Sunday, December 27, 2009

Beaded Monogram Necklace

I've been experimenting with beading lately - it is a lot of fun but time-consuming for me since I basically do not know what I am doing!! I've been wanting to make monograms with steel stamps for some time -
My "bestest cuz" Selena was in this weekend so while the men watched the kiddos we headed off to Harbor Freight to find some steel stamps. There has to be a better way to add a monogram to a metal blank than hammering it on your back step but until I find that "better way" I guess that is what I am forced to do!
Selena asked me to make a necklace for her friend, Lexi too - I think these turned out pretty good - I'll have to attempt this again soon - Maybe one with an "M" for me??

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

One Stamp - Two Ways

When I bought this teacups stamp I thought, "A fussy stamp should be on a fussy card." Therefore, lots of coloring, ribbon, pearls, glitter pen, punching, etc. ensued. I like this card a lot but it really isn't me -
Then I decided to try something much less fussy and more graphic. Now this card lives up to its sentiment, "You make me smile" - Fun, quick, easy and much more my kind of card.
Which do you prefer?

Friday, December 18, 2009

Blissful Papercrafting Kit

What fun - A Paper Bouquet!! There is some fabulous Petallics Shimmer Cream Cardstock included in Serendipity's Blissful Papercrafting Kit that was just ideal to try making some handcrafted flowers.
The small tag, simply stamped (A Muse 9-8064B) and topped with a pretty satin bow (tied with the Bow-Easy) is a great finishing touch!
The big Kusudama flower was a little complicated but well worth the effort - the carnations whipped up in no time flat with a 2" scalloped circle punch (I left off the brad. Just make two and glue them back to back). How about another fun project?!
This is a fun canvas I made with elements of Serendipity's Blissful Papercrafting Kit. Nestabilities were used to make the bird (quick tip - the wing was made with the smallest bird Nestie - just cut off the beak). The wording on the bird comes from my old ledger paper copied onto vellum - a good compromise - that way I can use my paper without ever cutting it!!
Tim Holtz Rock Candy Crackle paint added a fun texture to the aged tag. Antique crocheted lace held on by tiny clothes pins, German glass glitter and butcher twine in the buttons are all whimsical touches. Kim has lots of these canvases at Serendipity if you want to try your hand at making a collage -

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Quick Stamping!!

I have a pretty busy - somewhat stressful - day ahead of me. I need to get going but what do I do instead? Drop everything, get out my stamps and make a couple of quick cards. Stamping is my therapy and nothing soothes me more than to take a few minutes and create something - even if it isn't that good.
I tried to make these really clean and simple but, as usual, I couldn't stop fiddling until I added some punching and contrasting paper (defeated my plan for a one layer card) and then had to add a ribbon to the top -
It's okay though - now I feel calmer - I have a couple more cards for my stash and now I need to buzz out the door!!! The Big Thanks stamp is from A Muse (9-8616C Big thanks) and the rest of the stamps are bits and pieces from various SU! sets - Have a great day!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Saturday Demo - Perfect Pearls

This is the card I will be demo'ing this Saturday afternoon at Serendipity. Lots of fun - it incorporates Perfect Pearls, the Stamp-a-ma-jig and the new EK Success Embossed Curve punch. There will be a Secret Sale and the supplies for this card and lots of other great stuff will be available!! See you then!
Stamps - A Muse 6-4165J Chrysanthemum Open, 6-4166J Chrysanthemum Solid, 8-8347B Just a Note
Paper - Kraft, Ivory, Vellum, My Mind's Eye BellaBella "French Flea Market"
Ink - Momento Tuxedo Black Dye
Accessories - A Muse Ivory Sheer Polka Dot Ribbon, Perfect Pearls, EK Success Edge Punch, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Ranger Mini Mister

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Quick & Easy Monogram Cards

Last night I was able to make a set of 12 cards pretty quickly - I saw this blog entry by Sharon Johnson and I loved how she cuts her 6" paper. By keeping the design simple you can mass produce lots of cards that are all beautiful but easy to create.
I used my retired SU! set Priceless for the stamped flourishes -
Used my Classic square and Scalloped Square Nesties to cut out the monogram panels -
The patterned paper is by Basic Grey - Granola and Ambrosia 6" paper packs -
The Monogram stamps are the new A Muse clear stamps - Classic Alpha (9-CLALSM) and Monogram Frames Set (6-MNFRMS). Naturally, my favorites are the brown ones but it is interesting how the same design in different colors can look so sophisticated -

Friday, December 4, 2009

Blissful Papercrafting Bloghop -

November 17, 2009 9:50 PM
Love the leafy thing you used with the ribbon! Classy cards! Now show me a scrapbook layout!!! :) Kimmay

YUP - Scrapbook layouts are not things that I do - in fact, you are about to see my first and only 12" x 12" hybrid scrapbook layout - (drumroll, please. . . . . . . )
My cousin Selena and her husband Steve just celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary! Corey and I were both in the wedding and we watched the video with them last weekend while we were down visiting them in Mississippi - WOW we were young!!
I love the look of ruffled ribbon but was too lazy to get the sewing machine out so I opted to take the easy way by stapling the ruffles on - worked great. Then made some vellum elements and put some Stickle bling -
I had more fun putting this together than I ever thought I would - who knows - maybe I'll venture into making another page sometime?
Be sure and check out Kim's blog and Roni's blog for more papercrafting goodness! Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Is it really THAT bad??

I thought I'd revisit an "oldie but goodie" today. I made this card a couple of years ago - I liked it so much that I made MANY of them!! I dug all the textures, layers and colors. The felt birds (Jenni Bowlin) are so tactile - basically, a masculine card. However, my husband hates this card. So much so that I keep the one I have left hanging in my stamping cabinet to torture him (that's just the kind of girl I am!!) In fact, if he is really pestering me I've been known to attach it to my shirt with a glue dot for maximum irritation! I still like it - even though it has very few fans!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Batik Stamps

A couple summers ago on a visit to Seattle we went to Pike's Market (isn't it almost the law that you have to go there and smell flowers, taste honey and eat doughnuts??) I found this batik stamp in an import shop and had to have it - I love that it has a history behind it and the paisley is a favorite of mine also.
Corey had a customer that knew I loved stamping and sent the other batik stamp to me - This one has a handle on the back of it. These stamps are used to make batik cloth by stamping onto cloth with wax (instead of ink) and then dying the cloth. The wax acts as a resist on the cloth and keeps the stamped areas the original color. Pretty cool!

Friday night we had the second Vintage Monogram class - We had a little more room to spread out than on Wednesday. Another Friday night of fun at Serendipity!!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Blissful Papercrafting Kit

Time for more papercrafting goodness with the new Blissful Papercrafting Kit. A simple gift can be so much more when you take a little time with the packaging. Recently I bought some soaps that smelled great but didn't look so great in their original packaging. I rewrapped them with waxed paper and then patterned paper but still something was missing - a custom box.
After measuring the needed dimensions for the box and using the ever handy Scor-Pal I decided that it would be good to cut an opening in the lid so you could see the prettily wrapped soaps. A Long Scallop Rectangle Nestabilities die made that a quick and easy task. The next step was to back the cut opening with clear acetate. Another fun step was scalloping the edges of the box with an edge punch before assembling.
It is hard to hold slippery satin ribbon to tie a tight pretty bow, so a pair of locking hemostat pliers is a great tool to keep on hand! You can buy these online but here's a quick tip - these pliers are used by fly fishermen to tie their lures so if you have a sporting goods store nearby you can probably find them there.
Finished - I really like how the scallops are on the top and the sides of the box. Last step - a pretty tag to finish it off.
I used the new A Muse Monogram Frames Set for the sentiment, sponged the edges a little bit, scalloped the bottom and then finished with a pretty flourish that was cut with my Slice. (TIP - I cut the flourish out then sprayed some adhesive on the back, layered onto my tag and then cut the excess off).
Let's not waste the piece we cut with the Nestabilities die for the lid - it was the perfect size to back one of the scented tags included in the Blissful kit. WOW! This tag smells so good that it makes me want to eat a cookie (okay, fine - I ALWAYS want to eat a cookie!) The new A Muse Dill stamp (2-4163G) added a simple elegant touch to this quick tag.
Simply layer paper (more scallops) and a big Sentiment from A Muse (9-8616C BIG Thanks) on a kraft bag and you have a beautiful gift presentation. This paper is so pretty and timeless that you could make a gift like this ahead of time and save it for when you need a hostess gift or other small thanks.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Monogram Class


Number of students - 12
Number of cards created - 120
Hours spent in class - 2 (give or take a few minutes)
Pieces of cardstock that were cut/stamped/scored/punched - at least 650!!!
WHEW! Now that's what I call a class!!!
By the way - Time when UPS man showed up with new stamps, JustRite Stampers, etc. - 1:24PM!! Figures, huh??

Monday, November 16, 2009

Vintage Monograms


How would you like a boxed set of 10 monogrammed notecards?? My classes this week at Serendipity are featuring the above cards plus a box to store them in - I had a blast designing this set of notecards since it is so different from what I normally do. There are pages from an old book (after my initial reluctance to deface a book I am now looking forward to using all the pages so I can recycle the cover somehow), vintage crocheted lace and some new stamps from Stampington. Plus we'll use some fun tools - JustRite Monogram Stamp Set (with Damask rings), Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Bow Easy, Parisian Edge Punch, etc.
Don't ya love the patterned paper at the top of this card? WAIT - it isn't patterned paper at all - it is the clear stamp set - French Dictionary. There is a lot of potential for this stamp set as backgrounds, etc. Looks just like old newsprint.
Wednesday's class is already at capacity (can't believe I can actually type this!!) but there is room in Friday's class - See you then!

Friday, November 13, 2009

Monogram Necklace

Look what I made tonight!! I got a new sweater today and didn't really have a necklace to go with it - I got the idea to make a monogram necklace with my new Slice -
The soldering stuff is from Simply Swank (available at Serendipity - hint, hint) and the beads, etc. are from my stash. The paper is from Basic Grey.
LOOK - it is reversible - I am so obnoxiously proud of this - I've never made a necklace from scratch before! I've made lots of soldered pendants but this is my first monogram one. Don't look too closely at the beading cause I'm definitely a novice at this!!
BTW - By putting the barrel clasp at the top of my pendant I can not only switch out pendants quickly and easily but it is also easy to turn the pendant over without taking off the necklace and turning it around - There may be something that would do the job better in the findings department but it was the only think I could think of with my very limited beading experience.
Don't ya just love trying something new??!! I do!!

Serendipity Bloghop - Blissful Papercrafting Kit

It is time for Serendipity to reveal the new Blissful Papercrafting Kit!! These colors are so soft and pretty! Guess what?? Lots of brown and green!! WHOO HOO! More indulging in my favorite colors - - -
Can you see the shimmery scrolls? That look is courtesy of a Stampington stamp (Wrought Scroll C8473) and Perfect Pearls in Bronze. Kim told me I'd like these but I had no idea how much I'd like them!! So pretty - quick and easy - and the best thing is that a quick spritz of water from your mini mister sets the built-in resins so there is no flaking or smearing.
The ribbon in this kit is so soft and satiny - 3 beautiful colors and the leaf ribbon is so cool!! The sentiment is new from A Muse (9-8614C Thank you for everything).
We don't want the insides of our cards to be plain when it is so pretty on the outside -
The Blissful Papercrafting Kit retails for $25.00. It has lots of other elements that will delight you - You need to hurry though - it will only be available for a short time at Serendipity (of course).
Time to hop over to Roni's blog to see her Design Team creation and the Blissful kit's details -
If you missed the beginning of this bloghop here is a link to Kim's blog -
Have a great weekend!!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!


Today is mom and dad's 44th wedding anniversary!! Time flies when you are having fun - look how young they were at their wedding. Dad was ready for the honeymoon (he's got all the cards with money in his pocket)!! ;-)

The card was made with the little bird from SU! (mom is a big time bird lover) and my new Slice - the paper is from Basic Grey and the sentiment is from A Muse.
Yet another green/brown card - when will this madness end??!!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Copic class -

This is one of the cards we will be making this Wednesday in the Copics 101 class - This acorn stamp is one of the newest A Muse stamps and is so fun and easy to color with Copics. BTW - this is the third card in a row that was green and brown - can you tell that they are my favorite colors?!! Part of the reason I love Fall is that I can indulge in all the brown and green I want -
Stamps - A Muse 2-4162D Acorn, 9-8246B Thinking of you hand
Ink - Momento Dye Ink in Tuxedo Black
Paper - A Muse square notecard in Cottage Green Argyle, A Muse Fern, kraft
Accessories - Copic Markers (E13, E33, E57, YG23, YG95), Scallop edge punch

Friday, October 30, 2009

Stamping on Basswood

Isn't that the most pitiful name for a blog post ever??!!
My last post had Basswood (doesn't that sound like the name of a fish or maybe a weird bird) as a layer on a card - this time I decided to stamp directly onto the wood. A Nestabilities die added some fun embossing (I put some scotch tape on the back to make sure the center doesn't pop out later since the grain of the wood is compromised from the embossing).
A clear Spica marker added a little bling to the plain main panel. You don't need any fancy inks for this - Momento Dye Ink in Bamboo Leaves worked just fine.
The tree stamp is from Hero Arts - sentiment and ribbon from A Muse.