Sunday, December 18, 2011

Happy Birthday, Russ!!

   It is my husband's birthday today... We celebrated it last night with a movie and dinner out with family. We had a wicked good time. The movie was "Sherlock Homes- Game of Shadow". We loved it.. Full of intrigue and surprises. We had dinner at Longhorn.. Yummy!!
Football addict...
   Today Russ gets to watch football all day.. He loves that, too. So I made him an appropriate card. Here it is:
I wish I could say that I drew the football player, but no I didn't.. I "googled" it and cut it out after I had blown it up a bit. Then I glued it to black cardstock. I typed in the sentiment and used my Spellbinders square die cut.
   I got the idea for this card from a card I saw on Splitcoast. Here is the linkFootball card
She did a great job on her card and I loved the stadium full of people, so I did the same  thing on the inside of this card.

Aren't they all cute!!!??




Pretty swirl...
   Lately I've taken to decorating the envelope, too. I just purchased this steel die cut from Stamped Designs in Dover, N.H. and wanted to use it on Russ's envelope. It's from Memory Box and I love it. I put a little glitter on it to give it a snowy effect.
   He got his card this morning and really liked it. I had fun using my thumb to make all the fans in the stadium and giving them faces. Thumbprint people are so cute.
   My Christmas shopping is done except for stocking stuffers. I think I will finish that this week at Reny's and Target. Happy Shopping!!

Monday, December 12, 2011

More Christmas Cards!!

      I have been working on finishing the last few Christmas cards of the year. I decided to change the design
Newest Design
'cause I was a little tired of making the same design... This is my new design.
   I used Penny Black's wreath stamp. I have not used this stamp, so I was excited to try it out. I stamped in SU Soft Suede ink. I added blue Stickles for a look of ornaments. A Copic marker gave the ribbon a blue effect. I love the Vintage look so I used Tim Holtz's Vintage Photo ink for a worn look. I used my special scissors to make the edges look more formal.
   The "Merry Christmas" stamp is from Stampin Up , too. I really love the look of this card. It is simple and yet kinda elegant.

   My sisters, Rochelle and Chris, and I  went to my favorite craft store in Dover, N.H. this weekend. We  went  to enjoy a class at Jeannette's Stamped Design shop. We learned a new technique from Lenora ,which I am dying to try on my own. Here are the cards that we made using this design three different ways:



Copic on glitter

Adhesive glitter
Glitter on die cut













The first card is so sparkly. We used Elizabeth's Craft Designs Peel -Off Stickers to adhere to a white piece of paper and then added the white glitter. We colored the glitter with Copic Markers. It really came out spectacular. Love this technique.
   Next, we used a Peel-Off Sticker that looks like a cupcake. We colored the inside of the lines with Mica Paint that Jeannette sells. It's wicked awesome since it gives a shimmery effect. The cupcake is sitting on a strip of adhesive that is covered with an special fine glitter found at Stamped Designs. You burnish it and it feels so smoother.
   The third card is so cute. The die cut is from Memory Box. They have a number of elegant die cuts. You cut it out of a small sheet of adhesive paper and peel of the back. You then dip it in the glitter and "Voila". It's glittery. Cutting out the bunny was the hardest part.
   We had wicked fun doing these three techniques. I now can use my Copic Marker Colorless Blender pen more often. If you are in Dover, check out Jeannette's store: Stamped Designs. She has a website, too. Hope your holiday shopping is going well..

Sunday, December 4, 2011

What a Great Weekend/Week!!!

   I had a great week and weekend... I was celebrating my birthday (along with my twin sister, Chris.) by being with family...love that.. My son gave me a wonderful $40.00 gift certificate to A.C. Moore and chocolate.. He knows just what I love.
   Then on the weekend the family loaded up the van and we went to Dover, N.H. to all my favorite stores there: Stamped Designs, Just the Thing, and The Rusty Bucket in Saco, Maine. It was a great time.
Finally ready for Thanksgiving.. Yeah!!

Long shot of kitchen.

Cambria:Quartz

New sink, too.

   I am so happy to report that the new countertops are in and looking good, I think .  Anyway, check out these pictures.
   Thanksgiving was so much better with the counter tops in and the kitchen functioning like a real kitchen. We are putting bead board as a backsplash as soon as we get a breather from the holidays. So much to do; so little time.




   I have finished my design for our Christmas cards
Here is the design for 2011.
Each morning I get up and work on putting them together. Morning is the best time for me.. I am wide awake and feel motivated to be creative... Creativity seems to wane as the morning moves on.. Here is my design. I love the funky fold, but it is so time consuming that I used the same design, but made it a regular card. See it here:
Less time consuming..
   I plan on going tomorrow to A.C. Moore with my gift certificate and get more materials to finish all my Christmas cards..  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Christmas is around the corner. Can't wait...

Getting Ready!!

    I have been getting ready for an upcoming craft fair at USM on April 22nd. My sisters and I are excited about doing a spring fair. We di...