*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!

*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!

*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!

*Striped Scrap*

My girlfriend Kelly was over on Monday afternoon to play with me. We used to play several times a week, but then she went off and got a job, then I got a job (couple hours a day) and well... time just passes and we don't get together. But Monday the kids had a PD Day, I had the day off and it all happened on Kelly's day off! So, she brought the kids to play with Matthew (her younger son is Matthew's best friend) and she and I played from about 10 am until about 4pm!! Gotta love days like that!!

And... to top it all off, I was able to make a whack of cards to share with you!

I had just a small piece of this gorgeous striped paper sitting in my craft space the other day. I just love this paper. I don't know what it is for sure... I do like stripes and I like the colours too. I started out with an Almost Amethyst card. I stamped one of the stamps from Big Pieces in Amethyst ink on the card. I cut a piece of the fancy paper and layered it on. I then stamped one of the Big Pieces images on to Whisper White cardstock. I used an Almost Amethyst and a Certainly Celery marker to colour the stamp. I then cut it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch, and layered it onto a 1 3/8" circle punched out of So Saffron. I added the So Saffron rectangle with the greeting stamped in Basic Black, and chopped the corners off with my small corner rounder.

Now, I guess I need to decide if I should buymore of this paper or move on....

*Inspire*

I decided to play with a colour combination I saw on a few blogs last week. Their cards looked so good so I thought what the heck... The colours used are Sage Shadow, Creamy Caramel and Bravo Burgundy.

I gotta tell you... I don't like Bravo Burgundy. I liked the old SU Burgundy colour... more a reddish burgundy. This one is more brown and I find it dull and drab. In this photo, however, it looks a lot nicer LOL!

I started with a burgundy card. I made layers 1/4" smaller of the caramel and sage. I stamped the sage with Sage Shadow ink with the Linen background stamp. I don't have the corner notch punch so I simply used a portion of a small circle punch to create the corners. The main part of the card is a piece of burgundy cardstock with daisy Peel Off style stickers that I got at the dollar store. Gotta love the dollar store. I put the card together and felt it still needed something so I punched a couple of cirlces and hand wrote the word "inspire" using my black SU marker.

I like the other cards I saw in this colour combination more than mine... I might have to play with it some more.

*We Have A Winner!*

WOW, I can't believe how many blog hits and new subscribers I had this weekend. And so many WONDERFUL comments to my blog candy post.

The most popular answers for what people wanted to be when they grew up (in no particular order) were a wife and mother, a nurse and a teacher. Of course princess was up there pretty high too!

A big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to Lori Thielen who won the draw for blog candy. Unfortunately she didn't tell us what she wanted to be when she grew up... but she did write

Hi Nancy, I am Steph's Mom and she is responsible for getting me stated on stamping and now into these blogs with all the wonderful ideas. You gals provide lots of inspiration.

Thanks a Bunch
Lori Thielen

Lori, please email me at nancy at elrick dot ca with your address and I'll get your prize off to you right away.

Thanks for all the great comments everyone! I'll be back later today with a new creation for you to look at!

*More Candy*

Head on over to Cindy's blog for a chance to win a stamp of your choice from Stamping Bella!

And then head over to Stephanie's blog for a chance to win a great assortment of things!

And then you should go see Emily's blog for another chance!

And then, (if you haven't exhausted yourself!) go on over to visit Dale Anne's blog for one more chance to win!

*BLOG CANDY!!*

Yup, it's time for a giveaway..... the reason??? It's simple! Sometime in the last 24 hours I have made it over the 15,000 visitor mark!!!

What will you win? Well, how does this look?














How do you win? That's easy! Post a comment on this post before midnight on Monday and I will pick a winner on Tuesday morning!!! In your comment, please tell me what it was you dreamed of being when you "grew up".... and did that dream ever come true!

Be sure that your name is in your comment!!

Good luck!!! and thank you for visiting!

*New Michael's Ribbon*

I was at Michaels yesterday with my girlfriend Denise... I was looking for $1.50 stamps and found nothing I liked... but I did spent a bit of money on some beautiful ribbons. I promised Denise when she dropped me off that I'd make a card using one of the ribbons yesterday afternoon.

Today is Denise's daughter's 9th birthday (Happy Birthday Jory!) and Matthew is going to her party tomorrow afternoon.... so I used Denise's challenge to make Jory a birthday card.

I started with the ribbon and tried matching some colours to it. I decided Rose Red and Green Galore matched the closest. I turned to my handy dandy Colour Coach and decided to add some Tempting Turquoise as well. I got this stamp set off a CST Garage Sale. I stamped it on Whisper White with black classic ink and coloured it with my SU! markers. I punched it out with my Marvy Giga Scallop square punch and added some doodles around the scallops with my Tempting Turquoise Marker. I did some layering on my three colours. The plain white card was a little too plain so I dug out my paint splatter jumbo wheel and my Rose Red ink cartridge and decorated the white card. I wrapped my new Michaels ribbon around the front of the card and Voila!

And you'll notice a new watermark... that's thanks again to Cindy! I've known Cindy for about 10 years now and we chat all the time. She's a good friend of mine... and she's currently using me as a Guinea Pig for her watermarks! Not that I mind, of course!!!! She knows I'm a daisy freak, so she made me this one. I also have one with a beautiful snowflake behind my name.... but you'll have to wait until I start making Christmas cards again for that one!! tee hee!

By the way... it's FriiiiiiiiiiiDayyyyyyyyyyy! Yahoo!

*Cool Flower*

It's been so great finding time to be crafty every afternoon. I head down after the kids have gotten home from school. If they have homework, they can come work with me or work in the kitchen, and I craft until it's time to start making dinner. I've spent a lot of time in craft space before, just sitting looking for inspiration and leaving frustrated. But the last few days it's been great.... thanks to the layout challenges and the colour challenges at Splitcoast Stampers.

Todays card is another old Colour Challenge. The challenge was to use Cool Caribbean, Real Red and Whisper White. I don't use a lot of Cool Caribbean, so this was a bit of a challenge for me. But I must say, I really like these colours together!

I started with a Cool Caribbean card base, stamped with On the Spot in Cool Caribbean. I used my Marvy Giga Scallop Punch to punch a circle in Real Red. I then had to use to Fiskar's Shape Cutter (not my favourite tool) to cut a Cool Caribbean circle. I stamped the flower in Real Red on Whisper White and then used my shape cutter to cut the circle. I added the word "laugh" to a piece of Real Red cardstock and cut it out with an oval punch. I put the card together and added some white dots with my Stampin' Up white gel pen around the scallops of the large circle and at the ends of the oval.

And you'll notice my watermark is different from yesterday. Cindy was worried that her watermarks were all looking the same so she asked me about some of my favourite fonts and created a new one for me. I really liked the one I used yesterday, but I love this one!!! Contact Cindy if you're interested in a $5 watermark!

*Donuts and Bugs!*

Some days I have a really tough time naming my blog posts LOL! I guess today was one of them! But, there's a reason for it.... my card is a "donut card" and I used my Cuttlebug. Sneaky, eh? tee hee

I started with white cardstock which I cut in half the long way. I prefer cards cut this way for some reason. I used the D'vine Swirls embossing folder for my Cuttlebug on just the front half of the card. I added a 2" strip of Pool Party (SU!) designer paper to the one side. I used my 1 3/8" circle punch to punch a hole in the front of my card. I used the same punch to punch a circle of the Pool Party Paper. I stamped the image with Brocade Blue ink on Whisper White cardstock and punched out the middle circle with the small circle punch and the entire design with the 1 1/4" circlepunch. I coloured the centre image (the present) with my Sakura Stardust Gel Pen for some sparkle. I attached the main part of the image to the Pool Party circle with glue and then added the present on a glue dot and adhered these circles to the inside of the card. I used a piece of Brocade Blue grosgrain ribbon along the fold of the card to finish it off.

This was one of those cards that I had a vision in my head of kind of what I wanted to do and it took me literally 15 minutes to have it done. I like cards like that.

And do you see my great watermark on the left side of the card? Thanks to Cindy for that!!

*New Watermark*

Stay tuned for my post tomorrow where I "debut" my new Watermark. Cindy made me one that I just LOVE! It took me a while to figure out how to use it since I didn't have a program that worked with .png files, but my husband helped me find a freeware program called GIMP that works.

If you're interested in a watermark for the cards you upload to websites or blogs, get in touch with Cindy... for a small fee she'll make one for you too!

*Chocolate Chip?*

I've started trying to get the house a little more organized. We don't live in a pig sty.... pretty far from it, but my husband thinks that it is difficult to clean up when he doesn't know where things go. So, since I am apparently the queen of organization, I will be working on getting rooms organized, purging the junk, and getting this place in to order. Somehow. Not that I want to, but I suppose it's a good idea.

On Sunday night I tackled the toy area in the basement (which is adjacent to my craft area). I purged 2 green garbage bags of broken toys and junk. Amazing what the kids put back on the shelves. Monday morning I did Matthew's room (Alex's room doesn't really need it). And then I started on my craft room.

Why my craft room so early on? Well, I figured that I should have some place to retreat to while the rest of the house is in chaos while I organize. I purged a litted, re-arranged some shelves, took a shelf that was empty from the storage area.

And then I sat down and crafted! tee hee

This is another old Colour Challenge on Splitcoast. The colours are Chocolate Chip (even though it looks black), Sage Shadow and Almost Amethyst. I stamped a piece of Whisper White using Simply Said using the sage and amethyst and then I ran it through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder. I layered it on to amethyst and then on chocolate and then on to the card. I punched holes in the card to feed through some chocolate grosgrain ribbon and stamped my sentiment along the bottom in chocolate ink.

This card was kinda out there for me as I think I've used only one sheet of Chocolate Chip cardstock in my Stampin' Up! lifetime (which is coming up on 3 years)! I just don't think of myself as a brown type of person.

These colour challenges can be fun.... but they're also tough sometimes... it's hard to figure out how to use colours you have never thought to put together! But, it's helping me be creative so I'll go with it!

*Another Colour Challenge*

I decided to play a little more with the Splitcoast Colour Challenges on Saturday night. I don't like the way this card turned out nearly as much as the one I posted on Saturday. But again, I am pleased that I was able to think outside my box and just "go".

I started with the colours on this one... Vintage Violet, Cool Caribbean and Rose Red. The only reason I have it laid out this way is that I had a Vintage Violet half sheet and scraps of Cool Caribbean and Rose Red. I figured I should use my scraps instead of cutting in to full sheet.

The Cool Caribbean and Rose Red are the same size. I ran the Caribbean through the Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder. I stamped the Rose Red with a circle background stamp in white craft ink and then the saying on top in black classic ink I punched two of the corners with the small corner rounder and added some Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware and a piece of stitched grosgrain ribbon. I thought it added some interest to use the two same sized pieces but to turn one the different way from the other.

This is another colour combination I don't think I would have put together on my own....but now I look forward to trying something different with it!

*Challenged*

The house is finally a little more empty. My father in law decided that he was well enough to return home today. Tonight the house was quiet, more or less. Alex and Bruce were off skiing and Matthew was fully engrossed in a Star Wars Movie. I felt like crafting but didn't know where I should begin.

I decided that I should try some of the Colour Challenges on Splitcoast Stampers. I printed off all of the challenges and started skimming through them until something caught my eye.

This colour combination worked because I knew I had ribbon that would go with it. This is ribbon I bought at Scrapbookers Paradise a while back and have never used. The colours are Certainly Celery, Regal Rose and Bashful Blue.

I used my Cuttlebug and the Happy Birthday embossing Folder on the Regal Rose cardstock, placing it so that I had the text I wanted embossed on my smaller piece of cardstock. I took a piece of paper towel and some white craft ink and swiped it across the embossed piece to highlight the raised areas.

I stamped the word 'celebrate' (Everyday Flexible Phrases) on to another piece of Regal Rose and cut it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch. I put the card together and finished it off with the ribbon.

This card was difficult for me as I had no preconceived idea in my head. I just started with the colour combination, thought of the ribbon, and then saw a scrap of Regal Rose that had been embossed with my Cuttlebug and .... I'm proud of myself for coming up with an idea that didn't come from someone else's creation, which happens a lot for me. Felt good to be creative.

I also really like this colour combination... very spring-like if you ask me!

I figured out that I can "watermark" my images using the software that came with our digital camera so I'll be adding that to all of my creations from here on in. If I was adventurous I'd do it to all of the creations I have posted on the web, but honestly, that just sounds like too much work!

*I've Been Tagged*

Tag! I'm it! Tracy got me....

A - Available or Taken:
**Married
B - Best Friend:
**Bruce is the one person who knows the most about me... but when I need to complain about Bruce, I go to Denise or Kelly
C -Cake or Pie:
**Cake, make it chocolate with LOT
D - Drink of Choice:
**non-alcoholic would be Diet Dr. Pepper.... alcoholic would be a Vodka Paralyzer (vodka, kahlua, coke and milk)
E - Essential item you use everyday:
**hmmmm, probably my computer
F - Favorite Color:
**I am drawn to shades of blue but don't wear a lot of that colour
G - Gummy Bears or Worms:
**if these were the only choices I'd say Bears
H - Hometown:
**Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
I - Indulgence:
**chocolate
J - January or February:
**which one gets me closer to warm weather?
K - Kids & Names:
**Alex (almost 12) and Matthew (almost 10)
L - Life is incomplete without?:
**the love and companionship of family and good friends
M - Marriage Date:
**June 1, 1991
N - Number of Siblings:
**two older sisters... Heather and Sandra
O - Oranges or Apples:
**depends on my mood.... and if the oranges are good or not (you know how sometimes they are woody or just not flavourful??)
P - Phobias or Fears:
**I am VERY afraid of heights
Q - Fave Quote:
**"I don't think so Tim" from Home Improvement I use it all the time
R - Reason to Smile:
**my doggle makes me smile.... and my kidlets of course!
S - Season:
**SUMMER... with Spring as a close (very close) second)
T - Tag 3 or 4 People:
**Alison, Alora, Amy
U - Unknown fact about me:
**I'm shy!
V - Vegetable you don't like:
**how much time you got? hot peppers, brussel sprouts, broccoli, sweet potatoes... to name a few
W - Worst Habit:
**I'm not the most positive person, especially about myself
X - X-rays:
**teeth, ankle, pinky finger, facial (sinus infection)
Y - Your Fav Food:
**French Fries.....
Z - Zodiac Sign:
*Leo

*A New (to me) Colour Combination*

I had some pieces of Almost Amethyst cardstock already cut to 1/4 sheets sitting on my stamp table when I went down to craft today, so I decided I'd try using them for something. I pulled out my handy dandy Colour Coach and came up with Almost Amethyst, Rose Red, So Saffron and White.

I cut the Almost Amethyst to 4" X 5 1/4" and then put it through my Cuttlebug with the Happy Birthday embossing folder. I traced a half circle onto Rose Red cardstock and cut it out and then stamped it with Little Pieces in White Craft Ink. To speed up the drying time, I blasted it with my heat tool. I stamped a flower from Big Pieces on Whisper White cardstock with So Saffron ink. I added a small gem in the centre of the flower before putting all of the elements together on a top fold Rose Red Card.

I am so thrilled with how deeply embossed the cardstock is with my Cuttlebug. I love that little bug!

*Taking Photos of Your Work*

I read a great blog article on this today... read it here. Thanks Merr for some fantastic ideas!

*Thanks Alora!*

I was a winner in a Blog Contest on Alora's Blog. My prize arrived today. Thanks SO much Alora!!!

*First Valentine*

I don't make a lot of Valentine Cards. The reason being that I don't often give Bruce cards at all. I have such a hard time making just the right card... a card special enough to give to such a wonderful person.

But I thought I'd try.

I bought this scrapbooking paper from Scrapbookers Paradise. It is by Cloud 9 Design and it part of their Sparkle Cardstock line. It's thicker than most scrapbooking papers, but less thick than most cardstocks. I cut a piece of the decorated paper and then used my small corner rounder (Stampin' Up!) without the corner guide to create a scallop edge along the top. I then took a piece of Regal Rose cardstock longer than I needed it and did a scallop edge on it as well. I then lined up the Regal Rose so that it's hills were in the valleys of the patterned paper. I then stamped the circle image with Real Red ink on Whisper White paper and cut it out with my 1 1/4" circle punch. I then cut a 1 3/8" circle from Real Red Cardstock. I used my slot punch on the fold of the card to create a slot to put the Real Red ribbon through. I tied a knot near the fold and then adhered the stamped image to the card. I used my Sakura Stardust clear gel pen on the heart and in the thin rings of the stamped image, on the red circle and then on the hills of the Regal Rose scallops. To finish the card off I added some Swarovski Crystals to the stamped image.

I am really pleased with how this card turned out.

I also played around with taking photos of my cards. Let me know if you prefer the black background or the white.

*Blue Flowers*

So sorry for having a long time between posts again. I wish I had more creativity flowing from me right now, but I just seem so stumped most of the time. I guess it's sort of Creative Block. I think it comes from being busy and not finding much time to myself.

For those who have asked, here is the update on my Father in Law. He is doing better. Still in a lot of pain. His Dr. told him on Friday that the drugs he is on will take the edge off the pain but that he should expect to still be in pain daily for the next several weeks. He is still sleeping in a chair in our family room and I am not sure when he is thinking he will head home. Part of the the problem is that his condo is a great candidate for "Clean Sweep" on TLC. Sigh.

I started the focal image for this card a few days ago and just finally got back downstairs today. I got inspired by a card on Tracy Durcan's Blog. You can see her most beautiful creation here. My card isn't nearly as wonderful as Tracy's is.... but here it is anyway.

I started with the Magenta Peel Offs sticker (in silver) put on to a piece of Whisper White Cardstock. I coloured it using pencil crayons (as I described here) only instead of multiple colours in each area, I used only a mid-shade blue for the flowers, orange and yellow for the centres and some greens for the leaves. I also used a very light blue for the background (but it looks white here). I layered the sticker on to Bashful Blue and Barely Banana. I put a piece of Bashful Blue through my Cuttlebug with the D'vine Swirls embossing folder. I then dabbed a paper towel into my white craft ink pad and rubbed it light across the raised image to make it look a little distressed. I added some Bashful Blue stitched ribbon and attached it all to a white card.

I think it needs something, but Bruce loves it the way he is (he's such a great guy LOL!)

I hope to find more creative energy soon.... don't give up on me!

*Simply Wonderful*

I decided last night while my FIL and oldest son were watching Nova and my husband and youngest son were at the Archery Centre for Cubs that I would hide in my basement and do some stamping. I actually went down just to watch TV, but while sitting at my table I decided to play just a little as well.

This scan makes the colours look a little more bright than they really are. The colours are Whisper White, Barely Banana and Rose Red. I stamped the big flower from Looks Like Spring in Whisper White craft ink on Rose Red cardstock and embossed it with Iridescent Ice. I then punched it with my Marvy Giga Circle Scallop punch. I punched little holes in each of the scallops and added a line of white gel pen around each scallop as well. I stamped Print Pattern in Barely Banana on Barely Banana. I put it all on to a white card and stamped "Wonderful" in Basic Black ink.

I've started making most of my cards by cutting my cardstock in half the long way. For a side opening card, it just sits up so much nicer. I used to do this just once in a while, but lately many of my cards have been cut this way.

Thanks for looking... enjoy your Friday!

*Sorry Folks...*

.... nothing new from me. I have had no time to create as my father in law has moved in with us temporarily. He was in a car accident with a friend on Saturday and he ended up with 7 broken ribs. We brought him here after he was discharged from the hospital. Not sure how long he'll be with us or anything. I might head down to craft this afternoon.... we'll see.

In other news, it is FREAKIN' cold outside! Right now it is -25C (-13F).... but with the windchill it is more like -35 (-30F). I so don't want to go to the gym! The good news is that the scarf that Cindy gave me for Christmas (see it here) is wonderfully warm and cozy!!!! Thanks so much Cindy!

I hope to have something new soon!

*Did I Do That?*

Let me start out by telling you that I've never had any real luck colouring images so that there is shading etc. I've tried watercolours, reinkers with water, watercolour pencils... nothing worked.

Then, a few months ago, one of the Bloggers I read regularly posted an article about how she uses pencil crayons. I am so sorry to that Blogger as I have been unable to find the original post... if it was you, please pop me an email to let me know and I'll amend my post!

In this post I can find, the artist recommended a few things:
*use good pencil crayons (I received PrismaColor Professional Quality Pencils for Christmas two years ago)
*lay down a layer of white before any colour
*use a few shades of the same colour
*blend with your white pencil crayon

So, that's what I did!

I started with a Peels Offs Sticker by Magenta on Whisper White cardstock. (have you seen that DVD yet???OMG!!!). And then, as recommended, I laid down a layer of white coloured pencil over all of the white areas. I then started with my lightest shade and did some colouring... then my medium shade... and then my darkest shade. I then took my white pencil crayone and started blending. If it washed out the colour too much, I added more colour. If it was too dark, I kept blending with the white.

I am in awe that I was able to create such a beautiful coloured focal point for my card (yes, I'm patting myself on the back LOL!). I never thought I could do something like that! I am so glad I finally got brave enough to try it!

Anyway... after I was pleased with my colouring, I layered the piece on to Rose Red and Ballet Blue carstocks. I used the D'vine Swirl Cuttlebug Embossing Folder on a piece of Rose Red cardstock. I then wrapped cream grosgrain ribbon around the centre of the card. I stamped the word "imagine" (Stampin' Up! Everyday Flexible Phrases) in Rose Red ink on Very Vanilla cardstock and punched it with the small oval punch. I attached it to the Rose Red with a gold brad. I then put all of this on to a white card.

If you have the good pencil crayons, I encourage you try this techinque. It worked so well! And really, it didn't take all that much time to lay the colour down and get it looking the way I wanted it to. I'm sure that with more practice it will be so much quicker and will have even better results!

I'd (still) really like to take a colouring class.... one that teaches how to use pencil crayons, watercolour pencils, watercolours, watercolour crayons and gives you techniques and tips on how to make them work (and look good!).

Thanks again for popping by!

*Polka Dots and Paisley*

This year, the "powers that be" at Stampin' Up! sent all of their current Demonstrators (like me!) a free stamp set. This stamp set is called Polka Dots and Paisley and it will be available in the upcoming Spring Mini Catalogue.

Now, this stamp set isn't totally me. The flowers are great, but I've never used a paisley stamp in my life! But for some reason as I was stamping, I got a vision in my head of the paisley stamp in white on a red coloured ink. So I went with it.

This is the card I came up with. I started with a Whisper White Card. I took a piece of Rose Red cardstock cut 1/2" smaller than the front of the card and I randomly stamped the paisley stamp in Whisper White Craft Ink (next time I should remember I have the Opaque StazOn White... I think it would be more Opaque than this is). I made the drying time go by more quickly with my heat tool. I then took my piercing tool and poked holes on all the dots on the paisley. I wrapped a piece of cream coloured grosgrain ribbon around the red piece.

I stamped the flower from the same stamp set on a piece of white cardstock. To get the two colours on the stamp I inked the stamp with my SU! Markers in Rose Red and Garden Green. I then punched the image out using my Marvy Giga Scalloped Oval Punch. I sponged around the scallop with Garden Green ink.

I then stamped the greeting in black ink on Rose Red, layered it onto a slightly larger piece of Whisper White. I stuck everything together but thought it still needed something... enter two pieces of bling!

I don't think I have a thing for paisley, but I think this card turned out pretty good. I'm sure I'll use the set again!

*Cuttlebuggin'!*

Yup, I was Cuttlebuggin' again today! Two days, two cards!! I had hoped to get more done last night/today but well.... last night I spent an hour colouring an Outlines Rubberstamp image with the dark colours of Sakura Stardust Pens and I hated it. Today, I kept procrastinating and didn't make it down to stamp until after 4pm. But, it's just Matthew and I tonight so I think I can set him up with a movie and I might be able to head back downstairs (Alex and Bruce are skiing at C.O.P. again tonight).

I did this card using both the Colour Challenge and the Design Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers. I've not done any of the Colour Challenges before, but have played around with many of the layouts from the Design Challenges. What a great resource for stampers to get some new ideas! Not only is the information about the challenge on Splitcoast, but you'll also be able to find samples in the Splitcoast Gallery!


So, this card uses Cool Caribbean, Basic Black and Whisper White. The card base is black. The large Cool Caribbean Layer was put through my Cuttlebug with the Happy Birthday embossing folder. I used a roll of double sided tape to create my large half circles in Basic Black and Cool Caribbean. The Cool Caribbean circle is embossed with the D'vine Swirl embossing folder.

I then cut a piece of Whisper White cardstock to 2 1/4" square and stamped "it's your day" from All Year Cheer (Stampin' Up!) in Basic Black ink. I then used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (a stamp positioner) to use just portions or a swirl stamp I recently bought (it's a Hero Arts stamp) in Cool Caribbean. I covered the entire white piece with Versamark ink and then embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder (SU!). I punched a hole through the white and through a piece of ribbon that I got at Michaels and attached the ribbon with a silver brad. I layered the white onto a 2 1/2" square piece of Basic Black.

I stamped celebrate (Everyday Flexible Phrases stamp set, SU!) in Basic Black on Cool Caribbean and punched it with the 1 1/4" circle punch so that the word was near the bottom of the circle. I used the 1 3/8" punch in black and layered them together and attached them behind the square piece before adhering it all to the card front.

The colours are a little dark as we've changed the light bulbs in the chandelier over our dining room table which is where I've been taking photos of my dimensional cards.... I don't think the glitter nor the dry embossing would show up quite so well in a scan.

I took my inspiration for this card from the card seen on Cathy's Blog (thanks for the inspiration!!)

*First Card of 2007!*

WOW, did it feel good to not only be feeling better, but to be able to find some time to craft! I started to feel better on Thursday afternoon and today I am back in full force. Tonight Matthew was playing with a friend and Alex and Bruce were skiing so I took some time to go down to my stamp space to play... after first heading to Michael's where I bought the "Olivia" Alphabet and the "Happy Birthday" Embossing Folder for my Cuttlebug. I love 40% off Coupons (thanks Denise!!)!

This card involved absolutely no stamping at all. It is all done with my Cuttlebug! What is a Cuttlebug? Well, it's a product made by Provocraft, sold at Michaels ($109 in Canada, regular price) that does die-cuts and dry embossing. For this card, I used the D'vine Swirl Embossing Folder and one of the extras from the Olivia Alphabet. My colours are Whisper White, Basic Black and Cranberry Crisp. To attach the thanks to the Cranberry tag I used my new Sakura Quickie Glue Pen (seen at The Frantic Stamper but I bought mine at Paper Pastimes here in Calgary). What a great pen... like a gel pen, but it's glue! Very cool!

I added bling to the centres of each of the flowers (Swarovski Crystals from Outlines Rubberstamps). I punched out small circles from my black cardstock to layer behind the flowers. I also added my favourite Sakura Stardust clear gel pen to the thanks as well as the black outline behind the Cranberry layer.

I am very pleased with how my first card of 2007 turned out... I hope you like it too!

*I'm Sick....*

Sigh... Yesterday wasn't a good day. My mom's flight left here at 8:10am so we were on our way to the airport at 6:45.... and I woke up feeling much worse than the night before. My sister and niece left on a 6:15 flight. I managed to catch a short nap in the afternoon but honestly, I felt like "you know what" all day.

I was in bed by 9pm last night.... woke up several times during the night aching all over so I kept dosing myself with Advil. I woke up around 9 this morning and laid in bed with the TV on. The headache was so bad so closed my eyes just after 10 and woke up again around 2. At some point my lovely husband managed to come in, turn off the TV and close the blinds again. I laid in bed resting with the TV on until just before 6 this evening and now I am watching TV while lying on the couch.

My head is so heavy.... my neck aches.... my joints ache.... my sinuses are full....

Suffice it to say that there wasn't any stamping done today and the way I feel right now, there won't be any done tomorrow either.

Sorry guys... I'll post something creative as soon as I have the energy to do more than lay on the couch....

*Enablers... sigh....*

So, two of my stamping friends got Cuttlebugs over the holidays... Tracy got hers with gift certificates and discount coupons at Michael's and Cindy got one from her husband. I've seen lots of talk about the Cuttlebug and I was definitely intrigued....

So, this morning we all trooped out to Brunch and I took my Michael's coupon in case we ladies decided to stop. Stop we did... And I thought.... "if they have a Cuttlebug, I'll buy it". I had heard that they were hard to come by at Michael's in Calgary so I figured I'd be off the hook. I'm walking the aisles and I don't see one... and then, there is the display at the end of the aisle... and one lone Cuttlebug on the shelf.

So yes, I scooped it up along with the swirls embossing folder. I will go back next week with another 40% off coupon to get an alphabet set to go with it.

What on earth have I done????!!! Thankfully, my total came to about $85 instead of just $109 for the Cuttlebug. That's an easier pill to swallow. I sure hope I use it enough to make it worth the money I spent.

Add that to all the shopping I did yesterday at the two stamping/scrapping stores and well... I have a lot of new stuff to play with.

I was thinking I should start making a dozen Christmas Cards per month from now until next December to allow me to play with all my new Christmas stamps... instead of letting them sit there, alone and sad, for a full 10 or 11 months, anxiously awaiting for me to grab them and put them into service, only to find out that I bought more lovely Christmas images in the fall.

Yup, I too went into stamping to "save money" bwa ha ha ha!

Have a good one!

*A Non-Christmas Card... I know, shocking!*

OK.... let me start out by telling you just how difficult it was to stamp this card last week! This is the first time in months that I didn't make a Christmas card! And I think it nearly killed me. I got this new set from Stampin' Up and I couldn't wait to use it... but once I got it cut out and mounted, I just didn't now what I wanted to do with it. This is what I came up with... and I'm not honestly sure I like it. Sigh.

The stamp sets are Wonderful Words II, Little Pieces and Big Pieces. The colours are Whisper White, Basic Black, Barely Banana, Almost Amethyst, Rose Red and Certainly Celery. Hard to tell on the scan that I used Almost Amethyst at all... the wheel on the left is Amethyst as are some of the small circles you can't see.

There's just not anything exciting about this card to me.

But, I promise that once life gets back to normal around here and my houseguests go home (sniff sniff) that I will try again....

I did buy a bunch of new stuff today.... some Christmas stamps (sigh.... I'm addicted to Christmas stamps... I admit it), some great flower stickers, some beautiful Bazzill cardstock that shimmers... It was some fun shopping, especially since almost everything I bought was on sale! Yee Haw!

Have a safe and fun New Years' Eve tomorrow night.... don't do anything stupid!

See you next year!

*Only 363 More Sleeps...*

... and then we get to do it all again! Funny how much work goes in to one day each year. But you know, I wouldn't do it any other way. I love the excitement of Christmas.

We had a really good Christmas. Wonderful to be able to spend it with some of our family. The day itself had a few moments of tears for me, missing my Dad... but overall it was a wonderful Christmas. So much excitement, so many happy faces. I love knowing that people are happy with the gifts I have chosen for them.

Taylor asked on her blog what your favourite gift was that you received and the favourite that you gave.... here are my answers...

The favourite gift I received is a tough choice as I received some wonderful things... necklace and matching earrings from my Mom, a great tea pot and tea from my sister, two movies I really wanted from my kids, some craft stuff from Mom... but I think my husband wins this prize... he gave me a tv and dvd player for my craft space. I have had a TV down there for a while but the TV is so old I can't hook a dvd player into it. Sometimes there is just nothing on TV and a chick flick would be a great form of noise while I'm stamping. I can't wait to get to spend some time down there! It will also be good to give the kids another place to hook up their video games.

The favourite gift I gave was tough as well... the kids were both so excited to get their new Nintendo DS Lites from us and my Mom, the giggles that erupted when my sister opened a particular gift that will remain nameless was worth it totally, the Bose stereo I got for Bruce fits in to the living room wonderfully and he's been enjoying it immensely... but the winner here has to be the gift that caused my Mom to cry. We lost my Dad this past spring and things have been tough for all of us... but especially for Mom. My sister and I thought Mom needed a little adventure this winter. So we got her tickets to fly to Arizona to spend 10 days with her brother at his winter home in Mesa. We totally blew her away. Mom's never been anywhere warm during the winter so this should be a nice treat. Her brother is so excited to have her come to visit. I hope she has a wonderful time.

I hope you gave and received some presents that were "just right" this year...

*Merry Christmas*

I just wanted to take some time while the house is quiet before the craziness begins to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas. I hope that this wonderful time of the year brings a little smile to your face as you enjoy the traditions that make it all special to you.

I will be enjoying my Christmas with my husband and two sons as well as my Mom, one sister and niece here in my home. Tonight we are including my best friend and her family as well. Inlaws will share in our day tomorrow as well.

This Christmas is one my sisters, Mom and I have been a little leary of, as it is the first Christmas without Dad.... his smile, his whistling and the twinkle in his eye will be missed this holiday season and every holiday season to come. But I know that Dad will be here in our hearts....

My most favourite part of Christmas is watching the faces of those you love opening the gifts you have chosen for them. The gifts don't have to be big or fancy or expensive.... I love knowing that a gift was chosen especially for me... and I choose gifts especially for others. I love the looks on the kids faces as they get to see all the wonderful things they receive. And I love being with people who are important to my world.

I wish you all a wonderful Christmas....

*More Blog Candy*

Check out Alora's blog for a chance to win some stamps! Please mention my name in your comments on her blog! If you pass the information along, have your friends mention your name in their comments!

Good Luck!

*One Last Christmas Card*

As hard as it is for me, I think it's time I stop making Christmas Cards. (insert heavy sigh here). I love to stamp for Christmas. I love the colours, the images, the sparkles. (insert heavy sigh #2 here)

I did make a non-Christmas card yesterday... it was hard to do! And to top it all off, I don't really like it LOL! I'll probably still post it one of these days for you to see just how difficult it is for me to get back into the swing of non-Christmas stamping.


So, here is my final Christmas Card. I used two new to me sets... Snowflake Spot and Warmest Regards. I started with a Whisper White card and stamped snowflakes all over the background with Versamark Ink. I embossed the background with Iridescent Ice. I then stamped the large snowflake on Whisper White... I inked it with my Versamark first and then with Bashful Blue Classic Ink (on top of the Versamark) so that I could emboss it with Iridescent Ice. I sponged Bashful Blue ink around the edges of the square and then added Dazzling Diamonds glitter on top of my 2-Way Glue Pen. I added two different sizes of bling to the snowflake. I stamped Happy Holidays on Whisper White in Bashful and sponged the edges.

So that's it.... no more Christmas cards for me.... sniff sniff. I'll miss my Christmas stamps.... but on to more colourful and spring like things for me!

Have a good one!

*Holiday Eating Tips*

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the centre of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of ea ch. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

*Gift Bag Inspired*

We received a gift from a girlfriend of mine Sunday night and I was inspired to make this card by the bag it came in. The bag is much nicer, but the card turned out OK.

The colours of cardstock are Handsome Hunter and Green Galore, stamped and embossed in gold. The star on top of the tree (which is cut out of scrapbooking paper) is stamped on brushed gold paper and embossed in gold.

I might have to tweak the design a little to make it look exactly how I want it to....

*Cindy's Blog Giveaway*

Head on over to Cindy's blog to enter your name to win her Blog Candy! And, take a few minutes to go through all of her old posts... she does great work!

*More Gift Card Tins*

We are giving some gift cards to some members of our family this year so I made them some tins to put the cards in.... I just find they are so much more pretty than just throwing the gift card or gift certificate into a greeting card.

The two tins on the top use Stampin' Up! Holiday Thyme paper. The one on on the bottom is some more the paper I used on the tall and skinny Christmas Card. The backs of each of the tins is a different paper (the other side of the Holiday Thyme on the top two and the circles on the bottom).

The two images are coloured with markers, covered with Versamark and embossed with Iridescent Ice. The tin on the bottom as five red gems and a snowflake brad for some bling. The JOY tin uses both the small and large tag punches from SU and the one on the top right uses the Marvy Clever Lever Giga Scalloped Oval Punch.

I think I need to place an order for more of these DVD tins.... I love decorating them! You can find them (in Canada) online here.

Hope they like these tins as much as I do! And I hope they use them the next time they give a Gift Card at Christmas!

*Looky What I Got!!*

I had a great looking package in the mail today.... it's not every day you get a waterbottle in your mailbox I tell ya!

I was one of the lucky winners of a Comment Contest on Dawn's Blog. I had to leave a comment with my name, my best friends' name and my best friends' favourite colour. The prize was a little giftie for the person who left a comment and a card mailed to that person's best friend, using her favourite colours.

This was my first Blog Contest Win. It's wonderful to see you've won something!

Inside my bottle was a mini beaded pen, a Michael's stamp and some buttons and brads. What a wonderful little giftie!

My friend Denise received a beautiful card in the mail yesterday from Dawn and called to thank me for it this morning. You can see the cards Dawn sent to the best friends here.

Dawn, thank you so much for spoiling both Denise and I!!

*Yup, More Christmas*

I know I told you I was done stamping for Christmas... but I think I also told you that stamping for Christmas is my favourite "occasion" to stamp.... to that end, here's another Christmas Card.

I bought this stamp while at Scrapbookers Paradise last week. I had no more than 15 minutes in the South store (which I'd never been to... just the North store) and I need to go back. In the 15 minutes I had I spent $40! Maybe it was good I had limited time!

Anyway, like I said, I bought this stamp (Judikins) last week. I inked it with my markers in Always Artichoke, Rose Red and Brocade Blue with Summer Sun on the ornament hangers. I stamped it on Whisper White cardstock, then layered it on Brocade and Rose. I then stamped On The Spot with White Craft ink on Always Artichoke paper. I added my Sakura Stardust Gel Pen to the designs on the ornaments, a string with a bow on each ornament with my grey marker and put it all together.

Not totally thrilled with the card.... but it's not too awful... better than some of the others I've come up with this year LOL!

Have a good Tuesday.... I'm off to be a proud Mom and watch my two boys get academic awards for Term 1... the older son is getting Excellence (high honours) and the little one is getting Honours. A Proud Mommy Day for sure!

*Retro Holiday*

I bought some awesome paper at Scrapbookers Paradise last week and I couldn't wait to cut into it. You can't tell from the photo but some of the stripes and dots have sparkle to them. And you know how I've been with sparkly things lately. These are two different papers from the same line, designed to go together... so go together I did!

I used a piece of bright green grosgrain ribbon to hide the seam of the two papers. I covered a piece of Real Red cardstock with Versamark ink and then embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder and chopped off the corners with the tag corner punch.. I stamped the solid tree from Shapes and Shadows in Green Galore ink, but did a one off to make it a little lighter. I then used one of the stamps from Little Pieces with full strength Green Galore ink to create the design on the tree. I cut it out and used a pop dot to adhere it to the red piece.

I added "Merry and Bright" stamped on Whisper White with Green Galore ink and layered it onto a Real Red piece. I coloured the Real Red with my Sakura Stardust gel pen and added a small gem for bling in the left corner.

Happy Monday all!

*Sources for Card Tins*

I've had a few people ask about the tins I used for the card tins. I have seen them at Michael's as well as Scrapbookers Paradise here in Calgary. The good news is, you can do mail order at Scrapbookers Paradise!

*More Blog Candy*

Another of the Blogs I visit on a regular basis is giving away some Michaels Stamps... Check it out here if you want to enter for a chance to win!

*Stamp Set Give Away!*

If you're interested in winning a free stamp set, head on over to Terri's Blog. Tell her I sent ya! By saying I referred you, I get more entries in to the draw. Then, you need to refer others who tell her that you sent them!

Good Luck!

*Another Card Tin*

I decorated another ProvoCraft Lunch Box to use as part of a teacher Christmas Present. I am amazed at how easily these can come together when you have papers you love. I went out and bought a whole whack more of beautiful papers at Scrapbookers Paradise (if you live in Calgary, you have to check out the store on South Macleod Trail... wow!).

The paper on this tin is Basic Grey. Delicious! I used more of the Cranberry Crisp stitched ribbon from SU around the tin and some cream grosgrain around the lid. There are gold daisy stickers in the corners of the lid, topped off with some bling

As with the other tin, I have filled the tin with cards for all occasions.

Might not get anything new posted for a few days... we're working on painting the upstairs hallway this weekend and my week starts out pretty busy... but I promise to post as soon as I create something new!

WOW, Christmas can be a busy time of the year! Who knew LOL!

*CD Tins*

I've had a few people ask about where I got the tins I used in the post below. If you are Canadian, you can order them online from Effectuality. They are located in BC and their shipping time was excellent.