Christmas Bells

Hi Everyone,
I know it's been a hot summer and so I decided to make a card to help me think of cooler temps. It really didn't help too much though.

I know there are quite a few people out there who like to get a head start on Christmas cards. So with that in mind, here is a card to give you some inspiration, I hope.

The stamped image in the circle on the belly band is called Bell Circle, stamp # 0199-135k from Sparkle N Sprinkle, and is so pretty. I used Copic Markers to color the image. Also the punch I used is from Just Imagine Kreations and is punch #923. I nestled the Bells in the ornament shape which was cut using Spellbinders die S4-283,it's the   2010 Heirloom Ornament.

I have used this card shape so many times because I really like it. It is such a versatile card shape.But I have found that adding a belly band just pumps the card up a notch.When I made the belly band for this card, I punched all the way around to give the card a finished look. I also layered the belly band using a silver CS underneath the shimmery blue CS. Here is a pic of the back of the card.

The inside is layered with a silver textured CS and more of the shimmer blue CS. I used a template from Just Imagine Kreations to get the doily effect and used a circle cutter to cut the sentiment out.

I layered these elements and then punched the corners and then attached to the inside of the card.

This card has turned out so cool looking that it will probably be one of the designs I use this Christmas season for my own personal cards.





Card recipe:
Card Shape: Accu-cut Die
Stamps:Sparkle N Sprinkle  verse Magic Wand - 3380-414C,  Bell Circle 0199-135k
Card stock: Silver CS, Silver textured Cs White CS Blue Shimmer CS
Ink: VersaMark
Embossing Powder: Sparkle N Sprinkle - Silver Detail  EP257
Copic Markers used:(Copic Marker sets available thru Sparkle N Sprinkle) G21, B21, R29, Y28, YG67, E43, E51, 0
Spellbinders Die:(available thru Sparkle N Sprinkle)  S4-283  2010 Heirloom Ornament 
Punch and Template - Just Imagine Kreations: Punch #923, Template


Hope you saw something you can use in your cards.

Have a great week and try to stay cool,

The Witch Is In

Hi everyone,
I have been busy with the end of the month upon me. I have projects to finish and mail out, so, over the next few days I will be finalizing that as well as putting the finishing touches on my Stampaway class.

I do have a cute card I wanted to share with you all today. I know it's hotter than blue blazes, but Halloween will be here soon. I have seen Christmas stuff already out on the floors,and ya know Halloween will be here in less than 3 months.And Christmas.......well  it's 5 months from yesterday,  and you know in the blink of an eye we will be wrapping presents and decorating and.... .OK OK enough right now.

I picked up a new die set recently. It's rick rack circles from QuiKutz.and decided to use it on this card.

These dies are so cool and I loved these when I first saw them. So I will be using them more as they have such potential.

The stamps on this card are from Sparkle N Sprinkle and are great for the Halloween season. Treat bags, party invitations, gift bags, these stamps are great for all those fun things.



These stamps I used are part of set 335 Halloween RIP. Cute aren't they!!??!! You need to check out the rest of the stamps on this set.

Here are the things I used for this card:
Stamps - Set 335 Halloween RIP Sparkle N Sprinkle
Embossing Powder - Black Detail EP171 Sparkle N Sprinkle
Glitter - Impulsive Purple G1069 Sparkle N Sprinkle
Paper PopTones - Limeade
Dies - Rick Rack Circles - Quikutz

Well that is it for today, stay cool

Thanks for stopping by

Love

Hi Everyone!!

Hope you are having a great week!!

Today, I wanted to share with you a card that I designed as my take on  the Art Impressions Challenge this week. The card is really clean and simple, (IMHO) with stitching added to the card. I had added a decorative stitch to the card but after really looking at the card,  I decided the white thread might not show up so I added a straight stitch in a different color thread to the border as well.

This close up of a corner gives you a better view of that decorative stitch I used. I think you will agree that since that stitch is in white thread,  it was not showing up as well.So, adding stitching in another color did the trick, it shows better in the photo.I am sure the recipient will see the white stitching without a problem.

Sewing on your card is a great way to add additional interest. And if you are worried abut your machine, don't be. Sewing on card stock or paper will not hurt your machine, in the least. It will probably dull your needle, so, just reserve a needle just for paper projects.



Recipe:
Stamps: E2548 Love, M2005 Long Stemmed Rose
Markers: Copic - RV21, YR61, YG03, BG96
Ink: Fresco Wine, India Ink
Paper: My Mind's Eye - Totally Girl, Petallics - Pink CS
Spellbinders Die: S4-218 Lattice

OK ladies, get out your sewing machine and add some stitching to your cards and submit a card to this weeks challenge.Each week one lucky winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to the AI Store. The theme this week is stitching, real or faux.

That's all for now, Have a great day.

If Nothing Ever Changed

Hi Everybody,
Is everyone staying cool?? It is really hot outside isn't it??!! Speaking of HOT, I have made a new card that is using a stamp from a set that is hot off the press. The set is from Sparkle N Sprinkle and its in set 437-Fancy Butterflies. The set has 4 butterflies and a circle and some great verses.

Here is the newest set being introduced:

Here is a card made using the upper left stamp shown above.

These butterflies are gorgeous!!! And the best news of all, the set is on sale at Sparkle N Sprinkle for 20% off. What a deal !!!  Sparkle N Sprinkle's Fancy Butterflies set coordinates with the just released Nested Butterflies and Butterfly Circles, and the sets and the dies are available as combos, too.Click here to check out the deal over at the Sparkle N Sprinkle online store. Until July 31st they are all on sale at 20% off, even the combos!  The combo sets are usually 15% off everyday, but through the end of the month they are an additional 5%. This is a smokin' hot deal!!


Hope you keep cool and I will be back tomorrow with another creation, hope to see you then

Have a great day!!

The Saturday nite shower

Hi Everyone.
In my last post I mentioned I had to tend to my soggy basement. Well here is what happened. I was up really really late Saturday nite, til 3:45 a.m.in fact. I went to bed and had the TV on and still awake about 4:00 a.m., when I heard what sounded like a faucet had been turned on. So, I got up to see if the toilet was running, nothing on the 2nd floor was running, so I checked the 1st floor, 1/2 bath, nope, kitchen nope. But I noticed the water sound was louder, so I went to the basement and the water was gushing over at the stationary tub area. It was like a hose was on and it was going full force. I couldn't get the water turned off so I ran back up 2 flights of stairs, got Frank out of bed and ran back down to the basement.(I am sure it would have been funny to see me at this point.I was drenched) I stood there w/ my hand over the "waterfall" trying to direct it into the stationary tub as best as I could. By now Frank turned off the main water supply. The water had been shooting 8 feet in the air. It was getting the floor joists wet and was dripping down and all the clean clothes that I had hanging in front of the dryer got wet.Good thing was this was clean water.

We looked to see what the problem was and the hose going to from the water pipe to the wash machine had a hole in it. I guess after 25 years of use it gave out. So I've had to re-dry all my clean clothes that were hanging, pull up carpeting, wipe water off  storage shelves, move stuff etc.The good thing is my studio which is also in the basement was unharmed. The water was shooting away from the studio. Thank the Lord for that.

I am still drying clothes and washing rags and getting things put back together. Another day and all will be back to normal. Yahoo!!!

As I look back on this escapade, it's a good thing the clothes were hanging where they were, they took the brunt of the water. Also it was a good thing that I was up late, otherwise I would have not heard that water for a while and the drain in the basement probably would not have been able to handle all that water. This could have been major. It just turned into an inconvenience.

OK now I am semi, back to normal so here is a card to tease your creative juices with.

This scarecrow is from Sparkle N Sprinkle in set 227.I decided to use a embossing folder that looks like a bunch of sticks. Used that on green CS and added some glitter using a glue pen. This reminded me of a field with flowers. Tied a bow and this is done. BTW, I colored that scarecrow image with Copic markers.









Well that is it for today. I have to get back to my clothes drying (LOL)
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Winners announced!!

Sorry this is late, I should have posted this yesterday.


First, I want to thank all of you who participated in the blog hop and especially to you all that left comments. I am sure I speak for all the DT members when I say, we truly enjoy  and appreciate every comment   It encourages and inspires us, more than you know!  Thank you so much for joining us and spending a little part of your day with us.  We're so glad you did!

 The winners from the Sparkle N Sprinkle "Sparkling Winter Sensations" Blog Hop have been announced.  Thought I'd let you know in case you didn't get to see them yet.  And one of the 5 extra prizes was hidden on my blog - None of us were told ahead of time which blogs were selected! So I was as excited as you when I found out.  Well, here are the winners:

The Grand Prize is awarded to Mitzi Vogel!

Secondary winners (extra prizes)
1. From Barbara Bruder’s Blog –  Peg Klitch    YAHOO!!
2. From Eleanor Jenkins’ Blog – April of South Carolina
3. From Julie Zippel’s Blog – NWFlamingo 
4. From Marie Berquist’s Blog – Lois (lew1993)
5. From Karin Martin’s Blog – Donna Levine

Congratulations to you all!!!! 
More details (including details on what to do if you're a winner) and a special thank you from all of us on the design team are on the "home blog" - Sparkle N Sprinkle blog. 


OK now, it's back to a soggy basement. I will explain tomorrow. Til then,
Have a great day,


Barbara

Circle Flip Up Book

Hi Everyone,
Tuesday evening I attended my monthly club meeting and I just had to show you the cool project Denise taught us. It's called "Circle Flip Up Book".This little book is just so cute. I can see photos added to the sections to add even more interest. Wouldn't this be cute as a brag book for Grandma!!!

This book starts out as a few circles and winds up as a book. And I love little books, big books, leather bound book, all kinds of books. So this really caught my attention.

No stamping today, just thought you'd like to see this.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon.

Barbara

Sparkling Wintry Sensations Blog Hop

Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle "Sparkling Wintry Sensations” blog hop! If you hopped here by way of  Marie, then you're in the right spot. If you'd like to start from the beginning and become eligible for SIX great prizes, then click here.

During the blog hop, from today through Sunday July 17, the Sparkle Team presents all of the SNS Winter Holiday stamps on a super special - 20% off! (exception is Spellbinders Combos).

Since those hot and humid days are settling in for a lot of us, I think these two cards will help to cool you down. And what better way than to stamp up some snowman cards.

This snowman is in  set 340 Dancing Snowman. He is so cute and he's dancing and tipping his hat to you. Can't you picture him on one of your Christmas card designs.

I have him sitting offset on top of a blue snowflake that was made with a punch. Next, I added brushable glue to that snowflake and covered it with Sparkling Snow Glitter G1003

I embossed the card front with a snowflake embossing folder and lightly covered those embossed images with Memento Ink - Summer Sky 99620.
I found some swirly silver ribbon and pleated it to finish this card.

My next card, is another snowman also from Set 340 and this stamp is known as Top Hat - Snowman. He is framed using a frame from a Cuttlebug Emboss Plus folder. The Dotty Flakes are a great addition to this snowy card too and are also in this set.. I used Poolside EP (EP393)  and Silver Lightning EP (EP262) on this card and used that swirly silver ribbon to tie it all together.









I hope my cards have helped to cool you down.

Don't forget, I might be one of “The Five” with a secondary prize, so take a minute to leave a comment to become eligible for the Grand Prize and one of the 5 secondary prizes, then hop on over to Patti's blog for more "cool" ideas.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!

Enjoy Your Day

Hi Everyone
Since were are in the vacation time part of the summer, I decided to use a funny stamp from Art Impressions. Blanche, here, is on her way to the beach and she is decked out with all the amenities, isn't she!!! She is a cutie!!!

I noticed that this CS is a little wonky looking on the right side edge.(My apologies) That is from my using an embossing folder with card stock that is somewhat thinner than what I usually use. I usually  use a CS that is called PopTones and it is excellent to use in card making. It's 100# and comes in quite a few yummy colors.I find it perfect for cards. And since it is a heaver weight, no buckling.




Card ingredients:
Stamp -   Art Impressions - K1605 Blanche 
Designer Paper
Cardstock - unknown Mfg
Embossing Folder - Couture Creations - Diamond Trellis obtained @Crop Stop I think this folder is no longer available but they have a great selection of other styles.
Copic Markers:BV04,BV25,B21,V17, Y17, ), Y21, RV21, YG06, YG45, YG41YR61, YR04, R85

Stop by at the Art Impressions blog to see my regular Wednesday post over there too.

Hope you are planning your vacation before the summer is over.

Thanks for stopping by, see you soon,

July Sketch Challenge - Crafter's Companion

Hi Everyone,
Crafter's Companion Sketch Challenge for July was just calling my name. So I  decided on the papers, color scheme and the ribbon to use.

Here is the sketch:

                     



                                         And here is my design:










Card Recipe:
Stamps: Crafter's Companion,  from the set of Flower Fairies Friends - Buttercup
Designer papers: K & Co.
Dies:QuicKutz Nesting Rick Rack Circles
Ribbon: Michaels
Ink: India Ink (My favorite permanent ink)
Copic Markers:Y06, Y11, Y15, Y38, YG41, YG45, YR61,

Thanks so much for stopping by,

Art Impressions Challenge #23

This weeks challenge is..... Use Something From Your Stash.

I have a very large stash so that made this challenge easy to do. The Art Impressions challenge this week was right up my alley. Since it is summer, I figured it would be great to use the light house. And, I had just picked up some small seashells and I used those as an accent.

I stamped the lighthouse (U-2161) onto glossy paper and colored it with my Copic markers. The clouds in the sky, I actually colored those in with a dye ink. I have a stencil that I use and I used a sponge dauber to add the color. I added the shells to the corners and that completed the card !!






Glad you stopped by today. Have a great day

Barbara

My First Art Impressions Post

Hi everyone,

Today is my first post over on the Art Impressions blog. Here is the sneak peek, but you will want to click here to check out the complete post. Hope you enjoy the post and are inspired to put a card together.








Thanks for stopping by today.

Re purpose

Hi Everyone

 On my last post I mentioned that I wanted to share with you 2 items that I found that could be re purposed and used for card making, altered art, or even scrap booking. I live in the greater Cincinnati area and we have a brand of potato chips known as Husman's. These are sinfully good.                                                    

Well the other day I was getting ready to throw away an empty bag and I finally noticed the inside. It is silver.But the bag is not paper, its more of a Mylar type stuff and I wondered if it could be used in cards. So I decided to try to use it in an embossing folder. It works!! It holds the emboss and does not lose the design over time. Yea!!! OK that is re purpose #1.

All right, here is  re purpose #2.  I really like Fig Newton's and lately there have been a few TV ads for Newton Fruit Thins. OK so I buy a package and they are just OK.(I'll stick to my Fig Newtons thank you). Anyway. The bag these are packaged in is not that Mylar stuff, its more like paper AND the inside is silver. Again, I wondered about that packaging as something that can be used on our cards/scrapbooks.






Again, I tried to use an embossing folder on this and boy it works even better.So I decided to use this on a card. Next,I decided on a stamp and here is what I came up with..

So sometimes we throw away things that will work great and look cool on our cards so look at this stuff( I guess stuff is a good name to use for all the things we dispose of).

BTW I used Copic Markers to color the circles on that silver packaging. And alcohol inks would work really well on this and the Mylar packaging because its not absorbent, it's a smooth surface. Try things, the worst it can be is that it doesn't work and you wind up throwing it out!!! LOL

Well that is my re purpose info for you today. Sunday is my regular Bi Weekly post at Just Imaging Kreations. Stop over there to see what I have come up with using some of their cool 4 in 1 punches.

That is it for today, thanks for stopping by

EXTRA, EXTRA, Read all about it!!!!

Hi Everyone!!

Bet that title caught your attention!!!! Do you know what today is???  OK you're right it's Friday and yep it's July 1. OK, OK, let me, let you in on my secret. Today is the day I  get to share some exciting news with you all. I have been just been dying to tell, but I had to wait til today.  I have been asked to join the design team at Art Impressions for the next 3 months!!! WOW!! How exciting is that!!!  What a great company, I have always loved their stamps, especially their watercolor series of stamps. I will be posting every Wednesday, so stay tuned for that. Also Art Impressions has a challenge every week so you definitely want to check that out as well. Enter the challenges and you could possibly win a gift certificate.

So to celebrate my good news I designed this card to thank Art Impressions. Does this card show how excited I am????

Make sure you come back Wednesday to see what new Art Impressions card I have designed.

Also, I have a card I am working on that will feature something re purposed. You will be quite surprised, I think, when you see what I am using and how it's being used. I believe that will be ready for you on Saturday, so you see there are a few things that are coming up that you will want to check out. So stop back and see what's new.

Whew, that's it for right now

Thanks for stopping in, see you soon