Blog Candy!

Hey everyone!

Claudia over on Pretty Pressings is giving away some gorgeous Sarah Kay stamps for blog candy! These are truly such sweet stamps so swing on by and check out her blog here for a chance to win these adorable images.

And whilst you're there, be sure to admire Claudia's inspirational work. Her cards and intricate detailing never cease to amaze and inspire me!

Hope you're all having a fabulous day. Not sure I'll get a chance to post a project today as I'm busy cleaning our lease vehicle to return it to the dealership tomorrow! My husband is on the road back from Toronto otherwise I'd be having him clean the car and not me, lol!!!

Take care and happy stamping!

Danielle x

40th Birthday Card

Hello there! Thanks for taking the time to stop by today. I've made a 40th Birthday Card for my brother for this posting. I really find making male cards quite challenging as you can't 'fluff' them up too much with ribbons, flowers and all things nice!! Now my brother is into golf in a big way but I wanted to stay away from that as I always make him a golf-themed card! So, I came up with this. It's very simple but I think it works. The dp is from an embossed set from K&Co - it adds some nice dimension to the card.

I wanted to make the card fun and play up the whole turning 40 thing. I love the frog image and I hope he gets a smile from it! The rest of the card is pretty straight forward - I paper-pierced the sides of the Happy Birthday panel to add some interest and used silver brads as the 'musculine' embellishment. The ribbon is a dollar store find. I used dimensionals on the frog on a red nestie circle which adds a great pop of colour to the card.

I hope you enjoy a fabulous Sunday! We are basking in unbelievably mild +8 temperatures and we are seeing green grass again! I'm sure it won't last for long though so I'm off out with a friend for some java and chit-chat!!

Hugs

Danielle x

Winter Wedding Card

Hi there! I hope you all had a wonderful christmas and have had time to relax and enjoy the holidays - maybe with time to ink up and create! Today's posting is a wedding card I've made for friends who are getting married in January. Unfortunately we can't make the wedding so I wanted to make a really special card for them to make up for not being there! The red and white comes from the colours of their wedding invitation so I thought this is probably their wedding party colours.

The white die cut flowers and metal embellishment "To Love and to Cherish" was part of the ribbon stash I received from Claudia - thanks so much Claudia - they were so perfect for this card! The designer paper is from Daisy D's which I ran through the sewing machine to create a frame. I stamped the hearts in versamark and embossed with platinum embossing powder. The stamp is from The Stamp Barn. I added a pearl to the center of each flower and a larger one either side of the heart on the ribbon. I thought a splash of brown ribbon would add some 'pop' to the card over the white organza ribbon. I like it - what do you think?

The inside of the card is way more than I normally do but I did want this to be an extra special card. I cuttlebug embossed the red panel with the d'vine swirls, added some white silk ribbon with red grosgrain over the top. The white card panel I edged with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and stamped the sentiment in black. The other inside panel I again edged with the Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and stamped the Love Is sentiment in black Memories. The heart stamp is a smaller version of the one I used on the main card. And there you have it! I am happy with the final result and I really hope my friends will like it and treasure their wedding day forever!

Enjoy the rest of your Boxing Day evening and I hope to be back again soon!

Hugs

Danielle x

Christmas Card Selection

Hi there!

So here is my final christmas card selection for the year! These are cards I've made for my friends who I'll see over the holidays. Nothing too special here as I needed to get through a dozen quite quickly! I kept the designs simple and duplicated a few too. I'm so happy they're all done - now I can work on some other projects during the holidays!

It seems as card makers we're already onto the next holiday before the current one is over! With that in mind, here I come with all the hearts and cupids for Valentine's Day!!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and many blessings for a happy and healthy 2009! I hope your christmas celebration with family is filled with joy and laughter - and of course I hope Santa fills up your stockings with all things crafty!!

Hugs

Danielle

Christmas Ornament Card

Hi everyone! Thanks for swinging by today and taking a look. I was finally able to get down to my craft room and ink up over the weekend. Oh boy have I missed my stamps these last few days! I hope we all stay healthy over the holidays so I can craft some more! This is an idea I cased from Rachel. I saw this on her blog a while ago and have been wanting to try one and haven't had time until now. It was a lot of fun and whilst it's meant to be a gift card holder, I just kept it plain inside and stamped a christmas message to use as a card. I like doing something original when it comes to card ideas so I hope my friends who receive this card like its originality!

Using the template taken from Papercrafts Magazine (where the original idea came from) I cut out the various pieces from green cardstock. I ran the top circle of the ornament through the cuttlebug swirls embossing folder, added some designer paper to the front and used a stamped image from Sunshine Designs to pop up on the top. I added a plain white ribbon bow to the ornament image.

For the bauble 'topper' I used the MS branch punch to hide the join line and add some extra detail. I used some dew drops (clear, green & cranberry) on the top, again to hide the glue line! I punched a hole and added some white ribbon to the top of the ornament. Whislt you would adhere a gift card to the plain white cardstock rectangle if you were making this a gift card holder, I just stamped a christmas message and will personalise the card before I send it off.

I hope you like it!

Hopefully I'll be back again soon with another posting - I want to make up for lost 'sick' time!!!

Hugs,

Danielle

Sick of being sick!!!

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to say that I have no card posting for today as I'm still trying to get over my strep throat! With it being the last day of school before christmas holidays officially start, I am desperately trying to clean up the house. Partly because DH surprised me with a surprise dinner out tomorrow night and I need to have the house looking respectable for the babysitter, and of course hoping to be prepared for a weekend of stamping without having to worry about the house, lol!

For those of you already enjoying the snow day today, we are expecting 'said' storm to arrive here in Ottawa by Sunday. I hope we don't get too big of a dumping! At least the boys can be certain of plenty of white stuff to play in over the holidays!

Hopefully I'll be able to post some projects up in the next couple of days.

Have a great Friday and hope you don't get caught up in the madness of the last shopping weekend before Christmas!

Hugs,

Danielle

Edwin's Winter Ski Day!

Hi there,

Thanks for stopping by and visiting today! It's been a bit of a mad christmas rush the last couple of days but I think I'm almost done! Christmas cards are written and I started a family news blog to share with family and friends around the world. It takes the pressure off having to write and send so many cards and I decided to try and take an environmentally friendly option to printing out so many christmas letters!

Anyway, to my card posting. This is the adorable skiing Edwin image that my friend Lorraine sent me in the mail. I was very excited to use it with my tree stamp and I love the scene it created. To start, I sponged Faded Jeans Distress Ink onto the background watercolour paper, then stamped the tree image with Memories Black. I used tombow markers to colour in the trees and a bit of an unexpected technique happened when the blue ink blended beautifully with the green marker and created additional colour depth to the trees! You can see from the picture where I didn't ink the background and the trees are much lighter. Sometimes you think you're making a mistake where in fact wondrous things can happen!! :)

I used the Magnolia snowflake image and stamped with Pearlescent Beige ink. The trees and ground have lots of liquid applique with crystal stickles to make the 'snow' sparkle. The sentiment from Stampendous is stamped onto acetate and cut out. A clear drying glue adhered it to the card.

And there you have it! This close-up image is to show you the sparkle on the snow and the card from a slightly different angle.

Thanks for looking and I hope if you are a skiier, that you get the chance to enjoy the slopes this christmas time!

Hugs

Danielle x

Waiting for Christmas!

Hi there!

I'm just back in from my yoga class and ready for my day ahead! Today I'm posting this card which I've had all the elements made up and sitting on my desk for an age! Then my dear friend, Lorraine, sent me this cute this calendar stamp in the mail this year and BINGO! it was the final piece to the card puzzle! As soon as I put the calendar in the top left hand corner, the card came together perfectly and I can't tell you how much I love it! The background paper is plain blue which I watermarked with a snowflake stamp from Sunshine Designs (it's difficult to see in the photo). The trees are from Magnolia which I stamped on watercolour paper, coloured with tombow markers, spread liquid applique and sprinkled with silver glitter before heating and puffing it up. I cut them out which was quite time consuming but I love the final look. I machine stitched around the frame of the card to add some simple detail and used a christmas embellishment 'NOEL' on the corner of the calendar. I didn't use traditional christmas colours on this card but I love the tones of purple and blue hues. The calendar stamp is from Imaginisce.

Below is a picture of the inside of the card. Again, it's a little difficult to see but I watermarked a snowflake image in each corner.

Thanks for taking the time to look today! Your views are always so much appreciated.

Hugs,

Danielle

Christmas Joy!

Hello!

I'm still on my Magnolia drive and have had these couple of images coloured for a while and ready to use on a card. I love this image of giggling Tilda sitting on Santa's sack and the background paper was perfect to use with this.

The how-to of the card. I coloured Tilda using tombow markers and highlighted with the clear sakura gel pen to add some subtle sparkle. I adhered a strip of clear cream organza ribbon down the right hand side of the card and made a loop at the top to sit behind the JOY panel. I machine stitched a frame around the designer paper layer and the beige cardstock layer. I adhered silver brads in each corner of the card and finished off with two snowflakes punched from the MS punch on gold glittery cardstock. The Merry Christmas wish on the sack label is a tiny stamp from The Stamp Barn - so handy for little places like that!

I'm beginning to feel very attached to these Magnolia christmas cards I've made - I can't bear to part with them! I've put so much time and love into each one that for anyone who receives one must surely feel it! A new store in my town has just opened selling locally crafted goods and I'm so happy 'cos they took 14 of my christmas cards!!! Let's hope they all go to good homes :)

That's about all my blabbing for now. Have a great weekend, stay warm and healthy and happy stamping!

Hugs,

Danielle

A Very Merry Christmas Wish!

Hi all!

Well, we're still battling with sickness in the house. My poor little guy can't keep anything down - it breaks my heart to see him so sick :( I hope he can get over this quickly and be healthy for christmas.

I had the sweetest surprise in my mailbox yesterday. My lovely friend and incredible cardmaker, Lorraine sent me some stamped images of Edwin on skiis and a cool rocker dude, together with a clear calendar stamp. Thanks Lorraine, you're such a sweetheart and it couldn't have arrived at a better time after having such a tough week health wise!

So today I have a card I made at the weekend. This is the Tilda image where she is holding a bell but I cut the bell out and placed this stampendous stamp image in her hand instead. I really like how this turned out. The dp is from the Basic Grey Wassail pack of papers which I love. Instead of machine sewing a border I did faux stitching instead on each of the four corners. I haven't used my oval nesties for a while so I got those out and used that as a background focal point for Tilda. The prima flowers are white which I touched up with my tombow markers then added stickles for some sparkle. I adhered a little pearl inside each one. This card sat on my desk for a couple of days as the top right hand corner looked empty but I couldn't figure out what would work best there. I was browsing through my stamps and found the little bird and thought that would be perfect - and it works beautifully (well, I think so, lol)! I coloured the bird in with tombow markers and highlighted areas with a sakura clear gel pen.

I hope you like what I did here and I'm just happy I finally figured out how to finish the card nicely, lol!

Hope you're having a great day.

Hugs, Danielle

Polar Bear Christmas

Good morning all!

Well today I have my middle son home sick plus it's a snow day after having had a massive dumping of the white stuff yesterday and last night! So with all my 3 kids home today I can't say how much stamping I'll get done! Maybe I'll get to write my christmas cards instead of making them today!

I tore myself away from Tilda to make this card using the Sunshine Designs stamp of super cute polar bears. And yes I did go out and buy the MS snowflake punch - it's just gorgeous! This card also uses the Sunshine Designs mistletoe stamp which I stamped along the bottom of the card and added some colour using the tombow markers. The sentiment is a strip from a piece of scrapbook paper which I thought worked well with the card. The designer paper behind the polar bear is from Daisy D's.

I wish you all a wonderful day as I get prepared to shovel (or maybe dh will do it!) the several cm's of snow that fell overnight!

Thanks for visiting!

Danielle

Pretty Tilda on Snowflakes

Hi there!

I'm finally feeeling like I can breathe again - woohoo! I hope we've all had our dose of sickness before christmas and that we'll all be healthy for christmas day itself.

This is part of the bunch of cards I'm putting together to sell so hopefully they'll all think Tilda is as sweet as I do and want to buy her, lol!

A pretty easy layout. I stamped my new snowflake stamp set from Sunshine Designs which I love in a pink chalk ink so the image is soft and muted. Tilda is coloured with tombow markers and Distress Inks. The Happy Holidays label is a sticker which is mounted over my stamped sentiment. The snowflake is mounted with dimensionals to add an extra layer to the card. I used gems in each corner to add that little bit of bling that every christmas card needs! The scallop border is a cuttlebug embossing border folder.

Below is the inside of the card. I don't always take pictures of these but I thought this time I would to show you how I finish my cards up inside. I don't always finish them this way but I'm doing it more and more as it gives them that really extra special touch.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by - I know how precious time is right now with christmas only round the corner. Hope you're all enjoying a beautiful weekend.

Hugs, Danielle

Christmas Blessings!

Hi there!
Sorry for the last few quiet days - not much fun being sick :(

This is the sweetest card I put together and what makes it extra special for me is that my mother and I designed the sentiment and had a stamp made for us by The Stamp Barn. It's such a simple card but the message says it all with the gorgeous peace dove 'sending' you the blessings.

My other card is using the beautiful Stampendous stamp 'Joy to the World' and again I used a simple layout with the stamped image being the main focus of the card. I sponged the circle with green ink to take away from the starkness of the white.

My head still isn't quite straight yet so can't think of anything else to say other than hope you're all having a fabulous day and I hope to be back tomorrow!

Take care,

Danielle

Candy Cane Tilda

Hi everyone!

This is a super quick posting as I've caught all the bugs that my kids have brought into the house over the last week! After a busy day hosting my son's 7th birthday party (of all days!!) I'm ready to hit my bed very soon! This is a card I put together a few days ago but what with my busy week never got it posted up - good thing too as I can use it today!

I lucked out when I found this stash of christmas ribbons from last years projects and this was perfect for the card with the candy cane. A simple design but it works really nicely and this Tilda is very cute! She was super fun to colour as they always are. The striped designer paper was ideal for this card and comes from a christmas pack I found in Wal-Mart last year for $10! The fabric snowflakes come from Dollarama so I guess you could say this was quite the 'economical' card!

Thanks for looking everyone and hopefully I'll get a good nights sleep in and be fit to do some more crafting tomorrow. Enjoy your Sunday evening!

Danielle

Christmas Tilda with Ornament

Hi everyone!

I was so excited when my Christmas Magnolia stamps arrived as I just love this image and was thrilled to be able to ink it up and play! The designer paper was left overs from last christmas season and thought I would use it with this card to play up the gold I wanted to incorporate on it. Colouring Tilda is always such a joy and I used my Twinkling H20's this time - really happy with the result as I feel I achieved more shading than I have done before with them. Again, the other elements on the card just fell into place. I knew I wanted to use wire for the ornament hanger and I love the finished look it gives to the card. Instead of using more poinsettias, I used a paper ornament die cut included in the tin to enhance the one flower. I really love how the stitching adds such a subtle touch to the card yet finishes it off nicely. The sentiment stamp is from Inkadinkado which has quite a vintage feel to it and felt that went well with the music paper.

Thanks for looking and I wish all my American visitors to my blog a very Happy Thanksgiving and many wishes for a beautiful day of sharing and giving thanks! I'm so grateful for all my friends and family and for the wonderful opportunities my love of stamping has given me. It's such a beautiful part of my life and I thank you all for sharing it with me.

Danielle

Heart-filled Tilda!

Good Wednesday morning to you all!

This is the first card I've made using the cuttlebug christmas tree embossing folder - it's gorgeous! This is a simple design but I wanted Tilda sitting in front of a tree holding her heart ornament and this was the best tree I could come up with! I used crystals (white and green) to add bling to the tree, as well as pink stickles. I coloured Tilda using Tombow markers and my choice of colours fit perfectly with the ribbon I chose - that wasn't planned ahead of time!!! I guess that's the benefit to having lots of supplies!!! :) I chose to add in the heart charm to reflect Tilda holding her heart ornament.

I ticket punched the corners and adhered a gem to add more detail then stamped Happy Holidays either side of tree. As beautiful as the embossed tree is I felt there was something missing at the top but when the sentiment got stamped in I felt it finished the card off nicely. What do you think? I love the colours used in this card and of course, Tilda is just cutest little girl ever! Her striped tights are just tooooo cute - can you tell I don't have a little girl!! I think maybe that's why I love working with Tilda so much - it gets the 'little girl' out of me since I don't get to dress one in real life!

Well, I'm off to shovel the driveway - lots of snow has arrived overnight! Oh, the joys of winter!

Have a great day.

Danielle

Desktop Calendar

Hi everyone! This is a very quick posting for today as my littlest guy is not well with a double ear infection :(

This is a project I just completed for a class I'm teaching on December 6th at Heather's Stamping Haven (Ottawa). It was very easy and fun to put together. I used acrylic sheets and applied alcohol inks (Eggplant and Stream). To keep the colour saturated be sure NOT to use the blending solution as it dilutes the colours too much. To achieve the clear circles I just punched out a circle from my 2" circle punch and masked the area whilst applying the ink. I used photos of my boys and again used my circle punch to place them in the masked areas. The flowers are Spellbinders die cuts which I then ran through some cuttlebug embossing folders. I adhered sticky paper to the back to give it a proper finish and also make the inks stand out against an opaque background. The flourish is also a set of die cuts from Spellbinders. The calendar is downloadable from redcastle. Apologies for the photo - it's hard not to get any glare on it!
It's a neat quick-to-do homemade project ideal for any christmas, teacher gift etc. You can of course use your own variation and instead of using acrylic, why not use chipboard (or matt board from the picture framers) or two coasters. I will link the Splitcoast Stampers tutorial on this project under Tutorials so be sure to take a look. On SCS they used two coasters and embellished with scrapbook papers and cardstock. As always, your imagination is your limit!

Have a great day and I hope to be back soon with another posting. My Christmas/Winter collection of Magnolia stamps arrived yesterday and I haven't had time to stamp them up with my little dude being sick, but hopefully he'll nap this afternoon!! ;)

Danielle

Skater's Waltz!

Hi Again!

Now, I hope you're not getting too bored with my endless postings of Magnolia stamps right now but I just HAVE to get through all my new stamps before I can move on to anything else - SORRY! I really love Tilda & Edwin skating together - the way he's looking at her just fills my heart with love! I knew this dp would be the perfect background paper for this project. The bird is new stamp from Sunshine Designs (by The Stamp Barn) which I thought I would play around with on this card and it worked just lovely. Again, that marvellous MS branch punch has been the BEST purchase ever - I love it!

Thanks for the lovely comment Lorraine on my previous posting and encouraging me to work on 'fuller' cards - I think I've done it with this one too. I'm liking the way I have found a good balance with my embellishments - I guess I must be on a creative flow right now 'cos I'm really pleased with all my latest cards. It's all about finding the right touch, balance and embellishment to making your cards pop with class! I hope I've found that 'class' in my cards.

Thanks so much for all your visits to my blog - your comments and views are always SO much appreciated.

Danielle

Christmas Bells!

Hi! I put this card together last night after stamping all the new Magnolia images that arrived in my Winter Club Pack. I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I saw Tilda holding the bell and the individual bell stamps. This sentiment works perfectly with this bell themed card. This gorgeous dp is from Daisy D's - I just love the simple design and soft muted colours of it. The mistletoe stamp used down the side of the card is from Sunshine Designs by The Stamp Barn. I used the scallop edge punch to give it a nice finished and used my tombow markers to add a small touch of colour. Stickles on the red berries makes it pop up with sparkle! The card ended up being one of the 'busiest' I've ever put together but I do feel it works well and that it's not too much - do you think? I usually make fairly simple layouts and designs as I don't like a lot of 'fuss' to my cards so this one is a little out of my norm. I was ready to finish the card after adhering the bells and the sentiment but the bottom left hand corner was feeling empty and that there was something missing. I punched out three branches from Martha Stewart's tree branch punch and added some stickles for a little sparkle. I think this was enough to fill in the space without overwhelming the rest of the card.

Thanks for popping over and taking a peek! I hope you all enjoy a fabulous weekend and get the chance to ink up and stamp!

Danielle

Sweet Tilda

Good morning all! This is a quick posting for today as I have many errands to run before I get to the gym! My sweetest girlfriend is having her birthday in a few days and I made her this card. This is a new Tilda which just arrived in my Winter Stamp Club pack. She is so sweet and I'm very happy to have this image as I don't have Tilda in this particular pose. I do now!!! :0)

I struggled with putting it together at first but all the pieces just fell into place after having gotten everything out, punched several items out and had spools of ribbon colours everywhere!

It is a simple card as I was in a bit of a hurry to get it into the mail (always seem to be running behind ...) but I know it will be bring a ray of sunshine to my friend on her birthday.

Hope you all have a fabulous day.

Danielle

Chilly Tilda - Brrrr!!

Hi All! Apologies for the no posts for a couple of days - what can I say other than busy with boys who don't tell you on time that a science assignment is due in 2 days when they've had all week to work on it!!! So, homework help has had a precedence over inking time this week but with the assignment due today, hopefully I'll get a chance to have some stamping time!

This Tilda card came together really nicely in the end. I found this fun blue polka dot paper from a pack in the Dollar Store! I sewed up the edges to add a nice touch, then punched out a piece of white cardstock using Martha Stewart's Snowflake border punch. Tilda is coloured with Tombow markers and her 'furry' bits on her coat are embellished with blue flocking - it looks so cosy and warm! Martha Stewart's tree branch stamp (genius!) is embellished with white liquid applique, heated and frosted with diamond stickles. I added the sentiment on acetate as I wanted to add a light touch to the card. The fabric snowflake and the ribbon make up the finishing accents.

I really enjoyed putting this card together and I hope you like it too! Thanks again for stopping by - it's always great to see you here!

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

Danielle

Edwin Birthday Cards

Hello! I have two male birthdays in the family coming up in the next 2 weeks so thought I'd better get making the cards as I have to mail them overseas! I used Edwin as he's been a little neglected recently as I've made so many cards with Tilda. I used Graffiti Edwin for my nephew's birthday card - he's such a cool dude! This was my first time watercolouring with Distress Ink pads and I have to say it was SO much fun! It is an awesome way to control shading and depth on your image. Yep, you know it's coming - now I want to collect all the colours of the rainbow that Distress Inks come in!!! The wall and graffiti HAPPY BIRTHDAY add to the finished image of Edwin. I cuttlebug embossed circles on the panel behind and used some arrow die cuts to add some 'boy' embellishments to the card.

This card is for my brother and as he lives far away, I thought it would be nice to send him Edwin serving up drinks! My thought behind this was this is the only way I am able to give him a birthday drink from afar! I found this fun designer paper in my stash and used the coluzzle circle to create two circle halves. I added three eyelets and a ribbon tie to add a manly touch. I coloured Edwin with Distress Ink pads and loved the way he turned out! You can't tell on the picture but I used my Sakura clear glitter gel pen to add sparkle to the 'sparkly' in the glasses. I used a simple design but I find male cards quite challenging and I hope this one is appreciated!

Thanks for taking the time to look and hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday evening!

Danielle

More Tilda's!!

Hello again! Well I did get time to ink up today and this is what I came up with. Still playing with my new Tilda's and loving it! Giggling Tilda is just so sweet - it made me smile the whole time I was colouring her. It took me a while to put this card and layout together but I really love the finished look. The paper is Basic Grey Wassail pack and the poinsettia's are prima flowers from Michaels. The green velvet ribbon adds a touch of luxury and the joy brad was a dollar store find!

My other card is another take on Tilda's Sleigh ride. This time I wanted to add the beautiful ivory flower soft to the 'fur' trim on her coat and mitt. It adds a lovely touch of dimension to the card but still keeping it soft. Maybe next time I'll try some flocking :) I used a nestability square scallop on pearlescent cardstock and layered it over a vibrant green which had been run through the cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder. A swirl die cut, pink and white ribbon and a tag stamped with Glad Tidings and highlighted with pearly pink chalks finishes the card.

I hope you like what I've done with these Tilda images and that they inspire you to go off and create!

Have a wonderful Friday and enjoy a fabulous weekend!

Danielle

Tilda's Sleighride!

Hi there! Well, I could have kissed the mailman yesterday if I'd seen him 'cos he delivered my new Magnolia purchases - yippeee!!! It's always so exciting to get new rubber to play with, but even more when they're Tildas!! I didn't have a lot of time last night to play as my son had his music lesson but hopefully I'll get more inking time today.

This is such a beautiful Tilda - I had a wonderful time colouring her with my tombow markers. I knew I wanted her to be pink as I have gorgeous burgundy coloured decorated paper with snowflakes which I thought would work really well. Well, as you can see, that paper didn't make it onto the card - it just didn't look right. Then I pulled out this blue paisley snowflakes paper and schabamm, perfect fit! The rest of the card fell together nicely - sparkly & metal snowflake embellishments, a nestability ribbon tag die and gorgeous pink velvet ribbon add a great warmth and depth to the card. This has to be one of my favourite christmas/winter cards that I've done thus far. Whoever drew Tilda into being is an absolute genius at Magnolia Stamps! She never fails to inspire, put a smile on your face or just make your heart happy!

I wish you all the joys that Tilda makes you feel today.

Danielle

New Martha Stewart Punch

Happy Wednesday everyone - it's the middle of the week already - time seems to go by so fast! Today I'm posting two cards made with pretty much the same 'ingredients'. I'm making up christmas cards to supply to local stores so I thought I'd make 2 of each card as I go, each going to a separate location. Although the elements are the same they are still slightly different, thereby ensuring each card I make is unique! I found this adorable scrapbooking paper in A Buck or Two - I love the colour tones of the burgundy red and soft green (a nice alternative to the traditional christmas red & green). I bought the Martha Stewart branch punch yesterday at Wal-Mart and can't tell you enough how much I LOVE it! It is so versatile and I love the delicate touch it adds to the card.

The top panel of the card is cuttlebug embossed with the hanging decorations folder. I sewed around the edge of the card to add some simple detail. The top card uses white grosgrain ribbon and the tree (Sunshine Designs by The Stamp Barn) is punched out and popped up on dimensionals. I used a nestability ribbon tag die and stamped the greeting (The Stamp Barn) on using the Bordeaux Hybrid Palette ink pad. On the bottom card I used a strip of cream velvet ribbon and popped up the tree circle on dimensionals. I added the branches around the circle. Diamond stickles finishes off the christmas tree with a bit of sparkle!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by - your visits are always so much appreciated!

Danielle

Pretty Snowflakes

Good morning everyone! With the feel of snow definitely in the air today, although no snowflakes yet, I felt a calling back to the beautiful icy combo of blue and white with plenty of sparkle! I love the freshness of this card and easy design layout. I love it when cards come together quick and easy and this is one of them! The cuttlebug embossing folders are just so awesome for adding depth and texture without having to spend a lot of time - always great for a crafting mom on the go!

As always, thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Danielle

Materials Used: Let it Snow snowflake stamp: Kollette Hall for Studio G

Cuttlebug embossing folders - D'Vine Swirls, Snowflakes

Studio G Blue Pigment Ink

Nestabilities Tag, White Grosgrain ribbon

Diamante crystal, Turqoise Stickles

In the Red!!

Hey there! I guess I was in a very 'red' mood when I created these yesterday! I was enjoying the new background paper I just bought and was inspired to keep going! I did put these together yesterday - good thing too as I'm severely lacking sleep today due to my son's Beaver sleepover at the Science & Tech Museum last night! It was fun but I don't think I'm cut out to sleep on the floor anymore as my years progress closer to 40!!! I'll certainly be looking forward to my bed tonight!

Anyway, back to the cards and I hope you like what I've done here. The 2 square cards are pretty simple basic layouts with nothing particularly fancy going on but I have to say I do like the final look I achieved with them. I really love Tilda and the way I have the sentiment and stars being given as a 'gift' from her. The reindeer is a beautiful stamp from Penny Black which I embossed with platinum embossing powder. The nestability is my new set of classic scallop (lg) which I'm really enjoying!

Finally, I used the stair step design to create the angel chorus card which I think is totally adorable! The poinsettia and leaves are from the Prima flower christmas tin which I'm loving!! This was a very fun card to put together. So all in all I feel pretty good about utilising that one sheet of decorated paper in these cards. My Basic Grey Wassail paper pack just arrived so can't wait to start playing with those designs!

Hope you're all having a fabulous weekend!

Great to see you here and thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Danielle

Tilda Stair Step Birthday Card!

Hi everyone! We had a gorgeous week of mild weather and sunshine so have been a little slack posting this week. Sorry about that but at least my yard work got done and I made the most of our sunshine days with my boys! Good thing too as we've woken up to rain this morning which is just perfect to hibernate in my craft room for the day, hehe!! Well, I finally got around to making another stair step card! I wanted to use Tilda as this card was to give out to a friend for her birthday. I thought I'd concentrate around fall colours and was really happy with the way it finished up. The ribbon tag used on the front panel is a new purchase from Nestabilities (3 ribbon tag die cuts). I LOVE IT!!! So with some new goodies in hand, I'm off to craft and create! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and getting a chance to ink up!

Thanks for stopping by!

Danielle

Snowy Sleigh Ride

This is a christmas stamp from a couple of years ago from Heather's Stamping Haven made by The Stamp Barn and haven't really played with it much this year. I bought this background paper last week which I just love and thought would work really well with this image. I sewed it onto the card and stamped the image on watercolour paper and used my tombow markers to colour in the sleigh. I used the Martha Stewart snowflake border punch on the card layered under the image. I love how this punch embosses snowflakes too - adds such a great touch! I added snow by applying liquid applique and puffing it up with my heat gun. I used stickles to add sparkle to the stamped snowflakes. Finally, I found these fabric snowflakes at the Dollar Store (gotta love that!) and sewed on a couple of jingle bells before adhering them to the card. I placed two down in the bottom corner to ensure a balanced look.

I hope you like what I did here. It was a quick card to put together which is always a great thing - especially when getting your supply of Christmas cards done!

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to leave a comment as I'd love to hear from you!

Danielle

Re-organized and beautiful!

I am sooooo happy that my crafting space has had an organization makeover! I bought the slotwall from The Home Depot and had them cut it for me there. Installation was pretty straight forward. My hubby put it up for me on Sunday which was the best birthday gift I could have wished for! Today I got the acrylic shelving from my wonderful friends at The Stamp Barn. I stumbled across the paper display racks last week on UsedOttawa.com which were a gem of a find. I now have my room pretty much the way I want it.

I used metal racks from Ikea to store my punches. A very simple, cheap and effective way to store them - a friend and SU! demonstrator shared that organizing tip with me! I think I need to make another trip to Ikea to buy more as my punch collection seems to be expanding!!!

I hope you find some of these organization tips helpful. Even if you're not able to organize to this extent, clearing out and sorting really does wonders and gets creative juices flowing once again after stumbling across lost loot! Hopefully I'll get time to stamp up a storm tomorrow!

Happy stamping!

Danielle

Craft Room Re-organisation!

Apologies for the lack of posting this week. I have been able to get hold of some organisation 'stuff' for my craft room so am busy sorting, clearing and twisting hubby's arm to drill holes and put up my slatwall.

I can't wait for it to be done and as soon as I am I will be able to create in what I believe will be a more functional creative space. I am hoping to place many of my 'desk' items onto the slatwall behind my desk, placing it up on the wall within constant easy access. I know how lucky I am to have my own craft space and my dream of having it fully organized is slowly but surely coming to fruition.

It's always good to have a clear out - it's amazing what one finds beneath that stack of paper cut-offs!!!!

I will be sure to post pictures up of my new organized space and hopefully it will inspire everyone for a bit of a clean-out and get those creative juices flowing in a nice clean room!

Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Danielle x

Homemade Desktop Picture Frame

I am so happy to be finally able to post this project! This is my youngest son, Jacob. I made this desktop picture frame project for Jacob's godmother and my closest friend for her 40th Birthday! We had her birthday at the weekend and she now has this gift so I have no more worries about keeping it a secret! I absolutely loved how it turned out and it started me on one of my most recent purchases, a Bind it All machine! Both background panels have been run through the cuttlebug embossing folder. The left panel I used alcohol inks (Denim, Lettuce, Eggplant) to create the background for the beautiful stamped sentiment. I used metal photo corner embellishments, ribbon and prima flowers to finish off that panel. The picture is simply mounted onto the embossed background and a metal ribbon embellishment with 'TREASURE' finishes it off. Be sure to punch the holes in the chipboard before mounting all the panels and embellishments! I used 1/2" binding wire to bind it all together.

Now I have this wonderful Bind it All machine I can't wait to continue making my own homemade gifts - it certainly opens up a world of opportunities!

Thanks for stopping by!

Danielle x

Snowflakes Galore!

Sorry for the delay in posting the details on these cards but had a surprise 40th birthday party to help out with and then of course go to!!! Anyways, this simple card is created with a stamp by The Artful Stamper. I started with plain blue cardstock and used my Silver Glimmer mist spray by Memories to turn 'blue' into 'shimmering sparkly blue' - wow! I love this stuff! After letting it dry I stamped the image with plain archival black ink, cut out the 'frames' of the stamp and adhered them onto the scrapbook paper background. The snowflake is a cuttlebug die cut and embossing folder. I almost didn't buy it and I'm so glad I did - it is a wonderful embellishment! I used Tombow glue and then applied glitter! Some sticky brads in the corners and hey presto, a really easy and quick to assemble christmas card!

This card started from just trying out several different components and then they all kind of fell into place together on the card! I was trying out my new Tattered Angels Glimmer mist (Midnight Blue) and that is the left panel on the card. I was stamping the snowmen and snowflakes together and liked the combination so made a tag. The embossed snowflake and die cut got added to the card, together with the swirls embossed panel and again, a quick and easy card, finished off with some ribbon and sticky brads in the corners. I coloured the little snowmen in sakura pens.

Thanks for looking!