Merry Day After

Yep I didn't get around to posting again yesterday so I guess I will be posting today and the next time I post more Christmas items (noticed I didn't say tomorrow just in case I don't get to it :(

Fancy Pants Designs--Saint Nick Paper
Martha Stewart Holly Punch, I added some embossing
Recollections--Gemstone brad

Fancy Pants Designs--Saint Nick paper
Cardmaking and Papercraft--Diecut sentiment

Fancy Pants Designs--Saint Nick papers
Big Snowflake diecut from my sister I added some inking to age it a bit

Fancy Pants Designs--Saint Nick paper, there were two Santas in this pack so I just cut one out and popped it a top the other one to give the Santa more dimension
Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine, diecut sentiment

Hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas.... we are going to go shopping for some professional shoes for my daughter to wear when she teaches some workshops soon at Harvard, she is short so she is hoping to find a comfortable pair but with some heal to give her height.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,
Connie

Angels

Well I didn't get around to posting yesterday, busy day with Church and then last minute gifts, but I got done what I needed to give to my girlfriend tonight, I will share it with you in a couple of days :)

Graphic 45 --Christmas past papers and images
On the first I added the Martha Stewart punch and glued on the snowflakes that came out of the punch
On the second I added a Martha Stewart snowflake punch and added a few stickles
The 3rd is all just papers layered with the Angles image cut out and added

Graphic 45--Christmas Emporium Papers and images
On the first card I added a Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine die cut sentiment, layered onto a strip of paper
The second I added Martha Stewart Snowflake punches with Gem centers
I did realize that the top snowflake had been ripped and I fixed it before sending it out :)

We will be attending our Christmas eve service at Church tonight, since I am in charge of Communion I will need to be there early to set up, it is such a special service and this is when I always feel like Christmas celebration begins!!

Hope you all find peace in our Heavenly Father who gave us the most precious gift of all, His Son!!

Connie

Jolly Christmas

I have some more Christmas cards, I think I have enough to post a few each day leading up to Christmas.

Graphic 45--Christmas Emporium papers and images
Martha Stewart Holly Punch
Stampendous stickers (berries)

Graphic 45--Christmas Emporium papers
Piercing around the edges

Graphic 45--Christmas Emporium papers
Martha Stewart Snowflake border w/inking

Graphic 45--Christmas Emporium
Martha Stewart Snowflake border punch and snowflake punches

Such great images came in this paper pack, I was able to get all these cards made in one evening :)

My Daughter and Son in law made it here last night from Boston!!!  It is so good to have them back and to have the house full of laughter once again!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful weekend preparing for the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Connie

O Christmas tree

Fancy Pants Designs--Saint Nick paper
Cardmaking and Papercraft Mag. sentiment, I brushed some Distress stain in Brushed Pewter around the sentiment
Stickles, x-mas red, Patina on the circles on the biggest tree
Spare parts Snowflake brad

Simple Stories- 25 days of Christmas papers
Martha Stewart snowflake punch, added Frosted Lace stickles to it
Cardmaking and Papercraft sentiment die cut w/inking around the edges
Pom Pom ribbon from LSS

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and visit and for your comments,
Connie

ODBDSLC 135 Snowflake or Snow

I haven't been able to do the last few challenges over at Our Daily Bread but when this one came out I thought perfect I wanted to add snow to the Christmas Door stamp set.  You can check out the challenge Here  on their blog.

The snow is around the greenery of the door, wreath, door step and a touch of it is on top of the bow, I used Marvy Snow Marker for the snow.  I think I burned it a bit on the left side, still learning to use it :)

Our Daily Bread Design Christmas Door stamp set for image and sentiment.  Colored with copics and distress markers.  Flower soft for the greenery and I used dimensional adheasive for the bow to lift it up a bit.

Sizzix- Tim Holtz- Bricked Embossing folder, inking on the folder before embossing
Spellbinders A2 Matting basics A dies
Spare Parts, tiny round brads

Here are all three that I was able to get done.

Hope you get a chance to play along in this challenge, off to make more cards, I am so behind, I think some people will be receiving their cards a little late this year.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,
Connie

Cardinal Christmas

I just got back from a quick trip back home to Michigan to see family and have an early Christmas gathering.  My brother and sister in law that live out of the country couldn't make it but all the rest of us were there.  These cards are what I sent all our brothers and sisters, we have 9 between us and I ended up doing one for Amanda too that you will see at the end of the post.

Heartfelt Creations Cardinal Family stamps and dies
Impression Obsession Pine Bough
Memory Box Woodland Branch
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing folder
Marvy--Snow Marker

Here is a closeup, I liked seeing others use of the Marvy snow marker but I just couldn't get it to look as nice, and wow does that stuff stink.

On the second day I had 4 more to make and those I ended up using Liquid Pearls in White Opal for the snow.

This last one as I was inking my signature on the back of the card I dropped the stamp and ended up with a black spot on the front, so this one ended up going to my Daughter and Son in law, so they have a special card :)

I used a scrap of Christmas paper from my stash and added some scor tape on top of that and sprinkled some Glass Glitter from Melissa Francis on the top.

I am still so far behind on my Christmas cards, don't know if everyone will get one this year.  Going home for the weekend meant I missed 3 days of cardmaking time but I am sure happy we were able to go.

Have a Great week,
Thanks for stopping by,
Connie

50th Birthday

My girlfriend turned 50 and since I was hand delivering this card I could put as much bulk on it as I wanted too :)

Memory box-- Jasmine Frame has been cut out with cardboard and then again with designer paper to give it more depth
Spellbinder Peony die (sentiment tag)
Hero Arts--Fabulous Birthday sentiment
Martha Stewart butterflies with Stampendous stickers for their bodies
Die-namics Prima Donna Petals die
Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms die
Magnolia (gem leaves)  after taking picture I used scor tape to keep the gem from going off the side of the card
Martha Stewart tag punch w/50 sticker
Martha Stewart leaf punch
I forgot to write down the paper, if your interested in knowing just let me know and I will figure out what I used :)

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and I hope you have a Wonderful weekend,
Connie

Bird Feeder

This is another cute stamp I got at the yard sale at my LSS.

House Mouse Designs-- Feeder Friends, colored with Copics and Distress Markers
Glossy Accents to give the feeder a glass look
Spellbinder Lattice Rectanlge
Fiskar corner punch (on black cardstock matting)
K&co. Classic K Bailey paper
Making Memories Autumn Splendor Ribbon
Inkadinkado Greetings and Salutations stamp
Forever in time Gemstones

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and leaving your comments,
Connie

Deployed Airmen

A couple of guys from our church are deployed over this Christmas season, so our church had us donate goodies to send them and asked if we could also have cards for them to open, these were done very quickly before I had to take them in.

Inkadinkado Christmas season stamp was embossed with copper embossing powder (manger and sentiment stamps
Sizzix Tags rounded dies
Spellbinder Ribbon banners die
Martha Stewart Holly punch Stampendous Sparklers for the berries

Same stamp set for the image
Sentiment was computer generated (already in my stash)
The berries on this card are Spare parts tiny brads
Decorative scissors to cut out the sentiment
All papers on both cards were all from my scraps bin (I believe the striped snowflakes paper is DCWV and the paper behind the sentiment is Daisy D's)

I need to get back to my Christmas card making, hope you all aren't as behind as I am.
Have a Terrific week,
Connie

Lily

This stamp was in with a bag of stamps that I purchased at my Local stamp stores yard sale, next year I really need to go through my stuff and let go of some stuff I don't use, instead of constantly bringing more in :)

Rubber Stampede, Lily stamp, colored with pencils
Martha Stewart, vintage floral punch around the page punches
Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby paper
Spellbinders Fancy Framed Tags one
Queen & Co. Pearls

We are starting off the weekend with alot of dense fog this morning, but it is 52 degrees at 9 am so you can't beat that :)  We will be celebrating my husbands birthday tomorrow, he still is deciding what he wants to do, so my weekend will be a surprise.

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend!
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and for leaving your comments,
Connie

Outside My Window

I have been enjoying all the window cards I have been seeing lately, especially those done by Kittie . It reminded me that I had bought a window stamp at a fall festival last year and I had never used it, I beleive it is a local company and when I googled it all I come up with is a Photography place in Tennesse, so I don't know if they are even still in business.

Treasures to remember, window stamp, has been cut out and paper from my first paper pack behind it.  Colored with Copics.  The wood grains are in the stamp.
I made the window box by using my fiskars corner punch on a piece of rectangle cardsotck and then added about 3 strips on top of each other to give a little lip to the top of the box.
McGill pine punch
Michaels $ punch
Liquid Pearls in lemon yellow for center of flowers
Sizzix (Tim Holtz) Bricked Embossing Folder, inking on the folder before embossing

Today started off mighty cold in the high 30's, but the sun is shining :)
Hope it is shining where you are!
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Connie

Paper Pieced Flowers

I saw some paper piecing of flowers and it reminded me of an old set of stamps from Auntumn Leaves Flower stamp set that I hadn't used in quite some time. Fruit punch stickles for the centers.

All papers are from My Mind's eye, quite contrary paper pad
Sentiment stamp
Martha Stewart border punch
Mark Richards, crystal mosaic, under the sentiment

Woke up to 60 degrees this morning, and it is suppose to get up to 74 today, that is amazing since our normal highs are in the high 40's I think they mentioned on the weather.  Enjoying every minute of it!  The only thing is, I am having problems getting into the mind set to make Christmas cards, I don't know how you all do it that are in the warmer states.  We lived in Texas for 4 years and I don't remember having problems getting into it, maybe my mind is just thinking it should get cold here, I don't know just weird.

Hope you all enjoyed a great weekend and that the week ahead holds alot of good times!
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Connie

Party time

This cross-stitching came from the magazine called The Best of Margaret Sherry, there are 116 charts in this magazine, it looks more like a book but I found it in the magazine section.  It is from the makers of Cross-stitcher magazine.  My sister in law loves animals so I thought this would be a cute one for her birthday.

This ended up being a big card and needed extra postage.  I mounted the cross-stitching onto a piece of cardstock with scor pal tape.
BasicGrey Two scoops papers
Martha Stewart border punch
SRM stickers for sentiment
Spellbinders back to basics tags and Carnation creation for the big flower
Sizzix Tattered florals for the center flower
Sizzix Branch with leaves die (only used a portion of the die

We are enjoying another Beautiful weekend, I keep thinking this will be the last of these great temps and bright sunny days and then we end up having more, I am not complaining at all, I love it!

Hope you are having a good weekend wherever you are,
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,
Connie

RaindydaySCNOV2012

Susan has done another sketch for November, you can find it Here . If you want to play along you only have until tomorrow, and she has some pretty basicgrey paper for the winner.  I was lucky enough to have won the stamp set from last month, thanks again Susan :)

Now I had forgotten that she did 3 different panels on hers, usually I sketch out the design on a piece of paper and take it to my craft room, well the way I drew it out I was thinking it was 2 pieces layered on top of one another, not 3 different panels, so mine doesn't quite match her design.

I needed a pre-teen card, and this is what I came up with for the sketch.

Balloon stamps and sentiment are from the Hero Arts Birthday messages stamp set.  I stamped the Balloons in 3 different colors with chalk ink.
G.C.D. Studios-- Funhouse papers
Spellbinders Circles dies
American Crafts Twine

Wow the forecast for this coming Monday they say it could hit 70 degrees, wow that is just outstanding.  I have our big tree up and decorated, just have to do the little one I have in my kitchen and then to get to the rest of the house.  Tomorrow we will be decorating the Church so that it is already for the start of Advent.  When do you usually put up your decorations?  I use to have mine up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but the older I get the later it seems to be.

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,
Have a Great day,
Connie

WISH

I saw a card similiar to this in a Card Magazine, I beleive from Papercrafts, but forgot to write down where my inspiration came from.

The letters were cut on my Cricut with the Kate's ABC's cartridge, I first cut them from a piece of thick cardboard and then again with pattern paper so that the letters would have depth

BasicGrey, Two scoops papers
Forever in time Buttons with floss to attach them
Fiskars Border punch
Me and My Big Ideas bling
SRM sentiment sticker along the bottom

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and I appreciate the comments,
Connie

Last of the Fall

Two more fall cards and then I will need to get started on those Christmas cards, no I have not had a chance to even start one Christmas card yet, it is like this every year, you would think I would learn by now.

The sentiment stamp in the middle of the wreath is another my sister in law gave me that I don't know who the maker is. Colored in with markers

Leaves and pine cones are Stampin up stamps
Memory Box Grapevine wreath, I had to cut it up because it wasn't quite big enough around
DCWV -- Crafty stack paper

Sizzix embossing folder, Frayed Burlap Distress ink was rubbed over top, added many different colors of stickles to the leaves
Spellbinders Lacey Ovals
Impression Obsession sentiment stamp

We had another Beautiful day yesterday so we decided it would be a perfect time to hang the Christmas lights on the house, it is so much more fun decorating when your not freezing doing it.  Now I need to get started on the inside, it may take me a week to get it all done with everything else I need to be doing too.

Hope you all had a wonderful time with family and friends this past week and that the week ahead will be good too!
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,
Connie

Happy Thanksgiving

I forgot to share the card I made for my husband for our anniversary back in October, I am almost a month late with it.

Memory Box -- Orchard Tree Frame die, colored with distress markers and foam adheasive to pop it up
Poppystamps -- Picket fence die, green chalking behind for a feel of grass
The birds are from a Martha Stewart border punch that I just cut off the birds
Impression Obsession sentiment stamp, twine used to hold the sign on to the fence

Here is a little different angle, I couldn't decided which to post so I thought I would share both pictures. Normally I have shared a picture of the card he made me but this year he changed it up and wrote me a poem.

Our daughter can't come home for Thanksgving, but we did invite our friends over today, I of course caught a cold, usually someone in our family is sick for the holidays, so it is me this year.

Hope you all enjoy a wonderful day of Thanks for all the Blessings God has given to us,
Connie

Super Star

When I saw this stamp I thought it might be good for a kids card!

Studio G stamps, stamped with 3 different inks
Sassafras--Count me in Papers
Spellbinders Square, Large Classic Inverted Scalloped Squares and Circles dies
K & co. Gems (on the sentiment panel)

For a girl that likes earth tones this was a big stretch for me but I am hoping that my great nephew thought it was a fun card :)

Wow is it ever foggy this morning, reminds me of when we were stationed in England.

Busy day today, getting some of the stuff that I can get made today done and cleaning.  Hope you all enjoy your Thanksgiving.

Thanks so much for taking out the time to stop by,
Connie

Birthday Wishes

It felt good to do a girly card again....

It was a gloomy day when I took this picture so it isn't nice and bright.

Cloud 9 design-- Flower 1 stamp set, colored with markers, frosted Lace stickles in center of flower
Spellbinders Circle, Labels 3 and Nested Poinsettias dies
Recycled ribbon
BasicGrey Sweat pea Alyssa collectionn paper
Little flowers are $ Michaels punch
Dew Drops for center of poinsettia flower and Diamond stickles on little flowers
Lace from stash
SRM sentiment sticker

We had an excellent weekend, Beautiful weather, did a little Christmas shopping and we went over to St. Louis to a little stamp store over there and she had a lot of new dies in so my husband bought me some early Christmas presents :)  Can't wait to try them out!  We ended the weekend by having a little fire in our backyard, figured we might not have this great of weather for awhile.

Hope you all had a great weekend and the week ahead is wonderful!
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,
Connie

Fathers Thanksgiving

I used the same Northwoods Rubber Stamp for our Fathers Thanksgiving cards, but I used different mediums to color them, I have my favorite, let me know which you like more.

This first one I colored using Stampin Up chalks.
7 Gypsies Conservatory paper
Spellbinders Labels four die
Impression Obsession sentiment
I had this piece of Fabric left over from a quilting project so I used it instead of ribbon, added a leaf button to it

This one was colored with pencils
Spellbinders Long classic rectangles small dies
Fiskars cameo ovations sentiment stamp
Fiskars border punch
More scrap fabric I had, used a pin to attach the sentiment to the fabric

My husband has a 3 day weekend this weekend and we had a few plans but he caught a nasty cold so I don't know how much he is going to feel like doing.  Isn't that how it usually goes when you have plans :)  I hope you have some fun things planned and that it is a good Weekend for you.

Thanks so much for stopping by,
Connie

Praise

The gentleman I mentioned a few times from our church that has cancer on his hip, was able to come home from the hospital after many surgeries and 12 weeks and 2 days of being in the hospital.  It is just amazing what God has done in his life and how through his life has spoken to so many that has seen him go through this.  I had to send him a card when we got the news he would be coming home, he has a very long road ahead of him with radiation and learning to walk again after having his hip removed.

I thought this sentiment was good for what he has laying ahead of him in his recovery.

Stampendous, Blessing stamp set
Spellbinders, Long Classic Rectangle small die
BasicGrey Oxford paper
Spellbinders M-Bossibilities, Regal embossing folder, inked the raised portions
Dragonfly button

Thank you so much for stopping by,
Connie

Thankful

Yes I have started doing some Thanksgiving cards, I am hoping to get the rest of them done today :)

My Sister in law tried her hand at stamping cards but ended up not liking it so she gave me her old cling stamps but none of them had any manufacturer details so I don't know who the maker of this stamp is, so if anyone knows I would love to know.  When I stamped it out the word thankful was just outlined so to make it a bit bolder I colored it in with my copic marker, I think it matched the ink I used almost perfectly :)

I border the sentiment with a Martha Stewart punch around the page punch and shaded the edges with my distress inks.

The detail at the top is also a Martha Stewart punch that I punched 3 times. This also started out as white cardstock and I inked with my distress inks.

Rasberry Road Designs paper for the background.

Well the winter temps have come back again, woke up to 32 chilly degrees this morning, but the sun is back out today after a full day of rain yesterday.

Hope your week is starting out sunny and good,
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Connie

Silhoutte Flower

This card and the last one I posted both were made for the church's Craft and Bake sale they have and the money made goes toward a fund to help the Single mothers and children of our congregation.  After making the first one I thought I would do another one along the same style.

Hero Arts -- Silhouette Flower stamp, chalk ink and stickles for the centers
DCWV-- Linen closet paper
My sentiments exactly--thinking of you stamp set
Brads

We had a Beautiful day yesterday, in the 70's, today they say we could reach 80, it is 68 at 8am so I beleive that could happen, then a big storm is to arrive tomorrow and take our temps all the way down to 43, talk about a change of temperature, YIKES!!!  That is what  is so special about this time of year, you enjoy every little taste of warm weather you receive!!  I sure hope the East coast is able to get some of this warm weather, especially since so many are still without power.

Hope your enjoying a wonderful weekend,
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Connie

Leaf Cluster

Tried to do some double stamping to make it look like a shadow...maybe that is the techniques actual name, sorry I can't remember the name of this technique, but here is my attempt :)  It almost makes it look blurry to me....

Hero Arts -- Leaf cluster stamp, double stamped in two different green chalk inks, a bit of shading around the edges
Hapton arts, sentiment stamp
Paper is from one of the very first paper packs I bought when I started many....many years ago
Brads, sorry I didn't keep the name of manufacturer with them

We have Beautiful sunshine here today, getting ready to go for my walk, need to soak up all that Vitamin D :)

Hope your having a good day,
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Connie

Birthday Definition

Another Masculine card.   I used the Hot Off the Press Cardmaker Instant Card Art for the message and the faux ribbon on the tag.

Basic Grey--Origins paper pack
Fiskar Border punch
Buttons from flea market find
Twine--LSS

I so feel for the East Coast getting ready to be hit with another storm soon, praying it won't be as bad as they are thinking.

Hope you are doing well,
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by, I so appreciate your comments,
Connie

Sunflowers and Retirement

I have two cards for today, I keep forgetting to post cards.  The first is for a girlfriend I made over in England while we were stationed there, it has been 12 years and we still keep in touch.

The stamp was bought at a flea market and there is no name on the stamp.  Colored with markers
Websters pages papers
Hero Arts All Occasions messages stamp set
Spellbinder Classic Rectangle large and Deckle Rectangles dies
Lace from my stash
Queen and co. Baby blue rhinestones
Inking around the edges of the papers

This second card was for a guy at our church that retired from the Air Force, they are moving back to live near his parents and they are in the midst of job and house searching, so that is why I picked this image from Thomas Kinkade daily calendar to use for the card, that way it was a little for both of them.

October Afternoon, seaside papers for the red stripe
Blue star paper was some I found at Big Lots
Fiskar ribbon
Hero Arts all occasion messages sentiment stamp
Spellbinders Ribbon Banners die

Well that is it for me today, it is cold and rainy, feels like one of those days to just curl up under a blanket.
Have a Good week,
Thanks so much for stopping by,
Connie

Card & Gift

I forgot to post the card and gift I gave to my nephew and his new wife when I went back to Michigan last month.... and yes I was late getting them to them as you can see by the date of their wedding in the cross-stitching :(

 

Their wedding colors were purple, so that is what I did their card in.  The base is a DCWV card base.

Fiskars-- Just Married Quotes stamp set

Spellbinders Circle and Floral Doily Motifs dies

Memory Box--Elegant Scrollwork die

Martha Stewart Leaf punch, I did some scoring to make veins

Felt flower was from the $ section at Target

Basic Grey Brad for flower center

Bling on the top scrollwork of the die

 

 

 

I purchased the Cross-stitch kit from Hobby Lobby

The frame was purchased at Michaels

 

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Hope you have a Terrific weekend,

Connie

Oooopps... Too late

I made this card for the Our Daily Bread Challenge  ODBDSLC127, but I forgot to post it in time.
The challenge was to use items on your card using the letters of leaf and you had to use at least 3, I used an actual leaf for the letter L.  Embossing for the E and a flower for the F.

ODBD Porch sentiment stamp
Silk leaf
Sizzix embossing folder, I inked the raised portions of the folder to give the leaves color
Spellbinder Carnation Creation and Back to Basics Tags dies

My daughter said they weren't effected too bad by the storm so that is good news, I pray for all those families that are displaced and will have to start all over again.

Hope all is well where you are,
Thanks for stopping by,
Connie

Lighthouse

This is another stamp I picked up while in Boston, my Brother in laws birthday is in October so I just had to color the leaves with fall colors :)

Northwoods stamp, colored with Distress and copic markers, stickles on the water
October Afternoon--Seaside papers
Impression Obsession sentiment stamp
Spellbinders Labels 7  die for the sentiment tag
Twine from LSS
Charm was one in my stash, not sure the maker

My daughter didn't have to go into work today and my son in law doesn't have any classes at the University, sure hope they don't lose power in their area, I was so glad to hear they could ride out the storm at home and they wouldn't have to ride their bikes or walk in this mess.  Praying everyone makes it through the storm safely.

Hope you had a good weekend and the week ahead is filled with only good things,
Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,
Connie