My upcoming class at Heather's .....Cuttlebug Resist Technique

Hi there!

These are the two cards from my upcoming class at Heather's this coming Saturday March 27th from 10-12.   They both use a fun technique called Cuttlebug Resist which is so easy and effective for making interesting backgrounds.

The card above is created using the recessed window technique and uses this gorgeous sentiment stamp from The Stamp Barn.  The flourishes are BossKut.  The cuttlebug design is the Argyle folder.

This second card uses the Moroccan screen folder with both the emboss and resist techniques.  I've used the Fleur-de-Lys pendant die cut from Spellbinders.  The card is sprayed with Tattered Angels Pearl glimmer mist to add the gorgeous sheen.  Blue gems add a nice touch of bling to the final look.

Thanks for coming by today for another visit - I so appreciate you taking the time to come by and leave your comments.  As it's raining outside I plan on sitting here a while longer with a cup of tea and catch up on some commenting!

Hugs,

Danielle x

A 100th Birthday Card!

Hi!

I was asked to make a '100th' Birthday card for a lady who still enjoys putting on make-up, doing her hair and feeling good! Mmm, I had to rummage through my stamps to fit this bill then I remembered this gorgeous Charleston dancer image from The Stamp Barn.

I coloured with my copics and as the lady is ethnic I used appropriate colours to give her an ethnic skin tone. I decided on an easel card just to add extra glamour to the card. I wanted to use lace to add the touch of 'vintage' but also added 'rhinestones' for the glitz of turning 100 and still feeling glamorous at this age - I hope it worked!

Papers are from stash and the ribbon is SU! chocolate chip taffeta. The birthday sentiment is from The Stamp Barn and the flower is a cream aster from Wild Orchid Crafts.

A close-up of the image

We are enjoying an absolutely gorgeous day at +16oc and the boys are on the front driveway chalking with their dad!! I'm about to join them with my cup of tea! Enjoy the rest of your day whatever you choose to do and thanks so much for your visit. I appreciate any comments that you leave - and all I can say is that I hope I can look and feel this glamorous if I ever have the privilege of turning 100!!! LOL!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Pop-Up Twirl Card

Hi everyone!

I hope this Thursday finds you all well. I found this adorable tutorial over on Splitcoast Stampers yesterday and just had to give it a go. This card is a Pop-Up Twirl card. The tutorial can be found here.

The mechanics on the inside of the card (picture below) show that when the card is opened the middle panel with the I'm Yours heart on it twists. You create a pulley system - it is so fun!

The main image on the card is very simply put together - an embossed hearts panel with a stamped heart image from The Stamp Barn. A bow and nesties labels 8 were used to complete the card.
If you click on the tutorial be sure to watch the video as it shows the card in motion and definitely helps with putting the card together.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. It is a short post as I have some clearing out to do as we're having our water heater replaced with a new energy efficient 'green' one. The room is filled with boxes of 'stuff' (which I have to say is not mine!!) but still need to come out the way to make room for the men to work! Hopefully it won't take too long.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful day and thanks for any comments that you may leave!

Hugs,

Danielle x

We may not have it all together ......

Hi there!

A quick posting as I'm about to head out the door - really don't want to as it's so cold outside, brrr!!

This is a card sample for an upcoming class at Heather's Stamping Haven on January 16th. It's another easel card and I've used an image from The Stamp Barn. Isn't it just the cutest!! I coloured with my Distress Inks and used a nesties label. The hearts embossing folder and some cuttlebug corner embellishments are used on the front panel. I made the bow using my Bow-Easy tool. The sentiment is also from The Stamp Barn. I used the MS hearts border punch and a wooden button to finish off the card. I'm going to enter this card into A Spoonfull of Sugar challenge as they are asking for cards with hearts on them!

I'm so happy with this - it's simple yet cute and I tried to go with a vintagey feel too.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you all stay warm!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Festive Wishes

Hello all!

I went with a festive card today and cut into my new BG Eskimo Kisses paper pad. I purchased this gorgeous branch stamp from The Stamp Barn knowing that it would be perfect for Tilda to sit on - and I was right!! Doesn't she look so cute sitting there?

I've coloured with my copics and went with this pretty deep pink to complement the green. I added loads of liquid applique and then glamour dust before heating it. I cut around the far end of the branch before using my oval nesties (my first time using that technique and I love it - so effective).
Ribbon, dew drops and a tree charm finish off the details on this card. The sentiment is from The Stamp Barn too.

A side view

A close-up of Tilda and the snowy branch!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving your beautiful comments - they really brighten up my day! Hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Sailing by!

Happy Friday!

Am I ever glad it's the end of the week! And it's a long weekend for us too - Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadian bloggers!

I've made this birthday card for my father who is turning 70. I found this fabulous card fold over on Connie's blog - don't you just love it! The link over on SCS is here. Super duper easy and perfect for a male card. The ship image is one from The Stamp Barn as is the sentiment. The photo hasn't picked up the colours particularly well in the first picture but the inside of the card (shown below) definitely picks up the blue tone of the cardstock.

I used the d'vine swirls cb embossing folder for the inside panel and nesties labels 8 to write the message. Chocolate brown satin ribbon threaded through the metal buckle adds a nice elegant touch to the front of the card. I also paper pierced at the bottom.

I'm adding this card in to the Stamp Something challenge this week (to use brown and another colour). Pop on over to their blog - you could win some copics!!

Thanks for stopping by - I hope I can get lots of crafty time in this weekend. I really need some good relaxing catch-up time in there!! Thanks for all the comments you leave - they truly have lifted (and always do) my spirits!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Tilda's Snowy Day!

Hi there!

After what has been an incredibly long week (and it's still only Thursday, lol) I managed to get a little bit of inky time to myself this morning. My son Joel was quite sick this week and Monday evening I ended up in hospital with him. He is fine now after having to take oral steroids for his breathing to improve. Scary moments I tell you, but thankfully my husband came home early from his business trip and is now back with us. The good news is that he didn't have H1N1, more likely just a regular flu which hit him particularly badly.

Anyways, enough of my family woes. I received this gorgeous Tilda image in a very sweet care package from my beautiful blogging friend, you know who you are!! Thanks a bunch!! This image was perfect for my new Bo Bunny papers which I've been dying to use. I coloured Tilda with my copics and pulled the colours from the paper. I used my fab new MS Icicle punch and used lots of stickles to make it sparkle! The sentiment is The Stamp Barn and the swirl is from my stash. I glimmer misted it and used Glamour Dust on it to add more sparkle! I actually think there's more glitter on me now than on my project, lol!!

Well, there you have it. Many thanks for all your supportive comments over the last few days - they really have meant a lot to me.

Hope you're all enjoying a beautiful day.

Hugs,

Danielle x

Winter Wonderland Card - Frosty the Snowman

Hello everyone!
I was very determined to give myself some inky time today as we've had a really busy weekend so far so I took myself down to my craft room and gently closed the door behind me, lol!!!

And this is what came out! I saw the Winter Wonderland challenge this week is Frosty the Snowman - I love snowmen and haven't used this cute stamp in a while! I also used their extra option of the sketch too - and what a fun sketch to play with it was! I coloured my snowman with my copics and cut out his hat, scarf and muffs to 3D. I used my cuttlebug embossing folders, nesties labels 4 and paper from stash to complete the card. The snowflake swirl is from Inkadinkado and the sentiment is The Stamp Barn. The snowflake embellishment is from stash.

Thanks for coming for a visit today - I love having you stop by! Your comments are always so well received and appreciated - they truly make my day a happier one! I hope you're all enjoying this fabulous Holiday Monday and the glorious sunshine (Mr Sun is shining on us here in Ottawa in his full glory!)

Hugs,

Danielle x

Red Poppies - Recessed Window Card

Hello friends!

I saw this fab recessed window card tutorial over on Splitcoaststampers and had to give it a go! It is really straight forward to follow and the finished result is fabulous. I decided to use up some of the scraps of paper I had left over from from photo album project hence the same colours! The tutorial can be found here.

The silhouette poppy stamp is from The Stamp Barn which I inked up in Memories Red Barn ink. The embellishments are really simple - the SU! scalloped edge punch, adhesive pearls and a Just Rite circle sentiment punched out with the SU! flower punch.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to visit and leave a comment! I love to know you have visited and then I'm able to return the favour!

Have a great evening everyone!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Snowy Day!

Happy Day everyone!

Today I have for you a new release Sunshine Designs stamp from The Stamp Barn - one of the winter/christmas collection of Roly-Polys. Isn't she just so cute!! I coloured her on watercolour paper with distress inks (Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, Tattered Rose & Frayed Burlap). I used the new Polar White flower soft (below is a closer pic to show you the glitter and shimmer in it). I 3D her hat and boots to add some extra dimension to the image. To her side I used snowflake stamps and a sentiment, again from Sunshine Designs. The background snowflake doesn't show up well in this pic as I stamped it in pale blue chalk ink but the bigger individual snowflake I used Royal Blue ink. The snowflakes are fabric embellishments from my stash.

A close up of the Polar White flower soft - gorgeous stuff!!

Here are the other new release stamps from the collection - they are too cute for words!!

Well, that's all for today folks!! I thank you for coming by for a visit and leaving your beautiful comments - they really do make my day! I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with plenty of sunshine and fun - and inky fun too!!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Trio of Christmas Trees!

Hello!

It has been a few days! I was out and about enjoying the sunshine this week with the boys (it was kind of sporadic so had to make the most of it when it came out!). But, today is dull and overcast so I got down into my craft room. Now it took me a while to get my mojo going but I've been needing to get some Stamp Barn cards made so I picked up this gorgeous christmas tree trio stamp and played around. The challenge over on Winter Wonderland is twinkle and sparkle so hopefully this card counts with my stickles on the stars and decorations.

It's a pretty straightforward card today - the image is coloured with my Prismacolour pencils and OMS, the back panel is distressed with inks and I used a Stamp Barn swirly stamp to create the design. The green organza ribbon and some liquid applique add the finishing touches. It's an unusual colour combo for me but I have to say I rather like it!

Thanks for coming over for a visit and for your comments! Hopefully I'll get to play a bit more as I got some gorgeous new Magnolia rubbah this week (some images from the Pet Collection over at Heathers and The Little Stamp Shoppe).
I hope you've all enjoyed a wonderful weekend and have a great week coming up.

Hugs,

Danielle x

My last Tilda card for my Magnolia Class

Hi everyone!

Kinda glad it's Monday and the boys are back at school - it was a busy weekend and without hubby here I just didn't get a break to stamp at all :(  Ah well, this afternoon hopefully when my little guy is at Nursery School.

I completed the trio of Tilda cards though for my Magnolia class at Heather's and this is the final one. I used giggling Tilda sitting on the cupcake.  I coloured the images with Distressing Inks and Tombow markers on watercolour paper.  The cupcake frosting is 'glazed' with glossy accents although you can't see too much of it!  I paper pleated the middle panel to add some technique into the card.  The back stamp is a solid from one of the sets from The Stamp Barn. It makes a nice change to use some stamps and create my own backgrounds rather than relying on the beautiful papers all the time!

The clear organza ribbon down the middle panel and gem stones in each corner give the finishing touches to the card.  As you know I don't often use yellow, I tend to shy away from it as it's not a favourite colour of mine.  So, I'm still sitting on the fence about this card but I think it's more to do with the yellow in it rather than anything else, lol!!

Thanks for coming by and paying me a visit.  Hope you're enjoying your day whatever you're doing!

Hugs,

Stamp Barn cards

Happy Sunday!

I hope you are all well and enjoying your day.  I have some cards that I've put together using some stamps from The Stamp Barn .  The stair step card above uses stamps from one set - the flowers and grass really caught my eye.  I love making these cards as you can really utilise so many stamps on one project.  I distressed the edges of the paper as I wanted to create a shabby chic look/feel to this card.  Images are coloured with my Tombow markers.

Next, I finally tried one of these flower pot cards and they are so super easy and fun to do.  The pot is stamped with a Stamp Barn stamp as are both sentiments.  The flowers are from my Prima stash.  I need to find the right 'flower' stamp to create this card again without using primas! 

So there you have it for today!  Just some fun projects to share.  Hopefully I'll get some time today to get some challenge cards done!  I had a super busy day yesterday with my boys so today is definitely going to be a more relaxing one!! 

Thanks for visiting me today - I love seeing you here!  Enjoy your Sunday!

Hugs,

Spring Chicken - VLVFeb04 and Cute Card Thursday Challenges

Hello everyone!

Thanks for stopping by today and paying me a visit! I've managed to incorporate two challenges into this one card today - I love it when that happens! :) The layout is using the Viva la Verve Feb04 challenge - the final one for February to qualify to win the outstanding prize from Verve Stamps over on SCS. Also, Cute Card Thursday was to make a 'spring' card - and I think this chicken definitely qualifies for that. This choice of palette is a huge step away from my regular choices but I like to have to challenge myself like that! It's certainly bright and cheery and the sentiment I'm sure is what we could all do with right now - so I wish you all lots of sunshine!!

Onto the card, I cuttlebug embossed the back green panel with the circles folder. Oh, I forgot to mention that the VLV *twist* this week is to use acetate, so I embossed a panel of acetate and sewed it onto the yellow panel - you may be able to spot it if you look closely enough! The stamped image is a new Spring 2009 release from Sunshine Designs by The Stamp Barn - isn't it cute! I used tombow markers and distress inks to colour the image. It's a little difficult to see but the flower is sparkly with Aqua stickles. The addition of clear and green dew drops and the ribbon give the finishing touches to the card.

Before I go, Linda passed this beautiful award onto me - thanks so much Linda! It goes to everyone who posts such beautiful and supportive comments on my blog. Please take it and pass it on - you know who you are! It's great to see you here and hope you come back again soon! Thanks again for all your awesome comments - I really love to read them!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Warm Thoughts of You - VLVFeb03 Challenge

Hi again!

Wow - I'm managing a second post today!! This is the third Viva La Verve challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers for February with the *twist* of keeping it monochromatic. Again, I'm using two new release stamps from The Stamp Barn - the gorgeous scroll flower design and the sentiment. I adore this aquamarine blue colour - it's always so soothing and pretty. I don't think you can ever make an 'ugly' card using this colour!

The sketch layout was quite challenging until I figured out what stamps I was going to use then everything fell into place very nicely! The dp is from a Costco stash I have and I coloured the flowers in using Twinkling H20's (very sad to note that LuminArte are closing down their business) :(
I used a couple of Prima flowers with a small white one on top to finish the look. The sentiment was stamped on my oval nesties and I added three pearl brads to the top right hand corner to add some sophisticated bling! One last finishing touch was paper piercing some detail down each side of the bottom panel.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look! Have a great evening and hope to see you back here tomorow!
Hugs,
Danielle x

Suit & Pocket Watch Card

Happy Monday everyone!

Hope you're all well - today we're enjoying 'Family Day' here in Ontario! It's wonderful to have a 3-day weekend together and I'm posting this quickly before we're off to take the kids swimming! I found this fabulous card tutorial over on Mel's blog - isn't it wonderful! It's always such a challenge to find a great male card and this was just sooo fun to do. It's very straightforward and easy to put together. I found the time consuming bit was the sewing but it's really necessary to give this card that extra detail. The pocket watch stamp is from The Stamp Barn and the chain was a cheapo link chain from the Dollar Store! I sewed the button on and the dp is from my stash - I thought it was the closest one to looking like a men's dress shirt!

That's pretty much it - it's a quick posting 'cos the kids are desperate to get out and go for their swim!

Hope you like it and be sure to click over to Mel's blog for the tutorial. Thanks for stopping by and hope you have a fabulous day!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Silhouette Poppies

Hello fellow stampers!

After an incredibly busy day I'm managing to get a couple of minutes to sit down and do this posting for the Friday Sketchers challenge. It was a fabulous layout by Heidi and I decided to use another new release stamp from The Stamp Barn. This is a silhouette poppy stamp which I stamped, stamped off, then stamped off again to achieve the shaded look. I wanted to keep the colours fairly simply so used SU! green dp and complemented the black ink with black cardstock. I love the dramatic look of black against the white and green. I used three dew drops in place of flowers - flowers would have overshadowed the beautiful silhouette of the poppies. I punched out a word window tab and stamped my sentiment on there (also The Stamp Barn). For the far left panel on the sketch I used a strip of black organza ribbon and tied a bow at the top with some hemp string. The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory.
Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine's Day! It's my mom's birthday today and was so happy she loved her Tilda card I made for her! I hope you all enjoy a LOVEly day - my DH is sick so we won't be going anywhere!! boo hoo :(

Thanks for stopping by and leaving all your beautiful comments! They so make my blogging worthwhile!! :)

Hugs,

Danielle x

VLVFeb02 Challenge Card - Better late than Never!!

Happy Friday everyone!

Wow - do these weeks ever fly by!! Well, here is last weeks Viva La Verve second February challenge - and better late than never I guess! The *twist* this week was to not use designer/scrapbook paper! Oh, that was a little more challenging than I had realised! Having gotten so used to using the beautiful array of papers out there, I had to put my brain into action and this is what came out! All I can say is thank goodness for the cuttlebug, lol!!

The stamp I've used is a new release from The Stamp Barn - watch this space as I will be adding more samples of their new releases in the coming week. This particular one is from a set 'Meadow Grasses' - they're just beautiful!
Everything here is pretty straight forward - I used paper piercing to add detail to the background, but yet still keeping the card crisp and clean. Not using dp has actually made me appreciate the crisp, clean lines that can be created and yet still produce a beautiful card!

Thanks for stopping by today - I hope you come back to check in for the other Stamp Barn releases - they'll be worth it!

Enjoy your Friday whatever you're doing!

Hugs

Danielle x

Friday Sketchers Challenge

Good Sunday morning all!

At last, I have a chance to post my card for the Friday Sketchers sketch challenge - sorry for such a delay since my last posting. This weeks sketch is a fabulously versatile one from Claudia! I still stayed with a Valentine theme and used this christmas Tilda holding the heart ornament. I used these beautiful Daisy D's background papers and focused my main colour around the blue. The heart is a stamp from The Stamp Barn which works just beautifully with the Tilda's - she sits in there so perfectly! I stamped it on watercolour paper and used my distress inks to colour the heart and Tilda. On the blue panel I embossed the left side with a cuttlebug embossing border flower folder - I love the subtle look it gives! To finish it off I used some white organza ribbon and a piece of matching green silk ribbon to tie the knot. This is my first time making a stick pin - I think I still need to perfect it a bit but I love the look it gives on the card! I can see some more trips coming up to the jewellry section in Wal-Mart! I ran each panel through the sewing machine to add that extra bit of detailing.

I'm pleased with how I managed to incorporate 3 different dp's on this card (even though they were all from a co-ordinating pack!!). This is always a challenge for me and I really like the finished look to this one! I hope you do too!

Thanks for stopping by today and a huge hug to all of you who leave some beautiful comments! It really makes my day :)

Hugs

Danielle x

Materials Used: Distressing Inks - Aged Mahogany, Faded Jeans, Vintage Photo, Tattered Rose

Daisy D's Designer Paper

Wedding Bells!

Happy Monday everyone!

Today I'm showing you a wedding invitation idea, RSVP and place setting/favour box that I've put together for an up-coming class I'll be teaching at Heather's. What I love about this invitation is the bottom flap where I made a little envelope to stash the RSVP card in! (see photo below). I used classic colours of cream and gold although of course it can be very easily adapted to the wedding colours of choice. I used this beautiful tulip border stamp from The Stamp Barn which I embossed with gold ep. I used the cuttlebug D'Vine swirls embossing folder on the top and bottom panels with a strip of gold ribbon to 'hide' the join seam at the top! The gold flower is a Spellbinder's die cut with a cream Prima flower glued on top. I also used a small piece of cream organza ribbon to tie in with the gold. The inside is plain gold vellum which can be easily run through the computer to generate the invitation details.

The RSVP card is done very simply on a piece of matching cream cardstock with the tulip border stamped either side. A piece of gold vellum (which would be computer printed with the rsvp 'details') is adhered down with double sided tape. The 'RSVP' is again a stamp from The Stamp Barn, as is the 'Invitation' on the front. The 'envelope' is made from two triangles cut and adhered down each side. And voila! - there is, in my opinion anyways, quite a classy looking wedding invitation!

I posted this triangle favour box last week some time and I thought it would work perfectly for this wedding set. Again, I made it in matching cream and gold colours and used the MS doiley punch to add detail to each end. Why I thought this would work particularly well for a wedding is that on each of the 3 sides I have added the nesties die cuts. You can write or computer print your guest's name on one side, the wedding couple's names on another, and a 'thank you for coming' on the other, and still include a nice favour inside - all in one project! Isn't that awesome!!

I hope you enjoyed this post - please leave a comment if you do as I love having feedback on what I do! I thoroughly enjoyed doing this project and can't wait to teach it! That favour box has to be a new favourite of mine - it's just so versatile - I love it!

I have to tell you - I had a phone call from my mother this afternoon - she lives on the little island of Jersey in the English Channel. She was so excited to tell me that it was snowing - it has been many years since Jersey last saw snow! It was hard to share in the enthusiasm when we get x-number feet of the white stuff here every year but I know my nieces and nephew will be experiencing it pretty much for the first time! I hope it sticks around for at least a couple of days for them to enjoy it!

OK, well that's all for now. Thanks for popping by today - hope to see you back again soon!

Hugs

Danielle x