Photo Tutorial: String Art Embellishments

It's my turn to share another photo tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today. This time around I'm showing how to make your own string art embellishments using baker's twine. Be sure to check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by today for this little peek of my photo tutorial. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Emily 

DeNami Design ~ Card for Mom

Greetings, friends! It's my turn to share a project over on the DeNami Design blog today. I made a colorful Mother's Day card using just two stamps and a handmade flower embellishment. I hope you'll head over to take a peek and tell me what you think! Here's a little preview:

Thanks for dropping by! Have a super day!
Emily

Ways With Washi: FLOWERS + a Giveaway!

Good morning, DeNami friends! Can you believe that autumn has officially arrived? I can't believe that it's already time for my September edition of Ways With Washi! I thought that this time around we could take a look at using washi tape to create different styles of flower embellishments. Here, let me show you what I mean . . .

For my first project, I used strips of DeNami Red Stripes washi tape to create a cheery floral focal point for a clean and simple encouragement card. I started with long-ish strips of washi tape that I folded over on themselves, being careful to leave some adhesive exposed at one end. Then I used scissors to round one end of each strip and adhered them (using each strip's exposed adhesive tab) around a circle punched from cardstock to form the blossom. The last step was to add a pretty decorative brad in the flower's center and attach it to my card!

DeNami Products: Hang In There, Solid Block Border, Toffee Versafine Ink, Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Next up is a loopy washi tape flower. For this embellishment, I turned to DeNami Orange Stripes washi tape for the job. To make the petals for this beauty, I folded long strips of washi tape in half lengthwise before doubling them over and adhering them to a punched cardstock circle. I anchored everything with a pretty pearl brad in the center.

DeNami Products: Thoughtful Greetings stamp set, Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Finally, I pressed some DeNami Yellow/White Dots washi tape into service for a sunshiny daisy. I used an approach similar to the one I used for my first card, but trimmed each washi tape petal to a point this time around. For the daisy's center, I stamped a Circle Scallop on magenta cardstock, cut it out, and finished it off with baker's twine tied through a DeNami boutique button. I covered some wire with Lime/White Dots washi tape for a stem. And because you are so sharp, I'm sure you spotted some more Lime/White Dots washi tape used for the leaves and grass ;).

DeNami Products: Sending You Sunshine, Circle Scallop, white cardstock, Tutti Fruitti Boutique Buttons, Confetti 3-pack baker's twine,  Onyx Black Versafine Ink

I hope you've been inspired to pull out your washi tape to try making some flower embellishments for your paper-crafted projects!

GIVEAWAY

How would you like to win a roll of washi tape to try making some pennants and banners for yourself? I have a brand-new roll of Orange Stripes Washi Tape from DeNami Design--the same tape that I used on today's second project--that I'd love to give away to a reader of this post. Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post using the word "AUTUMN." There's no need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but if you are a follower (or become a new follower!), you can have a second entry in the drawing--just leave me a second comment telling me that you are a follower and how you follow. :)

I'll leave commenting open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, September 25, 2013, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, September 26, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

I'm so glad you dropped by for a little slice of bliss today!
Emily

Happy St. Patty's Day

I know that many folks don't bother with cards for St. Patrick's Day, but I really like making and sending them. It's fun to celebrate a bit o' green to get in the mood for impending spring! Sending out these cards is a great way for me to stay in contact with my folks and aunts, too.

After filling my crafty time with design team assignments this week, it was fun to create just for the sake of creating. So here's what I ended up with.

I'm test-driving some brand-new New Leaf cardstock that I purchased from Papertrey Ink with the $60 gift certificate I won in PTI's 6th anniversary celebration last month. I adore this shade of green! And it was perfect for a St. Patrick's Day card. I dug deep into my hoard collection of Basic Grey 6" x 6" patterned paper pads to find this awesome green and white chevron print. And that fun gray shamrock background paper? A digital patterned paper from Cosmo Cricket. I love my digital elements!

I think this DeNami Design Happy St. Patrick's Day sentiment is the best! So whimsical and perfectly scripted. And how genius is that shamrock as an apostrophe? I also used a chevron border from the DeNami Modern Borders set for the center of my handmade twine-y flower embellishment featuring Peapod baker's twine from The Twinery.

I'm playing along with a few challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp challenge: A Bit o' Green 
• Inkspirational: Shades of Green                                                                         
• The Chevron & Green challenge at The Twinery                        

In addition to a bit of recreational crafting yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time getting ready for Career Day at my daughter's middle school today. It's an early release day, so the guidance team invited parents and friends to come in for the morning to talk with the kids about what they do in their jobs. Each Career Day guest has been assigned to a classroom teacher and will talk to each of that teacher's classes on an abbreviated schedule (after all, it is a half day!). I've been assigned to my daughter's math teacher, and she couldn't be more excited that I will be there! I'll be presenting my 28-minute-or-less spiel to each of Mr. Coger's five eighth grade math classes. And to tell the truth, I'm pretty excited to be doing this--I have so much I want to tell these students and can't wait to share how I use real-live math every day!! I just hope I can make my daughter proud :). Fingers crossed!!

Once the kids are out early, they are each bringing a friend home to our house for lunch before we head out to the Museum of Science in Boston to take advantage of their free IMAX movies every Friday in March. Woo-hoo! LOVE free! We're going to see Africa: The Serengeti. Should be fascinating!

EDITED TO ADD: Well, we've been torpedoed by Winter Storm Saturn. School has been cancelled for today!!! So, no Career Day after all. We have two very sad faces here this morning. No word yet on whether or not it will be re-scheduled; I don't have high hopes. Darn! It looks like we could still get 3 to 5 inches of snow before noontime, so our trip to MoS for the IMAX movie hangs in the balance, too. Such is life in New England, I guess!! We drowned our sorrows in French toast, a treat that's usually not possible on weekdays. So, at least there's that. :)

I hope you have a fabulous weekend--don't forget about the time change on Saturday before you go to bed! I'll be back on Sunday with my post for the DeNami Birthday Bonanza Blog Hop. There are going to be some AWESOME prizes, so be sure to hop along with us!

Thanks for dropping by!
Emily

A New Photo Tutorial

Happy Friday, everyone! I am so excited to have a new photo tutorial up over on the DeNami Design blog today. I am showing how to make gathered ribbon flowers. Here is a little sneak peek.

I hope you will swing by the DeNami blog to get the whole story. Feel free to ask me any questions about the tutorial right here on this post. :-)

Have a super day!
Emily

Fabric Flower Photo Tutorial

Happy Friday, everyone!

I just wanted to let you know that I have a brand-new photo tutorial debuting over on the DeNami Design blog today. In it I show how to make fabric flowers just like the one on this card:

I hope you'll swing by the DeNami blog to take a look. Have fun creating!

Emily

Stamps: Thoughtful Greetings stamp set, Medium Solid Filigree stamp, Polka Dot Background stamp from DeNami Design

Paper:  Sky Blue cardstock, Chocolate Brown cardstock from DeNami Design

Ink:  Vintage Sepia Versafine, Colorbox Frost White

Accessories: white EP, heat tool, fabric, 2” circle paper punch, Strong double-sided adhesive, Wax paper, scissors, button, embroidery floss, sewing machine

10-Minute Nurture Yourself

So, I mentioned on Sunday that I was waiting to pick up my daughter from her Girl Scout camping trip. Well, she returned safely and had a great time, but came home with a few hitchhikers. Three to be exact:  deer ticks. You know, the tiny kind that can carry Lyme disease, and we live in--you guessed it--prime Lyme territory. We removed them successfully (with tweezers, the best method according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are a lot of folklore removal methods out there, but some can actually increase the likelihood of disease transmission {something to do with increased salivation; I know, ewwwwwwwww!}. Our motto: when in doubt, yank it out!). Anyway, I consulted with our pediatrician yesterday, and because we have no way of knowing if the ticks were attached for less than 24 hours, we'll have her tested for Lyme disease in four to six weeks. (Yeah, it takes that long for it to show up in tests!) In the meantime, we'll keep our eyes peeled for that telltale bullseye rash, which apparently presents in only 60% of Lyme disease cases, so testing will be crucial. Our pediatrician mentioned that the practice has been seeing a lot of Lyme disease recently, most likely due to our very mild winter. Darn, and I was kind of liking that! I guess I'd better hope for lots of cold, snow, and ice next year!

Enough of the yucky stuff, let's get on with a card!

Today I am sharing, appropriately enough, a get well card! I realized last week that my supply of such cards has been depleted, so it was time to re-stock. Because I've been so time-crunched, I decided to play along with Flourishes' Gimme Ten challenge again, to make a 10-minute card.

I used three sets from Flourishes to put together this card: Sunflowers, Tiny Flowers and Tags, and From the Garden. I made a super-quick background by scoring a 3.75" x 3.75" piece of cardstock in a grid and stamping a tiny daisy in each square. I already had that handmade spiral fabric flower in my stash, and all that was left to do was quickly stamp and trim a few leaves. Done! I'm linking this up as my final entry in Julie Koerber's Celebrate Five challenge.

I also used some more Bazzill Card Shoppe cardstock to make this card. Today's colors are Peanut Cluster (for the card base), Gumball (for the blue scored panel), and Easter Grass (for the leaves). I am so impressed with how will this cardstock scores: nice crisp lines and no danger of accidentally perforating the paper. And even though this is nice heavyweight cardstock (100 lb.), I had no trouble fussy-cutting those leaves, although I admit I wasn't going for precision here. It is, after all, a 10-minute card!

Well, I already have dinner in the crockpot, and the kids are off to school,  so it's time to get cranking on my freelance work for the day. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Emily

Stamps:  Sunflowers, Tiny Flowers and Tags, and From the Garden by Flourishes

Paper: Peanut Cluster, Gumball, and Easter Grass from the Bazzill Card Shoppe collection; white from Papertrey Ink

Ink: Versafine Spanish Moss, SU Bashful Blue

Accessories: handmade rolled fabric flower, pearl, SU label punch, scoring board, baker's twine from the DeNami Design Spring Twine 3-pack, Corner Chomper

Techniques: scoring, rolled ribbon flower

A New Photo Tutorial

Several months ago, I was contacted by Splitcoaststampers' Beate Johns who asked if I'd be interested in writing a tutorial for Splitcoaststampers. I was sooooooooooooooo honored and immediately said yes! She requested that I put together a photo tutorial on making dryer sheet flowers, and I'm so pleased to say that my tutorial went live over at Splitcoast yesterday. So far the response has been wonderful!

Today I wanted to share the card I made as part of my new tutorial. The flower on this card is the one I show being assembled in the tutorial.

You can find all of the details on how I made this flower in my Splitcoast tutorial, and all the card specifics are listed below.  I had so much fun using my DeNami Design stamps to make the perfect card for showcasing this dryer sheet flower!

Thanks so much for dropping by and sharing my little slice of bliss for today!

Emily

Stamps: DeNami Design: Medium Solid Filigree, Polka Dot Background, Thoughtful Greetings stamp set 

Paper: DeNami Amethyst CS, DeNami Celery CS, PTI white CS  

Ink: Versafine Imperial Purple, Versamagic Aloe Vera, Colorbox Frost White pigment 

Accessories: Ditto Glimmer Spray by Hampton Art (purple), Corner Chomper, Martha Stewart Cherish PATP set, used dryer sheets, silver Stickles, decorative brad (Making Memories), Kaisercraft rhinestones, silk leaf 

   

DeNami Pretty Pastels Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Pretty Pastels Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showing off creations made with DeNami stamps that incorporate pretty pastel colors.

 
Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Stacy M.'s blog, Sweethearts & Sweet Tarts. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are delightful DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky duckies will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, May 21, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 

Getting projects ready for DeNami Blog Hops is always a blast, but this one was especially fun because I just love pastels! Here's what I came up with:

I did some tone-on-tone background stamping using the scalloped border stamp from the cling-style DeNami Spring Garden 1 Set to frame some pastel polka-dotted ribbon from my stash. The "thinking of you" sentiment comes from the DeNami Thoughtful Greetings stamp set.  

I made that layered fabric flower myself from pink cotton fabric I had on hand, and hand-trimmed some DeNami celery cardstock into a leaf shape for my sentiment. Perfectly pastel embellishments, don't you agree?

 

Well, I do believe that I am the last stop on today's blog hop. I hope that you've been overwhelmed with DeNami inspiration in all shades of pastels today! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes.

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my pretty pastels creation!
Emily

Growing In Unity ~ Day 2: Beyond Happy For You

Welcome back to Day 2 of my Growing In Unity week! In case you are just tuning in, I'm being featured as this week's GIU gal over on the Unity Stamp Co. blog (you'll see my name all lit up in lights along the right sidebar) and that means that you get a chance at some free Unity rubber stamps. Be sure to comment on each of my GIU posts this week, Monday through Friday, and at the end of the week, I'll randomly draw a commenter to win two free Unity Itty Bitty stamps of her choice!! Sweet!!

And here now, without further ado, is my project of the day:




My design for this pocket card was inspired by this week's sketch over at Chick Challenges {with Ippity}.
And if you let Angie know that you are playing along with the sketch, she'll throw your name in the hat for some additional free {ippity} through her. So I'm definitely doing that as well! And as long as I'm mentioning challenges: I'm also playing along with the current {ippity} challenge: Flowers.

But I'm not done quite yet . . . my card has a secret!! And I'm sure you are just dying to be let in on it. So here it is: I designed the tag to be a stashing place for a gift card. Just flip it over, and there it is. :)


I used two {ippity} stamp kits for this card: Dots for Sure and The Best. And I continued making progress on the challenge to myself to use a different patterned paper collection each day this week. This time around I'm showcasing pretty prints from the Six by Six Vanity Fair collection by My Mind's Eye. Double-sided papers like these from MME make it easy to make beautiful folded circle flowers like the one I used on this pocket card. (You can find a great tutorial here.)

Whew! That was a long one. Are you still with me? Good! I'm so glad you stopped by to take a look at my Day 2 GIU project. I love how it turned out, and I hope you like it, too.

See you back here tomorrow for some more Unity goodness!
Have a great day,
Emily

You are Amazing for FWF

Top o' the Friday morning to you!

Here's a little something that I'm sharing for today's Unity Friends With Flair hop.

This card was made with all {ippity} by Unity stamps: the frame and sentiment are from Just Wanted to Say, the circle used for the flower petals is from Love in Return, and the chandelier is from Regal Greetings. I made the flower by stamping that "Original" circle on canvas six times and cutting out each one. Then I pinched one circle, stitched through both layers with needle and thread, and repeated with each circle, stringing the circles on the same thread. Then I simply pulled the thread tight to form a blossom and tied it off. Simple!

I'm so pleased to say that this little ol' card o' mine appeared in the October 2011 issue of CARDS Magazine, on page 111. I'd meant to share it earlier but kind of forgot about it until I received my complimentary copy of the issue from CARDS a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, it appeared in the Cards for Girls feature; I thought this card would be a perfect confidence-booster for a tween or young teenage girl, especially for affirming how unique and special she is!

I'm entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge, Make It Monday with Kraft Outlet: Tie It Up Challenge, and the current {ippity} challenge: Something Old (the Berry Sorbet baker's twine I used to outline my card), Something New (the brand new technique I used for making my canvas flower), Something Borrowed (the canvas I borrowed from my fabric stash), and Something Blue (the vintage button at the center of my flower).

My kids have an early release day today for teacher in-service. We planned a special lunch to share here at home: popcorn chicken, watermelon (for the girls and a peach cup for my non-melon-loving boy), and fruit and yogurt smoothies. We'll get crazy with frozen fruit in the blender while the chicken bakes, and then have a fun lunch together. My daughter has a Girl Scout rollerskating outing later this afternoon, so after we drop her off, I think I'll take my son to buy that stuffed animal he's been pining away for. Should be a fun day!

Thanks for stopping by for a little bit o' happy with me! Have a super day!
Emily

A Shabby HI for FWF

I'm so happy it's Friday and time again for Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop! Check the Unity Stamp Co. blog for hop details and a full list of today's participants.

I'm also happy because my sister is visiting me from Ohio! She arrived Wednesday night and is here until Sunday. Today we are working on making some note card sets that she can give as gifts this Christmas. I am just thrilled that she asked me to help her make these :). So today we are up to our elbows in paper while we do two of my favorite things: catching up and papercrafting!

I know the FWF hop list is long, so I won't keep you. Here is my Unity creation for today:

That FABULOUS frame is from the Love in Return kit from {ippity} by Unity.

I'm playing along in these challenges:

• {ippity} Challenge: this time round the challenge is to choose and participate in a Hope You Can Cling To challenge over on SplitcoastStampers. I chose HYCCT1111, which is to create a card or project with some girlie embellishments on it. I used lace, a handmade pink ribbon rose, and a girlie hat pin.
• Textured to Perfection Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, to incorporate texture in an innovative way. I've combined textured cardstock, stitching, lace trim, sparkly (and textured!) chipboard letters. But what I hope will really catch Cath's eye is my overflowing-with-texture handmade wilted ribbon rose!
• All Things Unity: BINGO! 
  
    Play from this Bingo card
  
  I've got four in a row from lower left to upper right: Nesties (which I don't have, but substituted a stamped and hand-cut frame), use PINK, flower, and ribbon/bow.
• Clear It Out Challenge: Trims (I used some vintage yellow lace trim)

Thanks for dropping by to check out my little slice of bliss today!

Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Love In Return from {ippity} by Unity 
Paper: DCWV textured cardstock, patterned paper from Sweetness Collection by Pink Paislee
Ink: SU Crumb Cake, Palette Burnt Umber

Accessories: hat pin, pink satin ribbon, vintage lace trim, DMC embroidery floss, glitter chipboard sticker letters from Pink Paislee, button, sewing machine
Techniques: handmade ribbon flower, machine stitching, shabby chic

Textured Halloween

Well, last week seemed like a long slog, but I think my mojo has found its way home again! Thanks to any and all of you who kindly pointed out the way. ;)

Today I'm sharing what is probably my last Halloween card for this year. I finally have enough to send out to everyone on my list! I never used to send out Halloween cards, but I enjoy mailing notes to my far-flung family and friends--usually every month or two--to say hi and keep everyone updated on what's up with us. I think it's fun to change things up a bit and make and send cards that match the season, so I started making Halloween cards (and Thanksgiving ones, too). Variety is the spice of life, right?

So, here we go:
Can you believe that I made this entire card {gasp!} without stamping a single thing? I know, shocking, right? Last fall I won a fabulous Halloween collection, the Esmerelda Collection by Anna Griffin, over at the Moxie Fab World. I've been having a blast pulling out various elements to use on my Halloween cards this fall. The fun spiderweb patterned paper and the layered Halloween sticker both come from this collection. The canvas scalloped border sticker is from Little Yellow Bicycle, and the black spider brad came from the Target Dollar Spot. I hand-rolled black canvas (after a liberal application of Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz) into the black roses.

I'm playing along with three challenges:

• Textured to Perfection Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, to incorporate texture in an innovative way. I've got all kinds of layers of depth here: textured cardstock, embossed patterned paper, multi-dimensional sentiment sticker, canvas border sticker, and handmade rolled canvas flowers. How's that for a whole lot o' texture goin' on???
• City Crafter Challenge: "A Boo-tiful Color Challenge," to PRIMARILY use the colors BLACK and CREAM on your project. I've used lots of black and cream here, with a splash of muted orange.
• Paper Sundaes Challenge #91: Halloween or Fall

Now that I've completed my Halloween card construction, it's time to start getting them in the mail so they arrive before Halloween! That's one of my projects for this week. My other project is to get the house ready for company. My sister (sans children) is coming to visit me for several days at the end of the week! I haven't seen her since last Thanksgiving, so I'm really looking forward to this visit. She flies in Wednesday night and I'll have her to myself on Thursday and Friday while my kids are at school. This will be fun!! And the best part? We have plans to be crafty! She isn't terribly crafty herself, but asked if I could help her make some note cards to give as holiday gifts to her staff at work. She has 10 people on her list, so we have a lot to accomplish, but I really think we're going to have fun. I'm so glad she is interested in allowing me to share my paper passion with her!

That does it for now. Thanks so much for dropping by for a little slice o' bliss today!
Emily

Card Recipe:Stamps: none!
Paper: textured black CS; Esmerelda patterned paper from Anna Griffin
Ink: Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spritz
Accessories: black canvas, glue dots, Halloween canvas border stickers from Little Yellow Bicycle; Halloween 3-Dimensional Sticker (Esmerelda Collection) from Anna Griffin; black spider brad from TargetTechniques: handmade flowers

{Friends with Flair} on the First Day of Fall

Yay! It's Friends with Flair day!! Check the Unity blog for blog hop details and a list of today's participants. I'm in the lineup. :)

And not only is it FWF Day, it's also the first day of Autumn. Hoo-ray!! I'm celebrating with this little fall card.
I'll admit, it's dripping with {ippity} goodness. The banners come from {ippity}'s The Best, the background that I masked into the large banner is {ippity}'s A Bit of Burlap, the sentiment comes from {ippity}'s Moon Beams & Heart Strings, and the leaves are from {ippity}'s Now & Always. Having no fall-themed stamps from Unity, it was a fun challenge using these decidedly non-autumn-y stamps to make my "Autumn-with-a-capital-A" card.

I made this fabric flower with a torn strip of quilting calico. (Click HERE for a tutorial.)

This card was inspired by these challenges:

• {ippity} Challenge: Fall (use Ippity/Unity stamps to create a project inspired by autumn)
• Unity Stamp Company Challenge: Falling Leaves (any project, created with Unity/Ippity stamps, with leaves on it)
• Ribbon Carousel Challenge: #21 Add fabric, and be sure to include some type of ribbon, twine, hemp, lace....basically, anything that comes on a spool.(I used some hemp twine.)

I hope that your first day of autumn is crisp and colorful! Thanks for stopping by today to see what's making me happy. :)
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: The Best, A Bit of Burlap, Moon Beams & Heart Strings, and Now & Always--all from {ippity} by Unity Stamp Co.
Paper: SU cherry cobbler CS, K&Co Tim Coffey Fall Pad patterned paper, misc scrap of mustard CS, kraft CS from Paper Maniac
Ink: SU crumb cake, SU dusty durango, Palette moulin rouge
Accessories: foam tape, sewing machine, rhinestones, button, felt leaf sticker from Target, hemp twine, torn strip of calico fabric
Techniques: machine stitching, handmade flowers

Thankful for You

(with apologies to Emma Lazarus)

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses of used dryer sheets,
The wretched refuse of your laundry room.
Send these, the crumpled, tempest-tost to me,
I'll upcycle and rescue them from doom!

More recycled dryer sheet blooms today! (You can find a tutorial HERE.) This time I'm taking them for a spin on an autumn card, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
Smooch Spritz (or any kind of glimmer mist) is wonderful for coloring the dryer sheet circles for these blossoms, but what's a gal to do when the Smooch Spritz colors in her {very} limited collection don't match the earthy, autumn-tone colors she's leaning toward? Break out the brush-tipped markers, that's what!! I simply laid a dryer sheet circle over a scrap piece of paper and scribbled over the face of the dryer sheet. (Holding the marker at an angle to cover a wider swath is most efficient). The fibers soaked up the color beautifully. The top flower was colored with Golden Glow Smooch Spritz, and the bottom flower was colored with an SU Dusty Durango marker. And I think they both look pretty good.

I'm on a recycling roll, so this is yet another entry for Lynn's Recycling Challenge over at Do More With Less. I'm also very pleased to be entering The Craft's Meow September Card Sketch Challenge using this sketch: This challenge requires TCM stamps. The leaves and sentiment come from The Craft's Meow: Celebrating You , and the frame comes from Timeless Tags.

Thanks for stopping by for a little slice of bliss!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Celebrating You and Timeless Tags, both from The Craft's Meow
Paper: natural vanilla bean fleck CS, K&Co Tim Coffey Fall Pad patterned paper, misc scrap of mustard CS
Ink: SU crumb cake, Ranger tea dye distress ink, Versamark
Accessories: gold EP, heat tool, sponge dauber, foam tape, sewing machine, rhinestones, gold button, gold brad, Gold Lame Smooch, gold glitter glue, Golden Glow Smooch Spritz, SU dusty durango marker
Techniques: sponging, machine stitching, heat embossing, handmade flowers

My First Christmas Card of the Season

Well, somebody flipped the switch and suddenly it's beginning to feel a lot like autumn around here! Ever since last Friday, it's been considerably cooler, with overnight temperatures dipping into the 40s. Sunday afternoon's project was taking out all five of our window air-conditioning units, which were doing some unintentional air conditioning each night--letting that 40-degree air just pour right in! We've broken out the jeans and jackets, added blankets to the beds, and started burning my Macintosh-scented candles. Yup, I'm all ready for the first day of autumn on Friday!

All of which reminded me that I don't have any Christmas cards made yet! Flourishes has a wonderful monthly Christmas card challenge that runs year round. It's designed to help everyone get a head start on making their holiday cards. Each month, I check out the challenge and think, "Wow! That's a great one! I really need make time to play along this month." And each month I never quite get around to it. Well, crunch time is coming down the pike, so I made this month's Christmas Spirit Challenge a priority and got 'er done today. The challenge is to make a card inspired by this photo.
I loved the reds, whites, and snowflakes in this photo, so I ran with those in my creation.
I used three different Flourishes stamp sets to create this card: Warm Winter Wishes (the snowflakes), Country Charm Labels, and O Christmas Tree (sentiment).

My layered flower is something I made myself today. It's a {recycled} dryer sheet flower! I found the idea for it, along with instructions, HERE. So easy to make (although allow plenty of time for drying). I know I'll be making more again soon! And--HIP HIP HOORAY!--because I recycled a used dryer sheet to make the embellie on this card, I am entering it in Lynn's Recycling Challenge over at Do More With Less.

Well, thanks for dropping by for my little slice of bliss today!
Emily

Stamps: Flourishes Warm Winter Wishes, Country Charm Labels, and O Christmas Tree
Paper: red and white CS
Ink: Versafine red satin, ColorBox frost white
Accessories: MS snowflake border punch, SU real red dotted grosgrain ribbon, foam tape, white EP, heat tool, recycled dryer sheet, Smooch Spritz, glitter glue, red metallic brad
Techniques: embossing, handmade flower

Autumn Thanks for Friends With Flair

Happy Friday!! I'm back again this week with another project for Unity's Friends with Flair blog hop. Check the Unity blog for details and a list of today's participants.

I am so psyched that the new {ippity} challenge is to make a card inspired by Fall. I really needed to start a supply of autumn-ish cards, so this was just what I needed to get going. I was inspired by what I think are quintessential fall colors.

I used three different {ippity} by Unity stamp sets to create this card: the flower is from Now & Always, the background is from A Bit of Burlap, and the sentiment is from Regal Greetings. Building that layered fall flower was a blast! I got to play around with canvas (so hot right now in the papercrafting world!) for the first time. It was fun experimenting with coloring the originally all-white canvas. For the bottom layer, I sponged the edges with distress ink. The middle layer was sponged all over with dye ink. And the top layer? I sprayed it with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz!

In other news, I had a bit of a field trip on Wednesday--I finally got to meet a blogging friend in person! It turns out that the oh-so-sweet and extremely talented Debbie Carriere, one of the Mojo Monday designers, lives in the next town over from us. Crazy, right? And now that our very busy summers are over (Debbie was busy with just a little thing called Paper Crafts GALLERY IDOL, making it all the way into the Top 10. WOW! Lil' ole me got to meet a papercrafting celebrity in the flesh!!) and our kids are back to school, we meet up for coffee this week. Meeting Debbie was delightful!! So cheery and down to earth. And thoughtful, too! After reading on my blog that I am die-less, Debbie gave me some fabulous die-cut panels and shaped cards that she had cut just for me--along with some fabulous Close To My Heart goodies. See? I told you she was oh-so-sweet!! I can't wait to use it all. To thank her for her generosity, I dropped this autumn thank you card in the mail to her this morning. (Debbie, if you are reading, I'm so sorry if I spoiled the surprise!!) Anyway, it was so fun to chat face-to-face with someone who "gets" this hobby of mine. I'm looking forward to getting together with her again soon--and next time, I'll remember to bring my autograph book!

Well, that wraps things up for now. Thanks so much for dropping by for my little slice of bliss today!!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: {ippity} by Unity: flower from Now & Always, background from A Bit of Burlap, sentiment from Regal Greetings
Paper: SU Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, So Saffron CS; Daydream from 365 Degrees collection by Pink Paislee; Still in Box from The Thrift Shop collection by October Afternoon
Ink: Ranger tea dye distress ink, SU pumpkin pie, Palette burnt umber, Gold Glow Smooch Spritz
Accessories: SU oval punch, SU circle punch, SU corduroy brad, sewing machine, white canvas
Techniques: machine stitching, misting, handmade flower

DeNami Fabulous Frames Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Fabulous Frames Blog Hop!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Ruza Rebel's blog, Ruza's Craft Corner. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

This month's blog hop is packed with ideas for making or using frames, all in conjunction with fabulous DeNami stamp images, of course ;) !! Hop along for some great inspiration and comment along the way for a chance at some free DeNami products! Here are the details:

When: The blog hop starts on June 12 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until June 12, 2011, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).

Why: To be inspired by beautiful frame creations featuring DeNami Design stamps and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: DeNami is giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to their website! They'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random blog hop participant (DT members not eligible) and then they'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

Ready to get going? Then check out my 4.25" x 4.25" DeNami Fabulous Frame card:
Thanks to winning a DeNami challenge in May, I recently acquired the fabulous and, as Paulina tells me, very popular Decorative Crest Circle stamp. This frame stamp is SO versatile! Pair it with some pretty patterned paper, pop in just about any sentiment in the center, and you've got a quick and easy card for almost any occasion! Dress it up, dress it down. Make it fun, make it serious. Doesn't matter!! This frame stamp can handle it.

Are you drooling over my background paper? Yeah, I was too when I won this as part of a Webster's Pages 4" x 4" vellum sampler pack on the Simon Says Stamp Blog last month. So pretty and detailed, it's a shame to cover it up! Webster's Pages designs are an easy way to get a collage-y, vintage-y, layered feel without a lot of work or a lot of layers. The perfect lazy crafter's product!

Let's see . . . details? I kept it to a minimum (see paragraph above.) Of note: the ruffled ribbon rosette I made. So easy! I basically followed this tutorial. The ribbon I used wasn't stitched ribbon, so my first step was to add a running stitch along one edge with my sewing machine. My ribbon is narrower than the ribbon in the tutorial, so my flower is flatter. But I love it just the same!

OK, I'm scanning my checklist . . . and that looks like everything I wanted to cover!! Be sure to comment here for a chance at some free DeNami products before you hop off to our next Fabulous Frames Blog Hop participant:

Andrea Matthews

A member of the DeNami design team, she always has some creative DeNami goodness to share! Go give her some love. :)

Thanks so much for dropping by today to check out my little slice of bliss!
Emily

Card Recipe:
Stamps: DeNami Decorative Crest Circle
Paper: cream CS, Webster's Pages Vellum Fun Pack, SU baja breeze CS, Neenah natural CS
Ink: SU baja breeze, Versafine vintage sepia
Accessories: 2.25" and 2.5" circle punches, sewing machine, grosgrain ribbon, foam tape, mulberry paper roses
Techniques: machine stitching, handmade ribbon rosette

StampinB Stamped Background Challenge

Happy Last Day of March!! Is March going out like a lamb where you live? We are expecting an April Fool's Day Nor'easter which could bring 6 to 12 inches of snow to our region. Not exactly lamb-like and certainly not how I was planning to welcome April!

Anywho, it's Thursday and time for a new challenge from the Stampin' B's DT. This week Vicky Gould is our hostess and she is challenging everyone to make her own background using only stamps--no designer paper allowed. I've only been able to make one Easter card so far this year, and having no Easter-themed DP, this challenge to make my own was the perfect opportunity to grow my Easter card stash.
I stamped my backgrounds using a pretty Easter egg stamp I found in a dollar bin at Michael's last year. I recently found a package of Recollections gold cross stickers on clearance (also at Michael's) and was thrilled to use my first one on this card. I made the large ribbon rose from scratch but the two smaller ribbon flowers come from Offray.

Challenges:

• EtsyInspired #132: to be inspired by the wares of Etsy store Fresh Metal Jewelry. I was inspired by this beautiful white fabric flower necklace to make my white ribbon rose.
• ColourQ #78:
• CardPatterns #108:
• Tuesday Throwdown: Florals
• A Spoon Full of Sugar: Easter

And there you have it!! I hope you've been inspired to play along with the Stampin' B's!! If you do make a card, post it on your blog or SCS gallery, and link it up to the Inlinkz tool on the Stampin' B's blog. We'd love to see what you create!! :)

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: Easter egg image from Michael's dollar bin
Paper: SU pink pirouette CS, SU certainly celery CS, storm white CS, PTI kraft CS
Ink: Palette burnt umber, Palette toile pink, SU certainly celery, Ranger tea dye distress ink
Accessories: EK 2.25" circle punch, SU 2.5" circle punch, CM circle cutting system, CM corner rounder punch, EK rock fern punch, Stamp-A-Majig, sponge dauber, sewing machine, dotted grosgrain ribbon, narrow satin ribbon, pearls, Offray ribbon flowers, Recollections cross sticker
Techniques: machine stitching, ink distressing