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Wednesday, February 28, 2007

*Dots and Doodles*

My Mom finally got to use her Christmas Gift from my sister and I yesterday. We gave her plane tickets for a trip to Mesa Arizona to visit her brother and his wife for 10 days. They've been after Mom to go down for a visit for a few years now. Since Dad passed, Mom was thinking more and more about heading down to see them and enjoy some warm weather in the middle of a Saskatchewan Winter. She left yesterday morning and will be back next Thursday. I hope she has a wonderful time!

Last week my mail brought me a package full of goodies. Cindy and Jill went shopping on the 14th and found some great sales at some of their local stamp and scrapbook stores. I told them they could spend $25 on my behalf and surprise me. The card I am posting today uses some of the things they bought for me.

I LOVE these glittered flowers! They came in a package with some of the polka dot flowers and some plain flowers. I paired up two of the flowers and attached them together with the square bling brad. I stamped the flourish from Doodle This with white craft ink on a square of Real Red cardstock. Once it was dry, I added some Swarovski Crystals to the centres of the flowers for some added bling. I attached it all to a 4 1/4" square card.

I personally love this card.

Thanks for shopping for me girls!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

*CosmoBella*

Although I am not a fan of unmounted stamps, I had to check out the Stamping Bella website several weeks ago after I started seeing some of these wonderful looking girls on cards. A friend and I went in together and split the shipping charges.

I got CosmoBella for a specific friend of mine. Not only does my friend look stunning with a pretty glass in her hand, these girls look just like my girlfriend! I'm not kidding! She dresses like this, has a body like this, has hair like this... and yes, she often has a fancy glass in her hand LOL!

I played for the first time with my Bella on the weekend... gotta come up with a birthday card for my girlfriend.

I stamped CosmoBella on white cardstock and I painted her with my long lost Radiant Pearls (at one point, I had all of the released colours!). Once she was dry, I added some Swarovski Crystals (in blue) to the cuff of her pants. I cut her out, layered her on to Real Red. I then cut a piece of patterned paper (not impressed with the colours in this paper), added some diamond stitched ribbon and put the card together. And still, it needed more.... so I added some hand drawn doodles around the edges.

I will have to play some more with my CosmoBella.... make her look even more like my girlfriend!

Monday, February 26, 2007

*Making Your Own Scallops*

No, not the food type (yuck!).

For those who want a scalloped edge but don't have scallop scissors, you can create your own scalloped edges. I do mine with the Small Corner Rounder (take off the plastic corner guide) and others use the SU Slit Punch. I prefer the corner rounder as it takes the pieces off the bottom... whereas the slit punch, on a larger piece, would leave you with a reverse effect.

You can see how the two differ in shape and functionality below...

This first one is using the slot or slit punch. To get the rounded edge effect, you need to push the punch as far in to the cardstock as you can... but as you can see, it only works for a thinner strip. By using it on the edge of the cardstock you get a different result. I also find it difficult sometimes to move the punch along without ripping my cardstock.











This one shows you the results of using the corner rounder. I find it much easier to line up and like the shape and size of the scallop more.

*Bright and Happy*

I can't believe my weekend to myself is already over. Time flies so darn fast the older I get! While I am glad that my boyz are all home safe and sound after wonderful adventures, I don't think I was quite "done" being on my own.

There are some people in my world who don't understand why it was so great for me to have time alone... but these are people who are alone all the time. I guess when you're always alone you look forward to having people around. But when there is almost always someone else around, someone else you have to be concerned for, someone else making ripples in your pool, you look forward to whatever time you can get to yourself.

I enjoyed being able to do what I wanted, eat what I wanted (when I wanted), watch what I wanted.... not that I don't get to do that when the family is around, but I didn't have to worry about making anyone else happy for two whole days. That was nice.

Getting a break here and there from my husband and kids makes me a better wife and mother. It gives me a chance to recharge my batteries.

Part of my weekend was spent stamping... that was fun too! I don't often stamp on the weekends or when my husband is home. It was great to have more time to play.

This card was inspired by some patterned paper by 3 Bugs In A Rug. I cut a strip of it showcasing just these funky flowers and then based the colours of my card on the paper. I used Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst and Rose Red. I added a layer of Certainly Celery behind the strip of patterned paper. To create the Celery scalloped oval, I punched two of them out and layered them behind the Amethyst oval. I added some doodles with my black pen to the edges of the card and around the scallops for some interest.

You can't see it really well in the scan, but there is a Swarovski Crystal in the centre of each of the flowers as well as three in the bottom right hand corner of the card.

Thanks for coming to look... have a good Monday!

Sunday, February 25, 2007

*Cupcake for Cindy*

Late yesterday afternoon, on my day to myself, I was chatting with Cindy on msn. I mentioned to her that I had sat at my stamp table for most of the afternoon and had produced nothing. Talk about disappointing. I did manage to use my small circle punch and make colour coded tabs for my hanging file scrap storage. But I'd hardly call that creativity. LOL

So Cindy asked if I had a cupcake stamp. I replied that yes I do... one I received from Alora in a blog candy contest... and I'm ashamed to admit I hadn't even tried to play with it yet! Cindy thought I should make a cupcake card. I told her "maybe" and made no promises.

After my dinner I went back down to my creative space and grabbed the cupcake stamp. I also grabbed a ribbon that I love but wasn't sure I'd ever use and I started working on my creation

I started, as I said, with the stamp and the ribbon. I stamped the image on white cardstock and then punched it out with the Marvy Giga Oval Scallop Punch (just fit!). I picked the colours I used from the ribbon... Lovely Lilac, Real Red and Pixie Pink. I also use Close to Cocoa to make my cupcake chocolate. I also covered the cupcake with my Sakura Stardust clear gel pen to add some sparkle, and added some "icing decoration" with some white Liquid Applique. I punched two ovals out of Lovely Lilac and used them to mat the white oval. I added some dot doodles with a black pen. I put a red layer through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls Embossing Folder and attached the ribbon to the back of that layer. I then put it all together on a white card.

So Cindy, this Cupcake is for you!

Saturday, February 24, 2007

*Do You Use Firefox?*

Do you use Mozilla Firefox as your web browser? Do you have a tonne of blogs you visit daily?

If you answered yes, check out the Sage Feed Reader. I downloaded it (rather sceptically) a few weeks ago and I LOVE it!

You add blog feeds to sage as you're going through them one day. They are then saved in your Sage Browser. You can then click on a button and Sage will go through and find which of your favourite blogs have new postings and highlight them. You then click on the highlighted blog and you can read posts in the Sage Reader or you can go directly to the blog from here too. Saves a lot of time from clicking on blogs with no updates!

*Stamping Weekend #1*

Ahhhhh, I love an empty house (at least for a little while)! I stamped a bit yesterday morning while the kids were at school and was back at it again last night after everyone had left. I turned on my TV and off and I went. I plan on doing it again tonight!

But of course, as you read earlier, Bruce took the camera to the mountains (like we need photos of them skiing?? LOL!). So, I had to break out the scanner again. I haven't been using the scanner as much because you lose something with a flat flat image like this. Some of the cards I created didn't work with the scanner. Luckily, two did. So I have something to share this weekend!

Here is today's card.

I have been wanting to play with my Doodle This stamp set (available in the upcoming Spring Mini from Stampin' Up!) but just haven't known what to do with it. So last night I decided to colour one up with my SU markers and see what happened.

I stamped the image with Basic Black ink on Whisper White cardstock and let it dry. I then coloured it using my SU markers in Certainly Celery, Almost Amethyst and Rose Red. I layered it onto pieces of Celery and Rose and then onto the Amethyst card. I added a piece of grosgrain ribbon (that I got in the Ribbon Share that Jodi organized) and stamped a Hero Arts flourish in white craft ink.

More than anything, I really like the colour combination of this card... watch for the post tomorrow where I share another card with this same colour combination, but mixed up!

Friday, February 23, 2007

*ACK*

Well, the good news is... I'm down two, one left to go. Alex and Bruce left about a half hour ago.

The bad news is... Bruce took the camera... so unless I can get the scanner to take some good scans, you all will have to wait until Sunday night or Monday for some new stuff on my blog!

Check back as I will try the scanner.... but I make no promises!

*Needs Something?*

Hey, did I tell you it's FRIDAY!??! I love Friday. I don't work on Friday. The kids are off early on Friday. I have no responsibilities for places to be on Friday nights. I love Friday.

This Friday I love more than most. As a wife and Mom, I find that I don't get much of a chance to have time to myself. I enjoy driving places on my own cuz I have time to myself. Sad, eh?

But this Friday holds the promise of time to myself....

Matthew is off to Cub Camp for the weekend. He's so excited. He loves Cub Camp.

Bruce is taking Alex to the mountains for the weekend go skiing. Skiing is a new passion for Bruce and Alex, something Matthew is too chicken to try and I have tried in the past and have no interest in doing again.

And that leaves me here, at home, for an entire weekend.... with no one around, with nothing I have to do. Ahhhhh, bliss!

So, on to the card....

I got inspiration for this card from a scrap of patterned paper I had in my stash. I think it's Basic Grey but don't quote me on that. I decided that Buckaroo Blue, Cranberry and Crisp and True Thyme were pretty good matches. I used my Marvy Giga Oval Scallop Punch on the paper and my Fiskars Shape Cutter for the Buckaroo Blue circle. I stamped "imagine" in black ink on a piece of the patterned paper and then cut it out with my small oval punch. I then punched two more ovals out of Buckaroo Blue cardstock and staggered them behind the patterned oval to create a frame. I punched slots into the circle and threaded some ribbon through the slots. I added three Primas with brads and voila.

So, the question is... does the card need something more? Should I have stamped a background on the True Thyme?

There will be another card posted in the near future asking for advice.... this was the least "needy" of the two LOL!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

*SAB Blog Candy*

Head over to Catherine's Blog for a chance to win a Sell-A-Bration set.... please be kind and tell her I sent ya!

*Beautiful Blog Candy*

Check out Stephanie's Blog (and spend some time finding the answers to the questions) for your chance to win a beautiful piece of candy!

*Caribbean Big Blossom*

Another day of spring-is-coming temperatures. Gotta love it! I was able to get away for a pedicure this afternoon after work and now my toes look like spring too.. bright pink polish and some beautiful white flowers complete with BLING!

I love BLING!

Another thinking spring card from me today. I used some stuff that's been sitting and waiting for me to use it.

I started with a Cool Caribbean card. I wasn't sure about this colour.... I'm still not. I don't use it much. Cool Caribbean and Marigold Morning are the only two "In Color" colours I have not ordered more than one package of paper of (does that make sense??!!).

I then took the Big Blossom stamp (2007 Sell-A-Bration) and inked it with Versa Mark and stamped it on the front of the striped patterned paper. I embossed it in clear powder and cut it out once it had cooled off. I also cut a stripe of another patterned paper by the same company with the same colours. Both of these papers have been sitting in my space waiting for me since about November. I added some Prima flowers to the centre of the flower.... another thing I don't use much. I put everything together and decided it needed something so I stamped the word Dream (PSX) in white craft ink and embossed it with white powder (I don't use white powder much).

Et voila.... the card for today!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

*Dots and Bugs*

I am pleased to say that I have made a recommittment to the gym. From the fall of 2005 until the spring of 2006, I was going to the gym three times a week without fail. Then the bottom fell out of my boat at the end of April last year when Dad died. I tried to keep up with the gym. The gym is always tough in the summer... and when fall came I just couldn't keep it up for more than a day or two.

I went back today (again) and have promised myself that I will be there again on Thursday morning. I am only doing 2 days a week right now because I am also taking Tae Kwon Do lessons with the boyz two nights a week and that's a pretty good workout in itself.

I will think positive and I will succeed....

Now, on to the pretty stuff LOL!

This is another card where I was inspired by the ribbon. I purchased this ribbon from Michael's last week. I just loved the colour combination and I seem to have a thing for dots.

I started with a Ballet Blue card and added a layer of Certainly Celery. I cut a piece of Whisper White and stamped it with two of the stamps from Big Pieces... one in Ballet Blue, the other in Certainly Celery. I then put it through my Cuttlebug with the Bloomin' Dots embossing folder. I cut the large flower out of Celery cardstock with my Cuttlebug and layered a piece of white on top, punched with my 1 1/4" circle punch, stamped with "hello" in Ballet Blue ink.

I wrapped the ribbon around the white and green layers and then attached it to my card front.

*Cuttlebug Carnival at Craft Critique*

Check out the information and creations using the Cuttlebug over at Craft Critique!

Monday, February 19, 2007

*Playing With My New Cuttlebug Stuff*

The weather has been wonderful the last few days here.... sunny and above freezing for daytime highs. Gotta love that! The kids were off school on Thursday and Friday for Teachers' Convention and were outside for more than 2 hours on Thursday.... strange for my kids are they are not fans of playing outside. They only came home cuz they were too hot in their snow pants and jackets (needed because of the snow, not for warmth). Today all four of us (plus the dog) went for a walk to 7-11... only needed my mitts because I was carrying a Super Big Gulp.

It's been so nice I haven't spent much time down in the basement in my stamp space. Instead I've been sitting in front of the sunny window in the living room, reading. I love to read. On Saturday I finished "Baby Proof" by Emily Giffen... yesterday I read all of "The Blueberry Muffin Murder" by Joanne Fluke (part of a series of light murder mysteries). This afternoon I hope to get into the basement for a while...

I ordered a bunch of new Cuttlebug stuff from Brenda at Treasure from Paradise and it arrived on Friday. I also went shopping at Michael's on Thursday and spent about $12 on more ribbon (cuz I needed more ribbon LOL!).

All these new items to give you this card...

I started with a white card (as I have been a lot lately). I put some Brocade Blue cardstock through my 'bug with the Bloom Dots embossing folder. I also put some Lovely Lilac and Brocade Blue through the 'bug with the Flower die cut plates. I alternated layers of the flower and glued them together. I added white dots with my Gel pen on the flower. I attached it to a white piece punched with the Marvy Giga Scalloped Oval Punch which I sponged on the edges with Brocade Blue ink. I added a gem to the centre of the flower and put the card together. My inspiration for the colour combination was this wonderful purple and blue polka dot ribbon from michaels (hard to see the polka dots in the photo).

I want to thank everyone who comes to visit and those who also leave comments... because of you, I find myself crafting so much more lately! I don't want to disappoint people by not updating relatively regularly.

That being said, this is the last of the cards I currently have made and waiting for posting... so I'd better get my butt out of this chair and down into my stamping space and create a few more to share with you guys!

Friday, February 16, 2007

*Feels Like Spring!*

WOW.... welcome to Calgary... where the temperature can reach a high of only -22C one day.... and be +4C the next! (that's -8F and 39F). We had a lot of snow at the beginning of February and now it's a big slushy mess out there!

But that's OK... I like it warmer instead of cold!

It was so warm yesterday that the kids spent 2 hours outside playing behind the school.... sledding, fort building, snowball fighting... they came home only because they got too warm!!!

So... these spring-like temperatures make stamping for spring SO much easier!

I got the idea for this card from a card that Erika had on her blog a few days ago.

I started by stamping the flower from Doodle This in versa mark ink on Regal Rose, So Saffron, Almost Amethyst and Certainly Celery. I embossed them in clear embossing powder. After they had cooled, I cut them out. I cut up the green one to make leaves. I then put a piece of this great ribbon (Michaels) along the bottom of a Very Vanilla card and then added the flowers and leaves. I added some bling to the centres of the flowers and did some faux stitching on a piece of Regal Rose and cut it out with the word window punch.

Spring...

*Candy at Cindy's*

Head on over to Cindy's Blog to enter to win her candy!!!

Thursday, February 15, 2007

*Flower Kiss*

Kiss... so many meanings of this word....

Merriam-Webster says:
transitive verb 1: to touch with the lips especially as a mark of affection or greeting 2: to touch gently or lightly wind gently kissing the trees
intransitive verb 1: to salute or caress one another with the lips 2: to come in gentle contact

Some people say KISS stands for Keep It Super Simple (or Keep It Simple Stupid).

Some people will hear the word Kiss and think of a rock band.

Some others will hear the word Kiss and think of Hershey's.

In stamping, it has another meaning. And this card is an example of the Kiss Technique.

I made this card as a demonstration for a Stampin' Up! party I did this past weekend. I needed a card to give to my Hostess as a thank you and I wanted a project that would highlight this great huge daisy stamp that customers can earn during Sell-A-Bration.

I started with a white card, cut in half vertically and folded at the top. I took that huge solid daisy and inked it with Cranberry Crisp classic ink. I then took the paisley stamp from the Polka Dots and Paisley set and stamped the clean stamp onto the flower. I cleaned the stamp off on my scrap paper and did it again. I repeated this step until I had done the entire flower. This process is referred to as "kissing". I then stamped the daisy onto the Whisper White card, going off the edge of the card somewhat.

I then stamped the Thanks So Much from the Riveting set in both Cranberry Crisp and Buckaroo Blue ink. I punched the blue one out with the 1 1/4" circle punch and punched out just the flower of the red one with the 1/2" circle punch. I put the smaller circle onto the larger circle with a pop dot, and then the larger circle onto the card also with a pop dot.

To finish it off, I tied a piece of the Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon around the bottom of the card.

This is almost a one layer card. Close, but not quite. I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of a one layer card.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

*Happy Valentine's Day!*

I am truly not sure how I feel about Valentine's Day. I love that there is a day to celebrate being in love... another day in the year that the men in our lives should spoil us, and for us to spoil them.

But I hate that it's a made up holiday... that "we" need a day specified on the calendar to tell someone you love them. And I hate that gifts like flowers cost so much more today than they did yesterday or will tomorrow.

My original plan was to give Bruce this card for Valentine's Day... and I still might... although I find him the toughest person to give my handmade cards to. Not because he is critical. He loves my creations (even the bad one!). I find that I can never write exactly what I want to say inside the card... it never comes out the way a Hallmark does.

This card truly sparkles when you see it in person (hard to capture that in a photo). I started with a shimmery white card. I cut a strip of that wonderful scrapbooking paper for the side of the card. It has glittery areas in the design. I stamped the word "love" in Real Red ink on shimmery white cardstock and punched it with my Marvy Giga Oval Scalloped punch. I sponged the edges of the scallop with Real Red Ink and then added iridescent glitter glue around the edges as well. The card needed something more so I punched a flower out of the scrapbooking paper and covered it with my clear Sakura Stardust Gel Pen and adhered it to the card.

I hope you have someone special in your life to share your love with today... a spouse, a significant other, a child, a parent, a friend....

Happy Valentine's Day!

*Valentine's Blog Candy*

Check out Anna's blog for a chance to win some great looking stuff!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

*FRAK Friday*

My mail brought me a great card today.. my winnings from Cindy Lou Who. Check out the FRAK Friday card I got!

*Workshop Card*

And here's the card I was working on posting for you. I had a workshop on Sunday and decided to do a love theme for the party. We did a Hershey Nugget Purse and this card.

The colours used are Real Red and Pretty in Pink. It's a pretty straight forward card. The girls all enjoyed the project!

*He Loves Me...*

I was just about to start my blog post for today, when the doorbell rang. Imagine my surprise to find a flower delivery!!

My wonderful husband sent me these beautiful flowers today... the card reads "Happy Valentine's Eve".

Sigh... I do have the best husband! These flowers are absolutely beautiful. Thanks babe.... you mean the world to me.

Monday, February 12, 2007

*What's Black & White And Worth $50???*

Well, I'm hoping my creation is!!

Joan, over at Paperlicious is having a contest! Stampers are challenged to make a card that is black and white (or cream) with only a hint of another colour. Cindy has been bugging me to enter the contest so I carved out a half hour yesterday to throw together the card that I had in my head. I *should* have been finishing my prep for my Stampin' Up! workshop I had yesterday or working on the special order wedding invitations I want out the door this week. But no, I decided to spend my time making Cindy happy. What a good friend... LOL

This is my card...

I started with a white card. I cut the full sheet of cardstock to give me a piece that was 11 X 4 1/4" and I folded it in half. I just prefer my cards to open this way.

On top of the card is a black layer, cut 1/4" smaller than the base card. The next white layer is 1/4" smaller than the black layer and was run through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirl embossing folder. I punched a hole through all three layers with my 1 3/8" circle punch. I stamped the image from Riveting (SU!), once in black ink, once in Real Red ink. I punched a Real Red circle with the 1 3/8" punch, punched out the image with the 1 1/4" punch and the flower from the red image with the 1/2" punch. I layered the black image with a pop dot on to the red circle, the red flower with a pop dot on the black image and then adhered the red circle to the inside of the card so that it shows through the hole in the front. To finish it off I wrapped the card with some black ribbon from the ribbon share I participated in and then tied a piece of red ribbon around the black.

I am really pleased with how this card turned out.

I challenge *you* to head over to Paperlicious and read the guidelines for this contest and then let your creativity show itself in a black and white card!

Good luck to everyone who enters!

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Saturday, February 10, 2007

*Craft Critique*

Craft Critique is getting underway... check it out!!

What is Craft Critique? Here's what they say...

"We are a collective of experienced crafters with opinions to share on the craft supplies you want to learn more about. We love suggestions... Do you want to know more about a new product that's out there in the market? Just drop us a line and make a suggestion! Watch us grow... check back for more unsolicited opinions soon!"

*A Groovy Give Away*

Check out Erika's blog for a chance to win a Stampin' Up! stamp set. Please be sure to tell her I sent ya!

Friday, February 09, 2007

*Lottsa Flowers*

I have a real thing for flowers. Especially fun and funky flowers. Flowers are just so beautiful and I love the creative things artists and designers do with them in papers, embellishments, stamps....

I bought this paper a few months ago after falling in love with it. It took a while for me to be able to cut into it, but cut I did.... I think I'll need to buy another sheet. That'll teach me to buy only one!

I started with a Pretty in Pink card and cut a Certainly Celery layer that is 1/4" smaller than the card front. I then cut a piece of this wonderful paper 1/4" smaller than the Celery piece. I wrapped a piece of grograin ribbon around the patterned piece. I cut out a flower from the patterned paper, coloured it with my clear Sakura Stardust gel pen and adhered it to the front of the card.

Oh so quick (except cutting out that flower LOL!)

The concert last night was pretty good. Tomi Swick (a singer from Hamilton Ontario) opened for the Barenaked Ladies. He was good. I only know one of his songs, but I now have his album and will listen more. He's good.

The Ladies were pretty good. They opened and closed with banks, but the middle parts were a little slow for my liking. You know, how at a concert, the people who have seats on the "floor" usually stand and from the higher up seats you can see them bopping along with every song? Well, that didn't happen. There were a handful of songs that we didn't know (and we've followed the Ladies since before they were anyone), and a handful of songs that didn't have that "I need to get up and dance" beat. The most energy came with their first (of two) encores.

Alex enjoyed the concert a lot (except those songs he didn't know). Matthew on the other hand... sigh... during Tomi Swick he was dancing a little in his chair. The first few songs by the Ladies and he was totally into it... and then the tiredness hit, and the grumpiness began... and then he started complaining about anything to try to get me to take him home. Poor kid. Part of it was that his ears hurt (and honestly, it wasn't that loud... but I guess it was too much for him). Next concert we take him to, we'll take ear plugs for sure.

I'm glad I went... the guys are a lot of fun when they chit chat with the crowd and amongst themselves. I guess I was hoping for more out of their performance.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

*Look At My Mail!!*

Today was a great mail day!

I was beginning to panic that my Ribbon Share hadn't shown up since AmyR posted that she got hers several days ago. This is a swap of sorts that Jody over at Confessions of a Ribbon Addict puts together. For a price, you can get in on 10 yards of each of 30 different colours of grosgrain ribbon. She takes the time to ensure that the colours she chooses come very close to matching Stampin' Up colours. The ribbon is a little thinner in width than the SU ribbon, but just wonderful! I will be spending some time in front of the tv wrapping these beauties on some ribbon cards (by Cropper Hopper). I had a call from Scrapbookers Paradise last night that my 3X3 embellishment drawers are in, so I will go pick those up tomorrow and put my ribbon in there!

Also in the photo you will see a couple of Stamping Bella stamps. They seem to be all the rage these days. I had to have the one with the martini glass for a specific friend of mine with a birthday coming up. And the other was just too cute to pass up! Cindy ordered them for me and we shared the shipping... then she popped them into the mail to me.

Yup, a good mail day!

And tonight will be amazing.... we're off to see The Barenaked Ladies in concert!!! I've never seen them in concert before... and the boyz have never been to a concert before. I had the opportunity to see BNL in concert back when they were relative unknowns. I was working at the Student Council office at the University of Toronto at the time... and it was a concert they were putting on on campus. I could have gone for free, but said something along the lines of "who would go see a band with a name like that??!!". Sigh... if only I had known then what I know now! I love the 'Ladies!!!

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

*Favour For A Friend*

PRICES REDUCED!!!

A friend of mine needs to clear out a bunch of her Stampin’ Up! Stuff and asked me to help her via my blog and my connections in the online world. I have all the stuff here in my house and will be accepting payment on her behalf and will then give her the cash after I’m done selling what I can.

All prices are in Canadian dollars. Buyer pays actual cost of postage from me (in Calgary AB Canada) to you.

I accept PayPal, email money transfer or personal cheque. I will ship your stamps once the payment has cleared, which often takes as long as 6-8 days.

If you have any questions or would like to purchase some of these items please email me privately.

All items are in very good condition… a few are totally unused, others are gently used with some staining.

Don't like my prices??? Make me an offer and we'll try to make us both happy!

STAMP SETS
Alphabet Soup -- $16 (retired) -- now $14
Best Blossoms -- $16 (retired) -- now $14
Wishing You The Best -- $12.50 -- now $10
Burst Into Bloom -- $12.50
Circle of Friendship -- $18
Fontastic -- $18
Nature’s Secret -- $16 (retired)
Quick Cards -- $19.50 (2006 Holiday Mini)
Alphabet Stew -- $28


STAMPIN’ AROUND WHEELS
Snowflake Stampin’ Around Wheel -- $7
Stampin’ Around Handle -- $4.50
Island Stampin’ Around Wheel -- $7
Whirly Twirly Stampin’ Around Wheel -- $7
Bashful Blue Stampin’ Around Cartridge -- $5
Certainly Celery Stampin’ Around Cartridge -- $5
Real Red Stampin’ Around Cartridge -- $5
Regal Rose Stampin’ Around Cartridge -- $5
White Stampin’ Around Cartridge -- $5

STAMPIN’ AROUND JUMBO WHEELS
Bold Snowflakes Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel -- $9.50 -- now $8
Cool Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel -- $9.50 (retired) -- now $8
Uninked (and unopened) Stampin’ Around Jumbo Cartridge -- $8 -- now $6
Flitting By Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel -- $9.50
Scatter Sunshine Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel -- $9.50
Speckled Stampin’ Around Jumbo Wheel -- $9.50
Ballet Blue Stampin’ Around Jumbo Cartridge -- $8
Certainly Celery Stampin’ Around Jumbo Cartridge -- $8
Old Olive Stampin’ Around Jumbo Cartridge -- $8
Real Red Stampin’ Around Jumbo Cartridge -- $8
Rose Red Stampin’ Around Jumbo Cartridge -- $8
Ruby Red Stampin’ Around Jumbo Cartridge -- $8

TOOLS
Spring Bouquet Flower Punch -- $16.50
Stampin’ Around Wheel Guide -- $9.50
Colour Spritzer Tool -- $13.50


Monday, February 05, 2007

*Daisies Make Me Happy*

I am a big fan of daisies. I just love them. They are beautiful flowers (especially Gerbers), and they are fun to play with in your crafting.

In fact, I love them so much that when I am brave enough to get a tattoo, it will be (I hope) a tattoo of a gerber daisy photo my niece took.

I think that the photo to the left would make a beautiful tattoo. I can't believe my niece took this photo.... I think it was taken in her bathroom of all places! She takes some of the most amazing photos I've ever seen... love ya Rachie!



So, my card today is a daisy card... more of a funky daisy than this photo, but a daisy all the same.


This card is very plain and simple, but I love it. I started with a white card and then found a piece of patterned paper that happens to be double-sided. I cut a wider strip to put on the card and a thinner strip to make the contrast down the card. I then stamped happiness in Basic Black Classic ink on white cardstock and cut the corners with my small corner rounder. I cut a larger piece of the patterned paper and flipped it to the pink side, rounded the corners and attached it to the white piece. I put the gold daisy brad in the right corner of the little piece and attached it to the card.

I then resisted every urge to put something in the large white space... and am glad that I did!

And as a side note, I'd like to thank the paisley lovers for telling me that my last card wasn't totally out there LOL!

Thanks for stopping by....

Sunday, February 04, 2007

*Paisley*

I am not a big fan of paisley. It's OK, but I never go out of my way to use it. There are so many stampers and paper crafters who go "ga ga" for paisley, but I am most certainly not one of them.

One of my packages of Stampin' Up patterned paper has a paisley pattern. Not a fan. But I'm trying to use some of the papers I've accumulated in the last several months so I decided to bite the bullet and use some of the paisley. I don't know if I don't like this card because of the paisley or if I just think that the card is that bad. I guess you can be the judge.

I started with a white card and cut a piece of this paisley paper 1/4" smaller than the front of the card. I cut a piece of Whisper White and stamped Happy Birthday on it in black classic ink. I then took a stamping sponge and sponged the edges of the white piece with Certainly Celery ink. I attached the piece to the front of the card. The card still needed something, so I added some light yellow grosgrain ribbon to the fol. And still, it seemed plain... so I punched holes in the ribbon and put two gold daisy brads through the ribbon.

So, what do you think? Is it as bad as I think it is?

*I'm Elmo!*

You Are Elmo

Sweet and innocent, you expect everyone to adore you. And they usually do!

You are usually feeling: Talkative. You've got tons of stories to tell. And when you aren't talking, you're laughing.

You are famous for: Being popular, though no one knows why. Middle aged women especially like you.

How you life your life: With an open heart. "Elmo loves you!"

Saturday, February 03, 2007

*Flowers and the 'Bug*

I love my Prima Flowers, but I hardly ever seem to grab them to use them. I think part of it is that I bought the flowers I have but didn't think much about colour selection. I have a lot of burgundy flowers, a few pinks... but not a lot of colours I seem to gravitate to regularly.

That's why I joined Janet's Canadian Prima Share... I'll get a good variety of colours of daisies this way.

Today's card uses some of my Prima Flowers.

I started with an Almost Amethyst card which I put through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls embossing template (have you figured out that I love this template???). I then added some beautiful Primas in the corner. I didn't attach them to the card with the gold brads... instead I put the gold brads through the flowers to cover the holes in the flowers and then glued them on to the card. I prefer to not have brads sticking through the finished card if at all possible. I tied a pink ribbon across the top and added a gold swirl clip.

Easy peasy.

I don't know what it is but I think I've used more Almost Amethyst cardstock in the last month than I have in the two years I've been using SU cardstock!

Have a great weekend!

Friday, February 02, 2007

*Canadian Prima Flower Share*

Are you interested in getting your hands on an assortment of Prima Flowers? A Canadian is organizing a share... check it out on Janet's Blog.

*New Ink Pad Holder*

Just wanted to give a shout out to Dave for great service on my new ink pad holder! Great product, good price, excellent service, Canadian site. Check them out on his website. In case you're interested, I purchased the one that holds 70 ink pads... and it's full with more ink pads waiting for a home! He can ship up to three holders in one container so if you can find a friend or two who are interested you'll save a little money!

*Another Valentine*

Another chilly day here... warmer than yesterday, but not by much! I shouldn't complain as we've had a pretty good winter.... most of our temperatures have been above average and we've only had a couple of cold spells (and really, compared to the last one, this cold spell isn't all that bad).

I just want spring....

The good news is that the Groundhog near here didn't see his shadow this morning. Apparently I am a total idiot... this if the first time I've seen the Groundhog Day festivities on TV and who knew that the groundhog was actually some guy dressed up in a groundhog costume?! Is that the way it is everywhere? I honestly thought it was a real groundhog. Am I really that dumb???

I made a valentine earlier this week, inspired by another card I saw in a stamping magazine. I used Regal Rose and Rose Red cardstocks for the card. The one layer was run through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls Embossing Folder. I stamped the letters using my Headline Alphabet. I stamped them in white craft ink on Whisper White cardstock and then embossed them with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. The flower is a chipboard piece from Maya Road. I inked it with white craft ink and embossed it as well.

I added two shades of pink ribbon and some silver cord behind the flower. I attached the letters to my card using the Sakura Glue Pen... what a great invention!

Have a wonderful Friday!

Thursday, February 01, 2007

*Funky Flower*

Just so you know, as I type this, it is -17*C outside (1*F).... with the windchill it feels more like -26*C (-15*F). Can you say "brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr". We had beautiful weather earlier in the week. Yesterday, late morning, the wind picked up.... then it tried to snow.... and the wind kept blowing.... and blowing.... and at midnight the wind woke me up it was howling so much.... and I got up and looked out my bedroom window to find that I couldn't see across the street because of the snow and blowing snow. When does spring start?

Spring stamping has already started.... thank God for that! At least there's something a little bright other than the snow outside LOL!

I made this card during my crafting day on Monday. I was inspired by a card I saw in a magazine my girlfriend brought over with her. I bought this daisy ribbon from Michael's several weeks ago... it was in the $1.50 bin. I used the ribbon as my inspiration for the colour combination. And let me tell you, this colour combination is really "out there" for me.

I stamped one of the images from Big Pieces randomly on a piece of Green Galore cardstock with Green Galore ink. It was too dark fresh from the ink pad so I stamped the image off once on scrap before stamping on my card.

I added a strip of Lovely Lilac cardstock to the left side of the card and then adhered the strip of ribbon on the seam between the two layers of cardstock. I used one of my big flower brads on the card... I layered it onto a circle of Almost Amethyst cardstock and then attached it to the card.

Funky and spring like... just what I need today!

Glad to see you came to visit again!