Fun With Ink

Happy Birthday Chelsea

2012-02-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

My granddaughters birthday today!!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!

love you

Grammy K

2012-02-03T10:10:00.000-05:00

Stamping on Sunset Photos!

Easy...Pretty...Quick

I love it!

To review how to stamp on photos...please go to this post Photo Stamping

*S*

Manetta

Valentine Jasmine

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-05:00

Valentine Jasmine...perfect Valentine card for my granddaughter who LOVES the Disney princesses.

I got this image from a coloring page online. I used my new Touch Markers to color the image.

The inside of the card has lots of sparkles!

Manetta

Jan 13th Stamping Up Class

2012-01-30T10:44:00.000-05:00

Two weeks ago, Jan 13th, I went to a local Stamping Up Class held by Lisa (Gulf Coast Stampers and Scrappers). I had not been in a loooong time. It was good to see old crafting friends again!

Here are the cards we made that night!

I waited to stamp this flower card until I got home. I wanted it to be a card I could use for a thank you type card.

thanks for stopping by!

Manetta

#187 Flutter By Wed-Embossing & #222 Mojo Mon

2012-01-29T09:32:00.001-05:00

I am trying to build up my supply of cards in my stash. Last year I had 4 shoulder surgeries and my husband & I hit my stash hard. It actually has been fun to begin creating again!

To get my stash full again, I have decided to try many of the challenges out there. They certainly help get the creative juices flowing again!

My first challenge was to combine Danni's Flutter By Wednesday challenge and Mojo Monday.

Every Wednesday Danni creates a challenge and the challenge always includes a Angel, Fairy or Butterfly. This week we must use any type of embossing as long as one of the three images are on the card.

I used my Cuttlebug and dry embossed an image on the circle portion of the card. My Fairy sits to the right of my Hello.

Mojo Monday always gives a sketch to follow. Here is the sketch I used that Mojo Monday Blog put out for January 2nd. You can use it upside down, rightside up or sideways. I decided to use it exactly as the image is.

This card will go into my "Everything" Box.

Happy Crafting!!

Manetta

Hello Friend

2012-01-26T13:39:00.000-05:00

A little Liquid Leaf Gold painted on cardstock, Black Opal embossing powder, nestabilities and cardstock and you have a Hello Card for a Friend to let them know you are thinking of them!!

*smiling*

Manetta

Sunset Postcards

2012-01-23T13:23:00.000-05:00

I was able to create 7 of this A2 size postcards in one evening. They were to be attached to the top of 7 baskets of cookies to hand out for a business.

I used a piece of scrap cardstock to protect the sky area while I sponged on the water section. I flipped the scrap cardstock over to protect the water section and sponged on the sky. After I just stamped the Impression Obsession boat scene on top with black ink.

I may make more and use them on top of a regular card!

Manetta

From Christmas to Everyday

2012-01-17T07:17:00.000-05:00

I wanted to show you how one simple change can totally change the look of a rubber stamp. The image is actually a Poinsettia. To change the look of the flower…all I did was color the image purple with highlight of pink, added some purple glittered and added colorful leaves. I now have an image I can use at Christmas time and any other time I need a big flower!

January 21st is “Send a Hug Day”. I may just have someone in mind who would love to get a hug card from me!!

Thanks for visiting me! Have a wonderful crafty day

Manetta

Butterfly Card and Bookmark in One

2012-01-15T07:22:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make a card for a co-worker and include a bookmark as she reads a lot. I combined the card and bookmark together. It is a tri-fold card and after it is folded, it fits into an A2 envelope.

The cardstock was cut at 10 x 5 1/4

I scored at 4 1/4 and again at 8 1/2. You can use a tool to perforate at the 8 1/2 score line or you can bend the cardstock back and forth several times. This will break the paper threads and allow the recipient to remove the bookmark very easy.

The rest was decorating the card the way you choose. I made sure the ribbon on the front was placed exactly where the ribbon on the bookmark would be placed so they lined up evenly. For the bookmark, I used only one word from the sentiment on the front…Smile. I made sure my sentiment stamp was cleaned so it would stamp just the word smile. To color it black, I used my black marker to color in only the word Smile.

Thank you for visiting today!

Manetta

Secret Pal

2012-01-09T07:24:00.000-05:00

The Holidays are over. All the decorations are finally taken down, packed and put away until December 2012. My craft room is finally back in order. It tends to get cluttered during the Holidays because the closets are where we store all the Christmas decorations. The house seems so empty and hollow. It was nice to have a little break and I had to push myself to sit down to craft again but once I got going…it felt good!

There are some occasions for making cards other than the typical Birthday, Christmas, Anniversary, etc. There is one coming up on January 8th called Secret Pal Day. The card I made for my secret pal will be slipped into her desk on that day for her to find. She LOVES butterflies so I hope she enjoys it!

To get the butterflies 3D, I stamped the background Cover-a-Card stamp twice and cut out the butterflies I wanted to stand out more.

Thank you for looking and have a wonderful crafty day!

Manetta

On To Thank You Cards

2011-12-27T07:28:00.000-05:00

Most of the holidays are over and now it is time to send the thank you cards. I made a card special for my Dog Sitter Michelle. All year she is available last minute to watch my dogs for me if I need to be away for any length of time. I don’t know what I would do without her!

Since her life is always involved around animals (she works for a veterinarian), my cards to her always involves a dog or cat. This is the thank you card I made for her. I will slip some money into it and drop it off tomorrow. I love stamping the images with VersaFine ink. It covers very well and dries so fast. I have used mine constantly for the past year and it is still as good as new!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! I know I did. I almost hate the idea of putting away all the beautiful Christmas lights next weekend. I enjoyed the tree and decorations so much.

Happy Crafting!

Manetta

Easy Magnetic Bookmark

2011-12-22T07:30:00.000-05:00

Need a quick last minute gift for a teacher? Here is an easy craft for a child and a great way to use up an 2011 magnetic calendar.

Teachers are surrounded by books so a perfect gift is a bookmark! This craft project took 5 minutes! I had extra 2011 magnetic calendars I will not be using so I cut one down to the size I wanted. Folded white cardstock, glued two pieces of the magnetic calendar on the inside, stamped with Momento Black Ink, put a little bit of black glitter on the flowers, a ribbon on top and I was done! That simple.

When you glue the magnetic pieces to the inside of the cardstock…make sure you have positive and negative facing each other. If you put negative and negative or positive to positive, it will not work. The bookmark slips over the top of the page and the two magnets connect, holding the bookmark in place.

My children have grown up but crafts like this are fun to do with the grandchildren!

Happy Crafting!

Manetta

Christmas Tags

2011-12-11T07:32:00.000-05:00

Cards are done, now on to the “extra” stuff like gift bag toppers, boxes, bags and toppers. Here are a couple of tags I made this week. I found six old manilla tags that I bought at Walmart’s two years ago. They were 5 inches long so I trimmed them down to about 3 1/2 inches. I stamped some white snowflakes, Merry Christmas in gold and used sponge to sponge on color. I got 2 done and 4 more just need the gold Merry Christmas stamped on them. Almost time to wrap my gifts and add these tags on top with a bow!

That’s two tags down and 4 more to go!

Now I heading back to finish my other 4 tags….*S*

Manetta

Tealights Christmas Gift

2011-12-07T07:34:00.000-05:00

Ever wish you had that one little gift to give to someone to say thank you? You can make several of these in one night and have them ready to hand out!

This cute little box I made holds 4 tealight candles that I decorated with a tissue stamped image. I am thinking about making one for everyone I work with…just a little something to give them at Christmas. They are quick to make, the box only requires one sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and one piece of white scrap paper.

I should have posted this sooner tonight but I was looking all over for my camera. I misplaced it and after searching, I gave up. Sat down at my computer and there it was…sitting on my keyboard. My husband has since gone to bed…but I will be sure to ask him how that camera just happened to show up on my keyboard! lol

Happy Crafting!

Manetta

Cabin in the Woods

2011-11-10T17:00:00.001-05:00

Wow.. with four shoulder surgeries this year and therapy..I hadn't realized so much time has gone by since I last posted here!

But I am on the road to recovery and just started crafting again a couple of days ago. Ahhhh to feel the scissors and rubber stamps in my hands again....

My favorite Christmas stamps are two that have a cabin on them. I used one to make a card last night and I wish I could remember where I bought the stamp.

All I did was highlight the snow with blue marker and color the cabin brown. The cardstock came from the DCWV "The Winter Wonder Stack". After it was all matted and glued down, I used Stickles to highlight lightly over the snow and on one big snowflake on the background cardstock.

Yup...feels good to be back!

Manetta

Crayon Resist-Sprinkle of Color

2011-07-24T07:59:00.006-04:00

Crunch time is on! I am down to 8 weekends left before my next surgery so that means I have to step it up and get my Christmas Cards done! Yesterday I got 12 images ready to put on a card. This Poinsettia card is one I took my time with. I used the Crayon Resist technique. I tried this technique a few years ago but never used it again. I love how it came out.

Crayon Resist Technique is relatively simple to master and you can get beautiful finished images to use on your creations. The only issue you might have is using a white crayon on white paper. It is difficult to see where you have colored so I used a very strong light right over my work area and it made it easy to see. Here are the step by step directions.

1. I stamped my Poinsettia image all over white cardstock with stazon black ink. Stazon is best as it is a permanent ink and will not smudge when you sponge the colored ink. Many feel it is best to use a glossy cardstock but I used Georgia-Pacific white cardstock I bought from Walmart and it worked great for me.

2. I used a white crayon and colored on my image where I wanted to highlight. Because the crayon is waxy, no ink will stay where you color with the white crayon.

3. I sponged and rubbed in color on the Poinsettia with the following colors of versafine ink smokey gray, majestic blue and deep lagoon.

4. Mounted my image on teal paper and attached to an A2 card. My image was slightly larger than what I needed so I trimmed it and used the extra on the inside of the card.

I love the colors! Why don't you give it a try!
*smile*

Netta

We Are All Here!

2011-07-15T16:43:00.005-04:00

This card was a slow process. I had to stamp, color and cut out each character. Each character is attached to a separate acetate on one end and the other end is attached to the card. I added snow two different ways on the card. Next time you go to any store like Walmart, Target, Michael’s etc…buy the Tulip Puffy Dimensional Fabric Paint in White/Blanc. You can just squirt it where ever you want. I used it under the Mistletoe Mouse by just squirting it on the card. It dries pretty quick if you do not put it on too thick. There is another way you can use it for snow.

On this card, I used it on the gingerbread house and on the stocking, but if you look at the two, you will notice a difference in the texture.

On the stocking I squirted it on and let it dry. On the gingerbread house, I squirted it on but I also heated it up with my heat gun. It gives you the puffy snow look!

Here are some more views of the card.

I used almost the entire Christmas House Mouse Clear Stamp Set on this card. It was time consuming but fun especially as the characters all bounce around as you open the card!

Now to figure out who will get this creation at Christmas time. I think someone in my house has already claimed where it shall go…*S*

How many cards have you made so far?

Party with the Bears

2011-07-12T17:18:00.007-04:00

I made a birthday card for my granddaughter who turned One year old. I used googly eyes and gave each bear a fuzzy nose!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Christmas in July Has Begun

2011-07-04T17:35:00.008-04:00

Christmas in July cardmaking has begun! I am going to try..by the end of July...to do one for each day in July. That will be a big help towards my 100+ cards I need to make.

Here are some I have done already! Hope they inspire you to get going on your cards as well.

Netta

Bow So Easy

2011-06-27T07:11:00.000-04:00

How many times have you tried to tie a bow using the rabbit ears method? Do you know what I am talking about? Grabbing two loops and tying them in a knot. I don’t know about you, but my bows never come out right. They never lay flat and they are always lopsided!

Using the simple plastic tool called the Bow-Easy helps you make a bow with less stress. The bows range from 2 3/4 inches all the way down to a teeny size 3/4 inch and guess what? They are perfect every time and the options are endless..single loops, double loops, triple loops and more!

Here is a card with a bow made using the Bow-Easy tool. It makes one little detail such a huge difference on the card! Bow making has never been easier!

Manetta

Soooo Quiet....

2011-06-15T07:49:00.006-04:00

I had a total left shoulder replacement so my crafting has been on hold for now. Until I get back into crafting....here are some more Relay For Life Cards I created.

Enjoy...

Netta

Back Aches & Pregnant

2011-05-18T07:43:00.004-04:00

8 of us at work chipped in and bought a co-worker baby gifts (she is having twins). Of course, I offered to make a card! She is having a lot of back aches lately. This digital image and words are perfect for her. I created this card like a very large matchbook card. Inside is a large chocolate bar. The size of the card is 8" x 6. The teal pages inside was added to give place for the 8 to sign. I covered the entire Pregant lady with liquid glass.

Thanks for stopping by!

Netta

Relay For Life Cards

2011-04-22T07:22:00.007-04:00

On April 15-16 (18 hrs total) my co-workers and I set up a booth to raise money for Relay for Life. Our team also had someone on the track walking at all times. There were three of us that stayed overnight to continue the walking until we had relief in the morning. This year I tracked how many miles I walked....all total...15 miles. I did well this year...only one small blister!

The theme was Movies this year. Your team is given a white PVC pipe and told to create "something" within the theme and it must remain on the track for the entire 18 hours. This year I was given a photo and told to create something from it.

Here is the photo...

And here is what I created out of cardstock...

Our Team is called Circle Of Neighbors. I made the same scene on both sides of the baton. This year our baton held up all night even with the humidity at 100%!

For the next couple of days I will post some of the Relay For Life cards that I made to sell at the booth to help raise money.

thank you for stopping...

don't forget to check back tomorrow for more photos!

Manetta

Butterflies for Erin

2011-04-10T20:16:00.005-04:00

My step-daughter was here visiting one day and trying out some of my craft items. She noticed on the table I had a couple colors cut from the SU Lattice /Trellis die. She laid them down and off set one color from the other and was happy with the results. I had stamped a background and she spritzed it Pssst! Sheer Shimmer Spritz Frost until it was covered in a nice glittery sheen. The next day I used her idea and the background to make her a card. The butterflies are from the Martha Stewarts punch which seems to be getting a lot of use lately!

Erin loved the card!

hugs,

Manetta

More Sympathy...coming up...

2011-04-10T19:12:00.006-04:00

Two more for my husband! They were actually backgrounds I made and didn't like. But like all mistakes....I throw them into a container knowing some day I might find a use for them.

Typically I end up liking them!

Thank you for stopping by

Manetta

FEB MCE

2011-02-28T06:44:00.010-05:00

The February MCE (monthly card exchange) was different this time. Instead of theme announcement, each participant received a few stamped images to make our card using the Black Magic technique. All images were white stamped on black card stock. I used the gate fold and glued a 3 layer butterfly to hold it closed. I like this technique. Very easy. Very pretty.

Black magic directions can be found at Splitcoaststampers.com

Here is what it says inside the card:

"When you are sad, think of

the butterfly on the morning dew

it will spend its day

fluttering by to watch over you"

Here is the card I received in return! We both picked the same image to use AND we both thought to use butterflies! She used the white to highlight certain areas, where I used the dots with a little highlighting. It looks like we both used blue but actually hers is purple....all the photos I took showed it as blue.

Thanks Jessica!! I love my card!

Thank you for stopping by!

Manetta

MCE-Christmas Magic

2010-12-30T07:37:00.008-05:00

The MCE challenge for December was called Christmas Magic. Only colors we could use were Red, Black, White and/or Silver (in any combination). Image had to be mounted and ribbon used on the card. For some reason I had a very different time with this challenge. Here is the card I came up with

Here is the card I got in return. I think it is absolutely gorgeous!! Thank you Jessica!!

Thank you for stopping by. Manetta

Christmas Cat in Santa Hat

2010-12-08T07:27:00.005-05:00

Ahhhh Thanksgiving is done and the Christmas Holiday is here!!! Christmas is my favorite holiday. I have the inside of the house done and the tree is up with lights on. Just need to finish decorating it.

How are you all doing with your Christmas Cards? I think I am ok...might have a few here and there. My total count is at 102 cards made this year!

This card was easy but just took a bit of time between cutting and letting the inside dry. I made it for a woman who watching animals for many people while they are away...including me...I have 3 dogs.

I found a scrap of red paper that worked well and had some nice sparkle to it...what is a Christmas card without some sparkle, glitter and shine!

Stamped Cat in Santa Hat rubber with Mometo Tuxedo Black

Nestabilty cut the window, the red edge and the window (clear transparency)

For the white of the hat I used something like Scribbles (no label on the bottle).

Happy Crafting!
Manetta

Winter Cardinal

2010-11-30T07:15:00.005-05:00

I used the Reverse Masking technique. Once the acetate window was cut for the reverse masking technique...the rest was simple. Some use paper for the window but I like to use acetate as it allows me to see through.

I used my cuttlebug and oval nestie to cut the oval window out . I cut the acetate to exactly match the cardstock so I would not have to try to find the center. I just matched the edges up.

*HINT: use painters blue tape to hold down your acetate. Painters tape does not rip the paper like regular tape or masking tape will.

I stamped the Winter Cardinal right over the acetate and only what was stamped in the exposed oval window went onto the cardstock. Before removing the acetate I used a sponged for the edges.

Very easy. No glitter or bling. Just a simple snowflake in the corner.

This card would be easy to mass produce.

Have a wonderful day!

Manetta

Simple Christmas Card

2010-11-29T07:16:00.006-05:00

I normally make over 100 Christmas cards so to get to that number quicker, I needed to make a few easy cards. My husband loves all the mice images so I know he will be choosing many of the mice cards to hand out to co-workers.

This card was easy. I stamped Kiss Me Mouse stamp Momento Black onto a cream cardstock and then mounted it onto a gold premade card.

Bow was made using my Bow Easy.

Thank you for stopping by!

Manetta

Thanksgiving Turkey Cards

2010-11-23T07:00:00.007-05:00

OUCH!!

Has it really been that long since I last posted?

Between shoulder injury, surgery and company for several weeks...it seems my blog has been quiet...but I am back to making cards.

I found a turkey stamp for a dollar and made a couple of cards I wanted to share with you.

The first card is the tri-shutter fold and the flowers (one the front and the bud) are dahlia folds. The wording was printed on my computer.

The second card is a tent fold card. Very easy. I enjoy making this card and will make more for my co-workers for Christmas to display on their desk through the holiday season!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!!

Manetta

Hanukkah 2010

2010-10-06T13:19:00.004-04:00

This is another card that I made on World Card Making Day. It will be my Hanukkah cards this year! This stamp came from Outlines. I used markers to color and over the darker blue and candles flame (which is hard to see) I used stickles.

Thank you for stopping by!

Manetta

World Card Making Day Creations

2010-10-03T18:50:00.014-04:00

I joined a couple of challenges for World Card Making Day. This challenge was to use one or more inches. Love this house mouse set.

This Challenge was to keep it simple. I just stamped and embossed on navy card stock.

This Challenge we had to use this ad as inspiration. I looked at the colors..that it is night time and there are stars.

I have more cards that I did this weekend which I will share later. I am pretty please with what I got done this weekend. Hope you had as much fun as I did on World Card Making day!
thanks for stopping by...
Manetta

Happy World Card Making Day!!!

2010-10-02T09:41:00.008-04:00

This fun day always falls on the first Saturday of each October, kicking off the holiday card-making season.

I want/NEED to seriously concentrate on creating my Christmas Cards and I have a few Halloween cards to do. Today will be my card day….no plans except to create!

To get me in the mood….to do Holiday Cards............I am going to throw a DVD holiday movie in. With the sun shining and temperature shows 80's (I live in FL)...I have to get into the excitement of the season somehow.

Will be back later with some cards I made!

Manetta

Fall Is Here!

2010-09-30T22:03:00.005-04:00

You know what comes next don't cha? *brrrrrrrrrrrr* weather!!

This card was stamped with Sunflower Frame rubber stamp...colored with Blick markers...cut out and placed on paper from the Fall/Halloween paper I had left over. This week I committed myself to sending out 5 cards to 5 people for no reason...nadda...zip...ziltch reasons! A "just because" card. Here is one card I made to send out.....now....thinking and wondering...who will get this card...
hmmmmmmm

thanks for stopping by!
Manetta

Mojo Monday Christmas Mouse

2010-09-29T06:51:00.007-04:00

Do you ever get stuck when making a card? No mojo juice? Feel like all your cards come out looking the same?

That was me ...yesterday.

All you have to do to get your mojo going again

is to head on over to Mojo Monday blog like I did.

This weeks sketch was a choice of two

The idea is to take the sketch and use it as a base to get started...I try to turn it upside down...right side up...sideways...to see what works for me.

Here is what I came up with!

This image came from Christmas House Mouse Stamp Set.

Have a wonderful day!

Manetta

Lights all a Tangled

2010-09-28T19:07:00.002-04:00

This mouse ...from Lighten Up Mouse Set....is busy untangling the lights from the box and hopes to have it done in time to decorate the trees for Christmas! Stamped first and then masked so the row of Christmas trees would be behind him...each bulb on the light strand glistens colors from a drop of stickles....makes for a pretty Christmas Card.
Thank you for stopping by!
Manetta

Mistletoe Mice

2010-09-27T17:22:00.005-04:00

I had not used this ribbon technique in a long time. I liked how the checkered green white and red ribbon came out when I pulled it apart by the threads. Thank you for stopping by! Manetta

Mistakes can become Works of Art

2010-09-26T12:07:00.011-04:00

Never throw away a mistake when you make cards!!

You never know when you can use it.

This card was stamped with a background stamp 2 years ago! I never used it because the middle of the stamp did not stamp completely so I just threw it into my "Mistake box".

I dug through my box and decided I could use it. The card was the inspiration for my colors.

Close up the hat and snow...

the hat is made from Styrofoam balls and the snow is Diamond Dust.

Hope this card inspires you to start your Christmas Cards and

if you enjoy this Christmas Tree Mouse...it is on sale this week...along with all the other mice stamps!

thank you

Christmas Gone to the Toilet...

2010-09-25T12:17:00.010-04:00

ahhhh not really...however I did make a Christmas card using something you normally find only in the bathroom...

Check out these Snowmen from Let It Snow Set made from....

Toilet Paper!!

I tried to get the shimmer to show up. If you click on the photo and enlarge it..it is easier to see. Grab yourself a roll from your bathroom, spray bottle with water and the instructions on how to make your casting from your favorite stamp!

You will need about 6 to 8 squares of toilet paper and a stamp that is deeply edged and not too finely detailed.
Layer the toilet paper over the stamp and wet it.
Mold it over the stamp and blot off excess water....carefully pressing down to get a good imprint of your rubber stamp mold.
Tear or cut off excess paper around the molded image.
Let dry over night. You can use a heat tool to speed up the process but be careful not to burn the tissue. I prefer to just let it dry until the next day.
Take off mold and trim.

I used double sided tape to apply mold to cardstock. Don’t use wet glue or glue sticks as this might make the mold wet and destroy the mold. I have also colored with Pearlescent Chalk and sprayed with glimmer mist to give it a nice shimmer. Embellish as desired.

If you don’t have any glimmer mist, you can always make your own.

In a small spray bottle add equal parts decoupage lacquer or Mod Podge (I heard white glue like Elmer's will work too but have not tried it) and water.
Add small amount of PearlEx Powder or Perfect Pearls, recap the spray bottle and shake the mix together.
You can also use a drop or two of re-inker if you wanted a colored glimmer mist.

If it clogs when you spray, just add a little more water to the mix.

thank you for stopping by...

2010-09-10T06:56:00.005-04:00

Happy New Year!!!

Cover-a-Card Background Meets Alcohol Ink

2010-09-05T19:01:00.007-04:00

I had so much fun making this card! I made the background paper design out of glossy paper and alcohol inks ....and then stamped over the design with the Cover-a-Card Flourishes. I think Jasper with Butterflies just so dog-gone cute! I colored him with Blick markers and "painted" the butterflies with stickles. Once the stickles dried...I used liquid glue to cover the butterflies.

I have not stamped anything on the inside yet....I am waiting until that "Ut Oh" moment happens...when you realize you needed a card-yesterday!! lol

For more inspiration..don't forget to head on over to Create With Faye.

Thank you for stopping by!

Spooky Woods!

2010-09-01T21:59:00.007-04:00

Did you realize how close the holidays are? *panic look* Halloween is just around the corner!!! Realized I better get started working on my Halloween and Christamas cards. EEEKKKK

Since the Cover-a-Card Branches rubber stamp is 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 in size...I used my Mega Mount to hold it.... inked the stamp with Memento Black....stamped the background and then sponged ink to get the sunset look.

I stamped the "Spa Day" Witch, colored with Blick markers and cut her out.

The bow was made with my Bow-Easy to make my bow.

One down....how many more to go??? lol

Stop on over at Create With Faye Blog to get more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping

Michelle Zindorf Technique

2010-08-25T07:33:00.005-04:00

I love her techniques!!! I saw her card and had to try to make it for my brother. He is always taking pictures of animals and has some wonderful photos. I popped this in the mail to him on Monday.....I think he will love it!

Have a wonderful day! Netta

Sympathy for a Friend

2010-08-17T21:47:00.006-04:00

A woman I have known for several years lost

one of her children yesterday to cancer.

No one wants to see their child pass away.

It has to be the worst feeling ever.

This card is for her.

I used the Cover-a-Card Background stamp for the background and used Silhouette11 flower stamp over the top. "With Sympathy" words are from the Iris & Tulip Set.

Thanks for stopping by!

Netta

Faux Mother of Pearl Dress

2010-08-10T07:44:00.006-04:00

In May I did a Faux Mother of Pearl Technique and with the extra paper I stamped this dress. I used Momento Ink and sponge to go back over to get the darker colors. With a bit of the scraps I was able to also punch out a flower.

Thank You for stopping by!!

Netta

More Photo Stamping

2010-08-04T17:59:00.007-04:00

Wanted to share a couple more photo cards that I did. These required 5 stamps each.

thank you for looking!

Netta

Photo Stamping

2010-08-01T21:16:00.007-04:00

This is a very easy technique but one I have wanted to try for a long time. I recently read an article at Stampers Quest and it gave me the inspiration to give it a try.

Stamping on Photos

I love taking photos of scenery so this techinque is right up my ally!

Find a nice sunset...find a nice stamp...stamp and voila! Your done the hard part!

In the photo above...I wanted to show you how you can actually turn a photo upside down and get a different view. I was able to stamp and get two cards out of one picture using the same stamp.

Play around....and have fun! thanks for stopping by.. Netta

Faux Mother of Pearl Technique

2010-05-09T22:19:00.009-04:00

This technique is called Faux Mother of Pearl Technique. So easy and so beautiful! Check out the blog Create With Faye to see what she created using this technique.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms!!

Netta

Glitter Window Technique

2010-05-03T22:12:00.005-04:00

This technique is called Glitter Windows. I have never tried this before and found it was one of the easiest techniques I have ever done. Trick is...to make sure you have a very sharp small pair of scissors or new blade for your knife! For my glitter windows...I cut out the snowman and all the tassels on the stamp Mashmallow Mug.

Netta

Buttons Buttons... Who Has Buttons

2010-05-01T09:47:00.006-04:00

I joined in on a challenge "What is Next?". Each day we were given a new item to add to our creation...out of 5 days...our creation had to show 3. Here is mine...

Day 1 use ink...I made clouds using Summer Sky Momento Day 2 use pink purple and blue....Buttons for Momma bird and two baby birds Day 3 use letter M... Mothers day Day 4 to put a hole...was difficult lol...added a hole and slipped a fiber thru it..hard to tell Day 5 material...I was so stumped on this...finally gave it up!!! But had my 3 at least... thank you for looking!!

Netta

Christmas Flower

2009-12-14T07:34:00.006-05:00

I think this Poinsettia stamp has to be my favorite stamp this Christmas season. I stamped it twice and cut both out after coloring with a pink marker and coloring with gold glitter.
I left one intact but the second one I cut only a couple of extra petals and placed them over the top of the bottom ones..popping them up with pop dots to give them a 3-D effect. Using my scissors,
I curled the ends of the petals down. I also cut out the center and popped that up with pop dots.
I used gold stickle in the middle for the flower center
The Merry Christmas Stamp came from the Christmas Tree Mouse Set.

Have a wonderful day!
Netta

Sympathy Count Down Begins

2009-12-11T21:19:00.001-05:00

I make all the sympathy cards for a local nursing home. When they lose one of their residents, they send one out to a family member with a personal note. The family member really appreciates getting a hand-made card with a special note. This is the time of year where they lose many residents so amongst all the Christmas cards I make, I also have to make many sympathy cards. Today I made a few to get ahead. I used the Stamping Up Ornament Punch and punched out vases out of patterned paper to make the vase for these flowers. I also stamp a lil something on the envelope to make it special as well. Thank you for stopping by! Netta

Happy Hanukkah 2009

2009-12-05T16:20:00.001-05:00

I needed to make 7 Hanukkah cards todays and didn't have a lot of time but with a little bit of planning...I was able to get all my stamps on one acrylic block all at the same. This allowed me to ink and stamp them all at the same time...which saved me time later as I didn't have to do them individually. A little bit of brown and yellow coloring with a Stamping Up marker and a little bit of yellow stickel glitter...I was almost done! The bow was tied with both yellow and brown ribbon at the same time and held down by a glue dot. Bling in the corner topped it off. The whole scene was matted with black, yellow and brown cardstock. Very quick card to make...longest time is the glitter drying time. Stamps I used: Close to my Heart: Jewish Remembrance Autumn Leaves: Stampology Studio G: #VS4195

November MCE

2009-11-30T19:55:00.002-05:00

Our Nov MCE (monthly card exchange) theme was winter. I love Michelle Zindorf's "Night Time Christmas Cardinal" so I decided to make that card for my winter theme. If you would like to read the tutorial...head on over to http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/10/14/night-time-christmas-cardinal-tutorial-270/ to find out how to to create it. The card I received back is absolutely gorgeous!! Another great work of art to display on my desk at work throughout the holiday season and into the winter! Thank you so much Joyce. I absolutely love the time and effort you put into my card. I will treasure it.

There will not be a December theme for MCE...taking the month off. But look for one in January 2010! Thank you for stopping by! Netta

Thanksgiving Windshield Wiper Card

2009-11-24T07:02:00.005-05:00

The monthly challenge at StampingPalace.com is the windshield wiper card. I have always wanted to try this technique. Last night I decided to give it a try. This was such a fun card to create! I chose the stamps Pilgrims and Gobble Gobble. Colored them with markers and used stickers to give a bit of sparkle. In my button drawer, I found some leaf buttons that went perfectly in the corner.

Boss's Day 2009

2009-11-20T06:52:00.002-05:00

I made these two cards for my Boss and an Office Manager for boss's day on October 16th. The cards were very easy to make. I needed some leaves & branches and did not have any so I used my Cuttle Bug A2 folder to imprint the leaves. I made two and cut them out. The fence is a die cut from Sizzix die. The poems came from the internet which I printed out on paper. The tree is a stamp from Stampin Up. You cannot see in the scan but the trees have a hint of sparkle on many of the leaves. They must have like them as they still have them displayed on their desk!

Thank you for stopping by and have a wonderful day!!
Manetta

MCE-October

2009-11-19T06:44:00.008-05:00

I know....Halloween is over.....but I wanted to show my October MCE (Monthly Card Exchange) and the card that I received back. We were to make a card that had at least one animal on it. Since it was October..I made the theme into a Halloween card.

The Halloween paper I wanted to use was very thin so I glued it on top of black cardstock. It took a bit to figure out how to get the paper to fall just perfectly but it was worth the effort. I took a photo of the card semi open so you could see circle area on the inside was orange and had stars. When you opened the card.....you had eyes staring at you!!! Hmmmmm I just noticed..the circle area cut out...looks a bit like a monster took a bite LOL.

Products Used: Debbie Mumm Harvest & Holdiay Paper Pack Spa Day Stamp Circle Punch Glue Glider Pro (my new adhesive toy!!!) Kim...sent me the following card. I am in love with her black flowers!!! I need/want to find myself some. They look like Prima flowers. Thank you Kim....I know Halloween is over but I still have your card displayed in the front foyer. Think it is time to take it down since I have Christmas on my mind.... Here is the link to Kim's blog if you would like to check out her other pieces of art! Kim's Kreations..http://kdskreations.blogspot.com/

November's theme is Winter....so stay tuned Thank you for stopping by! Manetta

3D Cabin

2009-11-17T07:07:00.002-05:00

I am not sure where this stamp came from but it is one of my favorites. I can use this stamp and very easily start daydreaming. I would love to live in a cabin in the woods and away from any city....from September to January. After that I want to be in Florida!!! I guess that would make me opposite of your typical "Snowbird". I stamped and colored the scene 4 times and then cut out the parts I needed. I put it together like a puzzle..popping up the parts as I went along. I used "Snow" to try to give it a more realistic feel. The frame is another stamp I have had kicking in my box forrrrever! So I decided to blow the dust off and use it. I stamped and heat embossed with gold. When I cut out the center...I found my cabin scene fit perfectly! Time consuming card to do but well worth the efforts!

Thank you once again for stopping by!! Manetta

Halloween Tri-Fold Cards

2009-10-19T07:24:00.009-04:00

I enjoy making the Tri-Shutter cards and with a Score-Pal it really is very easy. If you are looking for a special WOW card...this one is it! You can find the directions here at SplitCoastStampers

My Spa Day card was made for a swap....you send one off and you got one back in return. Here is the list of what I used on my card... Foam Word Happy Halloween & spiders came from my stash from years ago Tree is a Sizzix die cut I drew the spider webs with a white pen Paper is from a Debbie Mumm paper pack called Harvest & Holiday Witch's Broom and Black Cat words cut from paper from that pack as well Witch is a stamp called "Spa Day" and can be found here at Stamping Palace The Tri-Shutter card below is the card I got in return came from Jo'Ell.

I absolutely love it!!! From what I understand...her kids did not want to her to send it off to me and I can understand why. (I did offer to give it back...was so glad when she said NO...lol) I took 3 photos so you can see all the work from all angles. There is so much going on. This card put my card to shame LOL I took it to work...I am displaying it on my desk...it is my Halloween Decoration this year!! Thanks Jo'Ell!!

thank you for visiting me today! Netta

I am aging gracefully...

2009-10-06T16:20:00.014-04:00

Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday to me Happy Birthday dear Manetta Happy Birthday to meeeeee! I had a 52nd birthday and I received sooooo many cards! I wanted to share the ones I received that were made specially for me!!! This birthday card came from Lisa, right here in my hometown. Lisa was very very sick and said this was not her best work....I dunno...I tend to disagree...I think the card is fabulous!! Thanks Lisa!!

This card is from Trisha. I love you for thinking of me when you are facing so many issues at home. Thank you so much

Check out this card...it opens with an awesome fold inside!!...I must try that someday.

Thank you Ginny!!!

This card is from Darlene. Darlene-you always think outside the box and I love that about your cards. Thank you so much!

Have a wonderful day!! Manetta

Sympathy For a Friend

2009-10-01T21:15:00.003-04:00

I made a card tonight for a friend. She lost her Aunt. I wanted her to know I am thinking of her and I wish her peace in knowing her Aunt is finally resting. Ginny, my prayers are with you and your family hugs and love Netta

Nature Walk Weekend-September MCE

2009-09-19T08:49:00.005-04:00

I held off posting my card until I received my MCE (Monthly card exchange) card back. This time our card had to include a pumpkin. Out of all the stamps I have...can you believe only one stamp with a pumpkin! So sad....I must buy something again..~Grin~ I dug through my stash of supplies for an idea and I came across two Wooden Scarecrow pins I had bought last year. I thought it was perfect but what to do with it??? I saw a tutorial at Splitcoaststampers for the Free Standing Pop-up Card.

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/freestandingpopupcard/

I had tried this tutuorial before and really like how it came out...but this was a bit tricky. I did not want the pin to be permanent...I wanted the pin removable. So I looked at the pin packaging on how they held the pin on. It had two holes...one a little larger than the other. So using the back of the package as a guide...I punched two holes in the back of cardstock tag with my Crop-0-Dile. I also had to make the slit for the card to pop up through a little wider to make room for the bulky pin to pop through. Because the pin was thicker and heavier...I was afraid it would not stand up very well but it worked ok!! I wish that I had taken a photo of it when it was closed but thought of it after I had sent it off. Here is my card I received back. Sandy...thank you so much!!! I absolutely love it! The coloring is fantastic and I love the colors. It reminds me of home.......good ole New Hampshire in the Fall. I miss the Fall the most and it has always been my favorite season...something we do not get in Florida. This card reminds me of what it was like...air brisk but the sun warm. ~sigh~ I have your card displayed right by the front door so everyone can see your card as they walk in. If you want to check out more of Sandy's work...swing on over to her blog...she has some fantastic cards to view!!!! http://memoriesandink.blogspot.com/

Outhouse Wedding

2009-09-14T20:50:00.007-04:00

I agree....a strange title for a strange card!!

When I bought this stamp "His n Hers" ...the first thing I thought of was an Anniversary or Wedding card. It could be the backwoods living I did for most of my life lol.

Our neighbors announced they suddenly got married on a Tues (decision made that day!!) so I knew they were the perfect couple to get my humorous card. I stamped this image on white cardstock and colored it in with Twinkling H2O's. I had a hard time to get a good photo but the "Hers" Outhouse is colored in white and "His" is colored in light blue. I outlined the entire image with a very light blue marker. The bow is made from wire ribbon and easy manipulated to a puff ball and then glued down on a black/white dotted chipboard. Sometimes you just have to make easy cards! Thank you for stopping by!

Nature Walk Weekend-August MCE

2009-09-13T08:03:00.004-04:00

Time for MCE!!! The August theme was leaves and unfortunely Jo'Ell never received my card I mailed her. I wanted to make her another one so this weekend I combined the two challenges into one. Monday I will send this card off to Jo'Ell...crossing my fingers that it will arrive to her safe and sound!

A little stamping and a little embossing and VOILA....my MCE Leaves card and my Nature Walk Weekend card all in one!

This card is my August MCE card that I received from Joyce. I have been holding the scan of this card for a few weeks now....until Jo'Ell received my card I mailed her ( maybe the first MCE card will show up someday??? ). Very cute card and perfect fall colors!! I need to hunt down that paper...it is adorable!! Thank you for visiting!!

Stamp Camp

2009-09-12T09:12:00.010-04:00

I have a friend in town who is a Stamping Up Instructor ....you can see Lisa's blog at Gulf Coast Stamper.....she offers Stamp Camp once a month at her house. It has been 3 or 4 months since I have been able to go-until last night. It was so much fun....as usual.....Lisa is a GREAT instructor and we always have so much FUN at her camps and her Popcorn was to die for (someday I will talk her into giving me the recipe!!!!). I wanted to show you what I did last night for Fall, Halloween and Christmas!

ATC

2009-09-08T22:54:00.011-04:00

Have you heard of the wildly popular little art form called ATC (Artist Trading Cards)? They were created for the purpose of trading art with other artists. I joined in with three other people to do an ATC swap and went with the attitude I would give it a try and could always use them on a card or scrapbook page. It was fun to create my miniature Sunset Tiger ATC Art! After I received my set of ATC's (see the other 3 great pieces of Art below)....I am not so sure I want to give them away! I think that I will just be a collector. If you're looking for a fresh perspective, you might enjoy exploring these addicting little works of art! ATC DONE BY GINNY ATC DONE BY S USAN ATC DONE BY KIM

Thank you for stopping by....have a wonderful day!!

Tea light Flower Tutorial

2009-09-07T19:38:00.023-04:00

A couple of people sent in a request for me to explain how I made the metal flower in my post on August 30th. The flower is actually a great way to use up some trash!! If you burn disposable tea light candles....then start saving them....because they have another use!

You will need the following

Alcohol Inks (1 or more colors of your choice)

Alcohol Ink Applicator

Cuttlebug or Wizard

Cuttlebug folder of your choice

Empty Tealight Disposable Candle Holder

For my card I used the images from "Smell the Coffee Set"

Start with a disposable candle that was burned down.

Empty out the wax that was left on the inside after the candle burned down. From experience...do not use your scissors as the metal is so thin it is easy to poke a hole through the bottom. On my second attempt, I used hot water to melt the wax and carefully wiped it dry. (Added note: Fellow crafter informed me....you can also place the tealight holder in the freezer and the wax will pop right out!! Thanks Shelly for that tidbit!!)

Start clipping the "petals" with a pair of scissors...making sure each cut is done opposite of each other. You will have a better chance of all the petals even in size.

Press down gently in the center. Do not worry about getting it completely flat.

Place your flattened tea light holder into your cuttlebug folder and run it through your Wizard or Cuttlebug

Sponge on the alcohol inks that you chose to use until satisfied. Your flower will dry in just a couple of minutes and will be ready to put on your card.

Add a flower center and it becomes an easy and interesting embellishment for any card!

Thank you for stopping by!!

Nature Walk Weekend

2009-09-06T20:31:00.005-04:00

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful 3 day holiday. I enjoyed the peace and the 3 day break from work!! It is always nice to have an extra day off. This weekend I worked with the image "Change the World" for my Nature Walk Weekend. This image reminds me of when I was a child...as a family we would go on picnics....dad always spent time fishing and always down by the river we would watch the dragonflys fluttering around.

Emboss image with clear detailed embossing powder and sponge on ink. That simple!!

Thank you for stopping by!

Christmas Card #1-Sketch Challenge

2009-09-02T06:48:00.000-04:00

The yahoo group I belong to had a sketch challenge in July and I am JUST getting around to making my card.

I realized over the weekend that there is ONLY about 90 days left to make my Christmas cards before I start labeling them to be mailed out. That means I have to make an average of one Christmas card a day!!! EEEKKKKK Where did the year go!!!

I decided I might as well turn this sketch into a Christmas Card

We have several of the cutest Christmas Mice Stamp sets at Stamping Palace.

The Mice Set I chose to use for this card is called Lighten Up Mouse Set. I stamped my card with Momento Tuxedo Black, which is a perfect dye ink that will not bleed when you color your image with an alcohol based marker like Copics. Each light bulb has a drop of stickle to make it sparkle a different color. The icicle is from a batch that I made last year and am still using up. Inside the card are words from the same set-"Rejoice in this season of light and love". To make the icicle border requires only 3 items Liquid Glue that will dry clear Fine Glitter Wax paper Directions Tilt your wax paper so your glue will slowly drip down to form icicles as you run a line of glue along the top of the wax paper about the length of your card. Do not put too much glue as your "icicle" will become too thick. You can always go back and add a bit more glue to an icicle to make it run a little longer. Remember-icicles are not the same size. Now cover the icicles with fine glitter and shake off the extra. Let dry over night and then you will be able to slowly peal the glue icicle off the wax paper. I stored mine after they dried in a box. Last year I was able to make several lines of icicles on big sheet of wax paper and I am still using them up. Ok...now I am off to go make the next Christmas card.....

Nature Walk Weekend

2009-08-30T13:45:00.015-04:00

I missed my Walk With Nature card last week due to hurricane Netta that hit my craft room......well....not a real hurricane.....it was lil ole Me....as I posted yesterday....I had decided to clean my craft room and I don't have to explain what happens when you decide to "straighten it up and organize".....not a pretty situation! Anyway, this weekend my card is about a flower. No matter what nature walk I am on...I am always on the lookout for flowers. I can't tell you how many times I frustrated my hiking buddy as I would have to stop to take "the perfect" photo of some tiny flower I spotted. Todays flower is made from the a disposable tealight candle holder. A very simple card to make. For the flower center, I punched a hole in the big white brad with my crop-o-dile and inserted a flower brad through the hole. The big brad was attached to the center of the tealight candle flower and before it was tacked down. I punched a square hole on my card front . I used my Cuttlebug to get the green leaves and then cut them out. The leaves were glued down onto the card front and the tealight candle flower was glued down on top of the leaves. Coordinating paper was glued to the inside of the card. With the card closed, I chose the stamp You've Got Mail from the set clear stamps called "Anytime Sentiments" and stamped it through the window so it would be lined up correctly when the card was closed. That is it!! Very easy!! I made this card while talking on the phone.....that is how easy it is. Thank you for joining me on my Nature Walk Weekend.........now your turn!!

Stand Up Card Tutorial

2009-08-29T21:26:00.031-04:00

As promised a few weeks ago...here is the tutorial on how to make the Stand Up card that I did on August 14th 2009 which you can re-visit HERE. I apologize for taking so long but I decided to clean out my craft room ....BIG mistake....HUGE mistake.....it took me forever to get it straighten back up so I could actually use my desk again!

For today's card I used the following:

Sailing Martini Stamp

Navy Blue Cardstock, button and Dye Ink

White Cardstock, ribbon and Dye Ink

Red Ribbon

Starfish

Cuttlebug

Crop-o-dile

(all photos-if clicked on-will enlarge for easy viewing)

CUTTING AND FOLDING THE BASE OF THE CARD

The finished Stand Up Card measures 6 inches wide x 4 1/2 inches high when folded flat for mailing.

Step 1- Cut one piece of Navy cardstock for the card front 6 inches wide x 4 1/2 inches high and another piece of Navy cardstock for the back 6 inches wide x 8 7/16 inches.

Step 2- Take the Card Back cardstock and measure in from one side and score at 2 inches and 4 inches. (Refer to photo below)

Step 3- Make a valley fold (Refer to photo below)

Step 4- Attach the Navy card front ONLY to the 2 inch fold section. I attached two different photo views.

This is how you fold the card down in order to slip the card into an envelope.

DECORATING AND FINISHING THE TOP OF THE CARD

I cut two pieces of white cardstock..each 5 3/4 inches wide X 4 1/4 inches high. One was for the top of the card and one for the bottom (inside when folded).

I wrapped drywall tape around my brayer...inked it up with navy blue ink and brayered one of the white cardstocks I had cut for the top of the card. It is a technique that I learned from Splitcoaststampers Site. The dark strip of blue was a major boo-boo. I was going to start over until I decided it looked kinda cool so I continued. I attached it to the top of the card.

Next I cut a red piece of cardstock 4 inches wide X 3 1/2 inches high. I wanted to keep with a beachy boat scene so I used my crop-o-dile to put holes on two sides of the red cardstock so that I could string white ribbon and in & out of the holes. I layered a navy blue cardstock on top of the red. For the last layer of red cardstock I ran it through the cuttlebug and then used a brayer of white ink over the top to catch the raised areas (to resemble waves). The Sailboat Martini Image was colored with markers and liquid glass applied only to the martini glass to resemble glass...the rope and sail was layered for a 3-D look and then glued down.

INSIDE/BOTTOM LAYER OF CARD

Take the last white 5 3/4 inches wide X 4 1/4 inches high cardstock.

Measure over from the edge 2 7/8 inches...make a light mark with a pencil. It should be the middle of the cardstock

Measure 2 1/2 inches down from the top to the center of the card so that it is in the middle.

It will be the spot where for a brad, a button, a bead, etc for holding the front of the card so that it stands up. Attach the cardstock to the bottom/inside of the card.

(Refer to photo)

Now finish decorating the bottom layer. The area that is just above the button or brad is where you can stamp your sentiment. After your receiver reads the card, they just have to hook the card front behind the button and display your work of art.

Hopefully this tutorial was easy to understand. If you have any questions...please leave me a message!!

(card folded for mailing)

If you make a card using this technique....I would love it if you shared it with me!!

Thank you for joining me today.

Weathered Background Technique

2009-08-15T14:03:00.024-04:00

A few people asked how I made my background to the Feathered Butterfly card so I made another background and took some photos of the steps I used. I kept in mind what an old metal container will look like when it has sat around for awhile...it tends to get a blueish weather look. (all photos can be clicked on to enlarge and get a better view)

There are very few materials you need to make the weathered background. Heat Gun 2 Colors of Embossing Powder (I used Gold and Light Blue) Embossing Pad Sponge White Cardstock

Using a sponge to pick up glue from your embossing pad and pat where you want the first color to be on your cardstock. I used the gold first and put it over the entire cardstock but if you enlarge the photo you can see I was not fussy and there are some spots where the gold has not completely covered. It will be covered in the next step.

Heat the embossing powder. You can see by the photograph where I have heated as the embossing powder is melting and becoming shiny.

After your first color has cooled down for a few seconds, use your sponge again to dab the glue down where you want the 2nd color to go.

Pour your second color on top and knock off anything that does not stick. Heat your 2nd color until melted making sure you do not over heat or the first color will bubble up through. If you are not happy with your results, you can add more gold or blue until you get the result you are looking for.

The entire technique takes only minutes and it makes a very interesting background. It is the one time where you do not need an embossing buddy to stop stray particles ...if some stray particles are where you did not add glue, that is ok. (Enlarge photo to get a better look) It gives it an interesting affect. Now your Weathered Background is ready for you to use on your next card!!

Nature Walk Weekend

2009-08-14T21:47:00.012-04:00

I am a huge fan of Nature and Animals so I have decided every weekend I am going to make a card for my new theme called Nature Walk Weekend. I hope you join me every weekend!!

Here is my first card!

I made this card two weeks ago and am just getting around to sharing it with you all. I saw this type of shape on the top of a box and liked it. It took me a while to figure out how to make it! I like it so much that I am going to make a pattern and make more! It lies flat and fits into an envelope with no problem. When open, the top rest against a brad to hold it open. When you lift up the top, there is a verse underneath.

The image is a single Owl Stamp which I stamped in brown ink. I used my Nesties in my Cuttlebug to cut out and mat the image on. The "Forever Flowers" No 6 leaves came from the same company that makes the Prima flowers. I bought a jar years ago and still using the same jar. I thought they went well with the woodsy theme.

Faux Leather and Tool Belt

2009-08-11T21:30:00.009-04:00

Do you all find it as difficult as I do when it comes to ideas on masculine cards? My father-in-law is a "fix-it" man. There isn't anything he throws away...it can be taken apart, reused and rebuilt so this card was perfect for him. To begin I needed paper that looked like leather and of course...out of my entire stash I did not have any. Easy to fix...I made my own. A bit time consuming but the result was just what I was looking for...

Wet Brown paper Crinkled wet paper into a tight ball Opened paper up and laid it as flat as I could Swiped Brown Ink across the creases Iron the paper flat until it dried Wiped versamark ink all over it

let dry and cut out my pieces.

Before I glued my pieces down...I used faux stitching along the tool belt pieces and I also inserted my larger and smaller brads to resemble the rivots. I was lucky to find some left over stickers of tools to slip into the pockets! The only stamping was the word DAD on the tag. He loved the card very much. Happy Birthday Dad!

Sympathy Flowers in Sunset

2009-08-08T09:47:00.010-04:00

Sympathy card done the Michelle Zindorf way........sort of

The rubber stamps of flowers and the background grass that I used is a Stamping Up set called Inspire by Nature. I used Stamping Up markers to color the flowers-Yoyo Yellow and Chocolate Chip. After stamping the flowers on Stamping Up whisper white cardstock, I re-colored over the images with a VersaMarker and embossed them with clear fine detail embossing powder.

For the sunset..I tried once again to brayer the background. No matter what I do...I cannot get the brayering method that Michelle uses down correctly so I end up sponging all my colors on the cardstock for the sunset. Before I used the darker colors, I temporarily glued down a circle mask for the sun. After all the sunset colors were done, I stamped the grass with brown and wiped it off the flowers. I did not have cardstock to match the ink colors in the sunset so I used brayer on white cardstock in the two colors that I needed to mat the sunset on.

Sunset Ink colors: Stamping Up Apricot Appeal,Pumpkinie,Real Red, Barely Banana, Really Rust & Black

For the green background I had some left over green paper that I used up. The sentiment came from the set Sympathy Sentiments. I stamped another set of flowers and cut one out for an additional flower.

Birds Singing So Long-Tri Fold Card

2009-08-06T22:11:00.008-04:00

There are many cards being shared on the internet in the papercrafting world with this "new" type of fold. It is called the Tri Shutter Card and you can find out how to make this by going to Splitcoaststampers.com (or use the link to the right) and look up the tutorial. It is a lot of fun and not hard at all....just looks complicated. It folds up nice and small to fit into regular card envelope.

I wanted to share my version even though I made it about 2 months ago. Doc, my husband, needed a card for a co-worker who was moving away. He said everyone who signed the back of the card had to have an in-service on how to fold it LOL. All of the stamps on this card came from a challenge that I won. I really need to pull them out again.

Shiny Challenge

2009-08-03T22:50:00.011-04:00

Here is a quick post for tonight. The challenge in the yahoo group I belong to was to make something shiny. This image is called the Peacock Butterfly. Coloring it was easy...turquoise marker and a shiny gold was from a pen. The background, gold and turquoise, was not hard but just a lot of fun to make. I may do more! It also shines but the shine was hard to show up when I took the picture.

1/2 a Birthday!

2009-08-02T12:45:00.024-04:00

Could you take a card like this

And do this to it??

Trust me...it was NOT easy!! I kept thinking...all my hard work!!

At work, when someone has a birthday, we all bring in cards. One of my co-workers has a birthday on December 25th and her family has always celebrated it on July 25th so she did not get cheated. We decided to do the same. Someone came up with the idea...let's give her only 1/2 the card! We will save the other 1/2 for December. Great idea right?

Well easy for everyone else...they buy their cards.

So I had to come up with an idea that would be easy to cut so my card started with the idea of using the Stair Step folding technique. That way both pieces would stand up on their own. All my images, except for the lady in the middle section (she was RAK'd to me), came from the set "On the Beach Set" and were stamped on Georgia Pacific (GP) with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Blick Markers. GP along with Memento Dye Inks seems to work best with alcohol markers. No wait time, no bleeding or smudges at all!

For the scene in the background..

1st. I stamped where I wanted my images to be on the GP cardstock and did all the image coloring first.

2nd. I took a scrap paper, held it where I wanted the sand to end and used a marker to color in the sand making sure to color behind the girls a little darker to represent the shading from the sun.

3rd. I moved the scrap paper up to where the ocean and the sky would meet and colored in the water with a marker

4th. I punched out a circle to mask where the sun would be and used removable tape to hold the sun in place

5th. I used plastic piece cut to represent clouds and I used a sponge dabbed with blue ink to make the sky and clouds

6th. I removed my mask and colored the sun in with bright yellow

7th. I stamped Happy Birthday with black ink

The poem was created by my sister Faye and in case you can't read it..here is what it said..

Today we celebrate your birthday

but only half....I fear

Its not really your special day

until the end of the year

One half a card is all you'll get

Put it away where you'll remember

Cuz you don't get the other half

Until your birthday in December!!!

I took the fun one step further and actually cut the card while it was sealed in the envelope making sure the poem remained intact so she would get that 1/2 of the card first. She loved the whole 1/2 theme!!

She said she can't wait to see the rest of my card.

An online friend saw the card and suggested I decorate the 2nd 1/2 with a Christmas theme and I loved that idea!

Thanks Joyce...lots of ideas floating in my head so stay tuned!!

MCE-Christmas in July

2009-07-29T19:24:00.021-04:00

It's that time again!!! MCE (Monthly Card Exchange)

This time the theme was my all time favorite theme.......CHRISTMAS. Oh do I love that time of year. Last year I did 130 Christmas cards...my family and friends are now spoiled....I have been told...I am NOT to send them a store bought card or they will be insulted. Guess I better get

busy or I will be burning the midnight oil getting them done. Half the year has already gone by.

Well, on to my card. Some of you remember this post "Glitter, Tissues and Glue Oh My". I used the same technique on this background as I used on the flowers except I stamped all kinds of snowflakes with Staz-On on the Acetate.

I matted it onto a piece of cardstock and then matted it onto the white background. Merry Christmas stamp came from a set of stamps called "From Our Home Set" which is the cutest Mouse stamp set. I matted again onto darker cardstock and punch a snowflake out of the corner. The snowmen image I used is from the set called "Let it Snow". I stamped and colored it with Dick's markers, trimmed around it and set it on top of the acetate. The ribbon bow was ribbon I bought at Michaels. I am very bow challenged but am getting better!

Remember how we give a card and we get a card back? Well take a look at the gorgous MCE (below) that was given to me!! The photo just does not do it justice. It was stamped, heat embossed, colored and I just love it so much.

Kim...thank you!!!

(you can visit Kim at her blog here)

STOP and smell the coffee....well actually Latte

2009-07-26T17:51:00.004-04:00

I have been wanting this set for a long time and finally broke down and bought it. It reminds me of waking up in the morning and smelling freshly brewed coffee or walking into a coffee shop. The smell of Lattes and coffee fill the air.

This set is called "Smell the Coffee" and I used two images from that set. I used Dick markers to color them with and for the foam in the cups I used White Tulip Puffy Dimensional Paint and before it dried I sprinkle a tiny amount of brown embossing powder to make it look like sprinkles of cinnamon.

After laying, I used the technique called "Faux Stitching" and if you knew me...you would say it looked like my real stitching which I cannot get straight if my life depended on it! lol But I like the way it came out.

The bigger cup was stamped, colored, cut out and then layered with liquid glass. After it dried, I popped it up with Sticky Doos to give it more dimension.

I stamped the words in brown which made it too hard to read...if I get daring someday...I will restamp over it with black.............if I get daring!

Men's Favorite-Toilet and Fishing!

2009-07-20T19:42:00.010-04:00

....all that is missing is the remote control!!!! I fell in love with this stamp "Ye Ole Fishin' Hole" as soon as I saw it! I think it is a perfect image for guy card....two favorite spots they love to be.... the toilet or fishing by a pond....lol. It may look scary to color but it actually was very easy. I stamped the image with Momento and used a SU die cut to cut the shape. I used Blick markers to color the image with. The background was made from Cuttlebug Embossing Folder "Tiny Mosaic Texture". The corners came from a scrap that I had where I had glued mesh down on top. I just used a corner punch and punched out two corners from the scrap. The ribbon came from a package my boss got. (They have learned where I work-to give me all ribbon scraps and chipboard lol.) One of my brothers has a birthday in Aug.........I am saving this card for him.

Flutter By Wednesday

2009-07-19T19:16:00.008-04:00

Make sure to scroll down...there are two post for today!

Every Wednesday Danni's Dreams has a challenge called Flutter By Wednesday. If you have a fairy stamp or a butterfly...you should jump on over and join in! You have to make a card using a butterfly or fairy and every week they add a little twist. This week you have to use brown and pink along with your fairy or butterfly image.

The fairy image was RAK'd to me and it is a fairy by The Greeting Farm. Her name is Fairy Chloe. I colored her with Dick Blick markers and I think she came out cute! I stamped a swirl and used my eyelet with interchangeable heads to punch out the different size holes. I matted it on brown paper so the brown showed through the holes. Ribbon was something I picked up from Micheal's long ago.

The sentiment is from the clear stamp set- Anytime Sentiments. I love this set...it has such a variety!

Sketch Challenges

2009-07-19T15:00:00.012-04:00

There is a sketch challenge at a scrapbook group I belong to so I made this card to go with it. I stamped my Ocean Butterfly rubber stamp with Memento Black Dye Ink which if perfect if you are going to use alcohol free markers like Dick Blick. I used Dick Blick markers to color the butterfly and filled in bubble areas with stickles to make the image more fun. I needed something for the corner and remembered I had a Sizziz Sanddollar that I bought and used maybe once many eons ago! I blew the dust off , cut out a sanddollar and used a sand colored marker to color the edge and the middle. The flower image came from Hot off the Press which I stamped it in versamark ink onto of Stamping Up cardstock.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

2009-07-15T18:49:00.009-04:00

My sister and I have been working on opening a rubber stamping store Stamping Palace online for years....actually I think it was months....I dunno.....just felt like years LOL! But it feels good to shout.... OUR STORE IS OPEN...www.stampingpalace.com! We are still stocking the shelves with additional rubber stamps and craft supplies but we would love you to go on in and look around! We have samples of cards on the products pages and will eventually have a gallery as well. Don't forget to look at the Tips page. As we collect more we will keep adding so keep checking back. You never know...you may discover something you never knew! We hope you are as excited as we are...because the fun has just started.

Image Contest

2009-07-11T19:50:00.005-04:00

This card is one I made for contest in a Scrapbook and Card Yahoo Group that I belong to. We all received two stamped images of a hedgehog (one is in case you make a mistake or want to layer an image). After you made a card out of the image, you had to send a scanned copy back to the group member and she set up a poll of all the cards. She did not include any names on who did what. We had to vote for our favorite one and my card won!! I believe this image of the hedgehog is a Penny Black rubber stamp. I colored it using Black Markers which are similar to Prisma Makers. I used both stamped images to layer my hedgehog and paper towels, sponge & blue ink to make my clouds. The flowers and leaves have Liquid Glass on them to make them 3-D with a little bit of sparkle in the middle. White background is the Dots CB Folder and along the bottom is another border CB folder. After embossing, I took the blue ink pad and wiped it across the flower border. I had extra pieces left over from the second stamped image so I colored one of the flowers, cut it out and glued it down on the inside of the card.

Butterfly Butterfly

2009-06-22T06:40:00.007-04:00

Yesterday I made a few butterflys and used them on a couple cards. The Butterflys were sponged with two colors and then clear embossed. Stamped butterflies are from Martha Stewart.

MCE-July 4th Outhouse

2009-06-21T10:28:00.006-04:00

UPDATED!! It is MCE time (Monthly Card Exchange). This time you had to use red/white/blue or a 4th of July card. I used both. I love this image of the Patriot Outhouse with the door painted as a flag. The Patriotic Outhouse has a star for the window so I used a Star Bling cover it it.

This card is a card that I received back and it was made by Darlene. I am so impressed with the way Darlene thinks "outside the box"!!! I always put my main image on the outside and when you open the card, my handwritten and stamped words are on the inside left. Darlene put the main image on the inside left and wrote on the right!!! I love this card. Thank you so much Darlene!!

Oh by the way.....the images are now clickable to open the photo larger. I am so happy it is back! It was really annoying before lol.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

2009-06-21T08:17:00.004-04:00

Here is my father-in-law's card that I made at a Stamping Up Stamp Camp. It is all Stamping Up products right down to the ribbon. To make the clouds, I used a piece of paper towel that I ripped.

To all fathers...I hope you have a wonderful "par-fect" day!!!

Thanks for "Owl" you did

2009-06-11T23:05:00.007-04:00

This is a card I made for someone who was leaving the office. She was such a huge help to all of us and we will miss her a great deal! She likes owls so this stamp worked out great for her!

Leafing Dress Tutorial

2009-06-03T21:48:00.023-04:00

This techinque makes some very interesting results! Here is what you need for materials

*Acetate-1 piece

*Staz On Ink pad

*Adhesive or Xyron

*Gold leaf Sheet (or any other color will work)

*Rubber Stamp smaller then your sheet of gold leaf

1. Stamp your image your Acetate.

2.Trim your image right up to the outside line.

3. Cover with adhesive or Run your image through your Xyron-making sure the glue is on the opposite side of the image.

4. Take one Gold Leaf Sheet and layer it carefully over the adhesive, making sure the image is

totally covered. If you accidently rip it...no problem... take another piece and place it over the hole. Press down gently

Now flip your image over and VOILA! Your done! Ready to use on your card. You can see what I did with my image here

Materials

*Impression Obession Dress stamp from Life of Happiness Set

*Clear Embossing Powder

*Stamping Up Flower Punch

*Marthat Stewart Branch Punch

Leafing Dress

2009-06-02T21:51:00.014-04:00

I really wanted to show you this card and when I lost everything, I was so upset because I had sent it off to someone already. Thank goodness I found an old email where I had sent a photo of it to someone! Do you remember this Card? This is the same stamp just a different look! Be on the lookout for a tutorial on how I made the dress tomorrow.

Too Many Glitches

2009-06-02T21:12:00.003-04:00

Sorry I have been away for so long! My computer died and my husband had to work on it. I was able to salvage many of my files beforehand onto DVD's. Now it is up and running and I went to get my info and Cards off the DVD's and guess what? The DVD now has a glitch!!! All my work...GONE....

Bare with me while I sob in the corner and get myself under control....

Glitter, tissue and glue..Oh My!

2009-05-19T07:14:00.012-04:00

Here is a very easy but messy technique that produces beautiful results! Materials that you need are Acetate 2 or 3 Re-inkers Tissue paper Diamond Glaze or similar glue Optional but recommended-Disposable Gloves Stamp of your choice Staz-on Glitter 1. (Optional) Stamp your image on your acetate and make sure it is dry before you move to the next step. If you want to stamp your image later...skip to step 2. This is a technique you can do to an entire sheet of acetate or on a piece to do one card. If your going to get messy...you might want to do an entire sheet and have extra for another card(s). 2. Flip your image over and put small globes of glue on the back all over the back and spread the glue around until the back is covered. 3. Drop drops of re-inkers on top of the glue. I would not use no more then 2 or 3 colors. You will notice as you drop the ink it will begin to spread out. Putting the drops too close together may or may not produce a color that you want. 4. This is where the gloves come in handy!!! Take your finger and spread the ink around to either cover the entire back or only in areas that you want color. If you are using more than one color, be careful not to make the colors look muddy. You do not have to color the entire back with color. 5. Sprinkle glitter- covering the entire back or in sections that you want- knock anything loose. I chose to cover the entire back. 6. Layer a piece of tissue paper on top and pat down making sure all the tissue becomes "wet" with the glittery colored glue. You want to make sure you press down to get all the bubbles out. 7. Here is the hardest part........WAITING! You have to make sure you let it dry before you use the image on your card or if you skipped step 1...you have to make sure it is dry before you turn it over to stamp your image. I made this card for a friend who was a bit under the weather. I choose to cut my image out and mount it on a card. This image is from Impression Obsession-Iris & Tulip Set.

RAK Image

2009-05-12T22:34:00.008-04:00

ARRRRRRRR The Biggest Loser's LAST Show is on!!! I will miss that show so much!!! So I am posting a quick card that I made. The image was RAK'd to me and I had some fun with it. I think this little lady is so cute! I 3-D'd her glasses and her floaty. I used a stamp for the palm trees that is very old. I have no idea where it came from. The clouds were made using paper towel as a template. All the ink is from Stamping Up. I made this for a girlfriend for her birthday. I think she will get a kick out if!!

This is the outside of the card. There is a window so you get a peak of the inside of the card This is the inside of the card.

Image Rak

2009-05-06T20:54:00.009-04:00

Can you see the Fairy fluttering by the roses? Her name is Mini Lark from Susana's Custom Art & Card Design and I think she is perfect for living amongst the flowers! She is colored with markers, painted with Shimmerz and popped up with dimensionals. If you click on the card to open up larger, you can see how much she shimmerz. The RAK'd Rose image was also colored with Stamping Up markers and pink stickles was layered on top. I used the Stamping Up punch to cut the green corner and glued tiny green bling to it to dress it up a bit. It was a very quick card but perfect for any occasion!

Image Rak

2009-05-04T20:35:00.006-04:00

Here is a quick card I made from an image that was RAK'd to me. I think it came out fun and cute. The background paper is all one piece. The circle area was embossed with my Cuttlebug and one of the Cuttlebug Frills embossing borders. I used diamond stickler around the border of the Margarita glass. Image was colored with markers similar to Copic.

Faux Leather Additonal Cards

2009-05-03T18:09:00.004-04:00

This is just a quick post. I wanted to show you a couple of cards I did awhile ago using the same Faux Leather Technique. Apparently, I like the color blue as these cards were not done at the same time!!

National Scrapbooking Day (NSD)

2009-05-02T10:15:00.016-04:00

Every year on the first Saturday in May, Scrapbookers have their own holiday. It is National Scrapbooking Day. I did a bit of research to see when it first begin. National Scrapbook Day was started in 1994 by Creative Memories, the very well-known scrapbooking company. Scrappers from all over the world celebrate their passion on this day scrapbooking with friends, at crops or alone. Also, I noticed there are many companies celebrating this day with some great sales! Why do I Scrapbook? I have invested a lot of money and time in my memories...I want to remember every moment...scrapbooking allows the story behind my photos to be told....every memorable detail to be included. Future generations will not be clueless. Physically I won't always be here...but with my albums, I will. How did I begin? I give that credit to my baby sister Brenda... I got a phone call one day begging me to go to a "scrapbook" party that afternoon...I had no idea what a "scrapbook" party was and it did not sound interesting at all. Brenda said "I just need one more body or she will not do it!!"...I finally could not resist her. (Little did I know she used the same line on a few others!). I told her "I will go but I am not buying anything!"...as she hung up I heard her say "it will cost you $10 but you get a pair of scissors...". Grrrrrrr....I knew it would cost me in the long run...but I had no idea....it was just the beginning... I have been scrapbooking now since early 1990 and card making since 2005. I have an eclectic style when I scrapbook. Always looking for something new. Exploring new techniques. I hope all you Scrappers did not let the day go without creating one or two layouts. I scrapped alone but I did join in with a couple of yahoo groups and worked on some challenges. Here are some pages that I scrapped today.

I hope you enjoyed this year's National Scrapbooking Day!

Faux Leather Tutorial

2009-05-01T16:22:00.026-04:00

A few years ago I learned how to make faux leather. For my first tutorial, I thought this would be good one because it is an easy technique and it is quick to make. You only need 4 items *One piece of brown Foam Sheet that you can buy in a childs craft section *Embossing heat gun *Staz-on black ink *One stamp of your choice. Make sure you have your stamp ready to grab and the top of your ink loosened a bit because later on your going to have to grab them quick. Start by taking your embossing gun and heating one corner of the foam, making sure you heat an area a little bigger then your stamp. Keep the embossing gun moving and you will begin to see the foam turn shiny and start to curl up. It probably will take about 20 seconds or less. When the foam begins to really curl up, take your foam and flip it over. Now heat the other side and it will start to curl up again but quicker than the first side. When your foam has curled and heated, flip it over for the last time and continue heating. This is where you discover if you can do two things at once!! While you are heating the foam to keep it hot, quickly ink up your stamp with the staz-on with your other hand. Now before the foam cools, shut off your embossing heat gun and press your stamp down onto the foam and hold it there for a few seconds. Make sure you do not stamp very close to the edge...leave a bit of room. This is what your image looks like when you are done! It looks like an image was burned into leather. Now take your scissors and make a very small cut to give you a spot to start tearing around the image. You can cut the image out but tearing around the image makes it look more like leather. You are done! Your image is now ready to attach to your card. I used Zots to hold it onto the cardstock. I hope you were able to follow along OK but if you have any questions...please feel free to ask!!