Happy Halloween!

Good morning friends and a Happy Halloween to you!  Our girls are all pretty much grown, but I still make treats (and cards, of course!) for them, and here's what I sent back to college with my youngest:

All her friends were pretty impressed and one even told her she wasn't going to eat hers because it was too pretty...we'll see how long that lasts! :0)  I used SU!'s Pumpkin Pie cs for the treat box, Halloween Chevron design paper by The Paper Studio for the belly band around the box and around the chocolate nuggets, SU!'s "Cute as a Bug" stamp set for the spider on the scalloped black circle, and finished with a small piece of black tulle at the top.  The Frankenstein bag topper was made using SU!'s Gumball Green cs, small circle dies, and free hand cutting for the black hair.  For the mummy pretzel rods, I just used the spider tag from SU!'s "Tags So Much" stamp set and Pumpkin Pie and Kiwi Kiss cardstock.  All very simple treats that made a bunch of 18 year old girls very happy! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a happy Halloween!  (it's pouring down rain here and supposed to continue through tomorrow....boo hoo!!!) 

Rustic Wreath

Good morning friends.  Back with a Christmas card today that I made for the Festive Friday Challenge (#20).  This time around it is an element challenge, and they are asking us to use a wreath somewhere on our card.

It is no secret to anyone that knows me how much I LOVE the "Wreath for All Season's" stamp set by PTI!  You will need to look close to see any part of that stamp set on my card, but it was definitely the starting point!  Take a look and see if you can see any part of the grapevine wreath from that stamp set:

You may need to click on the picture to enlarge it to see my starting point.  I wanted to make my wreath out of a Martha Stewart branch punch I've had for years, but wanted a circle to use as a placement guide for my punched out branches...hence the grapevine wreath to get me started.  I stamped it in SU!'s Soft Suede ink and then used Soft Suede cs to punch out the branches to give a more 3D look.  I then decorated my wreath with lots of stars die cut from red and gold glitter paper and gold cs.  The stars were cut out with a PTI die that when I ordered it, it wasn't what I thought it was.  I was thinking it was more of a border die and bigger and these stars are all smaller and come out as single stars.  At the time I remember thinking what will I ever use this die for...these are SO tiny!  They were absolutely perfect for this wreath and I couldn't be happier with this die now! :0)  I also added an inlaid die cut off centered towards the bottom of my card with PTI's "Peace" die.  I cut it out of my cream colored cs layer first, and then die cut another with the Soft Suede cs, which I also embossed with PTI's Herringbone texture plate.  Because the card had so much "space" around the wreath and sentiment, I scored around the edges to give a bit more definition to this layer.  My last step was to pop dot this layer onto the card base, and then I also added a few of the extra stars randomly on the card.  Not really traditional Christmas colors, but I really like the rustic and warm feel of this card! :0)  I am also going to enter this card into PTI's Make it Monday (#138) challenge where Betsy showed how to use "Inlaid Die - cuts".

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Wednesday!  I'll be back tomorrow with some Halloween treats I made for my youngest and her college roomies!  

Halloween Pumpkin Family

Good morning friends.  Sharing another Halloween card with you today, and the main stamped image is the same one I showed you a few weeks back here .  I had stamped 2 of the little pumpkin family images while my cousin Sue was visiting, and finally got around to getting the 2nd one made into a card.  Take a look:

Same cute faces as before (colored with my Copics - YR68, YG03, YG63, & E15), but made into a regular card instead of the file folder card I made last time.  I used a black card base and then added design paper from a mini pad by Recollections - Haunted Manor (Michael's).  I sponged around everything with Smoky Slate (LOVE this color!!) ink from SU! to give the card a bit of "spooky", although those faces are so doggone cute, I don't know how much "spooky" the card really gives off! :0)  I finished with a small ribbon tag and green sparkly brad.  Simple, but still like the way it turned out!

That's all for today, but hope to be back tomorrow with another Christmas card for Festive Friday's and PTI's Make it Monday challenges.  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a terrific Tuesday.
  

Frightening Feline

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend and are ready for this Halloween week!  They're predicting rain and high winds on Thursday in my "neck of the woods", so I'm getting a little nervous I won't get to see all the little kiddies in their costumes!  I love to see the excitement on the faces of the 3-5 year olds who understand what it's all about, (candy of course!!) and also the 1 - 2 year olds that don't get it at all, but are just so darn cute!! :0)   Anyway, have some Halloween cards to post this week, and my card today is another file folder card (made with SU!'s new Envelope Punch Board).  Take a look:

I wish I could tell you the cardstock color and design paper I used, but both came from my scrap bin.  The piece of design paper I used didn't have the manufacturer printed on the scrap, and although I know the pinkish purple cardstock color is SU!, I'm guessing it might be retired, because that was the only piece I had.  (Any idea's Steph?)  I used SU!'s "Frightening Feline" with black ink for my stamped image, and then added a couple google eyes and some glitter all around the circle (Spellbinder) edge.  I also used SU!'s spider web embossing folder for the little strip between the front and back of the folder.  Foe the insert, I used a piece of textured gray cardstock, and stamped the sentiments with PTI's "Sweet Treats" stamp set.  I finished with a black grosgrain ribbon.  These file folder cards are SO easy and fun to do!  I sent a few of them back to school with my youngest for her and her new friends, and she texted me last night to say they were a big hit! :0)  (I also sent treats, but I'll save that for my post on Halloween day!)

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a wonderful Monday! :0)

Papertrey October Blog Hop Challenge

Good morning friends.  Today I'm playing along with Papertrey Ink's October Blog Hop challenge, and I have to tell you I got a little carried away, so you might want to grab a cup of coffee (or a mug of hot chocolate!) before you get started here! :0)  The challenge was to make a set of 5 gift tags for Christmas, and I'm afraid I had a little trouble stopping at just one set!  I mean it's Christmas and who doesn't need LOTS of tags, right?!   So anyways, I photographed 3 of my favorite sets for you to see today, and I'll show some of the other ones at a later date.  Let's start with a photo of all 3 sets first:

I'm going to start with my favorite set, and that's the deer tags.  Here's a close up view:

You can click on this photo to make it even larger to see more of the details.  For all 3 of my tag sets, I started with PTI's new "Tag #8" die...LOVE this die! :0)  The deer are cut from PTI's "In the Meadow" die set, and I used Early Espresso and dotted swiss Caramel cardstock for them.  I stamped the pine tree's in Old Olive with an older small pine tree stamp (PSX Co.) first, and then sponged a bit of blue sky (Bashful Blue) behind the tree's and added a bit of glitter to the bottom for the snow.  After adhering the deer, I sprinkled just a touch more glitter on top of the scene, and then cut a piece of clear acetate with the tag die and glued all 3 layers together to make it like a shaker card.  I finished these tags with just a simple red plaid ribbon and absolutely love how they turned out.  A bit time consuming, but well worth the time and effort. :0)

My next 2 sets are much more simple and very easy to mass produce.  Here's a close up of the "Joy" tag:

I started with just the main tag die and a speckled cream cardstock for these tags and then used the new "Wonderful Words: Joy" die and stamp set.  After cutting out the word Joy, I stamped it using Real Red ink and adhered to the tag.  Next I stamped "to the world" below the "Joy" in black (also from PTI's "Wonderful Words: Joy" stamp set).  I finished by adding the smallest holly leaf from PTI's "Holly Jolly" die and then adding 3 small pearls (that I colored with 3 different colored Copics).  A simple red grosgrain ribbon and jute finished the tag.  Very simple, but boy do I love the way it "pops"! :0)

My last tag set uses PTI's "Fancy Flakes" die and "Wonderful Words: Snow" stamp set:

Another very simple tag if you need to mass produce, but also very pretty and eye catching!  I started with the same Tag #8 die and the speckled cream cardstock, and then cut out the smallest of the 3 "Fancy Flakes" dies with a speckled navy cardstock.  I had some leftover center stars from the holographic paper I used on a previous card that I added to the center of these snowflakes for a little sparkle, and then added the sentiment from PTI's "Wonderful Words: Snow" stamp set in Night of Navy ink.  At the very bottom of my ribbon stash, I found some white ribbon with "Let it Snow" printed in red that worked perfect to add to the top of my tag! :0)  (amazing what you can find when you really start digging!!)

Well I hope you enjoyed taking a peek at my Christmas tags (and my lengthy post!), and don't forget to check out all the other entries here .  Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Make it Monday #137 - Dimensional Leaf Wreath

Good morning friends.  Playing along with Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge today, which is to create a dimensional leaf wreath.  You can check out Melissa Phillips beautiful card and video here .  At first I didn't think I'd be able to play along as I didn't have any fall leaf sets by Papertrey (I'm such a flower girl!!).  But then I got to thinking that out of all the flower sets I have, there should be one or two sets that I could use the leafs from....and I did! :0)  I ended up using the leaf stamp from one of my favorite sets, "Meadow Greens".  Take a look:

I wanted a really muted background to showcase the fall leaves but didn't want a blank background either, so I stamped off using Sahara Sand ink with the fern leaf stamp from Meadow Greens and then dry embossed using PTI's Herringbone impression plate...makes a nice subtle background, don't you think? :0)  (you can click on the picture to enlarge it to see the detail better)  I used PTI's newest tag die to layer on my colored leaves.  The leaves were stamped with Tim Holtz distress inks in Peeled Paint, Fired Brick, & Spiced Marmalade.  I also glittered up the veins of the leaves and then added a big button in the center tied with a piece of jute.  I tied a piece of cream seam binding ribbon and green embroidery floss to the top of the tag and then finished with a banner using PTI's "Mum's the Word" for the sentiment.  Here's a closer up view of the leaves and sentiment:

You can see in this picture also that I used VersaMark to stamp the leaves on the tag too, but after I put my colored leaves on it hardly shows, so what seemed like a good idea at the time......   Anyway, I think the card turned out really pretty and it will make a wonderful birthday card for one of the many I have to send out in the next month! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! :0)    

Merry Monday #80 - Music

Good morning friends.  This week at Merry Monday's, the challenge is to use music or a Christmas carol theme in your card.  Totally made me smile when I saw this challenge yesterday, as the card I made on Saturday fit this challenge perfectly! 

My good friend Sue had given me a really cool Santa stamp by Flourishes last year for Christmas, and I've been wanting to do something different with the stamp but every time I picked it up the creative juices left!  Then I saw a mostly black and white Christmas card on Pinterest this past weekend and right away inspiration struck!  Take a look:

And isn't it amazing how when the inspiration finally hits, how quickly and easily it all comes together?!! :0)  I really cropped the Santa image down, so that I could showcase the background sheet music I also found on Pinterest.  I sponged the edges of the Santa image and the background sheet music with SU!'s Smokey Slate ink and then layered with black cs and a white card base.  I finished with PTI's "merry" die in Cherry Cobbler cs and a few red pearls for the holly berries.  I think this is one of my favorite cards I've made this season and to think that I struggled with using this stamp for almost a full year!  Guess it shows what perseverance can do! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful Tuesday.  And don't forget to check out all the other entries right here on Lesley's blog. :0)

Meadow Green's Birthday

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend!  Pretty quiet and wet here, although we did get out to see the movie Gravity.  Great movie, although VERY intense...felt like I held my breath through most of it!  Also spent some time in the craft room - mostly making more Christmas cards, but did manage to get one birthday card made. (really need to make some more birthday cards though as I have lots of birthdays coming up!)

Saw a tri-fold card on Pinterest and realized I haven't made that type of card in years, so that's what got me started for this birthday card.  Take a look:

This type of card really is pretty easy to do.  Just cut your cardstock the long way ( 11 x 4 1/4), and then score both ends at 2 3/4" and fold in to meet in the center.  I used my circle and scalloped circle dies (Spellbinders) to make the part that keeps the card closed.  I started with a Wisteria Wonder card base, and then stamped on cream cardstock with the "Meadow Greens" (PTI) stamp set.  (I also used SU!'s "Script" background stamp on the two front cream panels)  I used Always Artichoke (SU!) for the ferns and flower center and Wisteria Wonder for the rest of the card.  I also embossed with white over the top of the Wisteria Wonder on the flower (click to enlarge either photo to get a better look at the embossing).  Should have taken a picture of the inside too as it turned out really pretty, but didn't think of it till too late!

That's all for today friends, and now I need to get motating and get my day started.  Taking hubby for his colonoscopy shortly here...oh the joys of getting older!  (just routine...nothing wrong!!)  Anyway, have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back with more inspiration as the week goes on!  Thanks so much for stopping by...love it when you do! :0)

Merry Monday #79

Good morning friends and happy Friday!  Back with another Christmas card for my growing stash and the Merry Monday challenge.  This week the challenge is to use a snowflake, and the colors blue, white, and silver.

 

No hardship here, as I LOVE snowflakes and this color scheme!  I think I'm not the only one too, as there are LOTS of beautiful cards already entered here.  Here is my take on this challenge:

 

 

I love using this holographic paper for snowflakes, but it's a real challenge to photograph it...you'll have to trust me that it's just beautifully sparkly IRL! :0)  Because I wanted the snowflake (PTI die) to take center stage, I purposely kept the rest of my card very clean and simple.  I started with a navy blue (and white speckles) card base and then added a white layer that I cut the circle out of, stamped my sentiment (PTI's Christmas Favorites #10), and then embossed with SU!'s "Northern Flurry" ef.  I mounted this layer with foam adhesive to give a little depth and then hung my snowflake with silver cord so that it dangles inside the cutout circle. (would be very easy to untie the snowflake and use it as a Christmas ornament if the recipient wanted to!)  I finished with a little diamond bling in the center of the snowflake and a couple of silver nailheads (Gina K) in the centers of two of the embossed snowflakes. 

 

Edited to add: I just realized after going back to Merry Monday's site, that my hanging snowflake idea is just like one of the design teams card - Sue Joyce.  I got so excited by the color challenge that I didn't look that close at the design teams cards until just now and saw that I had done a definite CASE!  Great idea Sue!   

 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by to visit...I love it when you do!  :0)

 

 

 

Festive Friday Challenge #19 - Whimsical

Good morning friends.  I'm playing along with Festive Friday's challenge, which is a theme challenge this time round...to make a "whimsical" card.

When I think whimsical, I think Gillian Roberts (Stampavie), as she has the most adorable stamps around!  After going through my stash, I knew "Mistletoe and Mice" would be the perfect choice for this challenge.  Take a look:

Those faces couldn't be any more simple, but they just make you smile, don't they?!  Since I was using a whimsical image, I decided to go with non-traditional Christmas colors and have to say I'm really pleased with how it turned out!  I colored the image with my Copics and SU!'s Strawberry Slush ink to fill in the girl's top.  I added a scalloped circle (Spellbinders) in the Strawberry Slush and designer scraps from my stash to finish the card.  Also sponged around the edges of all the pieces with Strawberry Slush to define them a little bit. 

Here's a look at the inside:

Kept the inside simple as the outside is so busy (in a good way!!).  I computer generated the sentiment and used PTI's die and stamp set ("Boutique Borders - Sympathy") to frame the sentiment.  I added a thin strip of the holly designer paper I used on the front to add a little contrast to the Strawberry Slush cardstock.

That's all for today friends.  Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you all have a terrific Thursday!  And make sure you check out all the other entries over at Festive Friday's blog here ... there are some amazing cards! :0)

Wishing You Happiness

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today, but wanted to share an anniversary card I made using PTI's "Mum's the Word" set.  Take a look:

This set makes it SO easy to create such pretty and I think, elegant cards!  I fussy cut my flowers and leaves, and adhered them to a panel that I embossed with a Darice embossing folder, and a card base of Rich Razzleberry (SU!) cardstock.  I finished with a simple banner and a few rhinestones to glitz it up a bit.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I'll be back tomorrow and Friday with my promised Christmas challenge cards.  Have a wonderful and warm (it's cold here in my "neck of the woods"!!) Wednesday. :0)

Lil Punkin Faces

Good morning friends.  I think my cousin Sue was a little bummed I didn't post anything yesterday...sorry, I was busy reading a good book and just having a lazy Monday!  But I'm back today, and this card is for you Sue, since you let me borrow the stamp I used to create it! :0)  Take a look:

Are those little faces just not the cutest?!  I used my Copics (YR68, YG03, YG63, & E15) to color those sweet little faces and then made another file folder card using SU!'s new Envelope Punch Board.  I used We R Memory Keepers (Spooky Spots) designer paper to create the file folder, and then added some green and white polka dotted ribbon (Michael's) and iridescent sequins to finish it off.  Here's what the inside pull out card looks like:

Kept the inside very simple so there would be room to write my message.  The sentiment and the orange zig zag are both PTI.  These file folder cards fit into a standard A-2 size envelope and are fun because they're something just a little bit different than a regular card.

That's all for today friends.  Have a couple Christmas challenges I want to play along with this week, so I'll definitely be back with more inspiration!  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a terrific Tuesday! :0)

Reason's to Smile

Hello friends.  Posting this evening since we have to be up early for an ortho appointment tomorrow.  This will be our 3rd try for our youngest to get her braces off, so I sure hope this is really it!  I could have cried right along with her last month when they said "Welllllllllll...I think we'd better go one more month."  She swears she's the ONLY one in college with braces, which I sincerely doubt, but I don't imagine there are too many, so I guess I can understand where she's coming from.  But anyway, busy day tomorrow, so I'll post my card tonight.  Take a look:

This was one of those stamp sets I HAD to have, and then it sat there for almost 2 months before I finally took it out and played.  Better late than never though, right?!  And of course now that I've used it, I don't know why I waited so long as I love it!  I used a piece of Basicgrey background paper for my inspiration, and matted it on a square base along with Old Olive cs (SU!).  I also used Old Olive for the leaves, and then stamped the flowers in Pumpkin Pie with Cajun Craze for the centers.  I lightly sponged the edges with Crumb Cake to give it a bit of a vintage look before matting it on another layer of Old Olive.  I finished with a seam binding ribbon that I colored with a Pumpkin Pie marker.  Totally makes me think of Fall! :0)

That's all for this evening friends.  Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back with some more inspiration next week.  Thanks for stopping by! :0)

Merry Monday #78 - Birds

Good morning friends.  Playing along with Merry Monday's today, and the challenge is to use any type of bird in your Christmas card.

Isn't that a pretty inspiration picture?  We feed the birds in the wintertime and I love the coloring of  cardinals against the white of snow...SO pretty!  Anyway, on to my card!  I have been wanting to use one of my new SU! stamps and this seemed like a good opportunity to combine the stamp, the chalkboard technique, and the bird punch (SU!).  Take a look:

Don't you LOVE this background paper?!  This is one of the designs in SU!'s "Season of Style" paper stack and the whole reason I bought the pack...it's just SO festive looking!  And I think it worked great as a background against my sentiment with the chalkboard technique.  I traced the tag shape from SU!'s "Chalk Talk" stamp (didn't have the $ to buy the die) on black cardstock, and then stamped this stamp with VersaMark and white embossing powder.  I then stamped off again with white Stazon ink and also sponged around the edges and all over the tag to give it the smudgy chalkboard look. I also used SU!'s new Stampin' Chalk Marker to make my lines around the edges of the tag...wish I would have bought a bunch of these markers as it works AWESOME!!  I used SU!'s bird punch with Cherry Cobbler cardstock, and sponged around the edges with Smoky Slate ink.  For the bird's wing, I embossed a little of the small flourish from SU!'s "Priceless" stamp set in white to make it mimic the chalkboard look.  I also colored a pearl with a black sharpie marker for the bird's eye.  I finished with a seam binding ribbon that I colored with a Copic marker (R39).  Quite a simple card, but I really like how it turned out! :0)

Make sure you stop by and check out all the beautiful cards and inspiration over at Lesley's site here. 

That's all for today friends.  Have a wonderful Wednesday and thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do! :0)   

More Halloween Flip Cards

Good morning friends.  Just a quick post today to share a couple more Halloween Flip cards I made using SU!'s Thinlit Circle Dies and a couple $1 stamps from Michael's.  Take a look:

Both cards used just scraps of Halloween paper and even scraps of colored cardstock for the circles...can't get any more economical than that! :0)  I also forgot to take a picture of the flip side of the Haunted House card...I just used another scrap of Wisteria Wonder (SU!) cardstock to cut out another circle, and then stamped Happy Fright Night from PTI's "Halloween Sweets & Treats" and added a small punched out bat in black cardstock.  Both cards super easy and quick to make and lots of fun to "flip"! :0)

Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful Tuesday! :0)

Festive Friday Challenge #18 - Element Theme

Good morning friends.  Hope you all had a great weekend.  A little wet here in my "neck of the woods", but it made for some great stamping time!  And as a result, I finally got a card made for the latest Festive Friday challenge.  It's a element theme this time - to use a star:

A star?  Christmas?  Should be easy, right?  For some reason I had a hard time with this one, and I think that's why it took me so long to come up with a card for this challenge.  But inspiration finally hit and I really, REALLY like the card I came up with!  Take a look:

Make sure you click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see the 3D look of the stars.  I have seen a few cards lately where they have had snowflakes and ornaments hanging from tree branches, and so I thought, why not stars hanging from a branch?  I also wanted to try a technique I had seen awhile back where you score all the angles of the star to make it look 3D (you can check this out on Betsy Veldman's blog here ).  I started by stamping the pine branch (PTI's "Peaceful Pinecones") and sentiment (PTI's "Winter Hills") on kraft cardstock, and then embossed using PTI's Herringbone plate to give the background a little definition.  I poked a couple holes through where the pinecones should be stamped, and then threaded gold cord to hang the stars from.  Before scoring the star shapes (Spellbinder star dies), I stamped them with a flourish from SU!'s "Priceless" set with Cherry Cobbler (SU!) ink.  I used pop dots under the stars to make them stand out a bit and then finished with a few gold sequins and a white card base.  Not really a quick card, but I love the look of the 3D stars hanging from the pine branch and that made the time put into this card worth it! :0)

That's all for today friends, but I'll be back with more inspiration tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Monday!  (It's so cool here today I feel like I should go make a loaf of bread! :0)

  

Merry Monday #77 - Color Challenge

Good morning friends.  Adding to my Christmas card stash and playing along with Merry Monday's color challenge today.

 

It took my mind a little bit to wrap around all those colors, but the more I looked at it, the more I loved how festive it looked!  My card is definitely not as bright as the picture, but I went for more of a clean and simple look and I really like how it turned out!  Take a look:

If you click on the picture, it's a lot easier to see that I really did use all 4 colors.  I stamped the wreath (PTI's Wreath for All Season's) in Always Artichoke (SU!), and then added a small holly that I die cut (PTI's Holly Jolly) with Certainly Celery cardstock (SU!).  I added 2 pink and 1 red pearl to the holly and had all 4 colors in one simple element.  I added a white layer of cardstock that I cut a circle (off centered) in and pop dotted to add a little more visual interest to the simple wreath.  I finished by adding my sentiment (PTI's "Fillable Frames #9) to the bottom and red and white twine to the top.  Clean and simple, and I'm definitely going to make more of this one! :0)

Make sure to check out the rest of the entries here...there really are some beautiful cards this week! :0)  Thanks so much for stopping by today and have a wonderful weekend!

MIM#134 - Repeat and Lift Technique

Good morning friends.  Haven't played along with Papertrey Ink's Make it Monday challenge in a couple weeks, but really wanted to try out this one.  Nichole showed a great video on how to make a very simple but dramatic shadow card using a "repeat and lift" technique.  You are basically using a word stamp and stamping it repeatedly, and then using the same word in a die cut to "lift" the word away from the stamping.  I used PTI's "Wonderful Words: Hello" stamp set and die for 2 cards...did one with Pool Party and Pumpkin Pie inks, and then did another with just Pool Party for a monochromatic look.  Both my cards are a complete CASE of Nichole's card, but why mess with perfection?!!  Take a look:

The top card definitely gives more "pop" using 2 colors, but I like the simplicity of the monochromatic one too.  My background paper is Echo Park (Dots & Stripes) and then just a button on each to finish them off.  Easy AND fun!! :0)

That's all for today friends.  Busy day and I should probably make an anniversary card for hubby...26 years should at least rate a handmade card, right?! :0)  Have a wonderful Thursday and thanks so much for stopping by...I love it when you do! 

Candy Corn Banner

Good morning friends.  Today I'd like to share a banner project with you that I made this past weekend after seeing the one  Melissa Phillips made on her blog.  My photo's aren't the greatest, but I think you should be able to get the main idea! Take a look:

This was SO much fun to make!  A bit time consuming, but now that I'm an empty nester, I have more time for things like this.  I did not have the banner die that Melissa used, but I just cut 5 pieces of white cardstock at 5 1/2" x 6" and then made a pencil mark in the center of the 5 1/2" end, and then used my cutter to make the 2 diagonal cuts to form a triangle.  You can make these any size you want, this is just what I came up with.  Then came the fun decorating part...just choose scraps of yellow, orange, and white to make it look like candy corn.  I added lace, buttons, chevron strips (PTI die), stars (Spellbinder dies), pumpkins (smallest oval Spellbinder die), flower (PTI die), seam binding ribbon (colored with Pumpkin Pie marker - SU!), and hemp cord to link the 5 triangles together.  I also sponged all the edges with Baked Brown Sugar ink (SU!) to give it a bit of a vintage look. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today and taking a look, and I hope I've inspired you to try a banner of your own.  These can be made for any occasion and my youngest liked mine so much she requested I make her one for her dorm room with her school colors (FSU).  Make sure you check out Melissa's blog for her great picture tutorial on how to make these banners.  Lots of fun and well worth the time involved! :0)  Have a great Wednesday!!    

Sunflower - Take Two

Good morning friends.  Quick post today, but wanted to share another card I made with SU!'s BIG "Sunflower" stamp.  Last week's card was all earth tones, but look at how quickly you can change the tone of a card by simply adding another color:

I apologize that my lighting wasn't the best the day I took this photo, but I think you can get the idea of what I did by adding the blue sponging (SU!'s Pacific Point) around the sunflower, matting with black, and then using blue for the card base.  Really makes the sunflower pop, doesn't it?  The sentiment is from PTI's "Mums the Word" stamp set.

Told you it was a quick post today!  Stay tuned though and I'll be back with more Halloween and Christmas inspiration later this week.  Have a wonderful Tuesday! :0)