not worried though because I still can't wait to start on a new project every time I walk in the scrappy zone, but I just don't make the time. I've been busy spicing up the patio with new plants, flowers and such and working on a major purge of all the unnecessary clutter in the house. Did you know small rodents really really like to make their homes in cardboard boxes you've been saving for years in the garage? Ask me how I know...

I've worked on a little here and there, mostly commissioned cards for others, end-of-tour Army gifts, and did I mention cards?? Nothing for my own albums, sadly. Here's a card I made last weekend for our friends' 15th wedding anniversary. They decided to hold a vow renewal ceremony and it turned out to be almost like a formal wedding. It was beautiful despite it being held outdoors at the end of June in Georgia. I think it reached 104 that day.

I used the QK Rev label die on this one. What a versatile design this has. I love the two borders it cuts and all the options for "layering". I made the card base by partially tracing a BG chipboard album on the fold and cutting it out. The title is QK Banana Split and I used the MS frond punch. I made an envelobox for the card(love those things) and the paper line used is the SEI Black Orchid stack from Michael's.

Hope you're enjoying the lazy hazy days of summer!

One I forgot...

Maybe my favorite shot from yesterday was this sad little plant on the city street surrounded by concrete and struggling to survive. It had 2 lonely little blossoms on it but they were so pretty and seemed so out of place. A very cool technique I learned was to adjust to a fast shutter speed to achieve this darker background around the brilliant white of the flower while using a large aperture. I can already tell I'm craving a macro lens but that little $700+ expenditure will have to wait.

A Taste of My Town

I had a fabulous opportunity today to hang out with a photojournalist thanks to my well-connected hubby :) Time seriously flies when you're having fun! Before I realized it, 5 hours had flown by, I still needed to get an annual eye exam done, buy groceries, call mom to shuffle off my taxi duties of the kid, drive home with dilated eyes in a serious freakin downpour (thank God the sun disappeared) and clean up the house before the weekend.

I just didn't know if I was really "getting it" after 5 months with the new camera and it was really nice today to hear that I'm getting it. It was definitely the confidence boost that I needed and the advice/tips/pointers I received today are priceless. I'm shooting in full Manual now and I have to say I'm really proud of myself for sticking with it and fulfilling my promise that I would learn this camera. I'm super excited for our 2 week vacation in a couple weeks and I finally feel like I might just be able to get those once-in-a-lifetime shots. And if not, well.....no biggie. Just another reason to take more vacations and try harder next time:)

Sharing some Mother's Day love

Hope everyone enjoyed NSD last weekend! Me, not so much scrappin happenin. It was my own fault for not being motivated and wanting to shop for scrappy stuff instead of actually scrapping. But I did make these cards for a few special moms I know.

Have you tried digital stamps yet? You really have to check them out. The hummingbird on this card is a freebie available for download from www.squigglefly.com. They add new stamps for purchase every day and have a pretty nice selection. I just use my Georgia Pacific #110 cardstock and run it through my inkjet printer(no need for a fancy printer or anything) and then cut them out with nestabilities or punches or whatever you choose. Sometimes if I'm concerned about precise placement, I'll run my cs through the cuttlebug first with a nestie and then tape it to a piece of printer paper and run it through my printer. Either way, it works. I let the ink set up for a minute or two before coloring and on this image I used Prismacolor pencils with baby oil. So fast, so cheap and no storage issues!! I do make sure to back up a copy of my downloaded stamps to my external hard drive in case my laptop dies--and I know it will any day now.

On the second card, I had some fun with my Cricut and Storybook cartridge for the label, QK Storybook and Banana Split for the title, and the Green Stack from DCWV. I resisted buying this stack for many months because I thought it was just a little too cute for my tastes but I've found it's perfect for cardmaking(the mat size especially) and there really are some great repeating patterns on better than half of the stack. And the pages with large cutesie animals?? I guess I'll just have to scrap some layouts of my adorable niece and nephew :)

For all you moms out there, have a wonderful day tomorrow and treat yourself to something awesome!

I'm all giddy about the wedding we're attending this weekend! We're at the stage (or I guess, old age) in our lives where we really don't have too many friends getting married anymore. Divorced seems more like the case now. yikes. I met the cute couple 3 years ago when I went on a trip to Korea to see Jeff and it just so happened it was the 2 weeks I was visiting when their relationship began so it's just all the more cool to get to see them get married. So, on a happy blissful wedding note, I wanted to share this little wedding gift I put together this week.

I've gone a little vintage for this wedding. Well, a lot vintage. Right down to my dress, shoes, jewelry, handbag and of course, the card/gift. It was right around the time I bought my vintage style dress that the DCWV La Creme stack was released in all it's gorgeous vintageness. It was perfect for what I had in mind. All of the papers I used on this project are from that stack except the cream card base( I think it's a Wausau brand specialty paper) and the insert paper inside the card that I have no idea where it came from but I'm SO glad I had it.

I won't bore you with all the little details but I will list what products I used and explain a couple new-to-me techniques that may be of interest. First, I stamped the wedding bells with black ink, let it dry, and then traced the image with a fine-tip Zig glue pen and quickly spread black fun flock over the image and pressed it in. You then let it fully dry and shake off the excess flock. Voila, it's that simple and matches the beautiful flocked paper on the front of the card. Getting the insert paper inside the card to stick was another challenge. I finally found Tombo multi-glue (the green cap) run down the inside seam will actually hold the paper in. It's about the only adhesive that will hold the paper in. Trust me on this. And last, the envelobox. After I tied off that wide wired ribbon on the card, I realized there was no way it was fitting in a regular envelope. I had planned from the start to use the tutorial on the Scor-Pal website to make my own matching envelope, but there were NO instructions for making an "envelobox" -- at least not for the size card I had made. So, I searched the internet. And searched, and searched. I can't believe no one has done a Youtube video on how to make these. So, I improvised using the Scor-Pal envelope tutorial. It's basically adding 1/4" to the measurements and adding 4 extra 1/4" score lines. Jeff is going to help me make a video tutorial for this so stay tuned....

Now the products:

DCWV La Creme stack
MS doily lace border punch
EK scallop border punch
MS dotted scallop border punch
Offray ribbon(cream and black)
Hero Arts pearls
SU! rub-ons
Spellbinders Nestabilities
Stampendous "Bells of Love" and "Bride and Groom" and Fun Flock
Scor-Pal (tutorials for envelope and square box also used)

Happy Friday!

So glad it's the weekend and the weather's gorgeous here for once! Here's a birthday card using that cute Quickutz birdie. I'm loving the new Fiskars Apron Lace border punch too! I have the whole weekend to myself to spend scrapping while Jeff's on a golf weekend with the guys in Myrtle Beach and I'm hoping to work on a wedding card and gift holder for our friends' wedding we'll be attending next weekend in Columbus, GA. After that, the weekend's open for hopefully some layouts. The annual PageMaps contest is open now through May 25th and I'll probably submit again this year. You can't win if you don't play, right? Hope everyone has a relaxing weekend!

Some Easter cards to share...

So another year and another Spring Break that we sat right here wishing we had remembered for Jeff to put in for leave. Duh. I have to say the kid hasn't complained at all this week about staying home and except for rude exec types wearing golf attire and driving aggressively in their rented cheap-a$$ sedans, it's been a pretty good week :) That said, I'm already planning our vaca escape for next April. I've been scrappy all week with Easter fast approaching and another commissioned end-of-tour gift to get done. I'm absolutely going out of my mind wanting to scrap some layouts but needing to get other projects done first. So much product, so little time.

Here's a few of the cards I knocked out this week. Both were somewhat lifted from a few blogs I browsed(Cupcakiehelen is the original artist of the bunny card and I'm not sure about the artist on the sheep card but I think I found it on 2P's or SCS. I can't find either of these blogs again, so if it's yours, please let me know so I can give you due credit) and I just tweaked them a little to make them mine. I received the most awesome RAK in the mail last month from one of my online buddies (thank you Beth!!) and the papers and ribbon have been perfect for these!

I used SCAL to cut the title and eggs on the bunny card. I love having the ability to cut pretty much anything I need to with my Cricut now. The font is WhoaNelly-better known as the MM Jewelry Box sticker font. Of course, it will never replace my QK fonts. I still reach for those most of the time. I used QK Dragonfly on the sheep card and funflocked that little guy. He's so cute and fuzzy now! I added a little funflock to the centers of the bunny ears too. Very cool product no longer collecting dust in my scrap room:)