Selma's Stamping Corner

Heartfelt Thanks

2012-02-11T13:01:00.000-08:00

Today I am using a very cute Memory Box die called "Heart Canopy" (98283) with the Memory Box "Twiggy Tree" (98143). Don't you love all those little hearts! This "Twiggy Tree" is such a cute die, and is very versatile, because there are different "canopies" you can get to go with it. Joan's Gardens does have a good supply of these in stock. I used a piece of light pink design paper that has a lattice print in it to die cut the "Heart Canopy". To color the hearts behind it, I found a piece of floral vellum in my stash that had some glitter in it and thought it would create a cute multi-color background. I really like how it turned out. You could try lots of different design papers to see what effect you like the best. Another cute thing you could do is add a piece of tape on the backside and sprinkle glitter into each heart. The "Twiggy Tree" was die cut using a light green "sparkly" card stock. The fence is the Memory Box "Wrought Iron Fence" (98164). I had to die cut two to fit across the bottom of the card. The punched border was created using the Martha Stewart "Double Arches" punches. Remember the flowers I made the other day using the Cheery Lynn "Sweet Williams" (D 137) dies? This is one of those flowers I created in that tutorial. It is always nice to make more than you need for use at a later time! The sentiment is from the JustRite "Fancy Tags" stamp set.

I hope you are having a great weekend. I have been busy rearranging my craftroom - what a big project! My son and his family are arriving in a few days, so hopefully I have everything back in place soon. It looks like a hurricane hit it right now!!!

As you know, all the products I used can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge

2012-02-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

It's time for a new Challenge at Joan's Gardens. This week you are to design a "Springtime" card. The color theme should be blue and white. Please include some kind of lattice.

For the background I used the new Cheery Lynn "French Lattice Small Frame" (FRM132). Cheery Lynn also has a French Lattice Large Frame (FRM133). Both of these frames are so pretty to use for backgrounds. The stamp used is the Memory Box "Chrysanthemum Frame" (G1857). This is the frame used on one of the Memory Box videos you can watch at Joan's Gardens. You can click here to watch this video. Joan does have a good supply of these stamps in stock. It was white embossed and colored using Distress Inks. The birdhouse, fence and bird were die cut using the Marianne (LR0205) dies. Also one of the birds is from another Marianne die set that has another style birdhouse, a bird facing the opposite direction, and a die for grass (LR0205). The border down the right side is the Cheery Lynn "Flower Chain Border" (B132). A pretty silk bow was added to complete the card.

I hope you will join us in our challenge again this week. Please go over to Joan's Gardens to read all the details and see what prize she will be giving away this week. We love to see your entries.

Heartfelt Creations Floral Cross Collection Release

2012-02-08T09:07:00.000-08:00

Today is the official release of the new Heartfelt Creations "Floral Cross Collection". There are 6 new stamp sets plus a beautiful new exclusive Spellbinders die set designed for Heartfelt Creations. This collection includes Lily and Clematis flower stamps and matching dies plus much more. You can purchase these stamps and die set from Joan's Gardens. Please go over to Joan's blog to see this new collection. She has furnished a lot of information about the stamps plus has a special offer to save $20.99 if you purchase the "I Want It All" Floral Cross Collection.

This set includes this gorgeous cross stamp, and the die, to cut out the cross with the beautiful scroll work. I decided to design a gold and white card to show off these products. The card stock I used is a mirror gold card stock. As you can see, I designed an easel card. The background was embossed with the "Couture Creations Embossing Folder" (C0723032). The cross, from the "Cross & Lilies PreCut Set" (HPC 3450) was gold embossed three times. I used scissors to cut out some of the flowers in the design to make them dimensional on the cross, plus added some to the corners. On the bottom of the easel card I layered a piece of the gold card stock. On top of it is the Heartfelt Creations "Layered Elegant Swirl" (HCD 716) die cut. I wanted the group of lilies to be a "pop-up" so added a small tab behind them so they would pop up when the card is open. This group of lilies is from the "Butterfly & Lilies PreCut Set" (HCPC 3455). It was cut out with scissors and glued to the front of the pop-up tab.

This picture shows what the card looks like when closed.

You can see a couple of other cards I created using this new collection over at Joan's Gardens. I will be posting directions for them later this week. Tomorrow we have the Challenge at Joan's Gardens so will post instructions for the next card on Friday.

All the products I used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Sweet William Tutorial

2012-02-07T15:50:00.003-08:00

I think most of you enjoy when I show you how I create my flowers so today I am going to show you how I created the large white flower above the Marianne Design "Anji Corner" (LR0200). You can order all these products from Joan's Gardens. The dies I used for the large white flower, is the Cheery Lynn "Sweet Williams" (D 137) dies.

I have been working on creating flowers with this die for several days and took a picture of all the supplies I used. The paper used is the flower card stock Joan and I like to use for flowers because it is a perfect weight for shaping. What I found out is that this card stock is thin enough to allow you to use two layers at a time so die cutting can go much quicker. The other supplies used are a white terry cloth, an extra fine mist "Spritzer". This one is made by Judi Kins. The Cheery Lynn Sweet Williams dies, and tools from the Flower Tool Kit along with the black shaping mat. If you like to create lovely shaped flowers, and don't have the Flower Tool Kit from Joan's Gardens, I highly recommend it. This tool kit has everything you need for shaping your flowers in one little kit. I use these tools every day. I am also working on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet from Joan.

After die cutting a lot of Sweet William flowers, I misted each side to get them a little damp. This helps to shape the petals easier. I misted about 10 at a time, otherwise they might dry out before you start working on them. Use the self-closing tweezers in the kit to "crinkle" each petal. Place the tweezers right in the center and push the sides in toward the tweezers. Kind of twist around the tweezers to get a good crease. Each petal will look slightly different after creasing. You can see the difference in the petals after creasing in the picture on the right. This is a quick and easy way to get the dimension you want for a life like flower. You can stack as many layers as you want, depending on the fullness you want to achieve. Before stacking, be sure to put each layer on the shaping mat and press down in the center to "cup" it. The more you press down, the more "cupped" it will become. For the very center, you can add glue all around the inside (top) of the flower and press it together, holding until dry. This will create your closed center. Add glue to the center of your stacked flower and press down the closed center you just created. I think this flower could look like a mum, a carnation or maybe a bachelor button, depending on the color of card stock you use. It is so fun to create life like flowers with a few flat petals.

Now for everything else I used to design this card. I used the Marianne "Anji Corner" (LR0200) under the flower. This is a 5.5" square card. I placed the corner with the wide edge about an inch from the bottom of the card and ran it through the die cutting machine, then ran it through again to emboss it. I had two pieces of card stock stacked to do this. The reason was because I wanted to use an embossing folder to emboss the top portion of this card. I cut off the very bottom of this piece right below the Anji Corner and used the Marianne (DS0909) embossing folder on that top portion. I can use that cut off corner for something else later. Since I die cut the two pieces together, now I can attach the embossed portion back in perfect position around the die cut "corner". Where is was cut off does not show, because it is covered with the small flowers.

Behind the large white flower, I die cut a Marianne (CR1201) doily, then die cut a Spellbinders (purple) Scalloped Circle to place in the center of the doily. For a "frilly" look, I added the Memory Box "Quinn Flourish" (98267) over the purple circle. The flower was glued in the center. Along the bottom I created two shades of roses using the Cheery Lynn "Medium Rose" (B154). The leaves under these roses were die cut using the smaller Marianne leaves (LR0156). To add a little fullness, I added some small lavender flowers that were punched with the Punch Bunch "Super Giant Mega Lilacs/Daphne" punch. In the center of these little flowers I added lavender "Liquid Pearls" by Ranger. Two lavender Cheery Lynn "Mini Butterflies" (DL112) were added. A few Kaiser Craft white pearls were added to complete the card.

Do you enjoy me going through all these detailed instructions to help you learn how to create dimensional flowers? I hate to bore you with very long blog posts, but if these instructions are helpful to you, I will continue doing these little tutorials.

All the products in "bold" can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Tomorrow I will be back with a card designed with the new Heartfelt Creations Release.

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Cute Birdhouse

2012-02-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

This was such a fun card to design. As you know, Joan's Gardens is now selling stamps and dies from My Favorite Things. The products I used are: My Favorite Things "Contempo Cage and Stamp Set", "Homespun Birdhouse and Stamp Set", "Branch with Leaves", and "Fresh Cut Grass". The flourish is the Marianne Design (LR015) flourish. The small flowers were punched with the Punch Bunch "Super Giant Mega Lilacs/Daphne" punch. The Sizzix embossing folders used are the "Birds and Wreath", "Bricked", and "Beaded Ribbons".

This is a 5"x7" card. I started by embossing the background with the Sizzix "Birds and Wreath" embossing folder. I used chalks to color the inside of the oval blue. The birdhouse pieces were die cut using different colors of card stock and embossed. Below is a picture of the stamp set and the die cuts in this set. I used the "Bricked" embossing folder to emboss the body of the house and the "Beaded Ribbons" to emboss the edge of the roof. There is a stamp in this set that you can use for wood grain if you like. I die cut the house using a light blue card stock then used "Weathered Wood" Distress Stain to rub over the embossed area. I love how quick and easy it is to color using these stains - they have a sponge in the top and you just rub them on the card stock. In the embossing folder there are area's were there are not bricks, and I used one of these sections for the doorway. I'm not sure that looks good or not. You can kind of see that area in the picture below - it is kind of in the upper middle. That area was colored in with a Copic grey marker. The birdhouse was glued together and attached to the middle of the oval embossed area with dimensional dots.

The bird I used is from the "Contempo Cage" dies. It was sponged, the wing glued on then attached to the birdhouse with a dimensional dot. A small Kaiser Craft black pearl was added to the eye. The branch was die cut using brown card stock and sponged with brown Distress Inks for shading. The leaves were die cut, shaped, and added to the branch. The flowers were created by using the Punch Bunch Lilacs/Daphne punch. I love having this punch because it has different sizes of small flowers and leaves. In the center of each flower I glued in a small yellow bead.

Under the scene, I used one of the sentiment stamps from the Contempo Cage and Stamp Set. The sentiment reads "You're So Incredibly Tweet". Along the bottom edge I added the Die-Namics "Fresh Cut Grass" die cut.

All the products I used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

New JustRite Fleur De Lis

2012-02-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Have you seen all the new JustRite stamps you can order from Joan's Gardens. They include are a lot of new beautiful background stamps that cover the entire page. For my card today I used the "Fleur De Lis Background Stamp" (CL03565) and the "Fleur De Lis Labels Twenty" Set of 13 stamps (CL02210). I white embossed both the background and the label on bright blue card stock. The doily behind the Label is the Marianne (CR 1204).

For the flowers I created, I used the Marianne (LR0 128) dies for the larger petals. I love how these petals are ruffled the edges and the die even embosses the beautiful lines on them. To shape the flowers, you only need to use the stylus in the very center of each one to shape them. So quick and easy for a beautiful flower. In the middle of each flower I used the Cheery Lynn "Miniature Rose" (B152) die. In the very center of the flower, I used a Medium Sun punch. I wanted to show you that you can mix and match your flower dies to come up with different types of flowers. By using the Miniature Rose dies I was able to create a "fuller" looking center in the larger flowers. The leaves behind the flowers are the Marianne (LR0156) and (LR0206). Down the right side of the Fleur De Lis background, I added the Cheery Lynn "Francesca" (B159) border.

You can purchase all these pretty stamps and dies from Joan's Gardens.

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Pink and White Rose Plus Blog Hop Winner

2012-02-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite new dies from Joan's Gardens is the Marianne Design "Anji Corner" (LR0200). EDIT: I have had a couple of emails wanting to know where to get this die. Here is the direct link to it at Joan's Gardens . I have been wanting to use it on all four corners on the front of a card. In order to do this you need to have two of the corners because if you use only one, you will end up "smashing" the embossing on the other corners. This is a 5.5" square card. I placed two dies at the top, taped them down, then ran the top half of the card back through to emboss them. I repeated this process on the other two corners. Doesn't it make a gorgeous background! In the center I added the Marianne (CR1204) oval doily with adhesive tape.

The rose was created with the Super Giant Begonia Petals punch following the same procedure as in my Rose Tutorial. The other petals are cream colored and the center petals are pink. I added some leaves with a new die I just received from Joan's Gardens, Marianne (LR0156). I love the delicate look of these leaves. Behind the top of the rose I added two Marianne Leaves (LR0192). To complete the card I layered the Memory Box butterflies "Kaleidoscope Butterfly" (98261) and "Moonlight Butterfly" (98260) and placed it above the rose.

All the products I used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

I want to announce the winner of the Heartfelt Creations stamp set from the Alumni Design Team Blog Hop. The winner was randomly chosen from the comments left on Marsha's blog.

That lucky person is.....

NAN G

Nan please email Emma Lou at emmalou@heartfeltcreations.us and let her know you are the winner of the January Alumni Blog Hop to receive your $25 gift certificate to Heartfelt Creations.

Have a great weekend.

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Red Flowers

2012-02-03T06:44:00.000-08:00

Today I have designed a black and white card with a red focal point. The flower dies I used are the Cheery Lynn "Pulmeria" (B 134). Below is a picture of the die as pictured at Joan's Gardens. This is not a new Cherry Lynn die but a very fun die to use. Below I will show you how I created these flowers.

Cheery Lynn Plumeria B 134

The Plumeria flower die has five petals on it. Each petal die cuts separately so you can create your flower. This die is very useful to create different types of flowers because each petal cuts separately. You can create different flowers according to how many petals or layers you would like to add. I love products you can use in many different ways. Each of these petals has a small hole in it so you an build your flower using a brad, but I like to glue the petals to keep them in place. I used the "Punch Bunch" small snowflake for my base. This snowflake has six points. I wanted to create three flowers, so I die cut one extra flower to use an extra petal on each flower. Above you an see the pieces I used. The stamens are the Punch Bunch Large and Medium "Sparkle". I used one large and two medium for each flower. To make them "frilly" I cut down each point, then shaped them on the Black Flower Mat then stacked them. The Flower petals and leaves were also shaped on the black mat with tools from the Flower Tool Kit.

I used a piece of old design paper I had for the background. The pretty rectangle doily under the flowers is the Marianne Design (LR0- 117) die. The Heart is the Cherry Lynn "Two of Hearts" (DL 128) die. The corners were die cut using one of the Marianne Designs (LR0143) corners. To complete the card a black and white bow was added.

These products can all be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge

2012-02-02T02:00:00.000-08:00

Let's do something fun this week for the Challenge at Joan's Gardens. Valentines Day is almost here and most everyone starts thinking about chocolate. I thought it would be fun to create a cute little pouch for one of Joan's favorite candy bars -- the Hershey Bar! This week I am giving you the directions for creating the basic pouch and you can be as creative as you want to decorate it, insert a Hershey bar, and enter it into the Challenge at Joan's Gardens.

This picture shows the Hershey Bar inside. You pull up on the bow and it pulls the candy bar out.

This envelope is for the "King Size" bar. The bar, in the package measure 2" by 7" (2.6 oz). I know there are several size Hershey bars but I chose this size because it was a little larger and gave me more room to decorate. Below I will give you the size for a smaller pouch.

Directions for the 2.6 oz Hershey Bar. Cut card stock 7 1/2" x 6 1/2" for pouch. Score down length at 3" and 6". This leaves you with a 1/2" tab down the side for closure.

For a band around the pouch, cut a piece of card stock 8" x 2 1/2". Score down width at 3 1/8" and 6 1/4". I used the Cheery Lynn "Lace Edger" (B 153) border die along the lower side. This picture is of the back so you can see the die cut border.

Here are the instructions for a smaller Hershey bar. Cut card stock for the pouch 6"x7". Score at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2 " down length. For the band, cut a piece of card stock 2 1/2" x 6 1/2" and score down width at 2 3/4" and 5 1/2".

This picture shows open pouch with score lines. It also shows you where to place the ScoreTape (or other strong adhesive) for closure. Pull the liner off the tape on the bottom and fold over to seal the bottom. Next fold in the side tab, take off the liner on the opposite side and close. This creates your pouch. You need to punch holes at the top for the ribbon to go through. They should be centered. The hole will depend on the width of your ribbon.

Cut a piece of ribbon approximately 30" long. Push ribbon through both holes in the top and pull up until the ends are the same length. Next you push the Hershey Bar down into the pouch, between the ribbon, all the way to the bottom, pushing down the ribbon with the Hershey Bar. Tie a pretty bow at the top. To pull the Hershey Bar out, just pull up on the bow.

Products I used to decorate my pouch: Memory Box "LaRue Heart" (98255); "Grand Heart" (98254) and "Heart Chain Border" (98277). Spellbinders "Ribbon Banner"; Cheery Lynn "Olive Branches" (B147); "Medium Rose" (B154); "Lace Edger" (B153). Craft Lounge "Granny's Truffles" for the sentiment; Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" embossing folder; Kaiser Craft Pearls; Sheer Ribbon (5/8" wide) 30 inches long. All these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Hope you will join us this week for this fun challenge. These little covered bars are fun to give for a cute Valentine to someone special. Please go over to Joan's Gardens to read all the details about the challenge and see what the prize will be this week. Remember, if you are the winner, you will be in the drawing for the $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens that will be presented at the end of the year.

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Beautiful Butterfly

2012-02-01T11:53:00.000-08:00

More new dies to show you today. I love this new Marianne Design (CR1205) Butterfly you can now purchase from Joan's Gardens. Isn't it gorgeous. It is large enough to make it the center attraction on a beautiful card. I have die cut two butterflies and stacked them for a lot of dimension. This is a 5.5" x 6" card. The design paper I used is from an old Kaiser Craft 6" paper pad called "Lilac Avenue Collection". The butterflies were die cut using a light lavender pearlized card stock. I wanted them a slightly different shade of lavender so it would really be the focal point of the card.

I did add a lot of pretty die cuts to the left side of this card. I love how you can add a lot of die cut pieces without it getting messy looking. I have been using the beautiful new Marianne "Anji" border (edge) a lot lately, which you see in the upper middle of the card. This makes such an elegant looking card. Along the left side of that border I added the Marianne (LR0 201) border. It is hard to see in this picture. The flower was die cut using the new Tim Holtz "Mini Tattered Floral Set" (657488). These flowers match the larger die cuts but are much smaller. In the center of the flower I added two of the Punch Bunch Med "Sky Flake" stamens. The card stock colors used on the left side of the card are a light a dark plum color that matches the colors in the design paper. Under the flower you can see another new die from Marianne Designs (LR0206) Ivy. Behind the top of the flower I added the Marianne "Garden Branch" (LR0 051); one of the Marianne "Leaves" (LR0192) and two of the "Decorative Elegance" (LR0157) leaves. In the right side corners, I added two Spellbinders die cut corners. To finish it off, I added a few Kaiser Craft sticky back lavender pearls.

Here is a side view to show you the dimension on the card.

As you know, you can purchase all these products from Joan's Gardens. Hope you enjoyed seeing another purple card. The project I have for you tomorrow for the challenge at Joan's Gardens will be fun (and it is not purple!). See you then. Thanks for stopping by.

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Heartfelt Creations Flower Garden

2012-01-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

Today I am participating in the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Design Team Blog Hop. There are seven designers participating this month. If you came from Olga's blog you started at the beginning of the hop. As in the past, one lucky person leaving a comment on the participating blogs, will win a prize.

I love working with all the fabulous Heartfelt Creations flower stamps. They make it so easy to create beautiful dimensional flowers because they have matching Spellbinders dies. Heartfelt Creations has a complete garden of all types of beautiful flower stamps. The two Heartfelt Creations stamps sets I used today are "Flirty Fleurs PreCut Set" (HCPC 3439) and "Lilacs/Post Bouquest PreCut Set" (HCPC 3302). The flowers in both these sets match the Posy Patch Diecuts (HD 701). The flowers were stamped with Memento black ink and colored with Distress Inks. Additional flowers were stamped and cut out to make them dimensional.

Now it is time to see what see what Heartfelt Creations stamps the other designers have used. The next stop on this Hop is Loretta. Be sure to stop by all the blogs and leave a comment, because someone will be selected from comments left on one of the blogs to win a $25 gift certificate to Heartfelt Creations. All comments must be in by Friday, Feb 2 at midnight and the winner will be announced at noon Saturday.

All the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Butterflies and Roses

2012-01-30T12:57:00.000-08:00

Today I designed a card using another sheet of the FabScraps design paper and two of the new Marianne Design dies from Joan's Gardens. The name of this design paper is "High Tea Purple Floral". I really love this design paper. I used one of the 12x12" sheets, which is double sided, so used both sides on this card. The Marianne die on the lower left corner is the "Anja Edge" (LR0 202) and on the lower right side I used the Marianne "Anja Corner" (LR0 200). The little roses were created, out of vellum, with the Cheery Lynn "Large Rose"(B 155) die. The two butterflies are from the Cheery Lynn "Mini Butterfly" (LD112) die set. Kaiser Craft sticky back pearls were added to the Marianne die cuts, the butterflies and upper right corner. To complete the card a pretty lavender silk bow was added.

All these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Tomorrow morning I will be participating the the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Design Team Blog Hop. Hope you will be back to see what I created this month.

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Welcome to the Neighborhood

2012-01-29T16:40:00.000-08:00

Today I have a cute card for a new neighbor. The tree on this card is a new die you can pre-order from Joan's Gardens. Isn't it cute. It is the Marianne Design (LR0 203) tree. It was die cut twice - once using brown card stock and once using green. The green leaves were cut off and glued to the brown tree. I added a dot of glue to one area of the branches and that way as I cut off a leaf, I could place it in the same spot as it was cut off. I decided to add a few flowers to the tree since Spring should be here soon. Do you save small flowers, hearts, etc when you die cut a doily or a border? I do. I never know if I will use them, but in this case the little flowers from the Cheery Lynn "Daisy Lace Bracelet" (DL 135) die were the perfect size to add to this tree. I placed them on the Black Flower Shaping Mat and pressed down in the center with one of the tools from the Flower Tool Kit to give them a little dimension.

To create the green background, I placed the new Marianne "LR0 202" border along the bottom of a long piece of green card stock that was as wide as the card, and placed the Memory Box "Modern Landscape" (98257) die up around the middle and ran it thorough my die cutting machine. The top was cut off above the Landscape. I left the Marianne border attached to the upper piece and just pushed out the little pieces cut in the design. A piece of the same green card stock was added behind the die cut design. A piece of blue card stock was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder and attached to the top of the card. The die cut piece was attached over it. The sentiment is from the "Homespun Birdhouse" Die-Namics stamp set. The clouds were die cut using the Memory Box "Puffy Clouds" (98172) die.

I have a basket of fresh strawberries I need to go clean and get ready for strawberry shortcake. I'm looking forward to when we can go up to the strawberry fields and pick our strawberries -- yum, yum!

All the products I used can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Friendship Brewed to Perfection Plus a New Tool for Creating Rosebuds

2012-01-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

Hope you are having a great weekend. Today I have designed a card using the new "Marianne Anja Corner" (LR0 200) and a new All My Favorite Things "Always Time For Tea, Die and Stamp Set" available from Joan's Gardens. Yesterday I used the Anja Corner die in just one corner of my card, but today I have used it in both upper corners and cut a third one to place in the center. The Flourish I used is the Die-namics "Fancy Flourish". The doily used is the Marianne (CR1204) oval.

Do you love tea pots? If so, you are going to love this new stamp set from Joan's Gardens. The "Always Time for Tea" stamp set has so many possibilities for creating a cute tea pot. I have taken a picture of the set showing all the stamps to create different tea pots, many great sentiments, and also the dies. Below the dies you can see three different ways I used the stamps to create different designs on the pot. It includes stamps to create different designs on the teapot or you can use the "teapot" stamp to stamp on design paper. Between the different stamps and the die pieces, the possibilities are endless! On my card today, I used a small piece of the "High Tea" design paper I used yesterday to stamp the tea pot on, then used the tea pot die to cut it out. Only the lid, handle, spout, and bottom stamp, so I used VersaMark to stamp on the design paper and used an old embossing powder I have had for a long time, called burgundy enamelware, to emboss. The tea cup was die cut using the tea cup die, on a piece of the design paper. Between the two die cut corners, I added a small, cut out rose, cut from the "High Tea" design paper. A sentiment from this stamp set was stamped on a narrow strip of card stock and attached above the doily. A few Kaiser Craft pearls were added to complete the card.

ANOTHER MINI TUTORIAL

I promised to show you a new tool I discovered. By accident yesterday, I came across this pair of special pliers in my crafting supplies that makes it easy to create a rosebud, plus helps shape rose petals. Below is a picture.

These pliers have two totally round points. This is a great addition to our Flower Tool Kit. Instead of having to use a bead to shape the rosebud, I found that using this tool shapes the bud very easily. Here is how I did it.

Start by adding glue to the petal. Have the pointed end of the petal at the top. Grip the petal on one side with the pliers and roll it around the closed pliers.

These pliers go down to a point, so when you roll the petal around, it starts shaping just like it did when you use the bead. Roll another petal around having the point of the second petal on the opposite side, to created a closed pointed "center" of the bud. You can add three pointed petals, if you want to created a more closed point.

Add glue to another petal, but this time the pointed end should be pointed "down". I've added glue to the bottom half of this petal, placed the center of the bud in the center of this petal, and rolled the edges around. If the glue gets on the pliers, it comes off easily when finished.

Continue to add more petals, in the same way alternating them as you go around, until you get the bud just the way (size) you want. Let the glue dry enough to stick together before adding another petal. To pull the bud off the pliers, place your finger nail at the bottom edge of the bud, slightly open the pliers, and pull the bud off. You can add the green leaves around the bud while it is still on the pliers, or after you have pulled it off.

This is a picture of the first layer of the large rose. The other thing I love about these pliers is that you can use them to roll the edges of the petals, either up or down to give them a realistic look without getting creases, because each side of the pliers is perfectly round. I have used the self closing pliers to do this in the past, but found using this tool I got a more realistic roll and it is actually easier to get the perfect curl.

One more thing these pliers are great for is rolling up the "cuties" die cut flowers from Cheery Lynn. In order to get a "full" looking flower, Cheery Lynn suggests that you glue two strips of the cuties together, alternating the petals. This makes it very hard too use a quelling tool because the slot in the quelling tool is not very wide. These pliers work fantastic. Just add some glue along the lower edge of the strip, pinch one end of it with the pliers and roll it up. These also work great when rolling the Memory Box rolled flowers. So quick and easy - I think you will love them! You can order these pliers from Joan's Gardens.

As you know all the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Purple Roses

2012-01-27T13:25:00.000-08:00

Today I created a card with a new die I have been so excited to use. You can get this Marianne Design "Anja Corner" (LR0200) die from Joan's Gardens. The design paper I used is FabScraps "High Tea Floral" (C41 001A). You can purchase this gorgeous design paper from Joan's Gardens. I love the purple roses in this paper so decided to try and create one of my roses using the Punch Bunch Super Giant Begonia Petals punch to match it. The petals were punched using an off white lightweight card stock and sponged with Tim Holtz "Seedless Preserves" Distress Ink then lightly sponged with "Spun Sugar" Distress Ink to lightly blend the colors so they matched the roses in the design paper.

The leaves and flourishes in the design paper are a Sage Green so I used a piece of pearlized sage green card stock to die cut the Marianne Design "Anja Corner". I wanted to cut the design paper off right below the beautiful embossed corner, so I die cut the design paper and the card stock at the same time in order to match the corners. I then used scissors to cut around the bottom edge of the embossing and trimmed off a 1/4" border all the way around the design paper. These pieces were attached to a "Sand" colored 5.5" card. A string of pearls was added along the cut edge of the design paper.

I made a new discovery today that I am excited to tell you about tomorrow. I found a new tool in my craft things that made it very easy to shape my rose and create the rosebud. Be sure to come back tomorrow and I will have a tutorial showing you all the uses I found for this "new" tool. The rose was created like the directions in my Rose tutorial. The bud was created a little different and I will explain that tomorrow. I used the Spellbinder Leaves and one of the Marianne "leaves" (LR0192) under the rose. The sentiment is from the "My Favorite Things" Die-namics Polka Dot Greetings. It was die cut with a Spellbinders Tag. I used "Seedless Preserves" Distress Ink to stamp the sentiment.

A closeup of the Rose and Rosebud

If you haven't been over to see all the new Marianne Design and My Favorite Things added to Joan's Gardens, I think you will enjoying seeing all these new products.

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Aqua and White Flowers

2012-01-26T12:02:00.000-08:00

Today I have designed a card using some older products from Joan's Gardens but also some of the new Marianne Design dies that she posted to her blog today. I have taken pictures to help you see exactly the products I used and how I created this card.

For the beautiful embossed background, I used the Marianne Design (DS0911) embossing folder. Since I have a portion of this embossed area covered up with a flower, I took a picture so you can see how beautiful this "Cut and Emboss" folder is. Marianne Design makes the most beautiful embossing folder and your cards will always look very special when you use these gorgeous folders.

I wanted to make a "funky" flower today with polka dots. I didn't have any design paper I wanted to use, so I made my own using a piece of the lightweight card stock Joan and I use to create our flowers. I used this background stamp from the Studio 490 "Seriously Art" stamp set. I like it because the dots are small and close together creating a very pretty Dotted Swiss design. I used VersaMark Ink and white embossed them on the aqua card stock. Since this is a long narrow stamp, it was easy to stamp as many repeat rows as I wanted. I used a portion of this background to die cut the center flower and also used a strip of it for the side border, to coordinate everything on the card.

The flowers I used are from the new Marianne Design Creatables "XL Flower Set with Leaf" (LR0196) package. You receive three size petals in it plus a leaf. On the back of the package it explains how to create these a flower with these petals. You need to cut them has I show in the bottom row above, then glue the together. Before gluing them back together, I used the tools from the flower tool kit to condition them, "cupping" for easy assembly. I left a tiny piece on one side of the cut out petals to make it easier to glue them back together. Once you get the flowers shaped and glued back together, you just need to glue (stack) them together.

You know I always like to add stamens to my flowers, so I am showing you the die cut and punched pieces I used. First, the top row is showing the Cheery Lynn "Miniature Rose" (B152) die and the 3 die cut flowers I used for each flower along the left border of the card. On the far left you can see the Punch a Bunch "Small Sparkle" used for the stamen. I only added one to each of the small flowers. On the bottom row you can see the four "Medium Sparkle" punched pieces used for the large flower. In order to make the stamen "frilly" I cut down the center of each "spike" down to the center, then used a small stylus and pressed it down into the black shaping mat to make it curl up. All four pieces were glued together, pressed back down in the shaping mat, and added to the large flower.

Under the large flower I added this beautiful Memory Box "Quinn Flourish" (98267). I die cut two of these flourishes and cut the pretty little flourishes on the ends off, so I could tuck them under the small flowers on the left border. They are just the perfect size.

This is a picture of the Marianne "Leaves" (LR0192) used under the large flower. I used two of the leaves on the right and only one of the leaves on the left. I use these leave a lot for a pretty embellishment under my flowers.

On the left side border, I used the new Marianne border dies "Anja Lace" (LR0201). Don't you love the detail in that pretty border. Up in the upper right corner, I added one of the Cheery Lynn "Mini Butterflies" (DL 112). To finish off the card, Kaiser Craft turquoise and white pearls were added.

Don't you love the great variety of products you can purchase from Joan's Gardens! She makes it so easy to do one stop shopping. She is always keeping an eye open for the newest products available. You know if you do see something she doesn't have on her blog, you can just ask, and she will gladly try and get it for you. I'm sure you probably know also, that Joan charges $1.00 less than retail, on most products, and she charges you exactly what it costs to ship - no minimum shipping charge. Be sure to go over and check out all the new products she posted today.

Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge

2012-01-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

It is time for a new challenge at Joan's Gardens. This week the challenge is to create a 4.25" x 5.5" birthday card using pink, green and a touch of purple. It also requires you use distressing and piercing. All the challenge rules will be listed on Joan's blog tomorrow.

For my card I used a new stamp available from Joan's Gardens. It is the Penny Black "Garden Poems" stamp. I colored it using Distress Inks Spun Sugar; Shabby Shutters; Peeled Paint; and Vintage Photo. The yellow was sponged on using yellow chalk from the "Pebbles, Inc" Pearlescent, Jewel Tones, chalk pad. It gives it a nice little sparkle. The Fence (LR0205) and Grass (LR0204) die are new dies from Marianne Designs. The butterfly is one of the Cheery Lynn "Mini Butterflies" (DL112). To Distress the edges of the top panel I used the "Zutter Distrezz-it-All" tool. This tool makes it very quick and easy to distress the edges of your card stock. A Tim Holtz Piercing Tool was used to to pierce the holes around the design. The sentiment at the top of the card is from the "Die-namics Polka Dot Greetings" stamp set. This is a new line of products Joan will soon be posting on her blog. The only thing on this card that is dimensional is the butterfly, and that can be pressed down so it easily mails in a regular A-2 envelope.

I hope you will join us this week in our challenge. Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to read all the details of the challenge, see what the prize is this week, then link your card to her blog. We look forward to seeing your beautiful cards.

All the products I use an be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

2012-01-25T05:38:00.000-08:00

AND THE WINNER OF MY BLOG CANDY IS . . .

It is wonderful to have so many blogging Followers and Friends. I have enjoyed reading all the lovely comments left on my blog and want to thank each of you for your support. It makes me feel great to know you are all really out there and looking forward to my posts. I love designing with all the wonderful products from Joan's Gardens, giving you different ideas for using them. Many times we crafters purchase products, then aren't sure what to do with them. Our goal at Joan's Gardens is to give you a lot of inspiration so you are really using all the crafting supplies you purchase. Joan and I love seeing all your creative cards/projects in our weekly challenges, showing us how you have used these products. Every comment left on the January 18 post was printed off, put in basket, and the winner of the $25 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens is Georgei. CONGRATULATIONS GEORGEI. You may contact Joan when you are ready to go shopping.

Georgei said...

Congrats on your 400,000 visit
I to enjoy your cards and the tutorials on your blog
your cards are so very pretty all the this
there is not one that I do not like they are all beautiful
and the work that you put on them
thank for being there
and for Joann garden well I love the dies they are very pretty
would like have some of them
thank you for giveing a chance to win your candy
would be fun shopping at Joann
thank again
have a very nice day
HUGS

Purple Valentine

2012-01-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

I have a new heart border I have not used yet, so decided to design a purple Valentine with it today. Yes, Glenda you tempted me. This is another one of the pretty new dies from Memory Box that Joan recently added to her blog. The name of this is Memory Box "Cherish Border" (98282). Doesn't it make a pretty Valentine! If you didn't want a dimensional card, you could add a sentiment, where I have the purple flowers, and it would be a beautiful "flat" card. Here are the other items from Joan's Gardens that I used to design this card: Cheery Lynn "Francesca" (B159) border at the top; Next is the Memory Box "Cherish Border" The bottom of the card was embossed with the Cuttlebug "Kassies Brocade" embossing folder. The flowers were created with all the Cheery Lynn Cuties dies " Cuties 1, 2, 3, and 4. Cuties 4 is the new flower die that was just released. These flowers are easy to create. You die cut them, glue two rows together, and roll them up. For small flowers you only use a third or half of the strip, and for a larger flower you use the whole strip. Below the flowers I added the Marianne Design "Garden Branch" (LR0 151). Tucked in between the flowers are a lot of the pretty little leaves that come with the Marianne Design (LR0 117) rectangle doily. These are very small leaves and fit it perfectly between small flowers. For some extra color, I cut apart a piece of lavender trim and placed part of it below the pretty heart border and the other half along the top of the card. A lavender dotted Swiss bow was added to complete the card.

We have been stuck in the house the last few days because of all the snow and ice. I think we had close to a foot of snow then it rained and made all the streets very icy. I'm looking forward to it warming up next week.

Thanks for stopping by to see what I was up to today. Hope you enjoy this card.

Rosebud Tutorial

2012-01-21T13:46:00.000-08:00

As promised I have my Rosebud Tutorial for you today.

Before I begin the tutorial I will tell you about the card I created using the rosebuds. This is a 5.5" x 6" card. I used one of the Marianne Designs embossing folders that I have not used for a while. The number on this cut and emboss folder is (DS0909). It is a perfect background for this card. On top of the Marianne embossed folder, I have added a beautiful "Cut and Emboss Frame" (6002/0037) by Joy Crafts. When you die cut this frame, the center is cut out but I wanted it in the frame for this card. I put the center in the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder to give it some texture since I was not stamping on it. My floral arrangement was placed over it so it is hard to see that. Around the edges of the frame I attached little Kaiser Craft Pearls. To complete the background I embossed a piece of card stock using the Sizzix "Thank You Set #5" (656983) embossing folder. I use this folder a lot. To finish the edge between the two embossed areas I added one of the new Cheery Lynn borders called "Queen Anne's Lace" (B160).

In the center of the Joy Craft frame, I made an arrangement with the rosebuds I created. On the bottom of the arrangement I used the Marianne (LR0192) leaf then added the rosebuds along with a few leaves die cut the Spellbinder Leaf die. I cut the leaves off the stem so I could tuck them in. I needed some stems for the rose buds and discovered the stems from the die cut leaves was just perfect. To complete the card a bow and a few more pearls were added. As you know, all the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Joy Crafts "Cut and Emboss Frame #6002/0037

This picture shows the completed pieces used in the two tutorials. The stems for the rosebuds are from the stem from the die cut leaves.

TUTORIAL FOR CREATING MY ROSEBUDS WITH A PUNCH

The tutorial for creating the rose was posted yesterday.

This is the picture I posted yesterday showing the supplies used to create the rose and rosebuds. The glue is different for the rosebuds.

The Punch Bunch Super Giant Begonia Petals punch has five different sizes of petals, and for the rosebuds I have used some of the smaller ones. There is not a set number of petals you must use for your rosebuds. The more you use the larger your bud will be.

The glue I used for creating the rosebud is the "Crafter's Pick" glue because it is thick and adheres to plastic and more. The glue doesn't dry immediately, so to make it easy to create the bud, I added glue to the bottom portion of all the pieces for one bud before I started assembling it.

My idea was to find a bead that I could use to shape the petals around to resemble a bud. You are going to be working with the point of each petal pointed up so you have a point on the bud.

Place the bead into the glue with both the bead and the petal with the small end up. Notice I have quite a bit a glue because I want the petal to glue tightly to the bead.

Roll the petal around the bead, getting it tight all the way around. You probably will have part of the bead still visible.

Now place the open side of the first petal "down" and match up the points. Press the sides down over the first petal. You can shape the top of the bud as you go by pressing in all around it.

Here is a picture of the bud with four petals glued around the bead. Notice all the points are in different places so when all finished you can bend them in to close the gap.

Now you are going to do the exact same thing using the green petals.

Add your second green petal enclosing the bud.

In this picture you can see how you can make different size buds according to the number of petals you use.

If you missed my tutorial on how to create a rose in full bloom, you will find the tutorial here.

If you create the rose or rosebuds using my tutorial, please link back to my blog. Thank you.

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Tutorial for Creating Roses Using Punches

2012-01-20T19:26:00.000-08:00

When I posted a card with a rose and rose bud a few days ago, a lot of you told me you would love to have a tutorial on how to create them. Before I get started with the tutorial I want to let you know which products I used on this card. This is a 5.5"x6" card. I embossed the background with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder and then used the new Cheery Lynn "French Lattice Small" (FRM 132) frame. I love the delicate look when using this new frame. The pretty flourish in the upper right corner is the new Memory Box "Quinn Flourish" (98267). The sentiment was stamped and die cut using the smallest Spellbinders scallop heart. The edges were pieced and sponged with Spun Sugar Distress Ink. The pretty border along the bottom of the card is the new Memory Box "Pepita Border" (98256). The green flourish is the Heartfelt Creations "Bella Rose Flourish". I love to use this die cut flourish with all my roses. The leaves were die cut using the Spellbinders "Rose Leaves" die. I have created a tutorial for both the Rose in full bloom and one for the Rose buds. I took a total of 71 pictures while creating these roses and have used only the ones I felt are most important to show you the steps I took. Since there are so many pictures, (not all 71) I will be posting the tutorial for the Rose Buds tomorrow.

TUTORIAL FOR CREATING A ROSE IN FULL BLOOM

Before I begin I want to apologize for having such a messy black shaping mat. I have made thousands of flowers on it and it is about wore out. I ordered a new mat so next time I make a tutorial for you it won't be so messy looking. In the picture above are the supplies I used to create the large rose. The punches used are the Punch Bunch Super Giant Begonia Petals and a six point snowflake.The card stock I used is light weight. Joan's Gardens carries a large selection of card stock variety packs that are just perfect for creating these flowers - you can see the colors here. I have punched a stack of petals and for this rose used the largest pink petals. I will use the smaller petals for different size roses and rose buds. The green petals will be used on the buds. I always use the tools from the Flower Tool Kit which are laying on the black shaping mat. The tools come in the box on the left side of the picture. The glue I used for this rose is the "Art Institute Adhesive". I also like to use the DG3 Art Gel but it is clear and wouldn't show up as well in this tutorial. All these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

The number of petals you use will depend on the fullness you want in your rose. For this tutorial I used 18 petals for the open part of the rose plus three more for the closed center. All the petals were conditioned with the white shaping tool from the Flower Tool Kit. You go around in circles with this tool until the petals "cups" up.

Next, use the self closing tweezers and curl the edges back on some of the petals to resemble a real rose petal. Place the tweezers on the very edge and curl under.

With part of the petals you can use the largest stylus and rub around the edges to curl them back. Also use the tweezers to crease the bottom portion of the petal pulling both sides up (on front side) to further cup the petal.

Use the punched snowflake for the base of the rose. Use the large white tool to cup it. Add glue to every other point as shown above. I always work on my Craft Mat because it is so easy to clean with a baby wipe. Joan has the most fabulous "Stay Put Craft Mats" that will not roll on the edges. It is very large and great for working on when using glue or other products that can be messy.

Add the pointed end of the petals to the glued green points.

Add glue to the other three points.

Add three more petals. The petals should overlap. Your first row will look like this. I created two sections like this. A third row was completed but the petals were cupped up to begin the closed shape of the rose. There is a picture below showing all the layers.

When the glue is dry, place each layer on the black shaping mat and use the pointed end of the white tool and press down around the center to fluff up the petals.

Here is what the bottom of each the three layers will look like. As you can see the snowflake holds the six petals.

I used three petals to create the center of the rose. For the very center, the "pointed" end of the petal will be at the top and was rolled around the self closing tweezers to form a tight point. Put glue around the bottom of the petal to help keep it closed.

The next two petals glued to the very center will be added with the point down. Add glue to the pointed end and twist it around the first rolled petal. Then do the same thing with the third petal placing the middle of the petal over the end of the last petal. You want the petals alternated to look realistic.

When you have all the layers completed you used have these four sections. You an see the "cupped" section in the lower left corner. Notice how the outer petals of the center section are slightly flared out. When placing that center section in the middle of the rose, you may have to trim off the very bottom to acquire the height you want.

Use glue to attach the two "open" layers together. Use the stylus to press and hold these sections until they have time to stick together - about 10 seconds. Place these sections on the black shaping mat and press down in the center with the stylus to help curl up the petals.

Add the "cupped" section just as you did the first two layers. When you press the flower down in the shaping mat while the petals are still wet with glue, it helps them to curl up and give you that realistic shape. Hold down for a few seconds to help hold the shape. You want to be sure and use the largest stylus in the kit. If you use one that is too small, you might punch a hole through the center and not get a very good shaping.

Put a little pool of glue down in the center of the rose and press in the center rolled section you created. You will end up with a rose similar to this. Every rose will turn out slightly different. I have made lots of roses and I don't think any two turned out exactly the same. Making roses is a little time consuming but so worth the effort. Once you have learned the steps and completed your first rose, you will find each one thereafter will be very easy.

As I create more and more roses, I have finally come up with my own way to create them. I have never seen a tutorial or any directions on how to create the type of rose bud I make. I will be back tomorrow with a tutorial on how to create my style rose bud.

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Joan's Weekly Challenge

2012-01-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

It is time for a new challenge at Joan's Gardens. One of the most popular dies recently has been the Poppy Stamps Madison Window dies. I am so excited about the new Heartfelt Creations Collection this month because not only are the stamps beautiful with the new Decorative Chateau Gate dies in this collection but most all the scenic stamps work well with the Madison window. Don't you love it when you can get lots of uses out of your purchases! You are not required to use this window die in our challenge this week; you can create a card using any window stamp, die or any creative window idea you design, to create a window scene - we love to see your creativity.

This week for our chalelnge we would like for you to create a window scene. You can get all the information about the challenge at Joan's Gardens. I used the Grand Madison Window and found a fantastic way to color it. After die cutting it, I used the Tim Holtz "Walnut" Distress Stain. I love how these bottles have a sponge on the end and you just swipe it across for nice even coverage. These stains come in all the Distress Inks colors so you have a great variety of choices.

I stamped one of the scenes from the Heartfelt Creations "Scenic Vista PreCut Set" (HCPC 344) on watercolor paper and used the Distress Reinkers to color it. There are three scenes to choose from in this set. The window was attached with dimensional dots over the scene. The design paper I used is from the Kaiser Craft "Blae & Ivy" paper pad. It has a shiny design in the paper. I found out when you stamp on this paper you need to clear emboss it or else the ink will smear all over. The sentiment I used is from the Heartfelt creations "Door To My Heart PreCut Set" (HCPC 3449). This sentiment reads "Home is where the heart is".

The flourish I used on the left side of the card is the Memory Box "Amira Flourish" (98183). The pretty vase of flowers is from the Heartfelt Creations "Doorway Trimmings PreCut Set" (HCPC 3446). There are two bouquets, a topiary tree and another scene in this set. The image was cut out using scissors and attached with a piece of dimensional tape. Tiny yellow beads were glued to the center of each of the flowers.

I hope you will join us this week in our Challenge at Joan's Gardens. We love to see your cards. Be sure to go over to Joan's Blog to read all the details and see what the prize is this week.

As you know, all the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. Be sure to check out the "I Want It All" price on the entire collection from Heartfelt Creations to save money - of course you can purchase individual sets.

If you haven't signed up for my Blog Candy for a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens, just click on the link on my side bar.

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Celebrating 400,000 Visits to my Blog

2012-01-18T10:05:00.000-08:00

Would you like to win some Blog Candy? It hasn't been quite three years since I started my blog to share my work with you, and notice I will soon have 400,000 visits to my blog and now have 554 Followers from 152 Countries. I want to thank each of you for all your visits and comments letting me know you are really out there and enjoy my work. I love designing for Joan's Gardens and having the opportunity to give you lots of inspiration for using the products you purchase from her. You always make my day. I receive lots of comments from you stating you are putting lots of the dies and other products I use from Joan on your Wish List. I thought instead of giving you products, that you might enjoy receiving a $25 Gift Certificate so you can go shopping at Joan's Gardens and pick out some of the items you have really been wanting. I am going to leave this post open for one week and will choose a lucky Follower from comments left on this post. It will be done by a random drawing, so everyone leaving a comment on this post will have a chance to win. I would love for you to leave me a comment telling me what your favorite products are from Joan's Gardens and what type of post gives you the most inspiration to start creating.

Thanks for helping me celebrate!

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Sophia's Heart Doily with Roses

2012-01-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

As promised yesterday, I designed a card using that beautiful new Cheery Lynn die "Sophia's Heart" (DL184) doily. I used the entire doily for this card. It is such a gorgeous die and I thought it would look great with roses for an embellishment.

Here is a closeup picture showing the rose in full bloom, a rose just opening and a rose bud. I was so excited to figure out how to create all these roses using only the Punch Bunch "Super Giant Begonia Petals" punch. The rose bud looks so realistic. Would you like for me to do a tutorial on how I created these roses? If I get a lot of you wanting this tutorial I will do it for you.

This is a 5.5" x 6" card. The background behind the doily was embossed with the Cuttlebug "Love Language" embossing folder. The Sophia's Heart Doily was attached in the middle of the card. The embellishments behind the roses are the Heartfelt Creations Bella Rose Flourish. It was die cut using white card stock and just the leaves were sponged green. The two leafy embellishments are from the Marianne Design (LR0 192) set. I used to use a lot of the Martha Stewart punched branches but I now like to use these Marianne die cuts to fill in areas around flowers. You can use them "whole" or cut them in smaller pieces and tuck them in around flowers.

Pearls were added in the center of the little hearts in the doily and in the upper corners to finish the card. There is room to tuck in a little sentiment when I get ready to send this card to someone special. By the way, I wanted to let you know that I sent Joan a card in one of the clear boxes I told you about last week. I put the card in the box and placed a piece of computer in the box behind the card. I placed the label on the backside of the clear box. I did put shipping tape along the seam on both ends to be sure the box didn't come open. I took it to the post office and the postage was $1.71 going from Washington to Indiana. Joan received the card today and the box was not hurt (smashed) at all. She told me it was a beautiful way to receive a card that you can see before even opening the package. I know now that I don't even have to put these clear boxes in a padded envelope like I have done in the past. If you have very dimensional cards, you would like to mail to someone special, I highly recommend using these boxes.

Here are pictures of some of the products I used today:

On the left side of this picture are the two Marianne Design leaves (LR0 192) and on the right is the beautiful Heartfelt Creations Bella Rose Flourish.

This is the new Cheery Lynn "Sophia's Heart" doily (DL 184)

This is the Super Giant Begonia Petals punch used for all the petals and the greenery around the rose buds.

You can order all the products I used on my card today, plus the clear boxes, from Joan's Gardens. In case you haven't seen them, Joan has put two new Memory Box videos on her blog that I'm sure you will enjoy watching.

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Lots of Ideas From One Gorgeous Die

2012-01-16T11:16:00.000-08:00

This doesn't look like a card, does it! Well I love this new Cheery Lynn "Sophia's Heart" (DL184) doily die so much I hated to cover it up with embellishments. Not only are there intricate cuts in this doily but also a lot of piercing. The picture doesn't do it justice! It really is gorgeous! I am going to design a card with it later today, but first wanted to show you some different possibilities you an create by cutting different parts out of this doily. I used several of these dollies so I could show you some of the new "dollies" I created out of this beautiful die.

Here are the different doilies I cut out so far. I can see other possibilities. Joan Gardens has all the new Cheery Lynn dies posted on her blog with a video from Cheery Lynn. I think you will get a lot of helpful information by watching this video. Here is the direct link to the video and all the new Cheery Lynn dies at Joan's Gardens.

I'll be back later today with a card I design using this gorgeous die.

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New Poppy Stamps and Cheery Lynn Dies

2012-01-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

THIS IS MY SECOND POST TODAY. To see the box I created using the New Cheery Lynn Dies, please scroll down to the next post.

This card was designed using a few more new dies I received from Joan's Gardens. The window is the Poppy Stamps "Small Madison Window" die (816). The flower box at the base of the window is a new Poppy Stamps die called "Small Flower Box" (823) designed to fit the bottom of the the window frame. The cute little flowers in the flower box were die cut using the Poppy Stamps "Wildflower Patch" (820). The little flowers all cut separately when die cut. I cut them out using green card stock, first, for the base flower which would be the stems and leaves. The die was used again using purple and pink card stock so I could have colored flowers. The flowers were cut off the stems, shaped and attached to the green die cut. If you wanted to, you could just die cut the flowers using white card stock and color the stems and leaves green and the flowers whatever color you want using a marker.

The green vine was cut using the new Poppy Stamps "Ivy Tendrils" (822). I die cut three of them and glued one to the front of the window box, then attached the other two behind the flowers. The window box was attached with dimensional dots. Behind the window die cut, I added a piece of the Cheery Lynn "Anastasia Border" (B136) to create curtains inside the window. A piece of card stock was cut to fit behind the window and it was sponged with Distress Ink.

The design paper is from Basic Grey. The pretty border is one of the new Cheery Lynn dies just released called "Country Girl" (B157). You can use ribbon through the openings but I decided to add a piece of card stock behind the middle section. There are very pretty little pierced flowers on this border and I didn't want to cover any of them up. The butterfly is one of the Cheery Lynn 'Mini Butterflies" (DL 112) In the top corners I added two Spellbinders corners. The sentiment and pretty frame around it are from the JustRite "Friendship Blooms" stamp set. The frame was stamped and cut out with with scissors. The sentiment was stamped and die cut using a Spellbinders petite scalloped circle. A marker was used to add the dots around it.

Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to see all the new dies Joan has added to her store. It is so fun to create cards with dies and she has a great variety to choose from.

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New dies from Cheery Lynn

2012-01-15T07:15:00.000-08:00

It is time for the new release of Cheery Lynn Dies. You can see ALL the new dies over at Joan's Gardens. Today I decided to create a box to show off the pretty new "Cuties" flowers and the beautiful new "French Lattice Small Frame". Here is a list of all the products I used to create this box: Sizzix Cake Box die; Cheery Lynn dies: "Cuties 4" (B156); "French Pastry Doily" (DL102); "Italian Flourish" (DL103); "Tropical Flourish" (B127); Stacker Flowers (leaves) #1" (SF-1); "Olive Branch" (B147); "French Lattice Small Frame" (FRM132); "Mini Butterfly" (DL112).

I started out by creating the box with the Sizzix Cake Box die. This is a perfect little box to add some delicious chocolates for someone special or for a small gift. I used a spray glue to attach design paper to Tim Holtz Grunge Paper. This paper works really great for this box because there are little lines cut in the body of the box, to help it bend around into a circle, and the Grunge Paper is very sturdy but also very pliable. On top of the lid I attached the Cheery Lynn "Italian Flourish" to add a pretty background for the flowers. I love these new Cheery Lynn flowers created with the "Cuties 4" die. This die creates a larger flower than the other "Cuties" flower dies so is a great addition to this collection. To create this flower I conditioned the strip with tools from the Flower Tool Kit then glued two strips together, alternating the petals. Then you just roll it up and pull down each of the petals. A very quick and easy way to create a pretty flower. A variety of Cheery Lynn leaves and flourish were die cut and added under the flowers. For the sides of the box I die cut two of the new "French Lattice Small Frames" and trimmed them to fit the side (height) of the box. It took two of these frames to go around the box. I used liquid glue on the lattice to attach it to the sides of the box. The "French Pastry Doily" was die cut using the design paper used on the body of the box and attached to the bottom of the box.

You can purchase all the new Cheery Lynn dies and the Sizzix Cake Box die from Joan's Gardens.

396508

Love Birds

2012-01-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

Today I have a card created with a few more new dies available from Joan's Gardens. This is a 5.5"x6" card. The design paper is from the "Echo Park Paper Co" Dots & Stripes 6x6 Paper Pad. I love polka dot and striped paper and these pads are loaded with lots of great colors.

The new Marianne die I used in the center of the card is the "Winter Birds" (LR0186) die cut. I think it is a beautiful die to use for a Valentine. The frame I placed under the birds is the Cheery Lynn "Sweetheart Frame" (FRM127). I did not want the strips to show through the die cuts so I cut a square of pink card stock and embossed it with the Cuttlebug "Musical Flourish" embossing folder. The border under the square is the Cheery Lynn "Lace Edger" (B153) border. On the corners of the card I dug out a very old corner punch and cut the punched corners off and attached them to this card. To embellish this card I used lots of Kaiser Craft pearls. I originally had a bow above the heart but felt it took away from these beautiful dies, so I removed it.

I added the Sizzix "Small Easel" to the back of this card. I know the person who will be receiving this card will put it on display. Below is a picture of the easel on the back of the card. I love how easy it is to die cut this easel. To attach it to the card you just need to add adhesive down one side. The little tab that is holding the easel open folds flat when you want to mail the card. I have been putting this easel on the back of cards that I want to display in my crafting room. Joan Gardens does have these in stock.

All the the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Have a wonderful weekend. Joan is going to posting some beautiful new dies next week so I will be busy creating some samples for you. I love working with dies!

395440

Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge #2

2012-01-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for another challenge? This week the challenge at Joan's Gardens is to create a Valentine using non-traditional colors. I have used a piece of Graphic 45 design paper (Le Romantique) that has peach roses in it. I'm not sure if this paper is still available but you can ask Joan. I created a dimensional rose by using the Punch a Bunch "Super Giant Begonia Petals" punch to coordinate with the design paper. Behind the top of the rose, I added one of the Marianne Design "leaves" (LR0192). There are three leaves in this package and I love to use them with all my flowers. I used a Spellbinders die for the green leaves.

Another requirement in this challenge is to use some kind of lace. I used the beautiful Cheery Lynn "Nautical Wheeler Doily" (DL180) under the rose. This is such a lacy doily and looks beautiful under the rose. I cut the doily in half and used it above the band on the card. Across the center I used a coordinating piece of design paper from the Graphic 45 pad for the band. Over the band I add the pretty heart border from Cheery Lynn "Tangled Hearts" (B143). The pretty heart is one of the new Cheery Lynn "Two of Hearts" (DL128). I used the largest heart in this package and stamped the sentiment, which is from the retired , JustRite "Romantic Sentiments" stamp set. The sentiment reads "You hold the Key to my Heart". I used this sentiment because I wanted to use the beautiful Marianne Designs "Key" (LR0193). I really love all the dies you can now purchase from Joan's Gardens. They make it so fun to create beautiful quick and easy cards.

I want to thank all of you that have been entering our weekly challenge. Joan and I love to see your beautiful cards. Maybe you will be the lucky winner from this challenge, determined by a random drawing to win a prize from Joan's Gardens. Remember, the winners of each of the weekly challenges will be entered into the drawing for the $100 gift certificate that will be awarded at the end of the year.

Please go over to Joan's Garden's to read all the information about this week's challenge.

394056

Heartfelt Creations Chateau Gate Collection

2012-01-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

It is time for the new Heartfelt Creations Release "Chateau Gate Collection". This collection features 9 PreCut stamp sets and one beautiful new, exclusive, Spellbinders die designed for this collection. This collection is very versatile and you will be able to create projects for the men in your life, invitations, graduations, love, congratulations and much more. Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to see the entire collection. If you fall in love with this collection, Joan is offering a great savings on the "I Want It All" package.

Today I am posting two cards, a feminine and a masculine card, created with these new stamps. The feminine card was created using one of the new, beautiful gate dies. It was cut out using white card stock then scored down each of the sides of the opening, using the ScorBuddy so the panels will open easily. The background was embossed with the Cuttlebug "Musical Flourish" embossing folder. Spellbinders corners were die cut and added to each corner. Small oblong pearls were added to the door panels for knobs. In the top corner, an arrangement was created using the Heartfelt Creations "Carnation Florals 2 PreCut Set" (HCPC 3438). Under the arrangement I placed one of the Marianne (LR0192) leaves plus the leaves from the Marianne (LR0117). The scene behind the open panels is from the Heartfelt Creations "Scenic Vista PreCut Set" (HCPC 3444).

On the inside you can see the stamped "Scenic Vista" image. It was colored with Copic markers. In order for you to see this image from the front, I die cut two of the gates - one for the outside and one for the inside of the card. The panels were cut off the one die cut, to be used for the inside, and I used that one as a template in order to cut the opening in the top of the card. By attaching the second gate on the inside, it created a finished look to the opening.

This is a closeup of the stamped image. The sentiment is from one of the new stamp sets in this collection called "Door to My Heart PreCut Set" (HCPC 3449).

This is the masculine card I designed using the "Chateau Gateway PreCut Set" (HCPC 3441) and "Mystic Hideaway PreCut Set" (HCPC 3445). I began by stamping the "Chateau Gateway" image on white card stock. I cut the wooden door out of this image using a craft knife then colored it using Distress inks. Next the "Mystic Hideaway" was stamped on clear card stock and again on white card stock. The reason I did this was so I could put the vine over the gateway entrance and have the scene behind the gateway - the vine is part of this stamped image. Only the vine was colored on the clear card stock and the entire scene colored on the white card stock. The clear card stock was attached over the "Chateau Gateway" around the outside edges using ScorTape, placing the vine around the gate opening. The same adhesive was placed around the edges of the scene on card stock and was placed behind the Gateway matching up the design on the clear card stock. To create a frame, I used brown card stock and embossed it with the Cuttlebug "Heritage" embossing folder. The corners are from Marianne Designs. This panel was attached to a white card.

Like I mentioned earlier, there are 9 beautiful stamp sets, one being a set of sentiments, in this new Heartfelt Creations collection, plus new matching Spellbinder dies. Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to see the entire collection where you can also place your order.

393296

Sympathy Card

2012-01-09T10:44:00.000-08:00

Some close friends of ours had a death in the family and this is the sympathy card I am sending. The card is dimensional and I don't want it to get flattened out in the mail. I get a lot of questions about the best way to mail dimensional cards so want to show you a great way to to protect them. Below is a picture of this card in a clear acrylic box you can purchase from Joan's Gardens. These boxes come in different sizes. My card is 5.5" x 6" and I have placed it in a 6" square box. Each end of the box is sealed with a round sticker to prevent the box from coming open. I think you could put a label on this box and mail it, but I am going to place it in a padded envelope.

If you are interested in purchasing some of these clear boxes for sending your cards, please contact Joan at Joan's Gardens.

292293

Forever Friends

2012-01-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

Today I have another card that would qualify for the challenge at Joan's Gardens. I love to design this type of card - lace, frills and flowers. I started off by using two of my favorite embossing folders. On the top half of this card I used the Marianne Design (DS0908) embossing folder and on the bottom half I used the lower portion of the Sizzix "Thank You Set #5" (656983) embossing folder. The Marianne folder was embossed on the left end of my card stock and then the piece was turned the other way and I used the bottom portion of the Sizzix embossing folder to create the lattice under the top embossed piece. I had to place the card stock into the Sizzix folder twice in order to get the design all the way across. It matches up perfectly when you do this.

It is a little hard to see but I die cut the Cheery Lynn "Anastasia Border" (B136) and attached it between the edge of the two embossed sections. This wasn't necessary but I felt like it gave a little more "frill" to the card. On the top portion I used the Memory Box "Amira Flourish" (98183) to fill in the blank area of that embossed design. That is such a gorgeous flourish and it fit perfect in that area. A small pink bow was created with the "Bow Easy" and attached to the center of the flourish. I have not made vellum flowers in a long time. They are so dainty and look beautiful on Valentine cards. To create these vellum flowers I used the Punch a Bunch "Cherry Blossom" sometimes it is called "Sakurus" flower punch and layered three of them for each flower. In the center I added a small white Kaiser Craft pearl. The die cut leaves around the vellum flowers are the Cheery Lynn "Olive Branch" (B147). One Martha Stewart Branch was also added by the flower.

The beautiful lacy heart is the Cheery Lynn "Celtic Heart" ((B144). I used a Spellbinders heart to die cut a backing for it because I wanted to stamp the sentiment in the center. The sentiment is from the JustRite "Friendship Blooms" stamp set. I love having my JustRite stamp sets because they always have lots of sentiments. The Celtic Heart was attached with dimensional dots. The corners were die cut using the Marianne (LR0180) die. This die also has doilies with it. The outside border was punched using the Martha Stewart "Loop Hearts" border punches.

All the products used on my card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

We are getting a lot of entries in the challenge at Joan's Gardens this week. I hope you have joined in on the fun.

391397

Birthday Wishes

2012-01-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

Today I have been having fun with a new birthday stamp set I just received from Joan's Gardens. This is the JustRite "Topsy Turvy Cakes" (CR02230) stamp set. Below is a picture showing the 20 stamps in this set. What is great is when you get this set, you can get coloring ideas right off the package. I know you will have lots of fun with this JustRite birthday set.

Topsy Turvy Clear Stamps

CR-02230

$13.99 plus shipping

Set of 20 Clear Stamps

Compatible with Spellbinders S4-112 Classic Ovals SM, S4-110 Classic Ovals LG and S5-022 Labels Ten

For my card I started with a 5.5x6" card. The design paper is from an older KaiserCraft paper pad called "Lilac Avenue Collection". I love this paper pad because it has a lot of pages with purple paper which I think are hard to find. I stamped all three of the "Topsy Turvy Cakes" in this set and colored them with Copic markers using the JustRite package as a guide. These cakes were so much fun to color. I decided to use the cake that had the most purple in it. Now I have two more cakes I can use for future birthday cards! I wanted to give this card a lot of dimension, so cut around the design with scissors. The pretty rectangle doily I used for the frame is the Marianne Design (CR1202) frame. You need to die cut it then use the embossing pad and run it through your die cutting machine a second time to emboss the pretty detail in the frame. Before taking it out of the die, I sponged on some aqua ink to give the background additional dimension. Next I used one of the Spellbinders petite oval dies to create the oval behind the cake. All these pieces were put together with dimensional dots. Below the frame, I die cut the Cheery Lynn "Tangled Hearts" (B143) border using aqua card stock and layered it over a purple band. In the upper right hand corner I added one of the Cheery Lynn "Two of Hearts" (DL 128) hearts. In the center I stamped "Birthday Wishes!" which is a stamp that comes in the JustRite "Topsy Turvy Cakes" stamp set. Stickles was added to the cake, a few purple Dew Drops, and a silk yellow bow to complete the card.

This is a birthday stamp set I think you will really enjoying having in your collection. You can order it and all the other items I used today from Joan's Gardens.

I think in a couple of weeks we should have a challenge at Joan's Gardens to create a birthday card which includes a birthday cake. Wouldn't this be a great stamp set to use! I would love to see what you can do with this set. Joan doesn't know this yet, but I'm sure she won't care, when we do this challenge, we will give you double entries, for that week, for the drawing, if you use this stamp set. Of course every entry submitted will be in the drawing and the winner will be entered in the drawing at the end of the year for the $100 gift certificate to Joan's Gardens. If you would like to use this stamp set in the challenge, you can preorder it now and Joan will make sure you all have your set in time to use them for this challenge. Remember, you are not charged until Joan actually mails out your order. You can check out this JustRite set and a lot of other new JustRite stamp sets Joan just posted HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today. Have a great weekend.

390743

Joan's Weekly Challenge

2012-01-05T08:55:00.000-08:00

It is time to start a new round of challenges at Joan's Gardens. Joan and I loved seeing all your beautiful cards last year and hope you will join us again this year. The random winner will receive some embellishments from Joan's Gardens this week. Joan will also be offering a $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens at the end of the 2012, so every time you enter it gives you another chance to win.

Here is what you need to do for Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge #1:

Make a card and/or tag using some kind of hearts
Use any kind of embellishments
Use, pink or red with white
Do some kind of embossing

You will have until next Thursday (January 12) morning 6:00 AM EST to link your project. Please go over to Joan's Gardens to read all the details.

My card is 5"x7". The background was embossed with the Cuttlebug "Love Language" embossing folder. Last month Joan posted a lot of new Cheery Lynn dies that include a lot of heart shapes. I used the "Sweetheart Frame" (FRM127) and on the inside of the frame I added a white piece behind it that was red embossed with the Penny Black "Love is the Message" (4023K) stamp. A Spellbinders Rose was added to the left side. Under the rose I added pieces of the Cheery Lynn "Lace Rose and Flourishes" (B135) die cut. On the inside of this card I attached the beautiful Cheery Lynn "Garden of Love" (B141) die. You can see this in the photo below. This is a very intricate die but it pops right out of the die. Isn't it beautiful!

EDIT: SOMEONE EMAILED AND ASKED ME TO INCLUDE A LARGER PICTURE OF THE INSIDE OF THIS CARD - HERE IT IS. ISN'T THAT A GORGEOUS DIE!

I hope you will join us in our first challenge of the new year.

As you know, all the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

389087

Bird's Nest

2012-01-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

Did you check out the "Wild Wednesday Sale" over at Joan's Gardens? Joan is making room for a lot of new products that she will be posting soon, and today has a very large selection of LaBlanche stamps at a huge savings. Be sure to go over and check this sale out.

Yesterday I used one of the LaBlanche stamps and created a card with very little embellishment, but today I wanted to show you how you can add other things to give these beautiful stamped images dimension. The LaBlanche stamp I used today is the "Bird's Nest" (1228). Every time I start coloring these LaBlanche images I am amazed at how easy they are to color. As I have told you before, I stamp them on the LaBlanche Specialty Stamping Paper and use the "Cut-n-Dry" Pen Nibs and Distress Ink pads to color. You just roll the nib lightly over the ink pad to pick up ink on the point and lightly color over the image. This Specialty Stamping Paper is a glossy finish and the Distress Ink colors blend together so easily, so you achieve exactly the color you want. After I had the images colored, I used the Tim Holtz Blending Tool and sponged on "Faded Jeans" Distress Ink to color the background. When using the blending tool it is real easy to get a nice even coverage, right up to the colored images.

The design paper I used is from Basic Grey "Sweet Threads" paper pad. The doily behind the stamped image is the Cheery Lynn "Large Sunflower Doily" (DL181). This is one of the new Cheery Lynn dies and is one of my favorites. I wanted to put the bird's nest in a tree, so decided to use the Memory Box "Woodland Branch" (98187) for the tree branches. This is such a beautiful branch and it falls right out of the die. Three branches were die cut. Since we are all waiting for Spring to arrive, I thought it would be pretty to create cherry blossoms on the tree branches. I was so tempted to add green foliage but when the cherry blossoms come out I don't believe the leaves have come out yet.

To create the cherry blossoms I used the following Punch a Bunch punches: Medium Cherry Blossom (Sakuras); Splatt; Small Sparkle; and small Sun. Two cherry blossom and one splatt were used for the flower. These were conditioned and shaped using the tools from the "Flower Tool Kit". For the stamen I punched one small Sparkle, and two small Suns. A black marker was used to color the tips of the Sparkle and a dark pink marker used to color the tips of the two Suns. Using scissors I cut between each of the tips of these three pieces so they would "frill" out after being conditioned and shaped. The two cherry blossoms were glued together then the splat was glued on top. The small Sparkle was on the bottom of the two Suns for the stamens. After they were all put together, they were arranged over the Branch. Spellbinder "Lace Doily Accents" corners were added to the corners and a large black Dew Drop added to complete the card.

All the products I used to design this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. Be sure to go over and check out the fantastic sale she posted today for the LaBlanche stamps. Supplies are limited so be sure you check it out soon. She has a great variety and I know you will love working with these beautiful, very detailed images.

388513

Pretty LaBlanche Stamp

2012-01-03T11:47:00.000-08:00

Well the holidays are over, my company returned home, and I have all my Christmas decorations put away and even stored away all my Christmas stamps and dies. It is time to start thinking about Valentine's Day and Spring. As you know, I love to work with the LaBlanche stamps because they are so easy to color, and they really create a gorgeous image when completed because they have so much detail in them. Today I designed a card using the LaBlanche "Two Sparrows" (1235) stamp. The image was stamped on the LaBlanche Specialty card stock with Ranger Archival Ink. It was colored using my Distress Ink Pads and Nibs. When using the Distress Inks you can blend the colors together so easily to get just the coloring/shading you want. After the image was colored, I used the Tim Holtz Blending Tool and sponged blue in the background. For the black background, I using the Marianne Designs (DS0912) embossing folder. The stamped image was placed over the upper portion of embossed design so only the lower portion of it is showing. My background is a piece of textured card stock. To frame the image, I die cut four of the Cheery Lynn "Lace Light Deco Borders" (B133) and placed one down each side of the embossed panel and pieced the others on top and below the stamped imaged. A black silk bow and a few large black Dew Drops were added to complete this card.

Joan's Gardens has a large selection of these beautiful LaBlanche stamps. As you know, all the products I use can be purchased from Joan.

Be sure to check out the Wild Wednesday Sale Joan will be posting the next few Wednesdays. This will be a great time to stock up on products you have been wanting at a greatly reduced price.

387586

Have a Great Day

2011-12-31T11:03:00.000-08:00

First I want to congratulate Geri (Geri's Cards). She joined us in our weekly challenges at Joan's Gardens and was randomly selected yesterday for the $100 gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens. What a great way to end the year. CONGRATULATIONS GERI.

Also I want to announce the winner from the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog hop. Becky Spinks won the $25 gift certificate from Heartfelt Creations. CONGRATULATIONS BECKY.

I have had a fabulous year designing for Joan and hopefully have given you some creative ideas for using all the great products you can purchase from Joan's Gardens. Joan is constantly on the lookout for the newest products out on the market to help us create cards and projects we will all be very proud of. Today I want to show you how to use one of the new Memory Box dies to create a very pretty, dimensional flower embellishment. I love creating my cards using embossing folders and a variety of dies. Below is a "mini" tutorial on how I created this card.

This is a 5.5"x6" card. The right side is embossed using the Sizzix "Ornate Frames" (656989) embossing folder. The left side was embossed using the Cuttlebug "Swiss Dots" embossing folder.

On the left side of the card I created the dimensional flower by using the Memory Box "Primula Blooms Die" (98149). Above I am showing you the envelope the die comes in plus a yellow and a green die cut from this die. This is such a fun die to work with. You could just use this cut flat, but it creates such a beautiful flower when you use the tools from the "Flower Tool Kit" to shape both the leaves and the flower pieces. When you shape the flower pieces it sure brings them to "life"!

Here is a close up of the flower I created with this die. The yellow flower was assembled over the green flower. To cover the green on the die cut I actually cut out two yellow pieces. The yellow flowers, attached to the stems, were cut off and glued over the flowers on the green die cut to create a yellow base for the dimensional flower. The individual die cut flowers were sponged with "Mustard Seed" Distress ink. Each of the petals were shaped using tools from the Flower Tool Kit. In the center of the large flower I used the smallest green piece, from the green die cut, for the stamen. Doesn't this die create a pretty little flower!

The bird cage is the Poppy Stamps "Carousel Bird Cage" (800) and the bird is the Memory Box "Perched Reed Bird" (98160). I think that is the cutest little bird.

To color the bird I sponged on Tea Dye and Mustard Seed Distress Inks. A marker was used to color the bill and add his eye. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but I used a regular pencil to lightly draw in his wings then sponged over it again to blend it all together. Blue chalk was sponged behind the cage.

For additional greenery behind the flower and behind the bird cage, I die cut the Poppy Stamps "Meadow Leaf" (806) and "Gentle Leaf" (807) using light green card stock.

Under the green silk bow, I added the Memory Box "Woven Circle" (98114).

I love working with all these dies. The die cut always pops right out of the die so they are very easy to use. If you would like to create this card, you can order all these products from Joan's Gardens.

I want to wish you all a very Happy New Year. We plan to spend a quiet evening at home and I know we won't be able to stay awake to bring in the new year. Enjoy your weekend.

385449

Feminine Window Card

2011-12-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I showed you how I designed a masculine card using one of the new window dies you can now order from Joan's Gardens, and today I have used the same die to create a feminine card with the same window. This is a 5.5" square card. I started off by placing the front of the card, along with another piece of card stock the same size, down on the cutting mat of the die cut machine. They were taped so they would not move. Next I taped the Joy Stamps "Grand Madison Window" (815) down on the left side and ran it through my Grand Calibur. The reason I added an extra piece of card stock is because I wanted to emboss the front panel and did not want that embossing to show through on the inside of the card. This also lined the two windows up perfectly. The embossing folder I used was the Cuttlebug "Victoria" embossing folder. One of the die cut windows was placed in the "hole" of the embossed panel and taped in place, on the back side, so it would stay there. The second die cut window was attached over it with dimensional tape to give the window some dimension.

I wanted to use a pretty new stamp Joan sent me called "Words Like Flowers" (4181K) by Penny Black to show through the die cut window. It is such a pretty stamp. I stamped the Penny Black image on a larger piece of card stock than my card. The reason I did that was so I could place the stamped design under the window and place it just the way I wanted it to show through the window. It was trimmed down then to fit inside the card. The flowers and leaves on the stamped image were colored using Copic markers. Here is a picture of the inside of the card.

Now back to the front of the card - I wanted to try and duplicate the flowers in the stamped image. I used the new Cheery Lynn "Miniature Rose" (B152); "Medium Rose" (B154); and "Large Rose" (B155) dies for the flowers. I don't know if you have all three of these dies but they are so perfect for creating different size flowers. You can use just a few layers or up to 6 layers that are cut from just one die. You also get the leaves that go under the flower in these dies. They are super easy to put together to create an open type flower like I created here, or you can create beautiful roses with them too. To duplicate the stamens in the die cut flowers like the ones in the stamped image, I used the small "Sparkle" punch, also available from Joan's Gardens. The beautiful leaves were die cut using the Poppy Stamps "Meadow Leaf" (806) and "Gentle Leaf (807) dies. These dies cut really are easy to use because they all just pop right out of the die.

I know these window dies are really popular right now and I hope I have given you a few ideas to help you create your cards. Using dies to create your cards is such a fun way to add texture and give your cards that "wow" factor. I really love using them by themselves or in combination with stamped images.

As I have said before, you can get all the products I use from Joan's Gardens. Shipping will begin again on January 2nd but Joan is still taking orders over this holiday break. By the way, don't forget to mark your calendars for the big sale next Wednesday at Joan's Gardens. You can go to her blog to read all the details.

383968

Masculine Happy Birthday

2011-12-28T10:10:00.000-08:00

Today I needed to make a masculine birthday card and thought the new Poppy Stamps "Grand Madison Window" die (815) Joan's Gardens now has in stock, would be the perfect place to start. Two pieces of design paper were layered on a 5.5 x 6" white card. I used a scenic stamp from Heartfelt Creations but you could use any outdoors scenic stamp to get this cool effect. It was colored using colored pencils and oms. The window was die cut using vanilla card stock and sponged with several colors of light brown Distress Inks. The window was attached over the scene with dimensional strips. In the upper left corner I die cut the Memory Box "Woven Circle" (98114) using vanilla card stock and sponged it also with Distress Inks. The sentiment in the center of this circle is from the JustRite "Birthday Sentiments stamp set. A Tim Holtz embellishment and a few brads were added to complete the card.

You can purchase the dies I used on this card from Joan's Gardens. She has them in stock right now. Have you been over to see all the new Poppy Stamps dies Joan just posted? One of them is a window box die to go under this great window. While you are there, also check out that cute "Wildflower Patch" die! You can place your pre-order now for any of these dies. Remember, you will not be charged until they are shipped to you.

I want to thank all of you that have sent me birthday wishes today. It has been so fun hearing from all of you.

383095

Heartfelt Creations Alumni Design Team Blog Hop

2011-12-26T04:30:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that in just a few more days we will begin a new year! I have loved working with all the Heartfelt Creations new stamp collections and dies that have come out this year. It is time for the last blog hop of the year for the Heartfelt Creations Alumni Design Team. If you came from Olga's blog, you started at the beginning. Be sure to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.

The Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies I used today are: Carnation Florals 2 Precut Set (HCPC 3438); matching Spellbinder "Carnation Creation Shapeabilities"; Layered Elegant Swirl Die (HCD 716); Bella Rose Die (HCD 712). I decided to design a very feminine birthday card today. My base card is 5x7". The beautiful "Layered Elegant Swirl Die" was die cut using white card stock and layered over a pink background. The frame below was created by embossing a piece of white card using the Cuttlebug "Love Language" embossing folder. A frame was die cut using the Cheery Lynn Sweetheart Frame and it was layered over the embossed background.

A variety of flowers were stamped using the Heartfelt Creations "Carnation Florals" stamp set and they were cut out with the matching dies. They were stamped using VersaMark ink and white embossed. A light pink ink was used to add color to the flowers. A punch was used to create the stamens in all the flowers. The pretty Bella Rose Die was used to die cut the green leaves and flourish. The leaves were sponged prior to taking them out of the die. The flourish was attached inside the frame then the flowers were glued around it. Two die cut butterflies (Cheery Lynn Mini Butterflies), were added. The sentiment is from JustRite. Martha Stewart punched branches and a few Kaiser Craft white pearls were added to complete the card. The punched border behind the card was created using the Martha Stewart "Double Arches" punch.

The next stop on this blog hop is Carla. Be sure to go over to see her beautiful card.

One lucky person will win a $25 gift certificate to Heartfelt Creations. All you have to do is leave a comment on each blog in this hop before midnight Friday, Dec 30th. A random winner will be chosen from all these comments. The winner will be posted on Dec 31 by noon.

As you know, all products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Winter Collage

2011-12-22T14:49:00.000-08:00

Today I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. It has been such a fun year sharing my work with you and knowing I provide some inspiration to help you with ideas for creating your cards. It has been a fabulous year working with all the variety of exciting products that we can get from Joan's Gardens. My card above is created with a few more new products, that can be pre-ordered from Joan. The stamp on the right is the Memory Box "Winter Collage" (G1830). Isn't it a beautiful stamp. The embossed folder used in the background is the Marianne Design (DS0907). It was cut out at an angle, after embossing, so it could be layered, and would show under the elements I wanted to add to the card. . The poinsettia is a stamp from Memory Box, "Poinsettia Bloom" (G1788) and the small flowers are also a Memory Box stamp "Sakura" (2518). The pretty holly flourish used is the Cheery Lynn "Holly Flourish" (B148). There is a small piece of a Martha Stewart "Gothic Arches" border along the top of the Winter Collage. The images were colored using Prisma pencils and OMS. To complete the card a few beads were added to the flower centers and Kaiser Craft pearls added.

You can order all the products I use from Joan's Gardens. I want to remind you that you can place your orders with Joan through the holidays, but shipping will not resume until January 2.

Merry Christmas.

382415

Carousel Bird Cage

2011-12-18T14:53:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I create a card that I totally love and this happens to be one of them. I love all the dies you can purchase from Joan's Gardens. The birdcage is one of the new Poppy Stamps dies that she now has. It is called "Carousel Bird Cage" (800) and I know you will love it. The cute bird is the Memory Box "Perched Reed Bird (98160) and the pretty flourish above the bird cage is the Memory Box "Fauntleroy Crest" (98222). All these dies go together so well. The Cheery Lynn "Tropical Flourish" (B127) is on the left side of the cage and the flowers were created with the new Cheery Lynn "Cuties 2" (B150) and "Miniature Rose" (B152) dies. I love how easy it is to create beautiful flowers with these Cheery Lynn dies.

The design paper is from the Basic Grey "Sweet Threads" paper pad. The top two-thirds of it was embossed using the Sizzix "Ornate Swirls" (657138) embossing folder. Doesn't that make a beautiful background for the bird cage! All the pieces were die cut and attached to the card using liquid glue. The bird was colored by using sponge daubers. Kaiser Craft Pearls were added to the birdcage and in the center of the white flowers. The sentiment is from the JustRite "Birthday Sentiments" stamp set.

All the products used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. She is taking pre-orders for the Carousel Bird Cage and the Fauntleroy Crest. You will not be charged for pre-ordered products until they are shipped to you.

380401

Joan's Final Weekly Challenge for this Year

2011-12-15T11:29:00.000-08:00

This will be the final challenge for 2011 at Joan's Gardens and she has made it an easy one - make a quick Christmas card. I know it looks like I did a lot on my card but really it went together very fast. The reason it was simple is because I went through a box I tossed extra die cuts that I did not use for one reason or another. Do you do that? I pulled out a few die cuts and just started gluing them to my card. I had the punched Martha Stewart background but did have to emboss the white piece behind the scene with the Cuttlebug "Swiss Dot" embossing folder. Then all the other pieces were just attached either with pop dots or glue. Glitter was added to the snowflake, and top border and a little on the church scene, the sleigh, and reindeer. Polar White Flower Soft was glued along the bottom.

I hope you will go over and enter a card in Joan's Weekly Challenge this week. It always makes us happy to see all your work. You can see Joan's beautiful card and read all the details about this challenge at Joan's Gardens. This will be the last week for a chance to win a prize and be entered into the drawing for the $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens. She will be drawing that lucky name after this challenge is over. I'll be looking forward to seeing your quick and easy Christmas card -- lets see if we can beat the number of entries we had last week.

All the Cheery Lynn and Marianne Design dies I used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens

378833

Friends are the Flowers in the Garden of Life

2011-12-14T15:15:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy getting ready for the holidays and have all my Christmas cards completed now, so decided to play in my "flower shop" today and create a colorful floral card. You know how much I love all the Cheery Lynn dies and I have created this floral arrangement using the following dies: Background doily is the CL "Large Sunflower Doily" (DL181); Flowers were created with the following CL dies: "Judy's Blooms" (C184) for the large blue flowers; "Cuties 1" (B149); "Cuties 2" (B150); "Cuties 3" (B151); and "Miniature Rose" (B152) for the small flowers; CL "Victorian Romance Flourish" (DL151); and "Tropical Flourish" (B127).

The beautiful "Large Sunflower Doily" was die cut using white card stock. I wanted it off to the side so trimmed a little of the left side and bottom, then attached it to the design paper. Two of the blue "Judy's Blooms" flowers were stamped with a small "dotted Swiss" stamp using a darker blue ink. I decided not to stamp on the petals of the third flower just for "interest" (to be a little different). I love working with all the Cheery Lynn "Cuties" flowers and the pretty little "Miniature Roses". I mixed and matched some of the layers in the little flowers by gluing different die cuts together to get different looks. So fun to play with these dies and see what you can come up with. I like these little flower strips because you can use the entire strip to create one flower, or for many of mine today, I cut them in half, or even in thirds to create smaller flowers. All the flowers were arranged on the doily and the Victorian Romance Flourish and the Tropical Flourish, was cut apart and tucked in under the arrangement. The sentiment, I think, goes perfect with this arrangement and is from the JustRite "Joyful Hearts" stamp set. A few pearls were added to complete the card.

All these products used on my card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

There is a challenge over at the Cheery Lynn Blog this week, and the challenge is to enter a card using at least one Cheery Lynn Flower Die. I know lots of you have these dies and should go over and check out this challenge. You never know, you might end up winning the weekly prize.

378319

Winter Scene Plus a Tag

2011-12-11T13:23:00.001-08:00

Today I have created another Christmas card using Memory Box Dies from Joan's Gardens. I did use one stamp for the background in this scene. Here are the products I used for this card: Memory Box "Tree Silhouette" stamp; "Winterland Tree (98168); "Country House" (98165); Wrought Iron Fence" (98164); "Puffy Clouds" (98172); "Deer Trio" (98166); "Bubble Joy" (98190); Amira Flourish" (98183); Sizzix "Small Easel" ( 657187).

I started out by white embossing the Tree Silhouette in the background on the left side. I does not show up a lot in the photo. The background was sponged with blue Distress Ink. By stamping the trees in the background it gave this scene some depth. Everything was die cut using white card stock. The Country House was die cut and backed with a piece of light yellow card stock for light in the windows. The pretty Wrought Iron Fence was die cut twice so it would fit across the front of the card. I really like the small size of this pretty fence. I get questions about how to get these die cuts out of the dies. If they don't just fall out after die cutting them, I hit them on the edge of the table and they usually fall right out. These dies are very sturdy. I have never had a problem getting the die cuts out of the dies. The Winterland Tree was die cut and then backed with a piece of light green card stock. I used scissors to cut around the outside edge. The Deer Trio was die cut and only two of them used on the front of the card. I saved the other one for the inside. The Puffy Clouds were die cut and only two of the three were used. The snowflakes were in my stash of snowflakes - most coming form the Martha Stewart snowflake border punches. A bow was added to complete the front.

On the inside I used another really pretty Memory Box die. This one is called the "Bubble Joy". You place it on your card where you want the sentiment die cut, and it die cuts little holes in the shape of the sentiment. I glued a piece of blue card stock behind the die cut so the sentiment would show up well. I love this look! I couldn't resist using another new Memory Box die called "Amira Flourish". It is just as pretty as the La Rue Flourish I have used in the past. I glued it to the top portion of the inside of the card. To complete the bottom of the inside, I attached the other deer from the "Deer Trio".

Joan sent me a die I am really, really excited about. This is the Sizzix "Small Easel". How cool is this! So many times I create a card that I would like to display or even better, there are cards I receive from my friends that I would love to display in my craft room. This die cuts that little easel that you can attach easily with your Pro Glider Adhesive and it folds down perfectly flat for mailing. I attached this easel to the back of the card I made today. It was so simple to do. I know I will use this die cut a lot. And the great thing is that it will work with your Cuttlebug, Big Shot or Vegabond.

ONE MORE PROJECT:

I still need tags for packages and I used a Sizzix die to create these cute stocking tags.

The Sizzix die is the "Stocking" die (657369). This die comes with an embossing folder which makes it quick and easy to create this tag. I wanted a tag that would open, so I placed a piece of folded card stock just below the cutting line along the top, and ran it through the die cutting machine. I then die cut a red stocking and another white stocking. Each of these pieces were put in the embossing folder then cut apart and glued to the front of the stocking tag I die cut. The "Merry' was traced with a Glue Pen and sprinkled with green glitter. A slot punch was used to make a hole so I could attach a ribbon.

On the inside of the tag I used some JustRite stamps for the pine branch and sentiment. The "To and From" were stamped on the bottom.

Here is a picture of the Sizzix Stocking die (657369). Now I need to get busy and get all my tags completed!

All the products I used in these two projects can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

376619

A Joyful Christmas

2011-12-08T10:41:00.001-08:00

Today I have created another pop up card using the Sizzix Scallop Circle 3_D Pop-Up Die. This die actually has two pop up tabs but today I am using only one of them. It is nice you are able to have dies that are versatile. Before I explain how I created the inside of this card, I best show you the front first.

This is a 6" x 5.5" card. I used one of the small embossing folders from the Sizzix "Ornament with Branch" (657261) embossing folder set, up in the left corner. The beautiful tree is die cut using the Memory Box "Flowering Christmas Tree" (98195). In the center of the flowers, on the tree, I inserted a light lavender rhinestone. There are also rhinestones in the embossed ornament. The sentiment is from the JustRite "Christmas Trimmings" stamp set and it was gold embossed. To complete the front, a silk bow was added.

For the inside of the card I cut a piece of lighter purple card stock 1/8" smaller. The top portion of this piece was embossed with the Sizzix "Ornate Swirls (657138) embossing folder. My card is wider than the embossing folder so I had to place the top of the card in the folder twice to get complete coverage. You can't tell where where the edge of the embossing is done. The Three Wisemen and the top sentiment are from the Tim Holtz "Joyful Song" (CMS119) stamp set. Aren't they gorgeous! The sentiment was silver embossed and die cut using the Spellbinders "Labels Twenty-One" dies. This is the largest die in the set. In order to get the shiny silver border, I laid the Labels Twenty-One die down on a piece of shiny silver card stock and traced around the outside of the label with a pencil, then cut it out with scissors. This is an easy way to cut a perfect, slightly larger, border. The Wisemen were stamped using VersaMark Ink on purple card stock and clear embossed. I love the way that turned out. I cut around the outside edges of this image, leaving the bottom straight so it would fit well on top of the pop-up piece.

Nest the Sizzix Scallop Circle 3-D Popup was die cut. I folded all seams on this popup except the long narrow one. I wanted that one to stay flat. Using my Glue Glider "Perma Tac", I added adhesive all around the back of the popup and centered it in the center of the card, on the seam, and closed the card, pressing down to attach it. The Wisemen image was attached to the wide popup tag with Perma Tac adhesive also. In order to decorate the bottom portion of the inside of the card, I stamp another sentiment from The JustRite "Nature's Nested Sentiments" using VersaMark ink and silver embossed it. The sentiment reads "May You be Blessed this Holiday Season". It was die cut using the Marianne Design (LR0117) die. It is easiest if you emboss the sentiment first, then you can tape the die over it, making sure the sentiment is centered, then run it through the die cutting machine. Along the bottom edge I added one of the Cheery Lynn "Lace Light Deco" die cut borders. I had those rhinestone snowflakes in my "stash" and added them to the top of the card to finish it off.

This is a beautiful Tim Holtz stamp set. I know the 12 Days of Christmas sale at Joan's Gardens is over but if you order this stamp set and tell her I sent you, you can still get this set at the sale price of $16.50. Here is the link to the stamp set so you can see all the stamps in this set. It is the second set pictured.

Here is a side view of this pop-up card.

How are you coming on all your Christmas cards? Are you about finished with them. I still have a few more to complete but every day I get closer to having them all completed. As you know, all the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Don't forget to go over and check out the weekly challenge at Joan's Gardens. You can submit any new Christmas card you create. The winner this week will receive a Marianne Design die PLUS be entered in the $100 gift certificate drawing that will be soon. Wouldn't you love to have your name in that drawing for a change to win that $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens!!!!

374918

Gold Poinsettia

2011-12-07T10:19:00.001-08:00

Do you ever have a day when you have an idea in your head but it just doesn't work on out paper. Well that was the kind of day I had with this card. I wasn't sure I should post it, but in case I don't get another one made today, thought I'd go ahead and post it.

I started off by double embossing the background. The left side is embossed with the Sizzix "Winter Botanicals (657261) and the right side embossed using only a small portion of the Sizzix "Winter Words" (65738) embossing folder. I really like these two embossing folders used side by side. I had a piece of gold colored vellum and thought it would make a beautiful poinsettia. I used VersaMark ink to stamp the Penny Black "Christmas Pride" poinsettia and embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. This embossing powder has glitter in it. The poinsettia was stamped three times and cut out so I could layer it. I usually like to spritz vellum flowers to give them some dimension, but this particular vellum really wanted to curl up tight and I don't feel like I got a very well shaped flower. First time that has happened to me -- the vellum didn't come from Joan's Gardens, maybe that is why it didn't work as well, hee hee. For fillers behind the flower I used Cheery Lynn "Pine Branches" (B146) and Cheery Lynn Holly Flourish" (B148); also pieces from the Sizzix "Festive Greenery" die. The center of the flower has some small beads added. To complete the card I added a silk bow.

All the products in "bold" can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

374175

Christmas Pop Up Thank You Card

2011-12-05T10:39:00.001-08:00

Today I wanted to create another card with the Poppystamps "Small Madison Window" (816). I think there are going to be so many fun things to do with this die. My card is 5.5" x 6". I used two pieces of design paper from the KaiserCraft "December 25th paper pad. The background for the window was cut from a piece of white card stock, with the next to largest, Spellbinders "Label Twenty-Two" and I used the same die to cut a piece of design paper from the Kaiser Craft paper pad to layer on top of it. Next I traced around the outside that same Spellbinders die, using white card stock, to create a mat for the die cut label. I traced around the die again for a second mat. Both mats were cut out with scissors. The window die was also die cut using white card stock. All the white pieces were sponged with Distress Inks.

I used the Penny Black "Enjoy Life" stamp set which includes these cute little birds. The holly is die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Holly Flourish" (B148). This is such a great die to use with your Christmas cards because the holly is small and fits really well around either flowers or other images. I die cut the flourish several times and cut it apart to fit in and around the birds. The corners are from Spellbinders "Lace Doily Accents". The berries were added with some really old red "Crystal Lacquer".

Now I need to tell you what I did with the second Label Twenty-Two I cut out with scissors. I used it for the inside of this window image.

As I told you, this is a thank you card. I used that second image to die cut the Memory Box "Pop Up Thanks". This is a small pop up and works really great on the inside of the card. This picture shows the top lifted up so you can see the "Pop Up Thanks". A small piece of the Cheery Lynn Holly Flourish was added. You can see I also used Distress Ink to sponge around the edges of the inside of the card.

As you know, you can purchase all the products I use from Joan's Gardens. I hope you enjoyed seeing another way to use this Poppystamps Small Madison Window Die and the Memory Box Pop Up Thanks..

372675

Snow Globe

2011-12-04T12:36:00.001-08:00

Have you seen the new Memory Box Snow Globe dies at Joan's Gardens? She also has matching stamps with dies for the scenes inside the globes. I used the "Grand Snow Globe" (98228) for this card because I wanted to use the Memory Box "Tree Silhouette" stamp (E1302) for the background scene for the bear. The bear I used is the Memory Box "Holiday Spirit Bear" (C1818) and die cut him with the matching die "Holiday Spirit Bear" (98248). Below I am going to show you how to use these dies. I started by stamping the "Tree Silhouette" image on white card stock then placed the "Grand Snow Globe" die over it, including the trees I wanted in the scene - the stamp was a little larger than the globe. The base of the snow globe was die cut using dark brown card stock. To create snow on my background I used VersaMark Ink to cover the scene then embossed using an embossing powder that has glitter in it.

It is really easy to use the Memory Box dies with matching stamps. First you need to create a template with the die. Use a small piece of card stock and die cut the image. Do not tape it down on the card stock. Notice the two holes beside the die cut image. These are going to help you line the die cut over the stamped image.

Next you need to stamp the image that matches the die cut on a small piece of card stock.

Now you need to place the template you cut over the stamped image, centering the image in the opening. Now take a pencil and color in those two small holes beside the image.

Now you want to place the die over the stamped image and line up the two holes over those pencil marks you just made. This will line the die up perfectly over your stamped image then tape it in place.

Run the taped die through your die cutting machine. You can see how perfect the image was cut out. How easy is that!!

After die cutting the bear you can color his hat and scarf. I added some dimensional tape behind the base of the snow globe and lined it up below the globe. The bear was also attached with dimensional tape. The bear was covered with white flocking.

The large bear is the Memory Box "Wesley Bear" (D1832). He also has a matching die "Wesley Bear" (98234) you would use just like the other bear. His scarf was also colored and flock added to the bear. The pretty flourish up in the corner is the Memory Box "Snowflake Corner" (98238). I used two different design papers and added a border along the vertical piece. I used the Spellbinder "Snowflake" border and just used the very edge on both sides. The border along the bottom of the card is the Cheery Lynn "Border Carnivale" (DL129). A few extra punched snowflakes were added to complete the card.

There are a lot of different things you can do with these Memory Box Snow Globes. They do come in different sizes and there are stamps available to create other types of scenes. If you are interested in ordering some of these stamps and dies, be sure to contact Joan, at Joan's Gardens. You will see the Memory Box stamps and dies listed in her store.

Be sure to check out the last day of Joan's Gardens 12 Days of Christmas Sale. Today she has different size "grab bags" at 50% off.

371947

Window Scene

2011-12-03T11:37:00.001-08:00

I love playing with new things! I received this window die, Poppystamps "Small Madison Window" (816) from Joan's Gardens yesterday and was excited to see what I could design with it. My card is 5.5" x 6". I started out by embossing the Tim Holtz Sizzix "Tall Pines" on the left side of vanilla card stock then placed the card stock into the Tim Holtz "Bricked" embossing folder and created a wall on the right side for my window. I used a small piece of card stock that would fit behind the window and embossed the tops of the "Tall Pines" on that piece so the trees would show behind the window. The trees were sponged using Forest Moss Distress Ink then the background sponged using Weathered Wood Distress Ink. I wanted to create a snowy appearance on the trees and used another new product I received from Joan's Gardens called "Mister Huey's Calico White Color Mist". The Distress Inks lighten when sprinkled with anything wet, and this Color Mist created a snowy effect. It doesn't show up that well in the photo above, but does look like it is snowing on the trees. Another great product! I forgot to tell you that I used a piece of "Eclipse Masking Tape" along the bricked wall so I wouldn't get color on it while sponging.

Next I wanted to create a pretty arrangement on the window. I used the new Cheery Lynn "Miniature Rose" die (B152) to create the small red flowers. I watched the video at Joan's Gardens and followed the instructions for creating these flowers. They were very easy to make. The white flower was die cut using the Marianne Design LR0121) dies. They were die cut using white card stock, embossed before taking out of the die then I used a red marker to create the red dots. A small punched sun (Punch Bunch) was placed in the center of this flower. Behind the flower I die cut some more new leaves I just received from Joan's Gardens. These are the Poppystamps "Gentle Leaf" (807). She also has another very pretty leaf called "Meadow Leaf (806) that I know you will want in your collection. For additional filler, I die cut one of the Marianne Design (LR0192) leaves in a darker green and placed it on top of the Poppystamps leaves. The flowers were attached with glue then some Martha Stewart branches were tucked in for additional filler. My arrangement needed a little more red, so I die cut two of the Memory Box "Crisp Bows" (98197) and clipped off the long part of the bow and tucked them in behind the white flower. I wanted to add a sentiment. I used one of the sentiments from the JustRite "Deck The Halls" stamp set on white card stock and trimmed it down to create a package. Another red Memory Box "Crisp Bow" was added to the package.

Hope you enjoyed seeing my first idea on how to use the pretty window die from Memory Box. Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your weekend.

If you haven't checked it out yet, don't miss the items in the Joan's Gardens 12 Days of Christmas Sale today. Each day she has lots of great products we all love to use. I'm sure you know, but the wonderful thing about shopping at Joan's Gardens is that she only charges exactly what it costs for postage.

371000

Christmas Tag #6

2011-12-02T15:50:00.001-08:00

Today I have another tag for the challenge at Joan's Gardens. This one was created with the Marianne Design (DS0911) embossing folder for the embossed background. The tag was die cut using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag die. The embossed designed was backed with shiny silver paper. The poinsettia was created with the Spellbinders Poinsettia dies. Behind the poinsettia I have layered the Memory Box Bianca Snowflake which was die cut using silver card stock. On top of that, a black Memory Box "LaRue Flourish" was added. In the center of the poinsettia, I added a silver punched stamen which was punched with the Punch Bunch "Sky Snowflake". Up on the left hand corner I added a Marianne Designs Leafy Flourish (LR0192) and stamped "Noel" at the base of it. Up on the right hand corner I added a small piece of the "Poppy Stamps, "Pine Tree Border" that was die cut using white card stock. A large silver and black button from my stash was added below the poinsettia. The border around the tag was punched using the Martha Stewart "Swirling Lace" punches. To complete my white, black and silver tag, I added black ribbon and silver cord for the hanger.

Have you joined us yet in the challenge at Joan's Gardens? The challenge this week is to create a Christmas Tag and anything goes. You can read all the information about the challenge at Joan's Gardens. Joan and I love seeing your entries in our challenges. Someone will win a prize, plus the winner will be entered into the drawing for the $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens that will be given away later this month.

Memory Box Bianca Snowflake Die. I have die cut one and placed it on the right side of this picture. It is a very delicate snow and it does pop right out of the die.

This is the Poppy Stamps Pine Tree Border. I have included a punched tree border at the bottom of this picture. These are really cute little trees that make a great border. I cut off just a few trees to add to my tag.

The products I use can can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. I want to let you know that Joan has had many orders for Memory Box products and due to the volume, these products are kind of slow being shipped out to her. She will be filling your orders and shipping them out just as soon as the product arrives.

Also - I have had some emails from you asking if these dies release the die cut easily. I want to let you know that I have not had any problems with them releasing - in fact many times they fall out as soon as they are die cut. This is really nice when you are working with some of the delicate designs such as the "LaRue Flourish. I really love working with them.

370527

Another Tag - #5

2011-12-01T08:49:00.001-08:00

l have another tag to show you that I created for the challenge at Joan's Gardens. This one was also made using the Tim Holtz Tag Die. The die cut tag was put inside the Marianne Designs Embossing Folder DS0907 to die cut the part of the embossing folder I wanted, and backed with a piece of pearlized lavender card stock. Yesterday I received some new dies from Joan's Gardens "Marianne Design Craftables CR1202". This is a rectangle die with flower dies included. There are four new Craftables shown on Joan's site. I did not use the flowers but did die cut the rectangle frame three times and overlapped some of the scallops to create a frame for my tag. This was really easy to do. The purple poinsettia was created with the Spellbinder Poinsettia dies. The different leaves behind the flower were die cut using all three dies in the Marrianne LR0192 die set. All three were dies were cut twice - one set on light green card stock and one set on polka dot designer paper. The pretty hearts are from Cheery Lynn "Two of Hearts" (DL 128). They were attached with dimensionals between layers. The sentiment is from the JustRite "Deck the Halls" stamp set. I used purple "Liquid Pearls" by Ranger for the pearls on the heart. Diamond Glitter was sprinkled over the Liquid Pearls and added to the poinsettia and leaves. Kaiser Craft White pearls were added on the corners and one in the center of the poinsettia. White ribbon was added in the hole of the tag.

I hope you will go over to Joan's Gardens and join us in the tag challenge this week. You can read all the details on Joan's blog.

369494

Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge - Tags

2011-12-01T03:00:00.000-08:00

It is time for a new weekly challenge at Joan's Gardens. It is only 23 days until Christmas. This week we are asking that you create any type Christmas tag. Anything goes so use your imagination. You may want to use some of the items that maybe you previously stamped or die cut and would like to use up. I have created four different tags to give you some ideas.

All my tags were created by using this Tim Holtz, Sizzix "Tag and Bookplates" (656938) die from Joan's Gardens. With this die you can cut 4 or 5 tags all at one time - what a time saver! And -- they are the perfect size for decorating.

This first tag was created by embossing the tag with the Tim Holtz "Tall Pines" embossing folder. Distress Inks were used to color the sky and trees. Snow banks were created by cutting white card stock with scissors. The village are two die cuts from the Marianne Designs "LR0172" and LR0173" dies. Yellow card stock was added behind these die cuts to cover the windows and doors. The sentiment is from JustRite and reads "Tis the Season".

This tag was also die cut with the Tim Holtz tag die. The background was embossed with the Sizzix "Holly Swirls (657139) embossing folder. The poinsettia was stamped with Heartfelt Creations "Petite Poinsettia PreCut Set" (HCPC 3415) using VersaMark Ink on white vellum and gold embossed. Distress Stains were used to color the poinsettia and leaves on the back of each. The sentiment is from the JustRite "Hearts Come Home" stamp set, and the "to/from" tag is from the JustRite "From Our House" stamp set. They both were gold embossed.

This is a very quick and easy tag. The Santa image was cut from the Bo Bunny "Father Christmas Collection" design paper pad and glued to the bottom of the tag. The pretty snowflake flourish is a die cut from the Memory Box "Snowflake Corner" (98238). The little poinsettia was created with a stamp from JustRite Christmas stamp set. The sentiment "Believe" is also from a JustRite stamp set.

The background for this tag was embossed with the Sizzix "Holly Swirls" embossing folder. The sleigh is a die cut from the Marianne Designs "LR0178". The pretty bell is from the Heartfelt Creations Christmas Collection "Poinsettia Cheer Bells PreCut Set" (HCPC 3422). The small poinsettia was created with the Marianne Designs "LR0121" dies and the "Holly Flourish" was die cut using the Cheery Lynn "Holly Flourish" (B128).

I hope you will join us this week for this fun challenge and get a head start on those tags you will need for Christmas gifts. Remember if your tag is chosen for the weekly drawing, your name will be added to the list of names that will be eligible for the $100 Gift Certificate to Joan's Gardens. Each time your name is drawn for the weekly challenge, you do get an additional chance to win this fabulous prize. I know there are lots of new things at Joan's Gardens you would love to have.

Winter Scene

2011-11-30T09:46:00.001-08:00

Today I have an easy card to create using dies and punches. The products I used can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. They are: Memory Box "Leaf Canopy" (98142); Memory Box "Twiggy Tree" (98143); Memory Box "Deer Trio" (98166); Cheery Lynn "Border Carnivale" (DL 120); Martha Stewart "Aspen Snowflake" punches.

I started with a piece of sparkly aqua card stock 5 5/8" square and placed the Leaf Canopy near the top and taped it down then ran it through the die cutting machine. This dies creates a lot of leaf shaped holes in the card stock. You may remember I used this die in an earlier post to create an autumn scene.

Next, this Twiggy Tree was die cut using white card stock. It was glued, using liquid glue, in the center of the Leaf Canopy. Next I die cut two Cheery Lynn Border Carnivale borders and placed them, alternating the scallops, to create the snowy ground.

The deer were die cut using white card stock. When you die cut these deer, they do not cut out completely - the feet stay attached so you can use them in a group as shown. I wanted to spread them across the bottom of my card so cut them off at the feet and attached with liquid glue.

For the border around the snow scene, I used the Martha Stewart "Aspen Snowflake" punches. I love these punches to create Christmas cards because you not only get a pretty border but can use the punched out snowflakes on your project. You can see these snowflakes around the tree.

The sentiment is from the JustRite "Sparky and Friends" stamp set. It was cut out with a Spellbinders Tag, and sponged before removing it. I used a paper piercer to punch holes around the edge then added two of the small snowflakes. To complete the card I added an aqua silk bow.

All the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Are you checking out Joan's 12 Days of Christmas Sale? Each day you order from this sale, you will be entered into a drawing for a wonderful prize at the end of the sale. Be sure to check it all out at Joan's Gardens.

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Heartfelt Creations Alumni Blog Hop

2011-11-28T23:30:00.000-08:00

It is time for another Heartfelt Creations Alumni Design Team Blog Hop. We have a lot of participants this month. We enjoy designing with Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies and hope we give you a lot of inspiration. If you started at the beginning of the hop, you came from Dina's blog. You have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Heartfelt Creations. All you have to do is visit each blog in this design team hop and leave a comment; maybe you will be the lucky winner. This hop ends Friday, December 2nd at midnight and the winner will be announced Saturday at noon.

My card was created with the Heartfelt Creations "Holiday Poinsettia Candle PreCut Set" (HCPC 3419) and the "Petite Poinsettia Precut Set" (HCPC 3415). The design paper is from the Basic Gray "Sweet Threads" paper pack I received from my friends, Dianna and Marsha, that came to visit and stamp. The wreath was created using the Cheery Lynn Pine Branches (B146).

The beautiful Heartfelt Creations candle was stamped with VersaMark Ink and gold embossed. Extra flowers, from the Petite Poinsettia stamp set were also stamped and gold embossed. These flower match the Spellbinders Poinsettia dies. The candle image was cut out using scissors. The flowers were shaped using tools from the Flower Tool Kit and a gold flat backed bead was added to the center of the flowers. The pinecones were created by using the Sizzix "Tattered Pinecone" die. Bright gold glitter was added to some of the poinsettia leaves and the edges of the pinecones.

The wreath was created by die cutting a lot of pine branches and were shaped by gluing them on a round, open center, doily (Cheery Lynn Nautical Wheeler Doily). The pine branch die comes with two dies in the set, so it made it faster to die cut them. Gold round beads were added around the wreath and gold glitter added to some of the branches. The Candle arrangement was placed on top of the wreath. A pinecone was added to each side of the flowers and a gold cord bow added. A piece of gold trim was added along the bottom of the card.`

The next person on this blog hop is Karen Taylor (Creative Yearnings).

All products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

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Purple Christmas Shadow Box

2011-11-27T11:16:00.001-08:00

I had fun creating this card today. I love to work with purple and and I also love to work with Heartfelt Creations stamps and matching dies. This card was created using the Heartfelt Creations "Petite Poinsettia PreCut Set (HCPC 3415) and the "Carnation Florals 2 PreCut Set" (HCPC 3438) that just came out in the new release. Both these sets have matching Spellbinder dies so they are super easy to cut out and create dimensional flowers. I'm sure you know about the poinsettia dies by now, so I have taken a picture (below) of the new Heartfelt Creations Carnation Florals and the matching Spellbinder dies. These new Carnation Florals stamp sets and matching dies are available from Joan's Gardens.

Pictured above are the Heartfelt Creations "Carnation Florals" stamp set, the matching Spellbinder "Carnation Creations" dies, and the Carnation Florals 2 stamp set.

My card today is a shadow box that started off with a white and a purple piece of card stock that measured 6.5" square. Both pieces were scored down opposite sides at 1/2" to create the shadow box. For the opening I used the Spellbinders largest "Label 8" Nestability. The pretty background down in the shadow box was created with the Sizzix "Winter Botanicals" (657261) embossing folder. This is a beautiful embossing folder to create a background. The poinsettias were gold embossed on white vellum and colored with a purple marker. The Carnation Florals were white embossed and also colored with a purple marker on the back of each flower. All the flowers were lightly spritzed with water so they could be shaped. In the background, up the side and across the bottom I used the Memory Box "Woodland Branch" (98187). I know you will love this branch for lots of things.

Here is a picture of the die in the envelope and below it is the actual die cut. Isn't is realistic looking.

I know you can't see much of the branch on my card because I ended up adding lots of other elements. I used it because I wanted to add berries to the branches, it but it is hard to see that in the photo. The other branches I used on this card are the Cheery Lynn "Olive Branches" (B147) and the "Pine Branches" (B146). Both these branches were added down in the shadow box and under the flowers along the side and bottom. For the backing on the shadow box I cut a border with the Martha Stewart "Apen Snowflake" punches. Purple Stickles was used for berries on some of the branches.

All the products listed in "bold" can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

I entered this card in this challenge: http://www.hidinginmycraftroom.com/

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Gate Fold Card

2011-11-27T00:30:00.000-08:00

This is a Gate Fold card created with the new die collection from Heartfelt Creations; the Layered Elegant Swirl Die (HCD 716). There is a video on Joan's Gardens blog to show you how to use the dies to create this card. I kept my card simple on the outside. The pretty corner flourish is from one of the new Flourish stamp set called "Rye Grass Flourish PreCut Set" (HCPC 3436). There are two new Flourish sets that you will love using year round. I added black pearls to the front of the card then tied a black bow around it to hold it closed.

Have you checked out the "I Want It All" offer on this new Heartfelt Creations Collection. You save $30 at Joan's Gardens.

Today I started working on decorating my Christmas tree and getting the house prettied up for Christmas. We purchased a new Martha Stewart artificial tree this year that is pre-lit. It is amazing how much quicker it is to finish with the tree when you don't have to string the lights. We used to always go out and cut down a fresh tree, but the last time we did this was when we found out the real tree was full of tiny little spiders. It was horrible to wake up the next day and find these tiny little black spots all over the vaulted ceiling and on the walls. No more spiders in our house!!!

Don't forget to go over to Joan's Gardens and see what is on sale today in the 12 Days of Christmas Sale. Remember each day you purchase anything from the sale, you name will be entered into a drawing for a $50 Gift Package from Joan's Gardens..

Flirty Fleurs

2011-11-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

You know how much I love top work with flowers and this is another great addition to my flower stamp collection. The stamps in this new Heartfelt Creations Collection is called "Flirty Fleurs PreCut Set" (HCPC 3439). It coordinates with the Heartfelt Creations Posy Patch Die. I used all the stamps in this set to create this card, plus the new Heartfelt Creations Artistic Gatefold dies. The pink and white backgrounds were created by using the Sizzix "Thank You set" (656983) embossing folder. The white piece was first die cut using the Heartfelt die. I used a long piece of card stock 5.5" wide and placed the die at the top leaving room for the embossing. The embossing folder was then placed under the die cut and cut off to fit this 5.5" x 6" card. Two sets of the larger flowers were stamped and only one of the other stem of flowers were stamped; they were colored with Copic markers and fussy cut and arranged. In order to "ground" the flowers I added die cut grass. I used the Cheery Lynn Grass Border (B126) to cut three strips of grass and layered them on the bottom of the card. Two Spellbinder corners were added as well as a few pearls to complete the card.

All the products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Vintage Door

2011-11-25T00:30:00.000-08:00

THERE ARE TWO POSTS TODAY

This card was created with the new Heartfelt Creations "Vintage Door PreCut Set" (HCPC 3440) and one of the new "Artistic Gatefold Dies". I wanted to make a front porch scene with one of the doors in this stamp set and used the widest door and created two window panels for each side of it. The door was created by using a brown card stock and using a darker brown ink. A metallic gold pen was used to color in the door handle. The windows were created with the Cheery Lynn Small Window Frame (FRM 114) die. It was die cut using brown card stock, trimmed down, and backed with a piece of yellow card stock that was sponged with a darker yellow ink for a little texture. Since I was using yellow ink, I could actually sponge right over the brown die cut window. The "Layered Scalloped Posy Die (HCD717) was also die cut using brown card stock. I was surprised how well this die popped out of the die when using a double layer of waxed paper between the die and the card stock when you run it through your die cutting machine. I didn't even need to punch but a couple of small pieces because it die cut so nicely. This was also backed with yellow card stock and sponged with a darker yellow ink.

The house "wall" in the background was created by embossing a piece of white card stock with the Sizzix "Bricked" embossing folder. To create the color of bricks I wanted, I used about four different colors of Distress Inks, then covered it with Distress Stain "Picket Fence" to soften and blend the colors on the bricks. The pots on the porch were die cut using the Spellbinders "Flower Pot" dies. The evergreens in the post are the top of the Marianne LR0136 tree. To create the porch and step, I used a piece of dark gray card stock. I wasn't sure how to create a step but cut a smaller piece of gray card stock, drew a line across it with a pencil, then shaded down on the lower end to try and create a shadow representing a step. The sentiment is from the Heartfelt Creations "Vintage Door" stamp set. All the pieces were assembled to create my front porch scene.

I had a lot of fun creating this card for you. It was actually very easy to complete - I just had to figure out how to actually create the scene -- now will be very simple to recreate. Hope you like it. I'm sure you will have lots of fun creating your cards with this great stamp set. There are two different doors to work with -- I can just see the smaller door used for "French" doors on a gate fold card.

This is only one of six new stamp sets in the November Collection. Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to see the entire collection.

There is another card posted last night created with this new collection. If you haven't seen it, please scroll down.

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Artistic Gatefold Collection from Heartfelt Creations

2011-11-24T20:00:00.000-08:00

The new Heartfelt Creations "Artistic Gatefold Collection" is being released today. You are going to love these new stamps and gorgeous dies. You can create decorative gate-fold cards, doilies, borders; the possibilities are endless. You can see the entire collection at Joan's Gardens.

This card was created using the gorgeous new "Layered Elegant Swirl Die" in this release and one of the beautiful flower stamp sets "Carnation Florals 2 PreCut Set" (HCPC 3438) which coordinates with the Spellbinders "Carnation Creation Shapeabilities" dies. The leaves are the Heartfelt Creations "Filler Leaves" (1359E). The embossed background was created with the Sizzix "Ornate Swirls" embossing folder. Two sizes of flowers were white embossed on white vellum and cut out with the matching Spellbinder dies. A brad was put in the center to attach 5 flowers together then spritzed with water which causes the vellum to curl and allows you to shape it. The leaves were also white embossed on white vellum and colored on the back with a pale green marker. They were fussy cut. A small strip of green card stock was added below the die "Layered Elegant Swirl Die" die cut. Pearls were added to the band and also to the upper corners.

Be sure to go over to see all the stamps and dies in this new Heartfelt Creations release at Joan's Gardens. All products I use can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Tomorrow I will post the card I created with the New Heartfelt Creations Vintage Door stamp set.

Sneak Peek

2011-11-24T12:59:00.001-08:00

Sneak Peek of card created with new Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies.

I have had emails from some of you wondering if you are missing some of my blog posts. I want to let you know that you have not. I have not posted for a few days because I have been having some back problems and what time I am able to create, I have been working on the new Heartfelt Creations release that comes out tomorrow. I will start posting the items I have been creating, with instructions, starting tomorrow. You will be able to see four of my new cards on Joan's Gardens tomorrow when she posts the new Heartfelt Creations "Artistic Gatefold Collection". This is a collection that that has six new stamp sets that coordinate with existing Spellbinders dies and 2 new exclusive dies. I'll be back with a new post tomorrow. Hope you are all having a great day.

2011-11-23T19:05:00.001-08:00

Friendship

2011-11-20T10:39:00.001-08:00

SECOND POST TODAY. The purple and silver ornament card was posted this morning.

I have been creating a lot of Christmas cards and today decided to use a couple of other new dies I just received to make a Friendship card. The design paper I used is from the Webster's Pages "Your Life, Beautiful". The sentiment is the Penny Black "Friendship" (4176H) wood stamp. I like to create Rosettes with the Tim Holtz "Paper Rosette" die and used a piece of striped design paper from the Graphic 45 "Christmas Emporium" 12x12" paper pad for this one. The new Cheery Lynn die that I used to create the pretty little flower is the "Cuties 2" (B150) die. In the picture below you can see the strip used to create the flower when first punched. On the video on Joan's Gardens, it shows how to glue two strips together to create a nice full flower. Doing this really makes a big difference in how the flower turns out. If you haven't already seen this video, you won't want to miss it. You can glue the two strips together and then cut them in half to create smaller flowers. The flower on the top of my arrangement was created with a full strip of petals, and the two flowers below that one were created with a half strip.

Here is the picture to show you how you glue two strips together. The strip on the bottom is a single strip. The strip on top has two strips glued together, alternating the petals. You just put a very thin line of glue across the bottom, below the petals, then roll it up. I punched a small circle to add to the bottom of each flower to hold it's shape. Then you start pulling each of the petals down to create your pretty little flower.

Below the Rosette I placed this beautiful die cut created with the Memory Box "LaRue Flourish" (98218). It is so beautiful I hated to cover it up but I really liked the dainty look it created below my flower arrangement. I thought I should take a picture of the whole die so you can see how dainty and beautiful it is. These Memory Box dies just pop right out of the die and are so easy to use. I know you will love them.

Below the flowers I added one of the die cuts from the Marianne (LR0192) set. I love all three of the die cuts in this package for little added embellishments behind flower arrangements. The pretty little leaves, under the flowers, were die cut using the new Cheery Lynn "Olive Branches" (B147). You get two stems of leaves, each facing a different direction so it easy to use around your flower arrangements. To complete this card a small ivory bow and some pearls were added.

As you know all these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Today is the BIG DAY. The 12 Days of Christmas Sale, at Joan's Gardens, started at noon today. Remember for each day you make a purchase from this Sale, you will be entered into a drawing for a $50 Gift Package from Joan's Gardens. Better go over and check out the great savings!

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Purple and Silver Ornaments

2011-11-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

I love silver and purple together for Christmas. This card is made with some more Memory Box dies from Joan's Gardens. Aren't those ornaments beautiful. Here are the products I used: Memory Box "Snowflake Ornament" (98231); Memory Box "Crisp Bows" (98197); Memory Box "Frosty Border" (98171); and a Heartfelt Creations background. The punched border was created with the Martha Stewart "Aspen Snowflake" punches.

The snowflake border was punched, then a piece of dark purple card stock was cut to fit just inside the punched border. The Heartfelt Creations snowflake flourish background was silver embossed on white card stock and attached over the purple cs. The Memory Box Snowflake Ornaments were die cut using some gorgeous shiny silver card stock that you can now get at Joan's Gardens. This silver card stock is so perfect for Christmas cards -- bright and shiny. The Frosty Border was also die cut using this silver card stock and glued to the top of the card. The ornaments were glued to some purple "velvet" paper that I have had in my stash for a very long time. I always hated to use this paper but it is beautiful behind these pretty ornaments. Thin silver cording was attached behind the ornaments so they could hang from the Frosty Border. I started to add a ribbon to the top of the ornaments and didn't think it was "elegant" enough for these pretty ornaments, so remembered I had the Memory Box "Crisp Bows". Wow - they were just what I was looking for. They were also die cut out of the silver card stock. The ornaments were attached with dimensional dots and a pretty bow was attached at the top of each one. My corners were a little bare - I had some small silver corner stickers in my stash that I decided to add to the bottom to complete this card. The front was attached to a dark purple card.

All the products in "bold" can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens and check out her big "12 Days of Christmas" Sale.

Enjoy the Days of Autumn

2011-11-19T14:55:00.001-08:00

Do you ever see something (for stamping) and get an idea of how you would use it before you even receive it? Well that is what happened to me when I saw these new Memory Box dies from Joan's Gardens. It is funny I am making an Autumn card when it has been snowing here for the past two days, but I had to follow through on my idea.

I started out with a piece of light blue card stock for my card base. The finished size of this card is a 5.5" x 6". The card stock was folded and the top of the Memory Box "Leaf Canopy" (98142) was placed close to the fold. This die just cuts little holes in the card stock. Pretty neat huh! Then the "Twiggy Tree" (98143) was die cut using brown card stock. The Memory Box "Deer Trio" (98166) was die cut out of black card stock.

Once the top of the tree was die cut, I used a dark blue Distress Ink to sponge the sky using a cloud stencil to create clouds behind the tree. Using scissors, three different levels of "hilly ground" were cut out. To give the ground an autumn look, I first sponged it with a dark green Distress ink then went over it with a brown Distress Ink to blend it all together. The hills were then attached below the sky. Next the "Twiggy Tree" was then glued in place to form the large tree. Now don't laugh at me, but this was the idea I had to try. I wanted to create a tree with falling leaves. I took the "Leaf Canopy" and placed small pieces of fall colored card stock in different places over the die then ran it through the die cutting machine. I saved all these little "leaves" so I could create a scene with falling leaves. On the back side of the "Tree Canopy", I glued some of the same colors of card stock over some of the holes then cut a piece of dark yellow card stock to the inside to cover the whole top portion of the inside of the card. This covered up all the little pieces of different colors of card stock glued to the top of the tree. Next I added some dots of glue in areas where I wanted the falling leaves then just dumped on all the little leaves I had die cut. The deer were then glued to one of the bottom hills. The sentiment is from an old JustRite stamp set. I wanted an autumn colored border around the card so cut a piece of dark orange card stock, slightly larger than the card, then ran all the edges through the Zutter Paper Distresser. Well, what do you think about my idea to create falling leaves from this pretty Memory Box Tree?

I can now imagine using these same dies to create a winter scene. It is so much fun, and so easy, to create cards using these great dies. All these products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. Did you see the big announcement on Joan's Gardens?? Joan is having a great "12 Days of Christmas" sale and everyone making purchases during this sale will be entered into a drawing for a $50 Gift Package from Joan's Gardens. Each time you make a purchase from one of the 12 Days, your name will be entered into the drawing - that means you could have up to 12 chances to win that $50 gift package. Be sure to go over to Joan's Gardens to get all the information about this sale that begins Sunday, Nov 20.

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