'Tis the season....to make cards!

Hey, everyone!

As I was blurfing for blog candy links to share, I happened to read a sign on a blog that said 43 days until Christmas! I was like, "That can't be right!" Christmas is just around the corner, isn't it? Have you made any Christmas cards yet? I have! I made 96 of them for a swap! I didn't do it all at once but just about! So, would you like to see what I came up with? I hope you like them...

My friend, Christina, that I am always talking about made some fabulous cards, too! I am going to share them with you today on my blog because she didn't get any of hers back for some reason! I love all the designs she came up with! I hope my camera and I can do these cards justice. There's a lot of sparkle...a lot of love and effort...time and energy went into making these cards! After you check them out be sure you head on over to her blog and leave a comment telling her what a fabulous job she did!!!

Okay, I think that is all Christina's! LOL Christina just let me know if not and I will change it. My separate piles got combined...

I would love to see your Christmas cards, too! Leave me a link and I'll check it out! Speaking of checking out more Christmas cards...have you checked out the Christmas Card Blitz going on over at my friend (and fellow Angel) Vicki's blog? Go see for yourself...awesome!

Hugs,

More Swaps Sent!

Hey, everyone!

I have been busy....with swapping! LOL It's so funny because I had thought all the swaps I signed up for sounded great and that they wouldn't take long to do, but gosh when you add them all up, it makes for a whole lot of work! LOL

I am working on one big swap now, just trying to finish it up to get it out in the mail Friday and then I will have 2 swaps due in November and 1 swap due in December, then I am done! LOL

Here are a few of the things I have been working on lately:

The Changing Seasons card is actually not a "swap" but I sent it as a "TAG" to another Angel in a group we are in. I hope she will like it!

This Changing Seasons card is for a fall or Halloween themed card swap. I obviously went with the fall theme, but it is my favorite season!!! The sentiment and pumpkin are both stamps from The Angel Company but are retired.

This Elmo card was a lot of fun to put together! The IMAGINE sentiment is from the retired TAC set: Dance With Your Spirit. Inside I added the sentiment IMAGINE, INSPIRE, DREAM for a friend of mine who is also an Angel. She has young children, too, so I am sure she will appreciate the card! After all, aren't we supposed to imagine, inspire and dream with our kids and for ourselves? LOL (By the way, this card doesn't have a red border, I just used that piece of cardstock so the white card would show up better!)
This is a thank you card going to my Hostess this month along with her TAC order. She and two other friends of mine are in my first-ever Hostess 3 for 3 Club! It has been so neat to see 3 ladies from 3 different areas join in the club! I also have some birthday cards to get sent out for the Birthday Club! If you haven't signed up yet just send me an e-mail and let me know when your birthday is and that you want in! After December 31, 2008 the Birthday Club will be revised but it will still be a lot of fun!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed looking at my cards! Hopefully all the recipients will have received them by now. If not, just act surprised when you open your mailbox! LOL Have a great day, everyone!

Hugs,

So much to share!

Hey, everyone!

I have been as busy as a bee lately! I love to swap with other paper crafters for new ideas, fun projects to inspire me and encourage me to create even more! I only have a few more swaps to go and then I will be nearly done with swapping for the year! I have several new projects coming up that I will share more about later! It's been fun but also a little hectic trying to get things done on time. My baby boy (13 months) loves to "help" but his busy little hands are a little more help than I need sometimes, so I end up playing with him instead! LOL His laughter is contagious and I love to see his precious smile!

Okay, so let me show you a few things that I have been working on lately! This is a fun little treat bag I wanted to try and make. It's doesn't sit perfectly straight up but neither do most real pumpkins! LOL I am really pleased with how it turned out, though. I used some orange snaps on the sides, black ribbon, my TAC scallop circle punch (page 115 in the fall/winter 2008 catalog) to create my tag, a stamp from the $1 bin at Michael's and I filled it with a cellophane bag and some candy! I was inspired to make one when I saw this one from SplitCoastStampers.

I already shared with you the birthday cards I had made for a swap I am in over at Paper Wings. There's only 3 of us swapping so it makes it easier for me to do a card with a little more detail since there isn't as many to do like that. For the baby shower invitation I used my TAC stamp set HELLO BABY and a couple misc. stamps I have picked up along the way. The diaper is paper pieced and so is the blanket. I used Gentle Beginnings paper from The Angel Company and premium white cardstock, also TAC. I sponged the edges of my card in Burnt Umber palette ink. I tied a brown ribbon with a pretty sheen to it on the left side of the card. I used my TAC scalloped circle punch on this card, too. Can you tell I enjoy using it? For my final swap project I want to show you, I made a gift card holder. This is another swap I signed up for at Paper Wings. I really like the Tutti Frutti paper that we carry! It's so fun! Inside I stamped a birthday sentiment. I left a lot of the white showing inside so the gift-giver can add their own doodle dots, fun stamps or designer paper that they would like or they can simply write a short and sweet note in the white section!
Tomorrow I will share with you the fun projects we'll be making at Memory Lane Scrapbooking store in Bedford on October 9. I had a lot of fun making those projects and am eager to share them with you. I hope you'll be inspired to create something fun today, too! Please let me know if you do. I always enjoy reading your comments!

And I wanted to say HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my sweet and wonderful husband, Paul, of 8 years. We have grown a lot, learned a lot, loved a lot, and have come to lean on one another more throughout the years. We have 2 beautiful children that makes our lives complete. Here's a picture from our wedding day 8 years ago! Neither one of us had any idea what the future held for us but I am glad I have him in my life. He is my best friend and he always reminds me of how everything will just work out. His faith strengthens mine. I thank God for him.

Hugs,

Birthday Card Swap

Hey, everyone!

I mentioned before that I was swimming in swaps! (LOL) But now I am more like wading in them! (LOL) I had a little time to work on my crafts so I decided to go ahead and knock out three birthday party invitations for a swap I am in! Since we're only swapping 3 cards, I decided to go ahead and do a little fancier card! I love the look of Criss-Cross cards but I always seem to mess up the cuts! (LOL) So, I asked my husband to help me with that! These were a lot of fun and since Paul showed me what to do, I think I got the hang of it. I will be making more of these for sure!


This card is made using TAC's Premium White Cardstock and Tutti Frutti dp, along with a couple other papers I had in 2 different shades of purple. The stamps are not TAC but I don't remember where I got them....a store I know, but just not sure where! I also used the scallop circle punch from TAC. I really am pleased with how well these turned out! Leave me a comment and show me your Criss-Cross cards!

Have a great day!!

Hugs,

Swimming In Swaps!

Hey, everyone!

I love to join swaps! Sometimes I join too many at once and talk about PRESSURE to get them done! Yikes!! But it's always so fun to see what I get back because I just never know! LOL So today I thought I would show you a couple of cards I made for some swaps. I only used papers and stamps from The Angel Company for some of the swaps. It is so fun for me to join swaps with different themes because it challenges me to use my supplies in new and different ways. I haven't even been stamping for a year yet, so it is also a great resource for gaining insight on new techniques and ways to make cards I haven't discovered before. I love seeing other people's work and often find inspiration from more than one person when I sit down to create something new. I hope you enjoy these cards and be sure to check back again soon. I am in several swaps so I will be sharing those, as well. Leave me a comment if you like what you see. I always enjoy hearing from you!
This is a Christmas card for a swap I did on Paper Wings. The inside reads: He's the only thing that really matters. This is a really shiny card. I didn't keep one of these back because I was supposed to get one of my own back but that changed after I had already sent this in, so the hostess for the swap was kind enough to scan it for me and send it to me. I used our stardust glitter gel pens to color this in and when the light hits it, look out! LOL You've got to get these gel pens if you like bling like I do!
This is on a white card base so it's kind of hard to see. I made this for another Christmas Card swap I am in. The front here is not a TAC stamp but I enjoyed coloring these light bulbs in with the Stardust Glitter Gel Pens. They just add a lot of sparkle that is fun to see! It's a gatefold card that opens up to a large sentiment inside. This is my first gate-fold card and using the Scor-Pal made it a breeze! Another must-have item for me when I make cards! You can do so much more than score a card! Most of the cards I make have a white cardstock base. I just like being able to grab a "blank canvas" and build on it. I can add a little or a lot of color with a mixture of solids or patterned paper. The candy canes are not TAC stamps but the sentiment is a retired TAC stamp from a really cute Christmas set.
This card sort of looks like it has a dark purple background but that is just a folder so you could see the full card. I usually scan my cards and since they are on a white background they tend to not show up well. I used the Tutti Frutti paper from The Angel Company. The flowers and rhinestone are just from Wal-Mart. I thought they added a nice touch! The "hello" sentiment is from a retired Hostess set, Just Giggle. This swap is themed Thinking of You.
I have a few more cards to share with you soon so be sure to check back! Leave me a comment linking back to your new projects you've made for swaps or just because! I would love to see your work!
Hugs,

Couple Projects!

Hey, everyone!

I am in a couple swaps (okay...a LOT of swaps) and I thought I'd share with you a couple of the projects I've been busy with! The first one is a Christmas tag. It was fun to make and much prettier in person. I used the following TAC stamp sets on it:
My Journey
The Only Thing
Wild For You
The theme is Red & Silver! (Sorry for the blurry photo!)

This is the second project I want to share with you. It is a 2 page 12x12 "Baby's Firsts" scrapbook swap. I love the fall season and Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday of mine. I chose this theme and used the TAC stamp set GOOD TIMBER for this one. I love the way the colors come alive! I had fun doing this and hope it is well received.

TFL! I'll share more soon!

Hugs,
Bridgett