80th Birthday

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Yesterday's day off was such a welcome break, and I accomplished much at my house! That pile of laundry is quite a bit smaller, papers are graded and lesson plans finished, and I had some extra time for stamping! I used this week's Mojo Monday Sketch to make a birthday card for my father-in-law, who turns 80 this week.

I love this simple sketch by Carole, and I thought it was perfect for a CAS masculine card. The papers are from the Lost and Found Two: Breeze 6x6 pad by My Mind's Eye. Cardstock is Hot Fudge and Kraft. I used three Die-namics on this card: By the Numbers, Mix & Match Banners, and Let's Toast. The sentiment (also from Let's Toast) was stamped in craft ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

That's it for today. I hope your week is off to a good start! Thanks for visiting!

Have a great day!
Christina

Mojo Monday / Clean and Simple Card

Hello there! Happy Wednesday! I combined two challenges to make this thank you card. The layout is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch, and the CAS Challenge at Splitcoaststampers is to use Red, Black and White.

The paper is from the Lime Twist: Life of the Party pad by My Mind's Eye. The stamps are from the Heart to Heart oval set by JustRite Stampers. I stamped the frame in Versamark and heat embossed it with black embossing powder. I stamped the sentiment in SU! Riding Hood Red ink and popped it up on dimensional boosters.

Okay, confession time. After heat embossing, there were lots of stray black spots around the frame, despite my best attempts to remove the extra embossing powder before using the heat tool. It was the second time I had made the same mistake, and I wasn't going to do it a third time. So, SU!'s Itty Bitty Backgrounds came to the rescue. Some well-placed "random" stamping covered the black spots. Problem solved. ;)

That's all for today. I'm so glad you stopped to visit. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Christina

Mojo Monday Sketch

Happy Tuesday! I played along with this week's Mojo Monday Sketch to create this card. I went out of my usual box and chose the round version of the sketch, and I really like the way it turned out.

The sentiment is from the Birdhouses set by JustRite Stampers. I used Bo Bunny's Porcelain Dot and Organic Honeysuckle papers. The edges of the card and sentiment were inked with Tea Dye Distress Ink. I embellished with bling flowers, seam binding ribbon, and May Arts Natural Burlap String.

I'm headed off to school for my second day of subbing this week. I'll be back tomorrow with another card -- I hope to see you then! Thanks for visiting today!

Have a great day!
Christina

Blessings

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I know it's been several days since I've posted -- I'm sorry about that! I have been stamping, but it's nothing I can show you yet! LOL! The MFT release is just around the corner, and I was finishing up samples! Lemme just say that you will *love* the new sets! :)

I used Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch to jump start my mojo yesterday. I have been wanting to ink up this set from Taylored Expressions called Celebrate Life, and I paired it with BasicGrey Indian Summer paper.

I embossed the background paper with my Cuttlebug and Polka Dots embossing folder. I paper pieced the pumpkin and added some colored adhesive rhinestones. The chipboard flourish was inked with Chocolate Chip ink, then I lightly sanded the edges. I used the MFT's Die-namics Perfect Bracket Edge on the bottom panel.

That's it for today! I am so glad you stopped to visit!

Have a great day! :)
Christina

Friends Furever

Happy Saturday, everyone! Today's card is one I made for a sad occasion. My sister-in-law's family just had to euthanize their dog, as he had been suffering from cancer. I wanted to let them know we're thinking of them. This set, MFT's Friends Furever, immediately came to mind. I altered the ear on the dog by omitting the ones on the image when I was inking it, then drawing in the new ear. Now it looks more like their beloved Lab, Alby.

The sketch is Mojo Monday 129. It's different, but it was fun to work with! The paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Garden Variety Mini Deck. I inked all the edges and machine stitched around all the panels.

I hope this card brings them smiles and good memories. Alby will defininely be missed!

Thanks so much for the visit today -- I hope you're having a great weekend!

Christina

Beautiful Butterflies

Happy Friday! For many of us in the US, the holiday weekend has already begun! :)

Today's All That Scraps preview is of AmyR's Butterfly set. The layout is this week's Mojo Monday Sketch. I stamped the butterflies onto the dp and heat embossed them with Black Detail EP. I cut them out and popped up the wings before adhering them to the white panel. I sponged around the image panel and the sentiment with Pumpkin Pie ink.

Stop by the ATS Blog to see more samples of this beautiful set! All of the new stamps will be available Monday, July 6 at 10:00 pm Eastern.

That's all for today! I still have more previews to show you, so I hope you'll be back! Thanks so much for the visit!

Have a fantastic Friday! :)
Christina

Stamps: AmyR Butterfly Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tskineko), Pumpkin Pie (SU!) Cardstock: Tangerine Tango, Basic Black, Whisper White (SU!) Paper: Ambrosia 6x6 pad (BasicGrey) Other: Cuttlebug, D'vine Swirls embossing folder, Black Detail EP, heat tool, Eyelet Border Punch, black organdy ribbon, Sunflower Dew Drops, corner rounder, sponge, dimensionals

Verve Monday

Hello, friends! Happy Monday! Chris and I had a wonderful weekend in Northern Michigan, in the Traverse City area. We were there for my friend's daughter's wedding. Neither of us had never been there -- what a beautiful place! We fell in love with the area and will surely go back!

It's good to be home, but I was in need of a little mojo boost today. I turned to Julee Tilman and Verve Stamps for inspiration. The sketch is Julee's Mojo Monday sketch, and the colors are from the Meet the Verve Divas Challenge at SCS.

The stamp set I used is Petals and Stems. For my scalloped circles I used Die Cut Blooms, from the SU! Occasions Mini Catalog. They coordinate perfectly with the colors and the images! I used my Cuttlebug and two embossing folders: Swiss Dots and Birds and Swirls. I did a little sponging around the Saffron panel and the white circles. For my embellishments, I added some brown dotted organdy ribbon and some Dew Drops (thanks to my ATS Secret Sister for the Dew Drops!). I also pierced under the sentiment.

That's it for today! I have a pile of uninked stamps I need to play with, and I have lots of projects I need to work on for the coming weeks -- I can't wait to share it all with you! Have a great day today, and thanks for stopping by! :)

Stamps: Petals and Stems (Verve Stamps) Ink: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (SU!) Cardstock: So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White (SU!) Other: Cuttlebug, Swiss Dots embossing folder, Birds and Swirls embossing folder (Provo Craft); brown dotted organdy ribbon (May Arts); Dew Drops (Robins Nest); Die Cut Blooms, paper piercing tool, mat pack, stamping sponge, Stampin' Dimensionals (SU!)

I Finally Got My Verve On!

Hello there! I hope you all had a great weekend, and I hope all of you mothers had a fantastic Mother's Day! It's been a few days since I posted -- our Internet has been on and off (actually, more off than on), and it was impossible to post anything yesterday! I'm not having much luck today, either -- hopefully everything will stay functional until this post is finished! I'll make it quick...

I have been a stalker of Julee Tilman's blog for a while, and I have had many Verve Visual sets on my wish list -- well, I finally took the plunge! I'm glad I did, too -- the stamp designs are beautiful, and they stamp so well!! Anyway, I received my first sets yesterday and went immediately to Julee's Mojo Monday Sketch for inspiration. I cut apart the sentiment to create the tabs called for in the sketch, and I sponged and stitched around the image panel. Other than that, it's pretty simple!

I have some other Verve sets waiting for some ink -- I'd better get busy! Thanks so much for stopping by -- have a great day!! :)

Stamp set by Verve Visual; all other products Stampin' Up!
Stamps: Serenity (Verve Visual) Ink: Soft Sky, Chocolate Chip Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White Paper: Afternoon Tea Other: Vintage Brads, Choc Chip 7/8" grosgrain, Soft Sky stitched grosgrain, sponge, dimensionals