Bind it All - Photo Frame

Good Saturday morning all!

Some of you may recognise this photo/frame as I have made this before. This is my second one and it's been made as a sample for a workshop I'll be teaching on February 21st at a local art store here in my town. The owner wanted a sample 'cos she's going to be on local TV promoting my class - how cool is that!!! This version is slightly different to the last one I did. I tried to keep it a little simpler (the other one used alcohol inks) and 'cos it's my first class, I have no idea of what level of experience I'll be working with! So, in this version I just inked the sentiment onto plain cardstock and used embellishments the rest of the way. Isn't that sentiment just perfect - it's by The Stamp Barn!
Well, it's just a quick posting today as I have loads to do after a full week of sick children and now I have a sick husband back from his business trip to add to the cauldron of germs!!

Thanks for stopping by. Just to let you know I've added a really cool tool to my sidebar - the Question Box. Feel free to post any question you have about my blog (or me) and I'll do my best to answer!

Have a great day and enjoy whatever you do today.

Hugs

Danielle x

Sunflower Tilda

Hi there! Thanks for stopping by for a visit today! I appreciate it a lot especially as I still have sick children in the house and have not had many spare moments to myself this week as hub is away on business too! What a week, lol! BUT, I always try to make time for Friday Sketchers and I liked todays sketch from Carole in England - a simple layout but so effective! This is the first time I'm inking up Tilda with her sunflower - what a cute, cute image. She was a lot of fun to colour and I went for colours that are completely away from my normal 'palette' of choice. Not a huge fan of yellow but I do LOVE sunflowers! I coloured Tilda with my tombow markers and distress inks. The photo hasn't captured the colours very well, it's much prettier IRL! I used black thread in the sewing machine to pull out the black from the sunflower centre. The ribbon is a find from the dollar store with pearls already threaded through it - isn't it pretty!

I have the perfect sentiment for this Tilda image but unfortunately I just didn't have enough room on the front of the card for it! I stamped it and then used my circle nestie to die cut it. I coloured it very simply with tombow markers.

I hope you like it and be sure to check out the Friday Sketchers blog to play - there's some great candy up for grabs too!

Thanks again for the visit - your views and comments are always appreciated :)

Hugs

Danielle x

Triangle Favour Box

Good Wednesday morning!

I hope you're all keeping well. Apologies for the lack of posts recently - yet again I have a sick child home from school. I found this adorable Triangle Favour Box tutorial over on Theresa's blog here. I didn't have time to do any fancy embellishments on it (her samples are really quite stunning) but I just wanted to get one made and play around with the template. IF I get time today I would like to make a fancier one, lol! It is an incredibly versatile favour box and is super easy and quick to do. I used some very cute little Alota stamps here which are the perfect size to fit into the small nestability ovals.

I had a fantastic visit with a new rubber 'sistah' on Monday afternoon. We found eachother on Splitcoast Stampers and realised we live only 10 minutes away from eachother. We had so many laughs and shared our love of stamping - I'm thrilled to have found such a generous, fun-loving fellow stamper in my neighbourhood! Thanks Lori - I hope we can do it again soon! :0)

I wish you all a happy day!

Hugs

Danielle x

Special Baby Delivery!

Hi there!

Happy Saturday everyone! It's so nice to be enjoying the weekend again and last night I had the chance to put together the Friday Sketchers challenge with a baby boy card I have been asked to make. It was a great sketch layout from Bea and I really love the fact I was able to accomplish not only the sketch but also the card order I needed to do, lol!

The papers are from a baby stash I had (can't recall the company, sorry). I used a cuttlebug tag die set to make the tag which I stamped the sentiment on. I used the Martha Stewart doiley punch on some white cardstock to add detail to the bottom of the panel. I stamped the main image (Inkadinkado) on white cardstock which I die cut with my oval nestabilities. I stamped the image again, coloured and cut it out and popped it up using dimensionals. I used my tombow markers to colour in the image. I finally took a leap of courage and bought my first Copics *hooray* but I'm still playing around with them and am no way ready to post anything yet coloured with them!!! I used a wide white grosgrain ribbon with a narrower blue to run through the tag and sit on the top. I tied some narrow white ribbon through three buttons and glued them to some pale blue flowers. My final touch was 3 small pearls above the sentiment which filled in the space nicely. I hope you like the finished card.

Thanks for stopping by today. I had hoped to stamp this afternoon but I got invited out for a cup of tea and girlie chat instead and have to say that was a very enjoyable alternative! Tomorrow is always another day, right?!

Hugs, as always,

Danielle x

New Alota Stamps!

Good Friday Morning everyone!

What a wonderful way to start the day than to go over to Claudia's blog at Pretty Pressings where she is giving away some fabulous stamps from Alota Stamps new line. These stamp sets are circle and oval frame stamps that fit into your Spellbinder Nestability sets - they look totally amazing! Even if I don't get to win, they are certainly on my wish list - which just keeps growing by the day, lol!!

So be sure to head over there, and if you're up to playing, challenge yourself to the Friday Sketchers sketch today. I hope to get mine done later today so be sure to check back!

Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Hugs

Danielle x

Amour in Paris!

Hello again!

Well, I did manage to stamp today and I'm so happy - I needed to badly! I've been wanting to play with the Friday Sketchers challenge this past week and have only just got round to doing it today. Oh well - better late than never, right! It was a fabulous sketch and I decided to pull out some of my neglected stamps!! I haven't played with any of my vintage stamps for a long time and I had this idea which I thought would work perfectly for this sketch. I love the subtle hues of green and purple used in this card - they give it such a romantic feel. I used my new Labels 1 nesties and stamped the Eiffel Tower on that panel. The swirls are doodle die-cuts from Spellbinders. I inked, gently painted and cut out the Victorian couple and popped them up with the Eiffel Tower showing beside them. I wanted to give the feel that they were out for a romantic walk in Paris! The 'amour' sentiment is part of the Eiffel Tower stamp which I stamped and cut out from a piece of purple cardstock. I adhered two brads and placed the sentiment to the left side as per the sketch. A finishing touch using two Prima flowers gives the card it's final look.

This is not a usual look for me and I do find 'vintage' quite challenging, but I have to say I'm happy with the final card. I hope you like it too!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you get a chance to play with this sketch challenge too!

Hugs

Danielle x

Wanna win some blog candy??

Hi everyone!
Well, I'm browsing around blogland and finding some more incredible blogs and stumbled across this opportunity to win some blog candy! Here's the link .
Other than the chance to win some candy, be sure to check out her work. I love finding blogs and viewing other people's talents - there is so much fabulous stuff out there!!!
I have a sick boy at home today so goodness knows when I'll be able to put up another post! Thanks for checking back though - I appreciate all my visitors so much!
Hugs
Danielle x

Valentine "Milk Carton" Box

Hi there!

I finally got a chance to put together the 'box' part of my Valentine class and I've done a 'milk carton' - my first one ever! Oh, it was so fun to put together. I found the template on wonderful Mel Stampz blog - here's the link. I had a brain burp trying to establish which way the folds went but when I figured it out, guess what, it folded beautifully!!! The instructions aren't too clear on which way to fold so if you're wanting to try it, all the folds are mountain. I will have to make another one now to have as a teaching sample so I don't mess up when trying to teach it! I decorated it using stamps from The Stamp Barn and my new Labels 1 nestabilities (was soooo excited when they arrived in the mail last week!!). I left the top open to provide a bigger opening to the carton so you can stuff more goodies inside! I used a red binder clip and tied some matching colour ribbons on to give the finished look. I'm really happy with it so I hope it will be a fun class teaching this to the ladies who sign up for my class. I would have loved to use some MS punches and other embellishments but I am restricted by what Heather carries in her store (and Martha Stewart isn't one of them, lol!). So I think that means I'll just have to make another one and go all out on other embellishments and tools - the sky is the limit!

I hope you enjoyed the post and be sure to look up the link on Mel's blog - she has an amazing array of links and tutorials!

Hope you're all enjoying a fabulous Sunday and I hope to post again soon!

Hugs

Danielle x

Sending You ...... Butterflies, kisses & Valentine Wishes!

Hello there!

Well, all I can say is I hope you guys aren't as cold as we are today! We're sitting at -40oc with the windchill in Ottawa right now and freezing our pants off, lol! It has, in fact, been the perfect day to snuggle up in my craft room and stamp!

This is a card I've made for a valentine's class I'm teaching at Heather's the weekend of February 7th. All the stamps are products from The Stamp Barn. I love how all these stamps work well together to create the feel that the butterflies and hearts have flown out of the open envelope. This design was inspired by a card I saw on Curt's blog - what beautiful work he does!

It was pretty straightfoward to put together. The butterflies, hearts and envelope were all painted using my Twinkling H2o's. I added some red rhinestones inside of the swirls to give the cards plenty of bling. The dots on the butterflies are filled with diamond stickles to add sparkle and I drew in their antennae with a black tombow marker straight onto the card. Pieces of red, white and black ribbon were used to tie a bow which I placed on the envelope. The final touch is the crochet lace added to the bottom of the card which I purchased at Wal-Mart. The sentiment, From Me to You, leaves the message on the card nice and simple.

I will be making a box to accompany this card for the class. Hopefully I'll be able to post that up soon!

Take care, thanks for swinging by today and I hope you all stay warm!

Hugs,

Danielle x

My first Blog Award!

Wow! I received an incredible honour last night when I logged onto my blog! I got nominated for this beautiful award and I am so touched by Shirley who passed this onto me. This is the spirit of the award.

"This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!"

The rule of the award is to now pass it on to another 8 people who demonstrate this spirit. So, here is my list of some incredibly talented stampers and cardmakers. Please be sure to visit their blogs and appreciate their wonderful work. Thank you!

1. Lorraine at Lorraine's Get Crafty Club creates the most beautiful cards and constantly shares her incredible talent with those around her.

2. Rachel over at My Cardstock Creations has wonderful ideas which result in beautifully finished cards.

3. Amy at Pickled Paper Designs constantly leaves me in awe with her breathtaking creations!

4. Linda at Linda's Crafty Creations makes the sweetest cards. Be sure to check her out!

5. Mel at Mel Stampz has incredible talent and is always SO generous with her ideas, tutorials and links. You'll be sorry if you don't go there for a visit!

6. Kim at Kraftin Kimmie's Korner uses beautiful stamps and always has a wonderful card to share on her blog.

7. Cheryl over at Cottage Creations is always an inspiration. Make sure you swing by for a visit!

8. And last, but by no means least, Claudia at Pretty Pressings never ceases to amaze me with her incredible attention to details on her cards.

I hope you find the time to swing by each of these blogs and enjoy what they have to offer. I feel so blessed to have received this award and can only thank the new friends I make here in 'blogland' for their constant inspiration!

Wishing you all a wonderfully happy Monday!!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Love Cocktail - Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge Week #2

Hello there! Hope you're all enjoying a wonderful weekend. This is my card for the Viva La Verve Week#2 sketch challenge. It was a fun layout to do and the added 'twist' was BLING! and lots of it. This sketch also took me away from the square cards I've been very stuck on lately and onto a tall and skinny one - a change is always so good! I've used two stamps here which I inked up for the first time. The hearts is a set from Sunshine Designs (by The Stamp Barn) and the luuuurve cocktail is again from TSB. This card is perfect for the girl who loves her cocktails, and let's face it, who doesn't love cocktails!!

I wanted to create a retro feel to this card and I think I achieved that. Classic colours of black, white and red with the splash of polka dots is the perfect recipe for retro! I used my twinkling H20's to colour in the heart and 'juice'. Red chalk ink was used for the hearts in the background. I added detail to the corners of the front panel using my paper piercing tool and of course adding bling was the best part! I used my clear sakura gel pen and stickles to add a little extra sparkle on the glass too. The red polka dot ribbon I just found at my craft store in town and just love it! The black and white dp is from a Costco value stash I bought ages ago.

So there it is. Hope you like it and I have to say I'm just happy to be keeping up with some challenges recently! My year is getting off to a good start, lol!

Take care and hope to see you back here soon.

Hugs

Danielle x

Cuppa Love!

Hi there and thanks for swinging by today!

I saw the sketch for today's Friday Sketchers challenge over on Claudia's blog. I really liked it and wanted to give it a go. I love this stamp from The Stamp Barn and knew I wanted to use twisted wire as the 'connectors' between the bottom two panels. I watercoloured the image using my tombow markers and used liquid applique for the coffee froth! I cut the coffee cup out and stamped the image again on the beige cardstock panel then glued the coloured image down on top.
I cuttlebug embossed the bottom panel with the circle folder and stamped the sentiment 'From me to you' on beige cardstock punched with the SU! word window punch. The final touch was 3 paper flowers which I adhered in the top left hand corner and placed a dot of white opal Liquid Pearls in the middle.

I hope you like the card as much as I enjoyed making it! I'm trying to do as many sketch challenges as I can as I love the opportunity to try the many varieties of layouts card making has.

I hope you all enjoy your Friday evening and have a fabulous start to the weekend.
Hugs
Danielle x

I'm Yours!

Hi there!

My new Alota stamps arrived in the mail this week and I've been so excited to ink up this couch! Aren't Tilda & Edwin just the cutest sitting there having a little smooch! *giggle* They are from the New Year's Collection and come with the mistletoe but I thought they'd work perfectly for a Valentine's card. And the sentiment from The Stamp Barn is just made for this card!

The images are coloured with my tombow markers and highlighted with clear sakura pens to add hints of sparkle. The dp is from a double-sided collection but can't honestly remember the brand. I used the MS Paper Doily punch for the bottom panel of the card - I tried to mimic the couch sitting on a rug here and I think I accomplished that. A strip of green velvet ribbon adds some beautiful texture to the card and brings out the green of Tilda's socks. The sentiment is stamped on a nestabilities circle and adhered behind the couch. I took two tones of green Prima flowers to add the final touch to the card. I used the same paper on the inside of the card to complement the main image. The heart is from Sunshine Designs. I have envisioned this card since I found the couch on the Alota Stamps webshop and it's great to finally see it put together.

A little tidbit of news. I've been asked to teach some card-making classes at a store here in Stittsville that sells my cards. I'm so thrilled to be given another teaching opportunity and can't wait to start. It's always such a pleasure to be able to share my craft and help others on their own creative path.

Thanks for coming by today - I love all your visits and comments!

Hugs

Danielle x

Friendship Flower - Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge Card #2

Hello!

I so enjoyed doing the Viva La Verve sketch challenge that I decided to another card! It is such a fun and versatile sketch to use on your card and I decided to try a more classic and polished look. Using black cardstock as a base colour I find adds a very classic touch to any card and I hope I have managed to achieve that look here. Each panel uses the same materials of black, SU! Sky Blue and the designer paper (from a Costco value pack). The card base in SU! Blue Bayou.

I added the black organza ribbon on the top panel and tied a knot. The flower stamp is SU! inked in Memories Black ink on Blue Bayou and cut out on a classic nesties circle. I used a scalloped circle to matt the back. The sentiment is SU! and the final touch, which was the 'twist' in the challenge, I added two metal circle brads.

It is a very simple card but I like all the layers to each panel and the sentiment certainly makes this card usable for any occasion. It will be put in my 'for sale' stock to go to the local store St Elmo's Fire here in Stittsville.

I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful day and thanks for swinging by today!

Hugs

Danielle x

Happy Thoughts!

Happy Monday everyone!

I know this posting probably finds most of you heading back to work after the holidays so I hope it goes well for you. For me, it means my boys are back at school and hopefully I can get myself back on the 'treadmill' (literally) and into the gym and a routine to shed some of the excess holiday pounds that seem to have stuck around, lol!!

This is the first time I'm using this adorable ballet Tilda image - she is so cute! I wanted to use some really pretty muted pinks and purples for this card and found this gorgeous kind of pale cranberry colour in my paper stash! I kept the layout design very simple by using co-ordinating papers and only having the polka dots in the circle. I used the nestabilities to cut out the frame then I ran it through the swiss dots embossing folder. The Prima flowers are white which I added a splash of tombow markers to them - now I'm already starting a wish list for 2009 and an airbrush is something I would really like!! I used a silver brad for their centers. I coloured Tilda in using a mix of tombow markers and Distress Ink pads. Mmmm, now there's another addition to my wish list - I hear so much about Copics I want to try them out too!!

For the ribbon, I used pale pink organza ribbon which I curled then set gently with the heat gun. I love discovering new things and this was one of them - that heating the ribbon will very gently 'melt' the organza ribbon and keep the curl in place. :) Be sure not to overheat the ribbon though! The touch of green is some floral wire covered in green cotton and twisted around a pencil to get the curl. I love the feel it adds to the card. The final touch was adding three pearl brads to the side of Tilda on the white frame. It adds that little bit of 'class' to the card. The Happy Thoughts sentiment comes from The Stamp Barn.

I am so happy with the final result of this card. My niece's birthday is coming up in March (she turns 7) and I think this will be such a perfect card for her so I will just have to make another one!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today and I hope you all have a fabulous day, whether you get to ink up or not!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Magnolia-licious Sketch Challenge

Good Sunday Morning to you all!

I saw this fabulous sketch on Magnolia-licious and just had to try it! I've never done a layout like this before so I really enjoyed the challenge. I knew I wanted to do a Valentine's card and I pulled out this sentiment that hasn't been inked up in a long time. The dp is from my Costco stash of value papers! I love the polka dots - they always add such a fun element to a card.

I coloured Tilda in using Distress Inks and filled her wings in with clear sakura pen to make it sparkly. I used my tombow markers for her bench and sheepskin rug. I adhered a pink rhinestone brad to the middle of the white Prima flower piercing some organza ribbon with the heart metal embellishment on the way through.

The sentiment is from The Stamp Barn and I really love it for a valentine card. This is my first valentine card of the year so it took me a while to get my mojo out of 'christmas' mode and into 'valentine' gear. On the inside of the card I used matching papers from the main card panel and used a nestabilities classic square on plain white cardstock. I stamped the greeting in Versafine black ink then adhered a strip of pale pink organza ribbon.

This card is one of a dozen I'm getting ready to sell in a local craft store. Let's hope everyone loves them and wants to buy them :)

Thanks for stopping by today - I'll be enjoying the last day of christmas holidays before my boys go back to school tomorrow!

Hugs,

Danielle x

From Me to You - Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge

This is my first card of 2009! I wanted to get away from all the christmas colours and feel some spring warmth so I created this fresh card using a pink and green colour combo. This sketch challenge (VLVJAN01) comes from Verve Stamps and the thread in SCS can be found here. I haven't taken part in too many challenges recently but I have to say, following the sketch challenges are such an awesome way of continually improving your layouts, expanding your card designs and trying something new that is perhaps out of your comfort zone.

On this card I used SU! designer paper adhered to pink Bazzill cardstock. The base panel of white cardstock I ran through the Swiss Dots cuttlebug embossing folder. The flower image was inked in pink Memories Chalk ink and layered on to a nestabilities circle. I used dimensionals to add depth to the card. The brads were my use of hardware on the card (an added 'twist' to the sketch challenge) and I looped a couple of loops of pink grosgrain ribbon. The sentiment is from The Stamp Barn. The sentiment leaves the card open to be used for any occasion which is always a good thing to have to hand!

I might just keep playing at this sketch I like it so much! I hope you're all enjoying a wonderful start to the new year.

Hugs,

Danielle x

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone

Just wanted to wish you all a very Happy New Year and many best wishes for 2009! I hope this coming year gives you lots of creative time and the chance to enhance your own creative spirit! Personally, I cherish all the friends I've made and the incredible blogs that I visit as my own creative path is continually inspired by all of you! I'm so thankful for the opportunity to share and grow from such incredible talent around me!

When I look back on some of the first cards I created, I realise just how much my own creativity has grown, improved and evolved into my own personal style. And no matter how many years you've been making cards, new products, new ideas, new layouts always add to a continually evolving art! So thank you, everyone, for making my craft such a labour of love and for visiting my blog and leaving your beautiful comments!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hugs,

Danielle x