Sleigh Ride

I realize this is my second post today but everybody is out. My DH is yard sale hunting and I `hate`yard sales. All the boys are at work so Mom gets to play uninterrupted.

This is a folder card. I found the directions for it on Camilla's Blog found here:
http://cstoen.blogspot.com/ There you find the directions to go to another blog that has a challenge. Now it is not in English but I think you can follow along. It was great fun to make.
I used a new stamp from Sugar Nellie. Jingle Bells is great for Christmas cards. I used my Prismacolored Pencils and highlighted with Spica pens. For the card I used a snowflake stamp from SU called Snow Burst. I used versamark and Starburst embossing powder to create this sparkling background.

Another Christmas card. I really am putting a push on to get loads of them done. Still no one home so maybe I`ll get a card made in advance.

Have a good one.
Heather

Brown Rose

I love this color combo. I am not sure the photo shows this clearly but it is a pink and brown creation I did for the August Parade on Verve Stamps. The info is found here http://vervevisual.blogspot.com/2008/08/august-project-parade-day-one.html . Unfortunately the project ends in a day so hurry up.

I hunted through my stash to find the perfect stamp for this project and I kept thinking how unique it would be to switch it around...instead of a pink rose how about a brown rose. I did this brown rose using all the brown pencils I had in my Prismacolored Pencils.
I was amazed at how many shades of brown there are. Sometimes all I changed was the pressure I colored with. I love it. To create a shadow effect, I outlined it with a Laurentien Studio marker color Sienna Brown. I found a pkg. of these alcohol markers at Staples Business Supply bargain bin and they work great. They aren`t Copics but they`ll do in a pinch.

I decorated the card with crystals and dots using my Glaze Sakura pen. They are really great. I purchased the pen at Carousel Stamps. I also used Walnut Stain and Frayed Burlap Distress inks to distress the edges.

I am very proud of this card. What do you think? Let me know.
Have a great one.
Heather

Just Going for a Spin

Isn`t this cute! I did this card for the Wed. and Thurs. challenges on SCS, SC191 and WT181. I loved the sketch and the challenge was to use Prismacolored Pencils. Go figure. I certainly am out of step since WT181 referred to going back to Prismacolors ( Copics have taken over).

The stamp is from Sugar Nellie and I love it. this is a stamp company found in Scotland and they make adorable stamps. Their site is http://www.sugarnellie.com/ go check it out. They ship to Canada for a great price.

I had a great time coloring this image. I used Odorless Mineral Spirits to help spread the colors and it works great. After coloring I added a light grey around the whole image to give it a shadow. I am amazed at how much depth this adds to an image.

The final step was coloring and cutting out these flowers. I used the On Gossamer Wings from SU, colored them in and cut them out. Then I sprayed them with water and used my embossing tool to shape them. It makes such a difference. I added microbeads using crystal effects to hold them.

Well its only 4:30 am and I am so sleepy. The pups decided it was time to get up at 3:30 am and I didn`t want anyone else to wake up so I got them out to the other end of the house. They played and played and now they are flaked out on a pillow. Guess I could have a little Nap in a chair for an hour and then it`s time to get middle child up for work. I am so glad school starts on Tuesday...everyone has about the same schedule and I get the house back. Yeah! Who knew how crowded a house could get....talk about cramping my style. All gets back to normal on Tuesday. The countdown is on.

Off to nap. Have a great day.

Heather

Flowers and Lace

I am so pleased with this card. I plan to use it for someone who needs to be told how much they are appreciated. I started with the stamp from Hampton Art stamps and tried to make a romantic old world card. I knew I wanted flowers and may be lace and that the BG had to be antinqued. I took a piece of Carson white cardstock and heavily distressed the edges using the cutting tool from Stampin Up. I wanted to created dimension so I wrapped the corners around a paintbrush causing them to curl. Then I heavily sponged frayed burlap distress ink around the edges and lightly through out the cardstock. I



I stamped the image in Versafine Black Onyx on glossy paper. I used Blue Ice H2O to paint the stamp and highlighted it with Rose Petal. This photo shows the sheen you get with the H2Os. It is lovely in real life. I used an oval cutter and placed the image first on Peal Blue paper from Carsons and then on a dollie. I used both frayed burlap and weathered wood distress inks to soften the color of the white dolly.



I attached the Prisma flowers with crystal effect and then added some microbeeds to the center of the flower. I decided it needed some dainty leaves so I used the leaves stamp from Feathered Hope (SU) After cutting them out I painted the leaves with Sweet Alfalfa and attached them with crystal effects.


I am very pleased with this card. I think I will do more distressing to my projects. It really adds dimension.

The weather has certainly changed here. It feels like Fall. The temperature in the morning was only 14C. Soon the leaves will be turning colors. How I love the Fall.

Off to feed the pups. They are so active now. They are either roughhousing each other or trying to eat my toes. I`m going to have to wear full shoes to protect my toes!

Have a great day.
Heather

Happy Birthday 17

Just a quick show of the card I made for middle son who turned 17 yesterday. I find it really hard to make cards for my sons....they are either too young in style or more suitable to acquaintances than family. I said this saying : a little birdie told me its your birthday , to him in the morning so this is the card I came up with...17 little birdies. The stamp is from Feathered Hope (SU) which I borrowed from my SU Demo and love it. I did the base of the card on a the remaining paper from Oh Holy Night post. The birds of course, are colored with Prismacolored pencils.

Another post to follow today. I am so excited,,,I have a car today. I have a Dr. appointment so DH had to carpool. I plan on a stop at Micheals to use my coupon for something...not sure what but I am sure I will see something with my name on it.

Talk later.

Heather

Oh Holy Night

I loved this stamp as soon as I saw it but now that I have it, I am finding it very limited to work with. This time I used Pearl Ex powders to color the image. Though the camera does not show it, the colors on the image are a blue, green gold and purple. Pearl Ex had a lovely glow about it but it does not photograph great. I first covered the image with copper pearl ex and then the separate colors. That is the great part about Pearl Ex...you can cover and change it.

This photo shows the detail of the stamp. I stamped the image on Basic Black to show more detail.

I then cut out the image and place it on whisper white that I had bayer with Nearly Navy and Creamy Carmel (SU). I wanted a starry night scene so I created stars with stamps from Snow Burst (SU) using Archival Brilliance Platinum Planet ink. I think that turned out OK. I then framed it in a scrap of shiny gold and presented the whole piece on a Indigo Blue Canson cardstock.

It seems funny to be doing Christmas Cards so early but my family has an Open House on the first Saturday of December where about 200 people tour our house to see the Christmas decorations. That means long about Oct. we start preparing...taking all decor, ornaments, painting etc. down to pack so the Christmas materials can come out. If I don`t do these now then they probably will not get done.

Today is middle son`s birthday so off to make something special for him. I LOVE all the comments that people have left. They make me feel so special. Please continue telling your opinion, it does count.

Heather

Blog Candy Alert

Just found this one by following my comments. Check it out. It ends tomorrow. The site is http://going-buggy.blogspot.com/ . The candy is fantastic. Go on over and say Hi.
Heather

Waiting For Santa

I love Magnolia stamps. I just got these two stamps and had to create.

I love the fireplace. I colored it all in using Prismacolored Pencils and OMS and then cut the fire and wood section of another copy. I used pencils, plus Acrylics plus H2Os on the fire. I think it looks great...I can almost feel it`s heat! I attached it to the original stamp with dimensionals. I also used the gold spica pen on the candles and the frame around the fire pit.

I looked up some challenges before I started this card and I followed the rules for two challenges. The Papertake Weekly Challenge called for stitches either real or faux. My stitches would be the faux variety. I created them using a piecer and a white gel pen. I did these faux stictches around the plaid section.

The second challenge was from Tilda & Company number 33. In this challenge you had to use hands so I created a clock out of Grungeboard using a circle from the Basic pkg. and hinges from the Elements pkg. I cut the bottom off of the hinges to create the clock hands. I used Distress inks Walnut stain to color the clock. I used a gold gel pen to mark in the numbers.

Many children...me included, can hardly wait for Santa on Christmas Day. Ì`ll save this card for my neice who loves and waits for Christmas.

Have a wonderful day

Heather

Candy Alert

Caroline has this great Ladybug stamp up for grabs in her Blog Candy. Her blog is found here:

http://carolinesglede.blogspot.com/. Go check it out.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

I just received the Magnolia stamps I had ordered from Phebe at The Town Scrapper and I had to create something with them.

It ended up being quite large, 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches. I did not close it but left it as a single sheet. I first cut the white piece and stamped snowflakes which I embossed with stardust and they just sparkle. I used my Spica pen in red and placed dots around the outer edge. Next the images.

This Magnolia stamp is Edwin`s House so I thought I would try to make it Christmas. I used Prismacolored Pencils with OMS and then highlighted the door and windows. I used Hot Cinnamon on the doors and Ginger Peach and Gold Dust on the windows. I used browns on the edges of the houses and tried to give them more depth. I am thinking about putting small wreaths on the doors but I don`t have a small enough stamp for that.

I love the Santa. He is done using H2Os for the red, Prismacolored pencils for the black and green and the white is thick acrylic paint. I am late posting this because it takes overnight for the thick acrylic to dry.

The sentiment is from an old Stampin Up set I got on ebay called Happiest Holidays. I love the saying. I stamped it first in SU garden green and then used the green spica pen to dress it up. I also embossed some snowflakes on it. I used my Cuttlebug and my square nestibilities. I then used the Hot Cinnamon again around the embossed edge.

The ribbon on top is a scrap from Boutique Ribbons and a Hodgepodge clip finishes off. You could hand the card using the clip.

It is really warm today, 30C and I now want it too cool done some. Yes I did complain about the heat two days ago but hey, I`m fussy. Guess I best be getting supper ready. I hope you all went for the blog candy I listed or may be you shouldn't`t since I would to win it!

See you later

Heather

Blog Candy Alert

Debbie over at http://debbieeastmancardsimake.blogspot.com/ is having a great give-away. She is giving all kinds of goodies including a Wiff of Joy Stamp. Go check it out folks. The blog is great and the treats are wonderful.

Shary also has great candy. She is passing along a great stamp. Go check it out at :
http://debbieeastmancardsimake.blogspot.com/

Good Luck all.
Heather

Angel of Sympathy

It is always difficult when a family friend passes on but it does make you feel better to create a fitting card to show your respect for your friend.

This is one of my favorite stamps. I found it at Carousel Stamp store in Darthmouth N.S. and have used it many times. The curve of the stamp just begged to be copied onto the card itself so I traced the top edge to create an arch like card which I really like. For this card I only used one fold but I have made a similar card using a Z fold.

You can see a larger view of this card on my gallery at SCS. My tag is RetiredHeather.

For today`s card I first colored the image on whisper white cardstock with Prismacolored Pencils and OMS. I liked the look but decided to add a little more sheen to this one so I added twinkling H2Os on the dress only. The photo may not show it clearly but it does make the image have more depth.

I love twinkling H2O paints. They work on so many surfaces and are super easy to use and to clean up. Unlike other water color paints, H2Os do not need water color paper just your ordinary cardstock. H2Os are very easy to paint with as well. You do not need artistic training just a paint brush and some water. I have found it easier to spray some water directly into the bottle and in a minute or two it has softens and is ready for the paintbrush. I use a mini mister to add the water since it sprays an ultra fine spray.

If you can hold a pencil then you can paint with a small paint brush. I use size 3/0, 10/0 and 2 all of which are fine brushes. I find the short handle ones are much easier to use than the long handles.
I am not advertising for any company. None of these are terribly expensive and they were all purchased at Michaels using the coupon of course.

I really enjoy coloring with both the H2Os and Prismacolored Pencils and OMS. I`ll be showing lots more examples of these two methods of coloring which I hope you enjoy.

Time to get back to the real world. I have laundry to do, bills to pay and meals to cook. Try to remember that I am retired from teaching but apparently I now have a new job....whatever no one else wants to do `cause they have `worked`all day! Go figure!

Good stamping one and all

Heather

Christmas Wreath

I made this card for today`s challenge on Splitcoaststampers. This one was great. I made the two triangles using stamps, versamark and embossing powder. On the blue side I embossed the snowflakes with crystal transparent powder and I used gold detail on the whisper white. I have tried to paste a copy of the sketch but my magical powers seem to be on the fritz today, instead here is the address:
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=107788&d=1219207761 . ( Sorry about the lack of talent to transfer this.)

I bought this Stampin Up stamp at the stamp exchange at Carousel Rubber Stamp store in Darthmouth Nova Scotia. The year on the stamp is 1999 but I have no idea what set it is from. I stamped it in versafine onyx black and used prismacolored pencils with OMS. I then highlighted it with H2Os to make it glimmer.

Day 2 without a vehicle and I am surviving. The problem today is the weather. ...it`s cold today. It is only going up to 16C today and that is not warm enough. I would have the fireplace on except the boys turned off its pilot light and I can`t get down to turn it back on.. Oh yeah, and it`s only August.

Off to look after the pups. Talk later.

Heather

Life`s Simple Pleasures

I had lots of time this afternoon to stamp since I was without a vehicle. My middle son needs my car for the next 13 days. I didn`t think it would bother me but... . It`s not like I went out each day just when I wanted to. Oh well, guess I`ll have to stamp and blog!

I borrowed this fantastic stamp from my Demo and the friend who introduced me to card making. Her name is Karen Boreham ( karnlynn on SCS) and she is a talented lady. I had scrapped but never tried cards and never even heard of Stampin Up. Imagine! My how my life has changed. Thanks Karen.

Anyhow, back to the card. I did this card to fulfill the challenge at CPS. Here is the sketch so you can give it a try:

http://cardpositioningsystems.blogspot.com Challenge 8

It was fun to do. I used Whisper White (SU) for the base and coated the edge with riverock and vintage photo adn fired brick distress inks. I just did enough to meet the edges of the next layer. Here I used a thick paper from the Paper Company in the Basketball pattern. It feels just like a basketball...go figure.

For the next layer I stamped the image with Versafine Onxy Black and colored it in with...guess it.....yes Prismacolored Pencils and OMS. I then embossed the image with detail clear powder because I thought I would bayer the BG. I used the daubers instead and wished I had not embossed it. I like the look of the image left alone. Guess I should plan my cards better. Finally I put it all together with the ribbon which is from the Price Club.

Well everybody is now home and demanded a little of my time. Have a great one folks and thanks so much for all the lovely comments. They really mean a lot to bloggers so keep em coming.

Heather

Missing You

I did this card for the Papertake Weekly Challenge 9. This is my first Papertake Challenge and I rather like it. I wanted to do the rose in deep colors that allow a lot of shading to take place. I used colors ranging from eggplant to beige. After I had colored it , I decided to do some dimensions so I stamped it tow more times and cut out layers. I used the great dimensions I ordered from Jody Morrow of Addicted to Ribbon. They are the best dimensions. She often takes up orders for these so...check her out. It was fun to try to decide where to cut to make the dimensions so after a few tries this is what I ended up with:

Details
Stamp: Rubber Stampede 3749H (rose), Shapes by Design Papertrey Ink (miss you)
Paper: Provo Craft
Ink: Eggplant, Riverrock, Frayed Burlap and Fired Brick Distress inks
Other: Prismacolored Pencils and OMS (odorless Mineral Spirits), Scallop Punch
Ribbon: Spool of Ribbon from Michaels

The puppies are so funny. We also have 2 Golden Retrievers that belong to my oldest son who has an apartment in our house. They may be his but I know they spend more time at our place. The puppies just love them but the Goldens can`t decide if the feeling is mutual. The Goldens don`t bark at them, they just try to look through them. You can almost here their thinking Ìf I don`t notice them I know they will leave`. But the puppies think they must do more to get noticed so today they decided to try and pull their tails. Poor Goldens...little tiny annoyances at their tails.

It can`t decide if it is going to rain or not so I must head out while I can. Have a great day.
Signing off from the Maritimes
Heather

Geisha Lady

Hi everyone, today`s post is not a challenge just a new stamp needing some ink. I really love deep jewell colors so I did the dress in deep agua with purple highlights. Of course I used prima colors but I could only use a small amount of Odorless Mineral spirits since I had embossed the stamp using detail black. OMS actually drags some of the color from the embossed area and dirtys up the coloring. I found some beautiful handmade paper from Provo Craft in a Paper Passport Collage Pad and I love it. It is all silvers and gold. I thought this piece looked very oriental. What do you think?



I decided to do something different with the ribbon so I only attached it on the top with 2 Prima Flowers. I put 3 little Primas on the bottom to add some balance.

Yesterday I mentioned I would try to include a photo of our Yorkie puppies.

Arn`t they the cutiest. It is really hard to get a picture that shows their beautiful faces so I tried laying them in a line on their backs and of course 2 immediately went to sleep...a little cooperation please.

One of the girls was chosen to be a birthday present to a little girl so she will be leaving us in 3 weeks. I know that I will miss her but since I know the people I can go visit her. Afterall, not counting these pups, we have 5 dogs already. Needless to say we are a dog crazy family.

Guess it is time to go...pups need to visit the outside. I am trying to make this blog work but I still have not conguered the clickable photos. If anyone knows what I need to do, Please help me.

Details:^ Inkadinkado stamp, Prismacolored pencils, sticles cotton candy(to glue sm flowers), ribbons fr. Price Club and Prisma flowers.

Have a great day.

Heather

I`m Sooo...... Gorgeous!

Hi all. I decided to do the challenge at http://ourcreativecorner6.blogspot.com/ and combine it with the challenge for Sat. Inspiration Challenge on SCS found here
http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=107262&d=1218854682 So I used the sketch from Creative Corners and the colors from SCS to create this card.

I first stamped the Hampton Art Stamp in walnut stain Distress Ink and then colored in with my favorite tool...prismacolored pencils. I used odorless mineral spirits by dipping the pencil point in it and then spreading the color on the stamp details. Doing this really enhances the color.


The sketch from Creative Corner called for a scalloped edge so I used Martha Stewart's Lace punch. To spruce it all up I used a Aqua glaze pen and brown marker to create the dots.


Hope you all have a great day. It if sunny and warm here today so my DH and I will be spending time outside with our 2 adult Yorkies and 4 four week old pups. I`ll put some pictures of the pups in tomorrow.


See you all later.
PS Remember this blog is still under construction and I am so new to this...my second post...so please forgive my mistakes and watch for improvements.


Heather

Good Morning all. Just a quick post to notify you of blog candy at http://shary-theothersideofme.blogspot.com/2008/08/blog-candy.html Good luck to you all.

Heather

It`s a Beginning to a New Adventure

So today I decided to give it a go and start a blog. Please forgive all my mistakes and trust me there will be mistakes. Just know that I love stamping, any paper crafts, knitting and basically anything that keeps me from housework.

So how about something I have made. This is my latest love...stampboard and very detailed stamping. I stamped a section of the Thomas Kincade stamp A Perfect Summer Day and then colored it in using H2Os and a few Acrylics. I am showing both sizes of stampboard that I had in. The larger stampboard is two and a half inches circle and the smaller circle had a diameter of two inches. You can see that a smaller amount of the stamp is showing on the smaller one.

I am making magnets out of these two by simply attaching a magnetic strip on the back of the stampboard.

So what do you think.... large or small?

I purchased this stamp at http://www.cornishheritage.com/. I love that site. The H2Os are from my favorite stamping store http://www.carouselrubberstamps.com/ a store in Darthmouth, Nova Scotia. I adore shopping there, the owner Dejah is one very talented lady.

Please leave comments and give me any hints on how to make this a great blog.
Until tomorrow...share the joy
Heather