Wednesday, November 23, 2011

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Just sharing the holiday spirit. The inside reads ...and give thanks to the Lord for your many blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!"

The turkey is an image I found online. I don't know who the artist is - but he/she is good with a wonderful sense of humor. It was a pre-colored image - so I had to redraw it before I could color it - but well worth it. At least I think so. The sentiment comes from a card I saw online - just too cute all around.

Hope all of you have a blessed, and happy day of thanksgiving.


Jill

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Christmas Penguins

Just a quick post today. I spent the morning sorting & filing stacks of papers (bills, receipts, DSP, etc) then rearranged the desk tops in my craft/computer room. I have 3 desks in here - one that is the computer desk and two others that I use for stamping. I decided it was silly to have two desks for stamping and nowhere to set up my sewing machine - so now I have one desk used exclusively for stamping and the other primarily for sewing - but it can be easily converted back to a stamping desk if I have a friend in to play. We also use the computer desk for stamping when I have more than one stamping buddy visiting.

I played around all last evening with an idea for a Christmas Card and just couldn't pull it together. I was at a friend's house working on it - so I don't know if I just got to chatty and wasn't concentrating, if I was tired or if the mojo was just not there - but whatever the reason it didn't work. All I had complete was the green border attached to the colored image. The REALLY sad thing is I had stamped and colored the image the night before that! Today however, after cleaning and re-organizing the room, I sat down and put this together in about 15 minutes.



Sorry the photo is so washed out. I took it with my cell phone and it just doesn't do what my camera can. The penguins and the wreath are from a Stampin' Up! set called "Polar Party". Aren't they adorable????? The set also has a trio of decorated Christmas Trees, a polar bear, and a stack of presents. It's a really cute set and loads of fun to color.

I applied Dazzling Details to the berries on the wreath and under the penguins feet to add some pizazz. It turned out pretty cute - but unfortunately, it doesn't show up well in the photo.



Thanks for visiting -

until next time -

Happy Stamping.



Jill

Thursday, September 29, 2011

WHERE HAVE ALL THE CARD POSTS GONE???

I've taken up ANOTHER crafting hobby and unfortunately there are just not enough crafting hours in a day to accomplish all that I want to. And though this isn't the only reason I've not been posting many cards- knitting has been sucking up all that spare crafting time since I began in late July. Since I picked up my first pair of needles and some yarn, I've made a ruffled scarf



& matching headband,





2 pumpkin hats, a cupcake hat,


3 stuffed hedgehogs,


a camoflauge hat with ear flaps (no photo)


and this turquoise, green & yellow hoodie.





I've started felted slippers now - but hopefully will have time to make some cards to post over the weekend.



Thanks for being patient with me -

and until next time -


Happy Crafting - no matter what your hands are finding to do!



Jill

Friday, September 16, 2011

BREATHTAKING

Okay. I'm sorry. I know this is probably bragging - but, really - this card in real life almost takes my breath away! I think it just might be the most beautiful card I've EVER made. All the elements came together - in one single card - and honestly - that rarely happens for me. Usually there is something about every card I wish I had done differently - but not this one. I love it!!!! (And to my non-stamping nieces who are reading this - I understand that you won't understand my enthusiasm. It's okay - you can think I'm crazy. I'll still love you.) Here's the card.


Unfortunately the photo doesn't do it justice. The color cast is very yellow on my monitor and the shimmer on the cardstock doesn't show. I took a close-up detail photo so you can get the idea of what I'm seeing and what isn't showing in the photo of the entire card.



Supplies:


Four the Holidays Stamp Set
Day of Gratitude Stamp Set
Always Artichoke, Cherry Cobbler and Very Vanilla Cardstock
Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint
Rubbing Alcohol
Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy & Real Red Markers
Dazzling Details
Ribbon from Big Lots
Antique Brads
Snail Adhesive
2-way glue pen
Dimensionals
1/8" hole punch

If you are coming to my workshop tomorrow, you'll get to see this card as well as see some ideas on how to use this stamp set (DAY OF GRATITUDE) in some less traditional ways. We will also be previewing an item coming up for sell from Stampin'Up! in October. It's a totally different product line - and I'm lovin' it.


Thanks for visiting today and until next time - Happy Stamping!


Jill

Friday, September 9, 2011

AUTUMN OFFERING

The weather has begun to change here in Central Illinois. It has been in the mid- to lower 70s all week and it has put me in the card-making mood again. The inspiration for this card came from this one by Charlene Merrick.



The photo isn't the best - I took it with my phone and the light fell off towards the bottom right corner making it appear a little blurry - but you get the idea.

All product, except the pumpkin, is Stampin'Up! The cardstocks used are Whisper White (sponged in More Mustard and Soft Suede Inks), River Rock and Cajun Craze. The stamp sets are Hugs & Wishes and Simply Soft (colored using More Mustard, Real Red, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Real Rust markers.)

I stamped the Simply Soft image twice on a piece of 3" x 3" Whisper White cardstock using Memento Black Ink then colored the image using the SU! markers. I cut the cardstock into 4 - 1 1/2" squares and removed the bottom, right square. I replaced it with a 1 1/2" square of whisper white cardstock and stamped and colored the pumpkin image. I used the corner rounder on two opposing corners of all squares then sponged all four squares in the inks mentioned above.

Next I cut 4 - 1 3/4" squares from Cajun Craze and used corner rounder punch on two opposing corners, then layered them under the stamped images.

The button was tied with Early Espresso Baker's Twine and colored with Pumpkin Pie and Real Red markers to match the Cajun Craze. Of course it would be much easier just to use the Cajun Craze marker - but since I don't own it, I had to make do.

The sentiment was stamped in Chocolate Chip Ink.

Thanks for visiting again with me.
Until Next Time -
Happy Stamping!

Jill

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

THANK YOU PRECISION AUTO CLINIC

I had an oil change a couple of weeks ago at a local car dealership. While there, they checked the fluid levels, tire pressure and brakes. All was good, the back brakes would need to be changed at the next oil change and the front tires before Winter. With that information we traveled to Kentucky from Central Illinois over the Labor Day weekend for a family reunion. Just as we pulled into our motel in Russellville, KY the front brakes went out!!!!!

What to do? It was a holiday weekend - and already late on Saturday afternoon. We called the local Walmart - they don't do brakes and the woman who answered the phone wasn't from the area and didn't know where to send us. (Of course she didn't offer to see if anyone else was from the area and might have a suggestion.) The motel owner overheard the conversation and offered to make some phone calls for us while we relaxed and refreshed in our room. In less than 5 minutes he was at our door with the news that he had contacted a friend who, though he wasn't open for business, would take a look at the brakes and see what could be done. Not only did Dan of Precision Auto Clinic look at our brakes, he drove us to the family reunion, gave up his evening plans, fixed our brakes and brought our car back to us at the reunion center.

Dan - this is for you.


It's a quick, CAS (Clean and Simple) card - Whisper White cardstock with the image stamped in Memento Black Ink and colored using SU! markers, aquapainter and inkpads. The sentiment is from SU! Much Appreciated. To create the outlined border I simply cut a piece of chipboard to the size I wanted and traced around it with a black marker then added little dots at 3 of the corners. To finish, I sponged Bordering Blue Ink around the vehicle to give the appearance of a skyline.

Sometimes CAS is just as nice as the cards that take hours to assemble.

Thanks for visiting today -
and until next time -
Happy Stamping!

Jill

Saturday, July 9, 2011

GERONIMO!!!!

Silly me! I meant PERGAMANO not GERONIMO! I'm getting ready for a class in a few weeks and Perganamo (aka Parchment Crafting) is one of the techniques I will be teaching. There are a kazillion patterns, tools, and accessories out on the market for this crafting technique, but for my class we will be using Stampin'Up! supplies (with the exception of a white pencil) - and yes, it is a bit challenging!


This is my first attempt using only Stampin'Up! Supplies - and honestly - I don't think it's half bad. It's actually very soft and feminine in real life and the flaws you see in the photo don't show up at all IRL (unless you use a magnifying glass.) Here is a close-up so you can see the detail.


The technique, though a little tedious and time consuming, produces a beautiful result.


Supplies Used:

Whisper White Cardstock

Pretty In Pink Cardstock

Vellum (Parchment Paper works better)

Piercing Tool

Mat Pack

Stylus

Paper Snips

Morning Soft Stamp Set

Much Appreciated Stamp Set

Personal Cutter with Embossing Blade

Snail Adhesive


Thanks for looking.

Jill





Friday, July 8, 2011

Embedded Leaves

I am so happy that Spring/Summer is here - except for the humidity in Illinois - it's a great time of year. Bright colors, fresh air, picnics, swimming - all the things I love. So in honor of the season, I created this card - complete with bright, fresh colors in a style reminding me of the great outdoors.






Cardstock:
Melon Mambo
Pear Pizazz
Pretty in Pink
Very Vanilla


Paper:
Vellum


Dies:
Beautiful Wings Embosslit
Little Leaves Sizzlits


Embossing Folder:
Perfect Polka Dots


Stamp Set:
Sincere Salutations


Ink/Marker:
Chocolate Chip
Pretty In Pink


Embellishments:
Adhesive back pearls


Thanks for visiting with me today.
Until Next time -


Happy Stamping!
Jill

Saturday, June 4, 2011

My niece/god-daughter is graduating high school tomorrow and this is the card I made for her.


I used the Stampin'Up!Owl punch then hand-cut and created the white cap & tassel. The button is the smallest of self-adhesive pearls from SU! The background paper is from the local scrapbook store and has the school name and mascot name on it. The background cardstock is Certainly Celery and Night of Navy.

On the inside of the card, I created a half flap and attached it to the bottom and the left side. There is a greeting stamped and matted then attached to the top right of the flap. This allows me to place $$$$

Thanks for visiting with me today.

Until next time,
Happy Stamping!

Jill

Thursday, March 10, 2011

SIMPLICITY

Normally I don't send Easter cards. Not because I don't celebrate the resurrection - it's just that it's not "traditional" in my family. This year, however, I decided to make a few Easter cards to send out to a few friends and family members who are fellow believers just how much God loves us.

This card is very simple, and easily constructed but because of all the detail it remains eye-catching and elegant. I love the look of white on white (which I've probably said at least "once" before on this blog). It is such a clean, fresh look and I think it suits the simplicity of the image perfectly.



The cardbase is a piece of Whisper White cardstock from Stampin'Up! and has been dry embossed using the Cuttlebug Floral Screen Embossing Folder.

The image is from Stampin'Up! Easter Blessings. It was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink on Neenah Classic Solar White cardstock, colored with Copic Markers then cut out using a Spellbinders Oval Nestabilities die. This was layered on top of a piece of white cardstock which was cut using a Spellbinders Nestabilities Beaded Circles die and then popped up off the cardbase - again using Dimensionals.

I added mini half-back pearls to each of the "beads" and a touch of Stardust Stickles to the center of each flower to finish. Very quick. Very simple.

Thanks for visiting with me today.

Until next time -
Happy Stamping.

Jill

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

FEELING BLUE

I look at this card and wonder to myself, "WHO MADE THIS????" It is so not me - hearts AFTER Valentine's day? That NEVER happens and mostly blue? Rarely. But the fact is, I DID make this card AND I like it!


Unlike most my cards, this one didn't start with the image. It began with the ribbon.

I was learning a new "no-tie bow" technique which called for the use of a wide ribbon and this happened to be the only wide ribbon I had in my stash. After I finished the bow, it didn't really work with any images I have - there was just too much formal pattern on the ribbon - so I thought I might be able to use it if I kept the card image free.

I cut out the Spellbinders LATTICE die from WHISPER WHITE cardstock and placed it in the center of a BALLET BLUE (retired) cardbase. Next I stamped the medallion image in Ballet Blue ink, cut it out and used dimensionals to pop it up in the center of the lattice cut-out. Then the bow was glued down with Elmer's Glue All to hold it securely.

Okay so far - but now what? Not a circle because once I made the bow, it came out with circles in the pattern - and not a square shape (much too plain) - so hearts it is. I stamped the Punch Potpourri heart in Ballet Blue ink and punched it out with the coordinating punch from Stampin'Up! Then stamped it again on another piece of cardstock and cut around the outline so that it was larger than the stamped image. I sponged the edges of the back and used that as a mat for the stamped heart. These were joined together with a DIMENSIONAL, then added to the center of the bow.

To finish, I punched corners using corner dies from Cuttlebug.

So, are you feeling a little "blue" now?

Enjoy your day -
and until next time,
Happy Stamping.

Jill

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

IZZY'S 2ND BIRTHDAY

Izzy is the now 2-year-old son of a friend of my son's. This was a fairly last minute request, as was Tristan's invitation to the party. Seems to me that's how alot of people do things - VERY last minute.

In searching for an image for a toddler, I realized I really don't have alot of choices - so I used this image from the retired Stampin'Up! set "LITTLE TRUCKS". It's definitely cries out "little boy birthday" to me.


I used a handful of Copics to color the image, sponged around the edge of the cardstock and used the TICKET CORNER PUNCH from SU! on both the image piece and the BASIC BLACK mat. The PACIFIC POINT cardstock is embossed with an SU! EMBOSSING FOLDER (sorry but I can't think of the name right now - but it's current) and is adhered to a TANGERINE TANGO cardbase. Once it was all put together, I added the 'GOOGLEY EYES" for an extra bit of fun!

The number is computer generated and also colored with Copics. The little stars are buttons I found. I clipped the shanks off with my CRAFT RUBBER SCISSORS from SU! and stuck them into place using MINI GLUE DOTS.

The card was pretty quick to make - the coloring took the longest - but it worked to make a little guy quite happy.

Thanks for stopping by
Until Next Time
Happy Stamping.

Jill

Sunday, February 6, 2011

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Today my husband and I celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary! It's amazing to me how quickly the years have gone and how wonderfully blessed I feel to have met, loved and married such a wonderfully kind, sweet and generous man. He's lucky too - because after the request for the Valentine's for three other women - I could have decided to boot him out the door! He's fortunate that I'm not the jealous type! LOL!!!

I made this card for him for our anniversary and will give it to him at dinner (Red Lobster - yum!) tonight.


I was at Walmart the other day and found a card that had a beautiful verse inside. It perfectly put into words how fortunate I feel to be married to my hubby so I put it in the cart to buy it. On my way to the checkout line I got to thinking he might get offended if I bought him a card so instead, I took a photo of the saying with my phone and computer generated it on the inside of the VERY VANILLA cardbase. I DID reword it so it wasn't TOTAL plagiarism though - I just borrowed the basic theme.

I layered a piece of designer cardstock from SU!'s TO THE NINES paperpack onto a piece of BRAVO BURGUNDY cardstock then stamped my image from SU! WITH GRATITUDE in BRAVO BURGUNDY ink onto VERY VANILLA cardstock. My plan was to leave the image uncolored but it looked too "naked" so I added a touch of color with COPIC markers in BG10, B000 & YG00. I used a stamp from ITTY BITTY BACKGROUNDS and stamped over the image piece in SOFT SUEDE ink then distressed the edges with my fingernail. NOTE: For you ladies out there who pay to have someone do your nails - you might consider buying a distressing tool or using the grated edge of a butter knife for this.

After adhering the image to the BRAVO BURGUNDY mat, I added the BRONZE METAL CLIP . To get the right spacing for the brads I used the MAT PACK and PIERCING TOOL from SU! After placing the brads, I glued the finished pieced to the cardbase then added a touch of ICICLE STICKLES to the leaf image. Normally I don't add bling or glitz to masculine cards - but the leaf really just needed that extra something - and the STICKLES make it look like dew drops sparkling in the sunlight. Just the right finishing touch.

Until Next Time -Take a minute to remember all the wonderful qualities that caused you to marry the person you did. I'm sure they're still there somewhere! :D

Happy Stamping!
Jill

Saturday, February 5, 2011

AHEAD OF THE GAME

Hah! For once, I am actually ahead of the game and have several of my valentine cards already made! Not that I don't have a stash of greeting cards for general occasion and birthdays, but I am rarely prepared with holiday cards and am always hurrying at the last minute to come up with ideas and time to actually put the ideas to paper. I don't know what's happened to me! Perhaps it was hubby's request for the ladies at work that spurred me to action. Whatever it was I managed to create 3 treat boxes and 4 cards last night into the pre-dawn hours this morning. Four down with several more to go - but I'm off to a good start.

This is my favorite of the 4 cards and the third one I created. I really like everything about it - and the shabby chic poppy was just too fun to make - even tho' it's just a tad bigger than planned.



The first three cards were created using basically the same supplies.
Stampin'Up!:Raspberry Tart Designer Paper; Whisper White, Real Red and Basic Black cardstock, Punch Potpourri Stamp Set, Heart Punch, Old Olive & Pretty in Pink markers (Copics were used on the card above) and Black & White Gingham Ribbon.

The embossing folder used is Cuttlebug's Love Language and the buttons were purchased at Hobby Lobby years ago.

This next card was created after the card above and uses left-over pieces from rejected ideas. I made this at about 3 a.m. this morning - and looking at it now, I realize it should have been made in the vertical format because my embossed hearts are floating sideways. Oh well - at that time of the morning my brain was probably floating sideways and only functioning because of the amount of caffeine being pored into my veins!

The last card created (finished at 4:45 a.m.) goes in a totally different direction than the first three and was made with a particular "red-hating" friend in mind. It still incorporates the main heart image, punch, markers, Soft Suede ink and Whisper White cardstock - but the change in cardstock colors and embossing folder has given it a softer, more romantic effect. I used Pink Pirouette Cardstock, the floral spray is from SU! GENTLER TIMES and is stamped in Pretty In Pink ink, and the embossing was done using Cuttlebug's Textiles Embossing folder and Nestabilities Scalloped Rectangles.

I'm not crazy about the placement of the heart - maybe it's too small or maybe it's the sponging around the edge that makes it look "off" - I can't quite decide - but with the floral sprays in the opposing corners it was the only placement that seemed to work. Suggestions?

TIP: Use the STAMP-A-MAJIG to get the perfect placement of the floral sprays. It works BEAUTIFULLY!!!!

So what do you think? Do you have a favorite?

Stay tuned - there'll be more to come in the next few days.

Until then - Happy Stamping!

Jill

Friday, February 4, 2011

VALENTINE TREAT BOX

What would you do if your husband called you from work and asked if you would make 3 Valentine cards for the ladies he lunches with every day???? Uhm - hello???? You want me to make a Valentine card for not one - but three - other women - and you can't even remember my birthday without a reminder????? If he were a different type of man - I might be jealous. If he were a different type of man - I wouldn't even consider it. But because he is the man he is, I promptly said "sure", hung up the phone and then began thinking about how I could make a Valentine card without it being an invitation to one or more of those women to "be 'his' Valentine". LOL! I finally decided that a treat box and not a card was the safest way to go with this - especially since one of the women is single and we don't want her thinking he's making a play for her affection. The treat box and the fact that he is giving all the women the same thing at the same time should help with that.

Here's the box. It's finished size is 3"x3"x1".



The box is created using PRETTY IN PINK cardstock cut to 9" x 5", scored at 1" on all sides then scored at 4" and 5". I embossed the top with the Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Swiss Dots. The heart was stamped with the heart image from PUNCH POTPOURRI in SOFT SUEDE INK with the stems colored with an OLD OLIVE MARKER. I colored the flowers, after the image was stamped, with a PRETTY IN PINK marker. Then I punched out the image with the SU! HEART PUNCH and sponged around the edge with REAL RED INK. I tore "hearts" from REAL RED and BASIC BLACK cardstock then lightly sponged the edges with CRAFT WHITE INK. The red paper heart was adhered to the black heart using SNAIL ADHESIVE, while the stamped heart is popped up with DIMENSIONALS to allow the length of ribbon to slide underneath and around the box. I placed the little heart-shaped plastic button from Hobby Lobby to add an extra bit of "pop".

For the inside top of the box, I cut a 2.75" square of designer paper, punched out the center with the HEART PUNCH, and sponged the edges with REAL RED INK. The sentiment is from the SU! set HOLIDAYS AND WISHES and stamped in BASIC BLACK INK. I punched holes for the brads but then attached the sentiment using Glue dots rather than have the brads poking through the designer paper. I originally used the Satin Ribbon shown in this photo to tie up the package - but decided it was too formal for the torn edges of the black & red hearts, so I changed it to the red & white gingham ribbon shown in the first photo. The gingham worked MUCH better.

The treat is a a LITTLE DEBBIE "BE MY VALENTINE" cream filled cake and purchased at Walmart. They come packaged two to a pack - so I cut the package open, ate one of the cakes (yes, I REALLY DID!!!!) and then taped up the end of the package before putting it in the box. THAT was my favorite part - and the good news is I have two more to make! LOL!

Thanks for visiting -
and until next time -
Give thanks for all those blessings we take for granted.

Jill

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

THAT OLE BLACK MAGIC

This was soooooo much fun to make and I love the way it turned out.

The main cardbase is Pink Pirouette and is double scored at 1/4" and 3/8" around all sides then pierced between the score lines. I used the Medallion stamp set from SU! on Basic Black Cardstock and the Spellbinder's Shapeabilities die: Lattice to create the center medallion then adhered it to the center of a piece of 4"x4.5" pink pirouette card stock. I used a decorative corner punch on the pink pirouette square, added mini black gemstones to the points of the decorated corners and in the "points" of the lattice and placed it on a mat of Basic Black. The entire center piece was popped up off the cardbase using dimensionals.

I wish you could see this card in real life. The photo really doesn't do it justice. It really is beautiful and the colors seem to "pop" right off the card.

Thanks for visiting with me today -
and until next time -
Happy Stamping.

Jill

Thursday, January 13, 2011

THANKFUL THURSDAY

Today is "Thankful Thursday" on one of the local radio stations.


I'm thankful for my family today - all of them - but especially my hubby and this sweet, funny guy (my son, Tristan).



What are you thankful for today?
Jill

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

AHOY MATEY!

I received some email feedback on yesterday's post (thank you) and wanted to answer a question and also share the answer to one of my own.

First - the little thingy on the back of a button that you have to cut off to make it lay flat is called a "shank". I DID know this, but couldn't pull the word out of my befuddled brain when I was posting. Thanks to Sarah J. for the answer to that piece of trivia. Thanks too Sarah for providing another sentiment for the Polar Bears - "Thanks for "bear"ing my Burden" is a winner!

Gloria W. wanted to know which Copics I used to give the Polar Bears definition without changing them from white. In this case I used 3 shades of cool gray - C3, C1, C00 - just small amounts of each. I tried to leave ALOT of white space.

Today's card uses another "oldie but goodie" from Stampin'Up! called SCHOONER. I'm really drawn to the artistic renderings of some of the older SU! sets and have been happy to see more of that style coming back into the most recent catalogs.



I used two images from this set - the ship and the captain's wheel. Again because the ship's sail is white I didn't want to add too much color - but did want a little color in the shadow areas. I used Y21 - Butternut Yellow over the shadowed areas then used B000 - Pale Porcelain Blue here and there around the edges of each sail, in the clouds and in the water. I chose to use the Butternut Yellow because it matches the So Saffron card base perfectly and unifies the theme. The ship hull was colored using E57-Light Walnut and E31 - Brick Beige.

I sponged around the edges of all the white and So Saffron pieces of the card using So Saffron and Soft Suede inks. The main image is backed in Marina Mist and Early Expresso cardstock and the greeting and wheel are back in Early Expresso and popped up on dimensionals.

I added the brad to the wheel, scoring to the card base and piercing to add a little extra texture and dimension.

The greeting is computer generated.

I had fun making this card. I'm challenging you to pull out some of your old sets and put them to use again and don't be afraid to play with color. Who would think you could use butternut yellow to shade a white sail!

Until Next Time -
Happy Stamping!

Jill

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

BRRRRR! BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE!

It's been snowing here in Illinois for the past 18 hours - mostly lightly - but long enough to have accumulated about 5" of the white stuff. I don't mind really - other than when I have to be out in traffic - otherwise, I love the stuff. I like it falling from the sky and freshly falling in the yards and the on the branches of the huge pine trees in the neighborhood park. It's actually very pretty. The snow that is. Unfortunately, here in the Midwest, we can't just get the pretty snow without the frigid temps - 11 degrees is the high they are prediciting for this weekend. Which isn't bad if you're a polar bear!!!!!!

Which brings me to my card for today and it's appropriate theme - POLAR BEARS!
(My main computer has died the death and I'm using a VERY old laptop with a VERY old monitor - so if the colors look different than described - please "bear" with me!)


The image is from a retired Stampin'Up! Tis the Season stamp set - and I think it's waaaaay too cute to retire from use! I used Copics (of course) to color it then cut it out with a Nestabilities Label Two Die. I pierced holes around the edges using the SU! Mat pack and a piercing tool and chose an orange glittery DP that a friend gave me as the "frame". I know - ORANGE!!! but doesn't it POP against the Marina Mist cardbase? I think this color combo is a new favorite!

I embossed the cardbase with two Cuttlebug embossing folders SNOW DOTS and SWISS DOTS and placed the image centered vertically and toward the top of the card.

The silver medallion is from a cheap piece of costume jewelry I found at a garage sale some time ago. I colored a small portion of it with an Orange Copic Marker then added a snowflake button to the center. Of course to make it lay flat, I had to cut off the little thingy on the back with my Stampin'Up! Rubber/Craft Scissors - they are the BEST! btw - what do you call that little thing on the back of a button?

To finish it I added the little orange bow. Now all I have to do is figure out a greeting for the inside. Any suggestions? I came up with "thanks for your help" but am open to suggestions.

Thanks for taking the time to visit with me today - and until next time -

Enjoy doing whatever it is you're doing!
Jill