Happily Ever Eleven!

Cathy, there in the PTI forums, has asked us to post our top ten favorites of 2011. Well, that's hard to do for me, so... being the little stinker I am... decided to choose a top project from (almost) each month. :)

You can click the image to see the original post. :)

January's

February's

March's

April's

May's

June's

July's

August's

September's

October's

November's



Ack! I didn't do any photo-worthy crafting in November?! Eep.



December's

Thanks for looking and/or commenting!



 Happily Ever Yours,

 

Two cards with which to end 2011 :)

Well, this is a twofer post (two for the price of one!) :) I've been a busy cardmaker. And these are just a couple of cards I've made. I've just been enjoying my last few days of freedom before I must return to my task of monkey wrangling. :)



Anyway, here are the cards...



The first card I dedicate to my e-buddy, Curt. If you haven't already, go to his blog. You owe it to yourself. Not only is he a talented cardmaker, but he's one of the nicest guys I know! I saw this post and had to ask him where he got the window die. Not only did he share that valuable information with me... but he gave me some alternative shopping locations! :) (Psst...I found it at www.franticstamper.com ) :)



Here's the card I created:

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And some close-ups:

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and

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Stamps: Tree (from my stash, can't remember who made it!); Faux Ribbons (PTI)

Ink:  Onyx Black (Versafine); Glorious Green, Chocolate Chip (both SU!)

Paper: Clearly Cardstock, Spring Rain, Stamper's Select, Fine Linen, Turning a New Leaf patterned paper (all PTI)

Other: Small Madison window die (Poppystamps); Ribbon Tag Trio (Spellbinders); Blue ribbon (SU!)





And the next card:

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Loving that background? Yeah...me too. It's another background stamp from Market Street Stamps! Just wonderful to do a background with one movement...rather than try to line it up. ;)



Some close-ups:

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and

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Stamps: Inside & Out: Thank You, Turning a New Leaf (both PTI); Vintage Music Background (MSS)

Ink: Old Olive, Sahara Sand (both SU!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Paper: Sahara Sand, Old Olive (both SU!); Rustic Cream (PTI)

Other: Turning a New Leaf dies (PTI); Blush Pearls (Hero Arts); Pastel Raspberry Liquid Pearls (Ranger); ATG; Dimensionals





Wishing you each a very happy, very safe New Year's and a blessed 2012! :)



Thanks for looking and/or commenting!



 Happily Ever Yours,

 

Mega Mount and Background Stamps --- A match...

... made in heaven!



Okay... rather than go into detail here on the ol' blog...check out this video I created (yes, I know... it's a rarity! :) )

In the video, I mentioned two websites:



Market Street Stamps



and



Frantic Stamper



Check them out... I think you'll enjoy browsing around. :)  (No, I'm not being paid to say that! ;) )



Thanks for looking and/or commenting!





Stamps: Gingham (MSS)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler (SU!)

Paper:

Other: Mega Mount (Impression Obsession)



 Happily Ever Yours,

 

Christmas card for the folks

Greetings all!



In the hustle and bustle (You know...I'm not sure if in my entire life I've bustled. Oh, don't get me wrong. I see nothing wrong with bustling. Some of my best friends bustle... I'm just not sure I'd be very good at it.), I thought I'd quickly show you the Christmas card I've made for my parents:

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And a close-up of the image:

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The inside:

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And I thought I'd show you the back of my cards. :)

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I know I may get questions about the bar code stamp shown above. I believe I purchased it at Michaels, but don't quote me on that! :)



Merry Christmas!



Thanks for looking and/or commenting!





Stamps: Nativity scene (Michaels); Christmas Blessings (PTI)

Ink: Concord Crush (SU!); Tea Dye Duo (PTI); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Paper: Fine Linen, Stampers' Select (both PTI); Concord Crush (SU!)

Other: Clear EP; Heat Gun; ATG



 Happily Ever Yours,

 

The True Meaning of Christmas...

Just a simple, clean card where I can tuck in a Starbucks gift card to give to my doctor. I sometimes think doctors and nurses are not remembered during the holidays and I want him to know how grateful I am that he takes care of me through the year. :)

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And a close-up of the nativity circle. :)

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I think I'm getting better at framing! :)



Thanks for looking and/or commenting!





Stamps: Star of Wonder (PTI)

Ink: Pure Poppy (PTI); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Paper: Kraft, Vintage Cream, Pure Poppy (all PTI)

Other: Sakura Micron pen; ruler; ATG



 Happily Ever Yours,

 

Another Christmas thank-you card

Wow...two posts in a week?! Is Ted an impostor?! :)



Nah... just enjoying cardmaking right now. I wanted to create another thank-you card for a co-worker who gave me a beautiful handmade card (she's just starting out... but she's off to a great start!).

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I wanted to add a little somethin'-somethin' to the snowflake background, so I whipped out my trusty Sakura glitter gel pen...

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Not sure if it came out the way I pictured in my mind, but I'm happy with the results, nonetheless. :)



Thanks for looking and/or commenting!





Stamps: Fillable Frames #6 (inside sentiment), Daily Designs Sentiments (outside sentiment) (both PTI)

Ink: Garden Green (SU!)

Paper: Stamper's Select, Kraft (both PTI)

Other: Christmas Tree die, Pure Poppy twill (both PTI); Snowflake embossing folder (Provocraft); Clear Star gel pen (Sakura); ATG; Dimensionals



 Happily Ever Yours,

 

Poinsettia Thank You

I've always struggled with creating a thank you card for the Christmas gifts I may receive. I feel they should be related to Christmas, and yet simple enough to do so that I could make many of them. Well, I think I may be on the right track with this piece I whipped up this morning after I woke up.

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I first stamped the poinsettia and then thought that it needed to be showcased just a bit more. So, I took out my T1 Copic Marker and outlined it...

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For the sentiment on front, I wanted to add some more visual interest, rather than just stamp "Thank you", so it occurred to me, I could try sectioning it off. While I'm pleased with the outcome, I do think next time, I'll focus more on making sure the panels are STRAIGHT and LEVEL! Hopefully the recipient of this particular card won't notice (or won't mind so much!) ;)

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And finally the inside:

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So, do you create special holiday thank you cards, or do you just use your generic thank you cards? Post in the comments below, as I'm genuinely interested!


Thanks for looking and/or commenting!





Stamps: Think Big Favorites #5, Year of Flowers: Poinsettia; Inside & Out: Thank You (all PTI)

Ink: Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler (both SU!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Paper: Scarlet Jewel, Vintage Cream (both PTI)

Other: Copics, Corner Chomper (We R Memory Keepers); Dimensionals; ATG



 Happily Ever Yours,

 

I put the HAM in gingham! :)

Now, you know that when I get excited about something new, I have to yell it from cyber rooftops. :) This is no exception!



Long backstory made brief:

- I spoke to my PTI buddy Jen Carter and she suggested Market Street Stamps. She said I'd be very happy with them. :)

- I looked at their site (click their name above) and was quite impressed. :) I then stumbled upon a FULL background of gingham and a full background of argyle. I think I had died and gone to background heaven. ;)

- I then read Stephanie Washburn's tutorial on how to best use their stamps. (You can click on her name and it will take you to it). So easy!

- I ordered them on a Monday. By that Thursday afternoon I had them in my hands. Wow! From Wisconsin, no less! Love that!

- Today I had the chance to play with them... and here's with what I came up:



Wait. Before I show you... let me show you the paper I stamped. Now, there's a story behind this. The FIRST attempt wasn't that great. There was a bit of a blemish. I kept it, however, as it was on the edge so I figured I could use it later. (I'm glad I did...read on).



I created this card and ran it through my Vagabond using PTI's canvas impression plate (to make it appear to be cloth) and here's the result:

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And a close-up so you can see the texture:

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And the argyle:

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And the close-up (no impression plate used):

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I was rather pleased with my results. Oh... a tip you MAY want to try (while following Steph's tutorial). I used the scratch paper, as she suggested...but then...after pushing down a bit with my fingers, I took out my trusty brayer and rolled it a bit. That seemed to get a nice clean image as well. :)



Okay...back to the story.



I was really on a roll... until I tried to sew the card. It ruined my work! :P Long story short, it ended up in the trash and I pulled out my backup gingham. It wasn't until I glued it down that I remembered I hadn't impressed it with canvas. :P Oh well. I brought the card over to my REAL sewing machine (*sticks tongue out at Sew Mini*) and was happy with the results.



Here's the card:

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And some close-ups (please try not to notice the shoddy sewing in the corner! ;) )

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The inside:

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So there you have it. I'm in LOVE with the gingham background (I've wanted a good background of gingham for YEARS!).



Check out Market Street Stamps. :) Tell 'em Ted sent you (I get nothing but the satisfaction that you'll be happy with the many background choices).  ;)



Thanks for looking and/or commenting!





Stamps: Gingham Background (Market Street Stamps); Friends 'til the End, Birthday Bash Sentiments, Birthday Basics (all PTI)

Ink: Cherry Cobbler (SU!); Onyx Black (Versafine)

Paper: Cherry Cobbler, Lavender Lace, Certainly Celery (all SU!); True Black (PTI); White (Wal-Mart)

Other: Canvas Impression Plate, Friends 'til the End dies (both PTI); Brother Sewing Machine; Vagabond; Swiss Dots embossing folder (Provocraft); ATG; Dimensionals; Dark Purple rhinestones (Queen & Co.)



 Happily Ever Yours,