THANK YOU KRISTIN!

I just wanted to pop in and share that I won the Huge Give-a-Way at Lilsweetpea's Place on Christmas Day. :-) Webster's Pages is a fave company of mine and a full-size Scor Pal was on my wishlist so you can imagine my excitement to learn that I'd won. I am one happy girl Kristin and sincerely appreciate your  generosity!!!

You can see all of the wonderful blog candy by clicking on her badge in the right column. Like I said in my entry comment, I'm just thrilled that I found Kristin's blog which is adorable and chocked full of creative wonder! She's offering one more chance to win some crafty goodness on New Years Day so hurry on over to enter and good luck!
Thanks again Kristin!
Lisa

Merry Christmas to all...

Hi there, I'm here to share a quick and easy way to make a holiday organizer using stamps by Taylored Expressions and a store bought journal. Now I realize I should have posted this earlier but if nothing else perhaps you can pick one up after Christmas to use next year. ;) The journals I bought are illustrated by Mary Engelbreit and I added stickles and fun embellishments to personalize each one. I created sections by using the Keeping Tabs stamp set and then I stamped "Planner" on mine and "Christmas Planner" on my dd's from the Take Note Holidays stamp set. This was a fun & inexpensive project as the journals were a dollar each at Michael's (which makes for a great teacher's gift or pre-holiday gift for friends and family).

Here is my dd's planner which has been heavily used (you can see the wear & tear) as she has been promoted to Chief Elf. Yes, sadly my kids are too old for Santa to visit anymore, we miss his visits, but to stay in the spirit of things they've taken turns making the gift lists, shopping, wrapping presents and distributing them on Christmas morning. This way they still get to experience the magic of Christmas. :-)

This is probably my last post before Christmas Day and I want to wish each of my blog visitors, and U. S. Armed Forces around the world, a very Merry Christmas!!!
God Bless,
Lisa

Stamps: Keeping Tabs & Take Note - Holidays (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ladybug, Bahama Blue & Cottage Ivy
Paper: white cardstock
Accessories: Keeping Tabs die (Taylored Expressions); Journals (Mary Engelbreit Ink); (Spellbinders Labels Ten die; Flower Woolies (Basic Grey); red epoxy frame (Creative Memories); red pearls (Kaisercraft); red rhinestones (PS); Black Diamond, Christmas Red, Yellow, Stardust, Green, True Blue Stickles and Glossy Accents (Ranger)

I'm Late, I'm Late, I'm Late....

Hi everybody, has Christmas panic set in yet??? I could be stressed but I "choose to happy" as my darling husband always says. I just sent my troops off to do the last minute grocery shopping while I stay home and finish up a few loose ends. :-) Earlier today I finished making my dd's Web Password book that is long overdue. This is a great gift idea for those who use the internet and create user names and passwords.

For her book I used Graphic 45's Hallowe'en in Wonderland dp's and stamps by Crafty Secrets. I stamped some of her favorite characters on Choice Buttercream and used T!m's distress inks to age the paper a bit. Then I colored the images, sans sentiment, with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut them out. After adhering my dp's I glued a purple ribbon to the left side and across to separate the coordinating dp's and tied an orange ribbon to a clock charm and glued in place while adding a little sparkle with an orange fiber ribbon. One of the dp sheets is full of miniature cards so I cut one out that features Alice with a "Drink Me" bottle and attached with more glue. I placed tiny alpha's by Cosmo Cricket along the left side to create "web passwords" and I dressed up the back with more dp's and a stamp of Tweedle Dee-Dum. The inside front & back covers feature "ads" from a dp in the 8x8 paper pad and I stamped the "For You" image from the same stamp set. I colored it with Copics and glued to inside front cover. I used Cinch chipboard, black binding wire and a Cinch binding machine to create this book. Being the fan of Alice that she is I know she'll love it! Here's a few more snaps of the inside covers and download sheets. If you like this project check out Taylor's You Tube video in which she shares how to create this fun gift for the holidays.

Thanks for stopping by and for all of the wonderful comments you've left me! Each one is sincerely appreciated and I hope to have more blog browsing time now that the shopping and wrapping is over for another year. :-)

~Lisa

Stamps: Greetings from Wonderland (Crafty Secrets)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Antique Linen & Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks (T!m Holtz)

Paper: Hallowe'en in Wonderland (Graphic 45), cs

Accessories: Web Passwords Download (Taylored Expressions); chipboard, binding wire, Cinch binding machine (We R Memory Keepers); Tiny Type Alpha's (Cosmo Cricket); clock charm (Explorer by Traditions); ribbons (Hobby Lobby); Prismacolor Pencils; Copic markers; Zip Dry Paper Glue (Beacon Adhesives); X-Press IT tape (TE store)

September

Hope everyone is having a good week so far! I'm back today to share with you my September calendar which features our first born. As I shared recently he enlisted in the U. S. Army and ships next spring for basic training. When I ran across these pictures I knew they'd work perfectly here and perhaps they were a sign of things to come, lol.

I used a U. S. Army Scrapbook Kit by Creative Imaginations and TE's Mini-Dated Calendar to pull this calendar together. There's definitely no frills (except a few liquid pearls) on this page and not a stamp in sight. He was seven in these pictures and it's hard to believe that this time next year he'll be far from home. Ok, I could get a little weepy here so I'll move along.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!
~Lisa

Ink: Memento's Tuxedo Black
Paper: Choice Snow White (TE), dp's from scrapbook kit
Accessories: Mini-Dated 2012 Calendar Download (Taylored Expressions); Liquid Pearls (Ranger)

October

Hello to everyone and welcome! I don't know about you but this has been a very long week and I'm ready for the weekend. My weekend is centered around finishing my Christmas shopping and baking. The dd and I plan to make our homemade candy trays & cookies and we may even bake a chocolate cake just because we're in the mood for one. :-) It has been awhile and we love Ina Garten's (a.k.a. Barefoot Contessa) Beatty's Chocolate Cake, YUM-O!


Now for the October deets. I used dp's from Echo Park's the Apothecary Emporium collection and the stamps are from Toil & Trouble and You're My Type-Upper by Taylored Expressions. All of the stamped images were colored with Copic markers and the mirror/picture frame has a touch of Smooch on it while I used Stickles on the spider's web and witch's hat for a little pizzazz. I did a lot of fussy cutting but it was worth it. I pulled out my Pennant Border die (which I do not use nearly enough!) and die cut a border in black while punching 1/2" circles for my stamped alpha's. The black crow also received a Smooch "eye" and a touch-up on his feathers. Again I used Taylor's 2012 Mini-Dated Calendar download and framed it with a border of liquid pearls against a black backdrop. Ribbon and Copic colored rhinestones finish it off. The cute little witch in the frame is my dd and since October is her birth month I chose to feature her, at age three, in her Halloween outfit. This was such a FUN page and I can't wait to show you September which is my ds's birth month. :-)

                                                  

Have a great weekend and just in case you're craving a little chocolate here's a link to Ina's awesome cake. I use Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate bars which are easier to find and less expensive but just as good. Another quick tip, crush the powdered coffee with the back of a spoon until it is finely ground. Enjoy!

~Lisa

Stamps: Toil & Trouble & You're My Type-Upper (Taylored Expressions)

Paper: the Apothecary Emporium (Echo Park), Choice Snow White (TE store), cs

Ink: Memento's Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Pennant Border Die & Mini-Dated 2012 Calendar Download (Taylored Expressions); 1/2 " circle punch (EK Success); Orange Peel & Silver Stickles/Silver Pearl Liquid Pearls (Ranger); Tuxedo & Silver Fox Smooch (Clearsnap); black cording & string from stash; orange polka dot ribbon (Hobby Lobby); Copic markers; clear rhinestones (PS); 3D foam dots (Therm-O-Web) 



March and November Calendars

Hello and welcome! I'm sharing two more altered calendars today, March and November. This is an ongoing project and I have five more months to go and I'll have my calendar/scrapbook project wrapped up. Both of these months share a holiday (everyone does celebrate St. Patty's Day, right?) and for me St. Patrick's is all about fun while Thanksgiving takes a more serious and elegant tone. Here's my March calendar...

and the deets. I used cardstock as my base and printed out the March 2012 Mini-Dated Calendar Download from Taylored Expressions onto Choice Snow White paper. I die cut it, along with an Origins dp by BG, with a Spellbinders Labels One. Black stitched ribbon from TE makes a nice divider and an Irish Blessing, from Verve's Blessings set, was stamped onto more dp from my Origins paper pad. I love Taylor's Wreath of Luck set and used nearly every image in this cute set. The wreath was die cut from the coordinating Seasonal Wreath die and I colored it with Copics and used Lime Green Stickles to add a little festive fun. Cute, simple and a little nod to the Irish that both the dh and I share in our family backgrounds. Now for November...

and the deets. As you can see there's not a stamp in sight on this one. I used chip letters from Classic K Bailey Chipboard Alphabet and Tim Coffey Fall Adhesive Borders by K & Co. to embellish this calendar. The background dp is from the Laced with Grace paper pad by Glitz and a trio of split pea rhinestones by Kaisercraft and a little crochet trim complete this one. I did pop the pumpkin up on foam dots for a little dimension and the calendar was made in my Microsoft Word program.

That's all for today, I'm off to take my Dad for a CT so no time to check for spelling errors. If you find some please overlook and thanks for stopping by, it means so much. A big welcome to Julie who is a new follower and I have long enjoyed her blog so be sure to pay her a visit and leave a fabby comment.

Have fun today and make it count!

~Lisa

A Merry Christmas To You from WMS

I'm back today with a card that features a sentiment from Very Vintage Christmas by WMS. I love Claire's stamps and hope to spend more time in 2012 exploring all of the creative options her stamp sets give you.  This is such a bold sentiment that I decided to keep this card clean and simple (CAS) with little to no fuss. A secondary reason is that it is going to my mom and Alzheimer's patients are not allowed cards with objects that they (or other residents) could potentially swallow. I hope the pearls make it through the security check though as she is aware of what they are and why they are on the card but we'll see.

I stamped the image onto Choice Buttercream then fussy cut it out and popped it up on foam dots to create some dimension. A wonky rectangle was die cut from aqua cardstock and a Jolly by Golly dp brings in the color factor. Four bliss pearls and a red grosgrain ribbon add some spark and this is an easy card to mass produce, which I'll remember for next year. ;)

Have an awesome day and happy crafting!
~Lisa

Stamps: Very Vintage Christmas (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Antique Linen Distress Ink (T!m Holtz)
Paper: Jolly by Golly (Cosmo Cricket), aqua cs (Bazzill), Choice Buttercream (TE store); white cardstock from stash
Accessories: Wonky Rectangle Die (Spellbinders); bliss pearls (Kaisercraft); red grosgrain ribbon (Hobby Lobby)

Altered Tins that are SNOW fun!

Good Monday morning to all of you! Ours was a busy weekend with Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, packing Christmas boxes, room arranging, finishing a custom piece of furniture, getting the Christmas cards ready to mail today not to mention ALL the cooking I have been doing lately. ;) Whew, I think I need another weekend already, lol.

I did steal some time to make these super quick and easy altered tins for my gift card giving. What would we do without these nowadays? Both feature an adorable snowman woolie from BG's Jovial line and Tiny Type alpha's from Cosmo Cricket. I used MME 12 Days of Christmas dp's on the "ray" tin and Crate Paper's Snow Day dp's on the "sara" tin. The star is also a woolie from the BG's Jovial felt sticker sheet and the glittered brad is by Paper Studio. The inside of the tins were decked out in coordinating papers and I used X-Pressit double stick tape to attach ribbon to the outside edge. As the recipients read my bloggie I'll refrain from showing the inside but you get the idea.

I love seeing all of the wonderful Christmas ideas that all of you are coming up with. I definitely need to work on Christmas throughout the year, like a lot of you, because this year I am coming up short. There's so much I want to do and so little time.

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Lisa

Fa la la la la

I'm making a quick stop here to post another fun holiday card featuring the cutest cupcake ever, Cuppie. It's a busy shopping day for me so I'll make this short and sweet.

For today's card I used stamped images from Home Sweet Home by Taylored Expressions and dp's from Holly Jolly Christmas by Echo Park. I ran into a wonderful sale at Jo-Ann's a few weeks ago and picked up a Susan Winget Glad Tidings Toys & Presents Chip Box and pulled two glittered chip snowflakes out to use on this card. A Spellbinders Large Classic Inverted Scalloped Circles die in pink cardstock helps to frame out the main stamped image and Cuppie was stamped onto TE's Choice Snow White in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. A few Rouge Liquid Pearls by Ranger finish it off and I stamped the Fa la la la la in the upper right corner also in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Two hot pink brads complete the embellishments and Cuppie was colored with various Copic markers.

I'm off to start my day and I hope all of you have a wonderful day wherever you are! Thanks for stopping by and I always enjoy your sweet comments. ;)
~Lisa

Stamps: Home Sweet Home (TE)

Two of My Favorite Peeps, Brian and Sara

Okay, I have a confession to make. This is definitely going to be a fave for me because my two peeps are featured this month. It is hard to believe that our son is 23 and will ship out for basic training next April, did I forget to mention that? Yep, next April he fully becomes the property of the U.S. Army and leaves our corner of the world for a long, long time. I am still trying to wrap my brain around it but he is following in his grandpa's footsteps and we fully support him all the way. As for the youngest peep, our dd, it seems as though her life has flown by and now she's all grown up. Mercy, life isn't fair because I am NOT ready to be an empty nester in less than two years. LOL! Oh well, enough reminiscing for now as I might get a little weepy on you guys. Here's a close-up of the sparkly eggs...

and the deets for the month of April. I started with the Taylored Expressions Spring 2011 Project Pantry Kit which featured paper from We R Memory Keepers Hippity Hop Collection. I purchased this earlier in the year and it isn't currently available but maybe she'll bring it back next year. ;) Another purchase earlier in the year was Verve's awesome Easter release. Seriously cute stamps that have so many uses, it was one of my very favorite releases this year. I stamped eggs from Egg-stra Special onto dp's, cut them out and used a generous amount of Glossy Accents to make them shine and they received a dusting of MS's Sugar Cube glitter to make them sparkle. The grass border is another of Martha's wonderful border punches and I picked up the ribbon by Studio G for 97 cents at Wal-Mart. :-) The little butterfly is from the same stamp set and they were colored with Copics and I added a pearl to the center. Spellbinders dies are used to frame the sentiment which is also by Verve and again I used Taylor's Mini-Dated 2012 Calendar Download for April. I layered the calendar so I could outline it with liquid pearls and I love it when these work correctly, kwim? So there you have it, quick and fun and a treasure to keep!

Happy Crafting,
~Lisa

Supplies:
Stamps: Egg-stra Special & Happy Easter (Verve)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, ColorBox Chalk Rouge
Paper: Hippity Hop Collection (We R Memory Keepers), Bazzill Basics Cardstock, Choice Snow White (TE store)
Accessories: Spellbinders Standard Circles Large & Classic Scalloped Circles Large; 2012 Mini-Dated Calendar Download (TE); ribbon (Studio G); Baby Blue & Flamingo Liquid Pearls, Glossy Accents (Ranger); Sugar Cube glitter & Grass Border Punch (MS); Bliss Pearls (Kaisercraft); Copics-YR68 & RV25; Corner Chomper 1/2" (We R Memory Keepers)

Debuting February and July in my altered world...

Hello all! I'm back today with two calendars from my calendar/scrapbook altered project that I am working on. Life has been hectic lately but I am determined to finish these!! I'll be back later in the week to feature some that have scrapbooking as part of the page element, promise. Today's post is all about February and July and I needed a little inspiration when I began the month of February. I paid the Verve gallery a visit and  spotted a heart on a scrapped page, by Julee Tilman, which I CASE'd because I loved it and the sentiment. You can spot it in the Hundred Hearts gallery at http://www.verve.com/ if you'd like to see it for yourself. Everything else on both calendars is original and these were quick and fun to make. Hope you enjoy!

It's another cold and rainy day (check, just started snowing) here and I certainly hope your weather is better than ours. Thanks for stopping by and I'd like to welcome Lucia from Rome who is a private follower. I really appreciated your sweet comment and enjoyed checking out your blog. You are definitely a creative spirit Lucia and I can't wait to see more inspiration from FondoBlu Cards. :-)

Happy Crafting Everyone,
~Lisa

February Calendar:
Stamps: Hundred Hearts & Hearts on Fire (Verve)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Be Mine (Echo Park), Choice Snow White (TE store), cardstock
Accessories: Mini-Dated 2012 Calendar Download (TE); Heart Punch (Emagination); Rhinestone Swirls (Zva Creative); Plaquettes-14 (T!m Holtz/idea-ology); Black Diamond Stickles & Rouge Liquid Pearls (Ranger); Copic Markers; Hot Pink Brads & Pink Rhinestone Heart (PS)

July Calendar:
Stamps: 4th of July Wreath (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Red Pigment Ink Pad (Stampabilities), Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Blossom Soup (Jillibean Soup), Choice Snow White (TE), cardstock
Accessories: 6x6 2012 Calendar Download (TE); Seasonal Wreath Die (TE); Copic Markers; Red Plaid Ribbon & Red Burlap String (May Arts); Red Atyou Spica Pen (Too Marker Products, Inc.); Blue Star Button from stash

Colors of the Day are...

coral, light pink and aqua for the CR84FN Color Challenge! I like to combine color challenges with sketch challenges when I can and the Deconstructed Sketch Challenge is a perfect fit in my opinion. Jen's sketches are so much fun and I think this one really brings out the colors in the current CR84FN44 color challenge. You can check out Jen's fabulous deconstructed sketch and as always the first challenge of the month is sponsored. Here's my card using the colors of the color challenge and Jen's current sketch, DS29.

I started off with a base of aqua cardstock and repeated it on the embossed strip. A patterned dp from MME pairs aqua with white which is one of two neutrals I used on this card. The other neutral, black, is seen on the stamped flower images and sentiment. Coral is definitely the accent color here and I tried to give it some balance with the border punch, ribbon and bow, and brad placement. Light pink serves as a highlight color and I like the way these colors work together. 

The design team for CR84FN Color Challenge is taking a break for the remainder of the month and will return in January 2012. I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thanks so much for the beautiful inspiration you always provide and the endless supply of challenging color combo's.

Have a wonderful day,

Lisa

Stamps: Making a Statement (Verve)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Aqua by Anna Griffin/All Night Media

Paper: Fine and Dandy-Tickled Pink (MME), Bazzill cardstock

Accessories: Fiskars notebook border punch; Loopy Blooms Die Set and Rounded Scallop Frame Die (Verve), Just My Type embossing border (Cuttlebug); Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); brads (MME-Market St. "Love" Brads); rhinestones (Kaisercraft); coral twill ribbon (TE store)



I'm back and a tad late...

Hi everybody, I'm back today with a card I made for the November VLV challenge featuring Week 3. I'm a tad late and I didn't get to use the fabulous sketch by Sankari Wegman for Week 4 but I plan to go back and use it in the future. :-) This awesome sketch by Tosha worked great with my Winter Park dp's from Echo Park. I was drawn to the colors and patterns and it provided an opportunity to use my new Snowflake Tidings die set by Verve, which I love. I stamped the small snowflake from Glad Tidings and die cut it with the newly released die set and I mixed and matched the stamped image panel. The mittens were paper  pieced and everything else is pretty self-explanatory. Here is Tosh's sketch which was our inspiration.

On a personal note, some of you may know my Dad was in MICU for a couple of days this week but he's  home and recuperating. I will be busy with follow-up appointments for him but hope to share my calendar pages with you and some additional altered projects soon. A big thank you to everyone who remembered him in your prayers!! Maybe this month I will stay caught up with the weekly sketches at Viva la Verve, hope so. :-)

God Bless,
~Lisa

Supplies: Winter Mittens & Holiday Phrases (Verve)
Paper: Winter Park by Lori Whitlock (Echo Park), Pomegranate (Bazzill), Choice Snow White (TE store)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versa Color Burgundy
Accessories: Snowflake Tidings Die Set (Verve); Standard Circles Lg. (Spellbinders); Snowflake Trim deep edger punch (MS); blue rhinestones (daisyd's); seam binding (Prairie Bird Boutique)

Please say a prayer!

Quick little note for those of you who visit my blog, my Dad is in MICU and not sure what the next few days will bring. I'll return as soon as I can and may I be so bold as to ask you to say a prayer on his behalf? His name is Ralph and it would mean so much.
Thanks and God Bless,
Lisa

A Tale of Two Challenges

Good morning! It's a rainy Monday morning in my corner of the world and I wish I could stay inside but appointments await so off I go. Before I head out I wanted to post this card which I am entering in two challenges, CR84FN Color Challenge and Viva la Verve Nov 2011-Week 2. The color palette was chosen by the main colors in the CR84FN43 Color Challenge which are brown, tan and green with the sketch being provided by Verve Diva, Jackie Pedro, which you can see here. Without further ado here is my card. 

I used a Spellbinders Lattice Pendant, which I cut down the middle, for the decorative edge the sketch called for and the color brown as my base and accent color. A green silk ribbon and bow brings the third color into play in a bold way and I also used it to stamp my sentiment from Bright Spirits by Verve which I popped up on foam squares for dimension. A Copic marker colors my clear rhinestones in a matching green hue to add a little sparkle and tan dp's bring in the second color and add some visual interest. This was a great sketch to work and the first by Jackie for me. To check out all of the beautiful entries visit the CR84FN blog and if you'd like to enter this color challenge you have 4 days and 16 hours as of this posting so get going and good luck. ;)

Thanks for stopping by and hope your day is sunny and fantastic!
~Lisa

Stamps: Bright Spirits (Verve)
Paper: Lost & Found dp's (MME), polka dot dp-5&Dime (October Afternoon), Choice Buttercream (TE store); brown cardstock
Ink: Olive (Michael's)
Accessories: Standard Circles Large & Lattice Pendant (Spellbinders); green silk ribbon (TE store); clear rhinestones (PS); foam squares (Therm O Web)

Viva la Verve Week 1

Hi everyone, hope all of those in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with their families. So glad to be back in my craft room and today I'd like to share my card for the monthly VLV Sketch Challenge going on over at SCS. My head is held low, in total shame, for waiting until now to make my 1st card for this challenge but this month has been a blur. I am going with the "better late than never" attitude and pressing on. Here's Amy's fun sketch for the first week of November.

As I was choosing paper for my card I came across this Jillibean Soup-Homemade 6 Bean dp that actually coordinates brilliantly with the snowflakes in the Bright Spirits set. I decided to stamp the two smaller circles using the snowflakes and colored the smaller one with Copics YG03 & YG21 while the larger circle was randomly stamped with the large snowflake image. Julee designed Santa's Helper (aka Rudy) with a snowflake on the hat which coordinates perfectly and I stamped the smaller snowflake in a matching shade, cut it out and glued it to my main stamped image panel. The ribbon looked lonely so I placed three green dew drops at the top and I should note that I used a Copic marker to color the rhinestones to match the outlined snowflakes. Love this little trick! 

This card is serving as one of my "thank-you" cards for Christmas gifts we'll receive from friends and family. Just in case you are wondering why Rudy's nose is pink that's because this is Mrs. Rudy. ;) I have more "thank-yous" to make so might use the remaining sketches to do that, we'll just have to see where the mojo leads me.

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

~Lisa

Stamps: Bright Spirits & Santa's Helper (Verve)

Paper: Homemade 6 Bean (Jillibean Soup), Maraschino & Parakeet cardstock (Bazzill Basics), Choice Buttercream (TE store)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black & Pear Tart

Accessories: Classic Scalloped Circles Lg. dies (Spellbinders); Fresh Mowed Grass Dew Drops (The Robin's Nest); Fruit Punch & Black Diamond Stickles, Rouge & Lettuce Liquid Pearls (Ranger); Copics; rhinestones (PS); ribbon (TE store)

A little out of order....

I know, where's February? Well it will be here soon but for today I am sharing the month of May from my altered project.

Since May is the month we celebrate Mother's Day, in the US, I thought I'd dedicate this one to my mother. I'll start by explaining what everything means on this page beginning with my red base. Red is her favorite color with pink a close second and you'll see that combo used in the flower embellishment & ribbon as well as the sentiment below. The button and the sewing pattern paper echoes her love of sewing and she was quite the seamstress. I was very young but I remember her making matching outfits for my sister and I and a coordinating one for her. We were attending a special event at the AFB my Dad was stationed at and the Thunderbirds were there to perform. Our outfits stood out and I have to say we looked good, insert big smile here, and my Dad was so proud of us. He's 84 years old and he remembers that day vividly. It was a good day! Moving along, the music clip is there because she loved to sing, could play piano and organ, and loved listening to music. The  bling swirl represents her 'love of bling" and the "S" is for Sally, her name. Actually it is Sarah but she doesn't like being called Sarah because her cousin teased her and pronounced it SAY-RAH, lol. So Sally she became and the long stem red rose comes from a tradition I started many years ago. Around the age of 12, I would visit the mall where my mom worked and I'd buy one long stem red rose and write a note that read "One perfect rose for one perfect Mother" and take it to her. She loved those roses and I loved giving them to her! :-) The angel reminds me of a cross-stitched angel she made me, Angel of Love, which has hundreds of teeny tiny seed pearls on it. I don't know how her eyes held out to do such intricate work but it is gorgeous and more precious than gold to me.

There's one thing I haven't explained yet and that's the text paper from the same dp collection. Printed all over is the word-Memory & Memories. In 2009, my mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and shortly afterwards her craft career came to an end. (She was quite the crafter!) At the time she was heavily into cardmaking but she was having difficulty with keeping her thoughts on track, numbers were an issue and her eyesight was poor. She made the decision to stop crafting altogether and graciously passed on her cardmaking supplies to my dd and I as we'd just begun to make handmade cards in early 2010. I don't know how much longer she will know us, only God does, but I am truly thankful for memories that will last a lifetime. There's so much more I could share like what a wonderful gardener she was and how delicious her homemade Chocolate Pie is and that she'll be 76 on her next birthday...

Thanks for letting me share and hope yours is a blessed day!
~Lisa

Stamps: Fresh Flowers & Tweet Hearts (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento Ladybug & Rosebud
Paper: the Thrift Shop & Fly a Kite (October Afternoon), cardstock
Accessories: Die-namics Decorative Doily (MFT); Charming Oval Die (Verve); black swirl bling (Want 2 Scrap); felt flower & butter from stash; music clip & metal "S" (PS); rub-on rose (Paper House Productions); mini-dated calendar download (TE store); angel (Hobby Lobby); Word Fetti Family Findings (Making Memories); red pearls (Kaisercraft)

Tag...You're It!

Hello, I'm popping in quickly with some holiday tags that I whipped up this morning. The Tag...You're It! stamp set and Favor Frame Die make these a snap to put together and Copic markers bring them to life with two receiving a little bling to make them sparkle. ;)

I know this is short and sweet but it's another busy day and I hope to be back tomorrow with more tags and another calendar from my altered project.

Have a great day!
~Lisa

Stamps: Tag...You're It! (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Bahama Blue & Ladybug
Paper: Choice Snow White (Taylored Expressions)
Accessories: Copic markers; rhinestones; Favor Frame Die (Taylored Expressions)

January Calendar & To-Do List Organizer

Hi there and welcome! I'm sharing the first month of my 2012 calendar/scrapbook album and I have a bonus for you. I made a To-Do List which helps me during the Christmas season and I hope it will be useful to you. 

My January calendar doesn't feature scrapbooking because I opted for a larger calendar this month and you only have so much room on a 6x6 page. I couldn't resist this Pure Innocence stamp and it was great to "dress" her using the technique you'll find on the My Favorite Things blog. The calendar can be made through Microsoft's Word program or you can download one from various companies. I stamped the month on a die cut oval and traced the outer lines of the die on cardstock to back the stamped image. Liquid pearls, rhinestones, and a few snowflakes finish it off!

As for my second project, I am drawing inspiration again from TE's 12 Days of Christmas with this project. However my booklet is a handy To-Do List that features the Santa List Download available from Taylored Expressions. I trimmed the lists with my paper cutter and used book board to make the front & back covers which I decorated with Christmas dp's, a paper rose and brad. The sentiment was stamped on a die cut and Santa's coat was highlighted with a red glitter pen which you may not be able to see in the photo, sorry. A Cinch binding machine brings this project together with ease and I chose to use the colored images from the download which I've shown below. There are four images with two colored and two outlined so you can personalize. NOTE: Use a heavy duty paper cutter to cut the book/chipboard because a regular paper cutter will NOT cut through this material. Also you might find this video from Day 9 of TE's 12 Days of a Handcrafted Christmas helpful. Here's a photo of Santa and his elf from the Santa List Download.

  

That's all for today and I hope your creativity is sparked in some way. Need to save some money??? If you sign up to receive email from Hobby Lobby they will send you their weekly ad with a coupon. The coupon varies but quite often they offer 40% off and it is offered frequently from now through Christmas. ;) Who doesn't like to save some money? A few items are restricted like Cricut products, Copics and a few more I'm not sure of but everything else you can save some moolah on. JoAnn Crafts also offers coupons for signing up for email but they bar code their coupons and they can only be used once where Hobby allows you one coupon per day per customer during the weekly sale, how awesome is that? Hope this tip helps out! As for JoAnn, it doesn't cost anything to sign up and a coupon is a coupon, right?

~Lisa

Calendar Supplies:

Stamps: Calendar Borders & Centers (Just Rite Stampers), Pure Innocence-Snow Day (MFT)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versa Color-Boysenberry

Paper: Little Girl Collection (Echo Park), Sweet Seasons (Webster's Pages), cardstock

Accessories: calendar (Microsoft Word); Spellbinders Classic Ovals Large; Small Snowflake punch ( Marvy Uchida); Medium Snowflake punch (Emagination); lilac ribbon (Hobby Lobby); white liquid applique (Marvy Uchida), purple rhinestones

To-Do Lisa Supplies:

Stamps: Keeping Tabs  & Take Note Holidays (Taylored Expressions),

Ink: ColorBox Chalk Warm Red, Antique Linen (T!m Holtz)

Paper: Botanical Christmas (Webster's Pages), Jovial (Basic Grey)

Accessories: Cinch binding machine, .75" gold binding wire, book board & wire cutters (We R Memory Keepers); Charming Oval Die (Verve); red velvet ribbon (TE store); T!m Holtz Micro Serrated Scissors

(T!m Holtz for Tonic Studios); atyou Spica 03 Red Glitter pen; Jovial glazed brad (BG); paper rose (Recollections); red pearls (Kaisercraft)

My Favorite Things are...

scrapbooking, stamping and altered art.

Hello and welcome! I am back today with the "beginning" of my altered project and it is a combination of ideas. First, I love to scrapbook but I also love to stamp and I love altered art, so I combined the three and came up with a calendar + scrapbook album with lots of stamping. Last year I used the project from Day 2 of Taylored Expressions 12 Days of a Handcrafted Christmas to make calendars as gifts. Each recipient received hand stamped/colored monthly calendars along with the frame. This year I wanted to "kick it up a notch" as Emeril would say and incorporate scrapbooking. The cover and pages slip into page protectors that hang from the Frame Your Imagination Vertical Stand and can be decorated to suit any decor. Mine is still in its original unfinished state but a coat of paint is on the way.

Now for the cover info-I started off with a base of 6x6 designer book board by We R Memory Keepers and used October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker DP's. The polka dot DP is bordered with Ranger's Ruby Red Liquid Pearls and I die cut a Spellbinders Lattice Rectangle and Classic Rectangle die to frame my sentiment. The sentiment is from the Words of Wisdom set by Verve and I stamped it in Black Soot Distress Ink by T!m Holtz. Chipboard numbers, gingham ribbon, black pearls and a die cut doily by Colorbok's Flea Market finish it off. Just in case you're curious you can download, for a nominal fee, calendars from Taylored Expressions. She offers the 6x6 Dated Calendar or the Mini Dated Calendar and another cool resource is Crafty Secrets free printables which includes a vintage 2012 Dated Mini Calendar. 

Hope your day is a happy one with lots of sunshine, as for us the rain is on the way which makes for more stamping time. No leaves to rake today, yippie!
~Lisa

Stamps: Words of Wisdom (Verve)
-See post above for everything else-

Introducing my friend, Cuppie!

Hello all, popping in this afternoon to post a card I made for my DD last Christmas. Both of us are huge fans of this adorable little cupcake, Cuppie. You can find him cavorting on cute stamp sets that Taylor sells at Taylored Expressions. ;) In fact, I CASE'd this card by Taylor in her gallery which you can see here. For now, here's a close up of my card featuring Cuppie in his holiday house.

I have some "new to me" Cuppie stamp sets that I can't wait to ink up so you'll be seeing more of him real soon. Just wait til you see this little guy decorating a Christmas tree, kinda looks like me after the second string. :-) He's just so sweet, isn't he?

Also, for inquiring minds I'll have a sneak peek on the altered project that I mentioned in my last post tomorrow and I'll reveal what it is. My plan is to release pages as I complete them through the remainder of the month and it combines a few of my favorite things. How's that for a hint? hehehe

Have fun today, what's left of it, as for me I am off to browse blogs and enjoy the creativity of others for a while. I have a rare cup of afternoon coffee in one hand and a trusty mouse in the other.
Life is Good,
~Lisa

Stamps: Holiday Wonder (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Life is Good (Echo Park), Choice Snow White (TE store), cardstock
Accessories: Polka Dot Frame-used as a template, not a die (Spellbinders); white liquid applique (Marvy Uchida); gingham ribbon (Hobby Lobby); clear rhinestones (PS); Winter Wonderland Snowflake Dies (Taylored Expressions)

Thank You

Hi there, I am popping in today with a card I made in September for a friend and co-worker of my DH who brought us the most delicious tomatoes, corn and peas all summer long from his garden. They were so tasty and the tomatoes were the best I've ever tasted, anywhere. I actually day dream about those tomatoes! LOL!! Oh well, it just gives me something to look forward to next summer. :-)

I'll be back this week with an altered project I am currently working on that's actually for me, yea! I had plans to make a lot of my Christmas this year but got sidetracked with moving my Dad in with us in October and having a junior in high school who is also taking six semester hours of college. Have I mentioned that I homeschool her? I do, and what on earth was I thinking when we signed her up for college??? I am sooo behind it isn't funny but I am trying not to stress out and figure I'll make this project for myself and if I like how it turns out then I'll make some as gifts. It will all get done somehow, I hope. Otherwise I will be decorating more altered tins to give out those handy dandy giftcards. ;)

Thanks for stopping by and I'd like to welcome my new followers to my blog. I am so grateful for you and love checking out your blogs as well. There are so many talented people in blogland and I love how crafters share their talent so graciously. A big thank you also to everyone who has left a sweet comment for me, it really means so much and they put a smile on my face.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
~Lisa

Stamps: You're My Type-Upper (Taylored Expressions)
Paper: Garden Variety (Cosmo Cricket), cardstock
Ink: Memento's Bamboo Leaves, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (T!m Holtz)
Accessories: Arbor Border Punch (EK Success); I Heart U Die Set (Verve); Nested Lacey Pennants (Spellbinders); Sew Easy Piercer (We R Memory Keepers); black brads

CASE Study Challenge #65



I'm back today with a CAS card inspired by the CASE Study November Muse, Kryssi Ng. For my card I used kraft paper for my base, chose a DP with a snowflake theme and stamped a pair of mittens attached by a string to mimic her image. I paper pieced the mittens to match the colors she chose for her stamped image and added two vellum stickers for a little detail. I die cut a matching border and stamped my sentiment and it was that simple. The CAS style that Kryssi is so popular for is definitely the way to go for those with busy lives. Here's a picture of her card which was my inspiration. 

A quick note of appreciation to all those who have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. My family and I appreciate your sacrifice more than words can express and wish you and your families a Happy Veteran's Day! God Bless.  

Have a wonderful weekend!
~Lisa

Stamps: Winter Mittens (Verve)
Paper: snowflake DP (MME-12 days of Christmas); kraft & cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, StazOn Cotton White
Accessories: Die-namics Solid Bracket Border (My Favorite Things); vellum stickers

Waltzingmouse CASE Competition



Did someone say CASE? How exciting! Claire Brennan, owner and designer of WMS, releases stamps every other month and the in-between months she sponsors SOAP (Stamp of Approval Parade) using previously released stamp sets. It is always wonderful to see what the design team comes up with and they never cease to inspire. Naturally when it came to CASE'ing a project of theirs that was a tough decision. I thought I had my DT member picked out only to find I did not have the stamps she used on her project and wanted to make sure that I stayed within the guidelines so I changed course. As I was browsing through the line up, in no particular order, I found this lovely Christmas shadowbox on Anya's blog and knew what I was going to CASE. This was a FUN project for me and I've included more photos with different views at the end of my post.  

I have mini pizza boxes that have been in my alterables stash for a while and they work perfectly for a shadowbox. I cut  the top off and using the base I backed it with some fun Merry Christmas-Words paper by Paper Studio and cut rolling hills from green cardstock which I staggered. The sides of the box were lined with a polka dot DP from the Tinsel & Twig collection by The Girls's Paperie. Red metallic string covers the seams and I punched borders from two MS border punches, Doily Lace & Aspen Snowflake, to frame the top and bottom. All of the stamps used are from Christmas Cottage and I adore this set, this cottage is adorable and I want one in real life. :-)  I colored the cottage, snowman and trees with Copic markers and used Ranger's Frosted Lace Stickles on the trees and Baby Blue Stickles on the snowman's scarf. The windows and ledges received a dusting of snow with StarDust Stickles and love all the snowy goodness on this image. The roof got its sparkle from MS's sugar cube glitter and I popped up the arched facial board on foam strips for some dimension. A lot of little steps but so worth it!  

Long post but as Claire would say, hope it tickles!

~Lisa

Stamps: A Cottage Christmas (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Ink: Black Soot Distress Ink (T!m Holtz), Cardinal (Versa Color)

Paper: MC-Words (PS), polka dot (The Girls Paperie/Tinsel & Twig), cardstock

Accessores: Mini Pizza Boxes (HOTP-Sara's Surfaces); see post

Merry Christmas to You...a little early!



It is a gorgeous day here in west Tennessee but the bad weather is on the way unfortunately. My thoughts and prayers are with those in Oklahoma affected by the recent earthquakes and tornadoes. The weather is crazy and I hope it calms down for everyone.

Today's card is one I made using a sentiment & border from Merry Little Christmas by Just Rite Stampers. I love going through their gallery and checking out the inspiration you can find there. Once again I decided to CASE Kathy Jones, Wattle on SCS, and her cute little Christmas card which you can see here on her blog. While I was in the same card gallery I spotted one by Amy Sheffer I'd like to CASE using the exact stamp set in a different way. Such incredible talent on that design team!

Thanks for stopping by today, I really appreciate it! The community of crafters is a special one and I join my fellow crafters in expressing my deepest sympathy to the Renz family. Katie Renz died yesterday of Stage 4 Stomach Cancer and left behind a loving husband and three sons. All of them will be celebrating birthdays within the month so I thought it'd be nice to make birthday cards for them as some of Katie's friends have suggested. You can click here for more info if you'd like to send a card.

Have a wonderful day!
~Lisa

Stamps: Merry Little Christmas (Just Rite Stampers)
Ink: Memento's Rosebud, Celadon (Versa Color)
Paper: Jolly by Golly (Cosmo Cricket), cardstock
Accessories: Classic Scalloped Circles Lg. & Standard Circles Lg. (Spellbinders); clear rhinestones (PS); glitter snowflake brads (PS); MiniStitch Doodle Dot template (Crafter's Workshop)  

TESC149



Happy Monday! I am sharing a card today that puts a smile on my face because I happen to love penguins and this adorable stamp set from Taylored Expressions, Penguin Pals, is right up my alley. I had a busy craft afternoon/evening yesterday and whipped this up to enter in the current sketch challenge. Here is TESC149
that was our inspiration and I love the layering of paper this one calls for.

I stamped the penguin guy and gal, the musical notes and sentiment in Memento's Tuxedo Black ink and die cut my panel with a Classic Rectangle Die and backed it with a Scalloped Rectangle Die in a sweet pink. ;) I selected Copic markers to match the DP and colored my pals and made the snow for their hats with liquid applique and crystal glitter. The panel was framed with Ranger's Flamingo Liquid Pearls and while that was drying I stamped a snowflake from the Winter Wonderland set in two different ink colors, Rosebud & Bahama Blue, and used Taylor's coordinating dies to die cut them. The DP's used on my card are from MME's 12 days of Christmas which I found at Taylored Expressions in her wonderful paper department. I {heart} paper and she has a large variety of designer and patterned paper which makes me a happy girl.  

Hope you like it and comments are always welcome, thanks for stopping by. Have a great day! :-)

~Lisa

Stamps: Penguin Pals and Winter Wonderland (Taylored Expressions)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Rosebud & Bahama Blue

Paper: 12 days of Christmas (MME); French Vanilla & Chablis cardstock (Bazzill); Bluebell cardstock (Coredinations); Choice Snow White (TE store)

Accessories: Classic Rectangles Lg. & Classic Scalloped Rectangles Lg. (Spellbinders); Winter Wonderland Snowflakes Die (Taylored Expressions); Flamingo Liquid Pearls (Ranger); rhinestones (PS); crystal snow white glitter (Stampendous); Copics-Y15, 19, & 35; R35, 83 & 85; RV10; E30; G07; B02; BG01; white liquid applique (Marvy Uchida); 3D foam dots (EK Success)











Fall Pumpkins

Hi everybody, I'm back today with my 3D pumpkins and an apology for not posting as I said I would on Tuesday. These are so easy to make and love that they can be customized based on your home decor. I gained inspiration by visiting Lisa M's blog, a blog buddy of mine, and she offers a fabulous tutorial on how to make them. Not to mention she is really funny and very talented so please check out her blog, You Made Me Ink, for more details. I did see these on Sankari W's blog as well and I love the DP she used so I did too. The papers are from MME's Mabel Papers in the Stella Rose Collection and this is one of my favorite paper pads, ever.

Here are a few individual close-ups of my pumpkins.....

 

I plan to make a set for my dining room to match my colors of black, red and cream but for now these are going in my great room. If I get some serious crafting time this weekend I'd love to make a few sets for my in-laws and my sister in Wyoming. In case I haven't told ya my big sis, Cyndy, is the reason I got into cardmaking. She'd send handmade cards that were little works of art and we'd ooh and aah over each one. They were such a treat to receive that my daughter and I decided to start making cards ourselves and we haven't looked back. She was our original source of inspiration and just thought I'd share that today. BTW, can't wait to see what she is making me for Christmas as she has teased me for weeks now, not nice Cynthia. :-( Hehehe!

Have a great weekend and please share if you've made pumpkins of any sort before. After all, variety is the spice of life!!

~Lisa

Stamps: Mindscape Maple Leaf (Inkadinkadoo), Distressed Leaf 02 & Maple Leaves (Stampabilities)

Paper: DP from Mabel Papers (MME/Stella Rose Collection), cardstock

Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa & Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Orange Peel Stickles (Ranger); brads; Natural Raphia, Olive & Orange Wraphia (Berwick)