Winter Wonderland - A week of New Beginnings + a sketch challenge!

Welcome to my blog! It's another challenge over at Winter Wonderland and we have lots of things happening over there this week! First and foremost we will be saying goodbye to three of our wonderfully talented DT ladies, who are not only DT sisters and talented crafters, but who I can truly say have become great blogging friends and will be sadly missed. A goodbye and huge thank you to Joey, Lesley & Teri S - best of luck to you all in all your crafting ventures! We will now be having a DT call to add to our fabulous group of DT ladies so if you're interested, be sure to pop on over to Winter Wonderland, join in with this weeks challenge and add 'DT' to your card link. There are also other changes happening to the challenge blog so hop on over to see what's new! Hope to see you there!

So onto this weeks challenge - we have another gorgeous sketch from our super talented Pascale. It was a really fun one - I pretty much followed it although I realise I didn't add a sentiment yet - couldn't quite find the right one but I'm sure one will go on at some point!

Onto my card ....this fab image is from Sunshine Designs by The Stamp Barn and coloured with my copics. Papers are by Daisy D's and brads, pearls and ribbon are from stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today - I truly appreciate your time to come over and leave a comment! Enjoy your Sunday and if you are a movie buff like me, have a great time at the OSCARS!!

Hugs,

Danielle x

A Magnolia Ink inspired project

Hello!

Wow - it's the 2nd Sunday of Advent already! The boys are getting super excited so we decided to get our Christmas tree today. So the house has been bustling with twinkling lights and my boys singing "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" whilst decorating! I love this time of year!!

Anyways, I was flicking through my most precious Magnolia Ink magazine and decided to give this little birdhouse project a go! The template is provided so I photocopied it onto cardstock and away I went. With it being my first attempt I would want to improve on it but I have to say I like the way it turned out. It really does make a sweet little project. My middle son, Joel, just loved it and has decided he wants this for his teacher gift. So we'll likely fill it with goodies and give it to his very artsy teacher who I'm sure will love and appreciate it.

The dp is a double-sided 12x12 from a buy at Costco. It's really pretty. The bird is a Sunshine Designs stamp and the branches are from the MS punch. The circle sentiment on the roof is Magnolia - that side of the roof opens up so you can place goodies inside.

Thanks for coming over for a visit today - I always appreciate you taking the time to stop by and say hi! I know how busy it is at this time of year so any comments left are even more greatly appreciated!!

Take care and I hope you all enjoy the last bit of weekend! It looks like we're gearing up for the first big snow storm of the year on Wednesday - apparently 20cm is coming our way!!

Hugs,
Danielle x

Snowy Day!

Happy Day everyone!

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

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

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

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

Hugs,

Danielle x

Another Roly Poly!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I have another Roly Poly to show you - I have used this one before but The Stamp Barn asked me to make them some more cards with these new stamps.  So, of course I did!  This is Roly Poly Chick and I've used my Prismacolour pencils for the first time!!  I was given a set of these over a year ago and they've sat in my drawer unused 'cos I just didn't know how to use them properly and I was a bit intimidated by all the beautiful colouring out there with them too!!!!  Anyhow, I am fairly happy with the end result.  They are quite fun to colour with so I will enjoy picking them up a bit more in the future!

The circle background stamp is also from Sunshine Designs which I stamped in Memento Dark Cocoa.  The flowers I made myself with my medium retro flower punch.  I ran 3 through the circles embossing folder in my cuttlebug and then placed it over a plain one and placed a lime green brad through the centre - I love them - I think they add a real hippy chic feel to the card! The ribbon down the side and the embellishment are from stash.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit today - if you're a Magnolia fan like me, then be sure to check out the previous post and upload your creations to Simon Says Stamp to win a seriously fun shopping spree! 

I wish you all a wonderful day today!

Hugs,

Friday Sketchers Challenge - Roly Poly Bee!

Happy Monday!

It's a happy one here as it's a long weekend and today we still get to relax together as a family!! I've used a stamp from the new set of Roly Poly stamps from Sunshine Designs by The Stamp Barn.  Isn't he cute!!  He was a lot of fun to colour and I used my Distress Inks and tombow markers.  The layout is the Friday Sketchers challenge this week created by the fabulous Claudia! Of course I had to use yellow and black for my colour scheme, with the Roly Poly being a bumblebee and all!  I used a circle punch with a nestie die cut behind.  That gorgeous border punch was a new purchase from Michaels this weekend - it's by EK Success and called 'Parisian' - isn't it just divine!  I placed a pale yellow flower under the lace border with a smaller centre over the top and adhered together with a black brad.  I really love how this turned out.

Thanks for your visit today - I hope you're all enjoying a fabulous day!

Hugs,

Friday Sketchers -

Hello!

Wow, my days don't seem to be slowing down at all at the moment!  I barely got a moment today but I did manage to squeeze in the Friday Sketchers challenge at last.  It was a fun sketch and I'm using this new release 'Meet the Roly Poly's' from Sunshine Designs by The Stamp Barn - isn't she cute!!  I just love her - maybe it's the whole tea thing - you know, being English and all!! 

The card details are pretty straight forward - I coloured her in with my tombow markers, the cardstock and dp is from Creative Memories and the ribbon is SU!  Flowers are from stash with a sweet lilac pearl stone for the centres.  I used the SU! word window punch for the sentiment and the D'Vine swirls CB embossing folder.  Following the sketch and using the shaped panel on this card is out of my normal 'box' but I like being challenged like that - it's good to get doing things you wouldn't normally do!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, I love reading them all and I appreciate every single one of them!  I hope you're all enjoying a fabulous evening!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Spring Chicken - VLVFeb04 and Cute Card Thursday Challenges

Hello everyone!

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

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

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

Hugs,

Danielle x

Sending You ...... Butterflies, kisses & Valentine Wishes!

Hello there!

Well, all I can say is I hope you guys aren't as cold as we are today! We're sitting at -40oc with the windchill in Ottawa right now and freezing our pants off, lol! It has, in fact, been the perfect day to snuggle up in my craft room and stamp!

This is a card I've made for a valentine's class I'm teaching at Heather's the weekend of February 7th. All the stamps are products from The Stamp Barn. I love how all these stamps work well together to create the feel that the butterflies and hearts have flown out of the open envelope. This design was inspired by a card I saw on Curt's blog - what beautiful work he does!

It was pretty straightfoward to put together. The butterflies, hearts and envelope were all painted using my Twinkling H2o's. I added some red rhinestones inside of the swirls to give the cards plenty of bling. The dots on the butterflies are filled with diamond stickles to add sparkle and I drew in their antennae with a black tombow marker straight onto the card. Pieces of red, white and black ribbon were used to tie a bow which I placed on the envelope. The final touch is the crochet lace added to the bottom of the card which I purchased at Wal-Mart. The sentiment, From Me to You, leaves the message on the card nice and simple.

I will be making a box to accompany this card for the class. Hopefully I'll be able to post that up soon!

Take care, thanks for swinging by today and I hope you all stay warm!

Hugs,

Danielle x

Love Cocktail - Viva La Verve Sketch Challenge Week #2

Hello there! Hope you're all enjoying a wonderful weekend. This is my card for the Viva La Verve Week#2 sketch challenge. It was a fun layout to do and the added 'twist' was BLING! and lots of it. This sketch also took me away from the square cards I've been very stuck on lately and onto a tall and skinny one - a change is always so good! I've used two stamps here which I inked up for the first time. The hearts is a set from Sunshine Designs (by The Stamp Barn) and the luuuurve cocktail is again from TSB. This card is perfect for the girl who loves her cocktails, and let's face it, who doesn't love cocktails!!

I wanted to create a retro feel to this card and I think I achieved that. Classic colours of black, white and red with the splash of polka dots is the perfect recipe for retro! I used my twinkling H20's to colour in the heart and 'juice'. Red chalk ink was used for the hearts in the background. I added detail to the corners of the front panel using my paper piercing tool and of course adding bling was the best part! I used my clear sakura gel pen and stickles to add a little extra sparkle on the glass too. The red polka dot ribbon I just found at my craft store in town and just love it! The black and white dp is from a Costco value stash I bought ages ago.

So there it is. Hope you like it and I have to say I'm just happy to be keeping up with some challenges recently! My year is getting off to a good start, lol!

Take care and hope to see you back here soon.

Hugs

Danielle x

Christmas Ornament Card

Hi everyone! Thanks for swinging by today and taking a look. I was finally able to get down to my craft room and ink up over the weekend. Oh boy have I missed my stamps these last few days! I hope we all stay healthy over the holidays so I can craft some more! This is an idea I cased from Rachel. I saw this on her blog a while ago and have been wanting to try one and haven't had time until now. It was a lot of fun and whilst it's meant to be a gift card holder, I just kept it plain inside and stamped a christmas message to use as a card. I like doing something original when it comes to card ideas so I hope my friends who receive this card like its originality!

Using the template taken from Papercrafts Magazine (where the original idea came from) I cut out the various pieces from green cardstock. I ran the top circle of the ornament through the cuttlebug swirls embossing folder, added some designer paper to the front and used a stamped image from Sunshine Designs to pop up on the top. I added a plain white ribbon bow to the ornament image.

For the bauble 'topper' I used the MS branch punch to hide the join line and add some extra detail. I used some dew drops (clear, green & cranberry) on the top, again to hide the glue line! I punched a hole and added some white ribbon to the top of the ornament. Whislt you would adhere a gift card to the plain white cardstock rectangle if you were making this a gift card holder, I just stamped a christmas message and will personalise the card before I send it off.

I hope you like it!

Hopefully I'll be back again soon with another posting - I want to make up for lost 'sick' time!!!

Hugs,

Danielle

Polar Bear Christmas

Good morning all!

Well today I have my middle son home sick plus it's a snow day after having had a massive dumping of the white stuff yesterday and last night! So with all my 3 kids home today I can't say how much stamping I'll get done! Maybe I'll get to write my christmas cards instead of making them today!

I tore myself away from Tilda to make this card using the Sunshine Designs stamp of super cute polar bears. And yes I did go out and buy the MS snowflake punch - it's just gorgeous! This card also uses the Sunshine Designs mistletoe stamp which I stamped along the bottom of the card and added some colour using the tombow markers. The sentiment is a strip from a piece of scrapbook paper which I thought worked well with the card. The designer paper behind the polar bear is from Daisy D's.

I wish you all a wonderful day as I get prepared to shovel (or maybe dh will do it!) the several cm's of snow that fell overnight!

Thanks for visiting!

Danielle

New Martha Stewart Punch

Happy Wednesday everyone - it's the middle of the week already - time seems to go by so fast! Today I'm posting two cards made with pretty much the same 'ingredients'. I'm making up christmas cards to supply to local stores so I thought I'd make 2 of each card as I go, each going to a separate location. Although the elements are the same they are still slightly different, thereby ensuring each card I make is unique! I found this adorable scrapbooking paper in A Buck or Two - I love the colour tones of the burgundy red and soft green (a nice alternative to the traditional christmas red & green). I bought the Martha Stewart branch punch yesterday at Wal-Mart and can't tell you enough how much I LOVE it! It is so versatile and I love the delicate touch it adds to the card.

The top panel of the card is cuttlebug embossed with the hanging decorations folder. I sewed around the edge of the card to add some simple detail. The top card uses white grosgrain ribbon and the tree (Sunshine Designs by The Stamp Barn) is punched out and popped up on dimensionals. I used a nestability ribbon tag die and stamped the greeting (The Stamp Barn) on using the Bordeaux Hybrid Palette ink pad. On the bottom card I used a strip of cream velvet ribbon and popped up the tree circle on dimensionals. I added the branches around the circle. Diamond stickles finishes off the christmas tree with a bit of sparkle!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by - your visits are always so much appreciated!

Danielle

Christmas Cards

These cards are made using a set of 4 stamps from Sunshine Designs (The Stamp Barn). I love the circles they are drawn in and it makes for wonderful possibilities when creating cards! I have only had time to make 3 so far but hope to complete the set of 4 very soon! Time is not always easy to find when you have 3 busy boys to look after, a husband and a house full of visitors!!! The O Christmas Tree card was created by measuring a frame, cutting the top two sides and folding it down over to the opposite corner. I then measured and cut scrapbook paper to match the colors of the card and glued them onto the 'turned down' frame. I really like the look it gives - what do you think??! As for the rest, lots of embossing with the cuttlebug folders added to the textures of the finished card. I want to play around with these stamps some more so be sure to keep looking back!

Hope you're all having a wonderful Sunday!

Danielle