ADFD - New Release & a New Challenge

Its that time again.  ADFD has released some more awesome images.  With spring (hopefully) around the corner, the images are perfect for getting ready for gardening, flowers, and warner weather in general.  Here's a peek at what is up for new images this week:

I'm still in the Valentine mode, so I wanted to incorporate some of these images into some of the cards I needed to make to send to family & friends for Valentine's Day.  Then all of a sudden, two cosmic forces came together:  this week's stamp releases and a new movie release.  There is a new movie being released called "Gnomeo & Juliette".  Fabulous!  Just the quote I needed to get my idea off the ground.  Here it is:

Supplies:
Stamps:  Daisy Gnome, Mushroom Gnome, Potted Gerber Daisies (A Day for Daisies)
Papers:  Recollections cardstock (red & pink), Wausau Exact Index 110# (white), Bazzil (yellow),  Angel Mother digital paper collection (Summertime Designs - printed on brochure paper), matte finish brochure paper (Staples)
Tools & Embellishements:  CraftRobo, Doily edge punch (Martha Stewart),  Edwardian Script font (sentiment), ribbon (Michaels), copics, Lace Heart edge punch (Martha Stewart)

I used my CraftRobo to cut the circle, scalloped circle, and oval shapes.  I created my "faux" nestie templates to make the embossed rims around the circle and scalloped circle.  The main image is coloured with my copics.  The little boy gnome's wheelbarrow originally had mushrooms in it, but I thought he should be hauling a load of hearts to his sweetie for Valentine's.  I used the lace heart edge punch to get all the little hearts since I didn't have a single punch small enough.  Other than that the card is very straight forward.  You can get any of the new released images in the ADFD shop along with all the other fabulous images for sale there.

The next card is one I created for the new challenge running Challenge #11 - "Heavy Metal Rocks".  The challenge is to use "metal" in your creations.  The image I chose for my card is an image that was offered as a freebie a while ago.  Its such a sweet image and I have plans to use it again when Stampede rolls around here in Calgary.  Here is the card I created for the challenge:

Supplies:
Stamps:  My Little Cowboy (A Day For Daisies)
Papers:  Stampin' Up (black cardstock),  Angel Mother digital paper collection (Summertime Designs - printed on brochure paper), brushed gold cardstock (Dollar Store), shiny gold cardstock (Dollar Store), matte finish brochure paper (Staples)
Tools & Embellishments:  Scroll Lace edge punch (Martha Stewart), Sheriff's badge image (coloring-pages-kids.com), flat back pearls (Dollar Store), embossing stylus, copic markers, black sharpie marker

The hardest thing to create on this card was the sheriff's badge.  I found a free colouring page and printed it off in mirror image.  Then I taped it to the back of my shiny gold cardstock, and followed the lines on the image with my stylus so that it would emboss the image through to the front of the cardstock.  Once, I had the image completely embossed, I cut it out, then I traced over the lettering with a thin black sharpie.  The image is matted with a scrap of black SU! cardstock, and then with a piece of brushed gold cardstock.  I seem to be on this theme of simple cards lately and this one fits into that category.

I hope you join in on the challenge.  Its a lot of fun and as usual, Tammy has a great free image for you to play along.  You can also win an image of your choice from the store for playing, so join in.

Talk to you later...

Cat

ADFD - Very Special New Release Image

It's new release time again at A Day for Daisies and this one is very special to me.  The DT was asked to send Tammy their favourite picture, so I sent one of my wedding pictures.  Its a picture of me and my husband kissing after we were announced husband & wife.  Tammy took the picture and made a digital stamp from it.  How cool is that!  I think its beautiful!  So here's the card I created with "my" new stamp:

Supplies:
Stamps:  My Story Begins and Ends With You (A Day for Daisies), Sentiment & floral flourish (unknown - clear stamp set)
Papers:  Recollections card stock (red & brown), Wausau Exact Index 110# (white), patterned paper (CatScrapFever Designs), Staples matte finish brochure paper
Tools & Embellishments:  Fleur De Lis pennant dies, Renaissance Hearts border dies, Fancy tags dies (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug, Walnut Stain distress ink (Tim Holtz), Red & Star Dust stickles, rhinestones, crayola markers (red & brown - to ink the stamp), PSPX 

So first, I didn't have the paper I wanted for this.  I couldn't find anything in the stores near me close to what I wanted, so I had to design it myself.  I use PSPX to do 95% of my graphics work and I used it to design the paper.  The paper was done using a bunch of stock brushes on the background layer.  Then I typed the poem "How Do I Love Thee" over and over on the top layer of the paper.  I used a couple different blending layer options to get the paper to look the way I wanted and it was done.  I really like it.  I printed it out on matte finish brochure paper.  I like the look of matte finish papers for this type of thing rather than glossy or semi-gloss.  However, I do prefer to have my photos printed on glossy.  Once I got all the layers for the card cut, and the patterned paper edges distressed with ink, I cut the shapes with my Spellbinder dies.  The frame for the image is two dies glued together.  I cut one large shape from the Fleur de Lis die set and then 2 of the next largest die.  I glued the two smaller shapes to the top & bottom of the large shape - making sure they were the same height and centred.  Then I glued rhinestones in the centre design on the top and bottom of the die cuts. For the sentiment, I first stamped the flower in red, cleaned the stamp, inked the sentiment, lined it up and stamped.  Then I cut it out with the Fancy tag die making sure the sentiment was centred.  Then I cut off the curly queues on it and sanded down the edged to smooth off the scissor marks.  I cut the same shape again in brown and layered the white onto the brown tag.  For the heart  border, I cut the red with the bottom border die, then with brown cut the top layer.  I had to trim the bottom layer since the die doesn't cut the entire shape out (I guess its meant to just go along the bottom edge of the paper).

Next was to work on the image.  This was actually fairly simple.  I used a couple filters in PSPX to make it look like a cartoon (Posterize & Pencil lines filters), then I lowered the opacity to about 40%.  I layered the new stamp over top of my photo and deleted any of the original photo that didn't fit inside the stamp.  Then I printed it out onto my white cardstock.  I used stickles on the image for the flowers in my hair and what looks like "confetti" floating down.  I think this image is so cool.

Tip:  remember to make a duplicate of your digital photos before you work on them.  If you make a mistake and have saved the image, you still have the original as back up.  Never use your original and always back up your photos.

So that's it for this one.  Remember that there is still time left on the challenge, so get your entry in.  You could win yourself an image of your choice from the store.

Take care.

Cat

IBFD - "Love or Valentine's Day" Challenge

Hi again!  I have a very cute little card (if I do say so myself) using one of the adorable Freddie the Frog images from I Brake For Digis.  This one is Frog Prince and I thought the way he has his lips puckered up to give you a big kiss is just too darn cute.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Frog Prince (I Brake for Digis)
Papers:  Recollections cardstock (Valentine collection), Smitten Heart Stripe (K&Company)
Tools & Embellishments:  Scallop Trim border punch (Stampin' Up!), red & gold Stickles, Copic Markers, Bic Mark It markers, quilting ruler, rotary quilting cutter, Occidental font (sentiment)

Even though this is a very plain card, I think the colours pop just because there is so much white space.  And, luckily, I picked the right shade of pink when printing the sentiment.  Its a good thing I calibrated my monitor to get it to match as closely as I could to what actually prints on my printer.  I didn't use my paper trimmer this time because I needed to make some very small strips (1/2" & 1/4").  Instead I used my quilting ruler and rotary cutter.  I also used them to do the matting around the image.  They're pretty handy tools, but you do have to watch because that rotary blade is very very sharp.  I've sliced the skin off a couple knuckles a time or two when I was still quilting.  Not good to get blood all over your fabric (or your card making supplies either).

I hope you like this little card I made.  You can purchase this darling little frog at the IBFD store.  You can also still get in on the fun with this week's challenge over at The Brakefast Club.  They're a really nice bunch of people there and I'm sure you'll have some fun.

Thanks for coming by and taking a look at my stuff. :)

Talk to you later...

Cat

A New Challenge & A New Release at ADFD

This week starts another new challenge on the A Day For Daisies blog.  The new challenge is "Organic Soul" - use something organic in your creation.  You can use pressed flowers, handmade paper, pieces of twigs... Whatever you want.  There is also another great new release of images this week and they are, as usual, simply great.  Here's a peek at the new images:

You can find these images in the ADFD shop.  Remember, there is a freebie on the blog for you to play along with the challenge.  So check it out. :)

I'm always delighted with the images Tammy puts out week after week. They're so easy to create with.  The card I made this week just sort of popped into my head when I saw the images.  Here's a look at the card I made with one of the new images:

Supplies:
Stamps:  Making Friends (A Day For Daisies)
Papers:  patterned paper (DCWV), Recollections cardstock, Wausau Exact Index 110# cardstock
Tools & Embellishments:  Copics, 3-in-1 Classic Butterfly punch (Martha Stewart), glitter (Craft Decor & Glitter Ritz), Lace corner punch (Dollar Store), pressed flowers (Recollections), ribbon (Michaels), Tulip large edge punch (EK Success), Zig glue pen, Zip Dry glue

Again, another straight forward card.  The dried flowers are a little tricky to work with.  If you decided to use dried flowers or leaves, remember they are quite brittle.  You will need to use a pair of tweezers to handle them since they are so fragile.  I used my Zig glue pen to put small dots of glue down where I wanted the little fern and then used Zip Dry to attached the other flowers.

I hope you join in on the challenge.  Not only do you get a free image to play along with, but you could win another image of your choice from the shop.  Its going to be fun. :)

Thanks for stopping by today.

Talk to you later...

Cat

IBFD Laughing Hyena

Hello again!  I've decided this year to build up a stash of birthday cards for myself.  I have a lot of cards left over from the craft shows last year, but no specific birthday cards.  So, when I get time each week, I'm going to make a card with someone particular in mind.  That way I won't be rushing at the last minute to get it done and then have the card arrive late (I hate that).  So I made this card to start with.  I won't say who its for since I don't want them to know if they read this post. ;)

Supplies:
Stamps:  Laughing Hyena (I Brake for Digis)
Paper:  Recollections card stock, Wausau Exact Index 110#, patterened paper (unknown)
Tools & Embellishments:  ribbon (Michaels), copics, EZ Cutter oval templates, Bradley Hand font (sentiment)

This card is very straight forward and really needs no instructions.  I thought the image was a blast and easy to colour and get great results.  If you're interested in this image or any of their great digis, you can find them in the shop here.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Talk to you later...

Cat

Fairies Play Here - Version 2

I really love this release from ADFD.  I have these pictures of my niece when she was 5 years old wearing wings, a crown, and holding a "magic wand".  She looked so cute and I couldn't help but make another scrapbook page of these photos with a couple images from this new release.  Here's my layout:

Supplies
Stamps:  Fairy Mushroom, Quiet Fairy (A Day for Daisies)
Cardstock:  DCWV, Recollections, Wausau Exact Index 110#, Domtar Cougar
Tools & Embellishments:  star dust stickles, rhinestones, small scallop decorative edge scissor (Fiskars), frond punch (Martha Stewart), French Script font (title), Craft Robo, Marvy markers, Crayola markers, iridescent medium (Windsor & Newton), ric rac ribbon (Dollar Store)

I've been wanting to make some of the large quilled flowers that are cut from circles.  They look so pretty.  I decided to cut some with my deco scissors for a little bit of a different look.  To make the flower, you cut a sprial from a circle. You can use a quilling tool or just roll the sprial to the centre and then glue in place.  I glued a rhinestone into the centre of each flower.  You have to use a good strong adhesive with these.  I used Aileen's fast grab tacky glue.  It works really well.  The big green leave are hand cut from scraps of green cardstock, and the smaller ones are punch outs.  These flowers and leaves are a really good way to use up those smaller scrap pieces.  The largest flower is about 1" across and the starting circle I cut was about 2.5" across. You don't even need to be all the accurate cutting since a little deviation here and there gives the flower some "petal" shapes. Here's a close up of some of the flowers:

I've been trying to use my Craft Robo more than I have lately.  Its a great tool and I'm always impressed with how nicely (and easily) it is to create with it.  I used it this time to create the frame which is pretty straight forward, and I also used it to create the title.  I love the matting & the print & cut features in the RoboMaster software.  I printed the title, then used the mat feature a couple of times, making a larger mat each time for the different layers.  Here's a close up of the title:

And finally, the images that inspired me to make this scrapbook page:  the Fairy Mushroom & Quiet Fairy images.  I combined the two images, then imported the jpg into my RoboMaster software and used the autotrace feature with a little bit of a margin to create the cutting line around the image.  This is SOOOOO much easier than hand cutting all those little crevices. Plus its always exactly the same distance from the lines all the way around. Here's a close up so you can see some detail:

I used my Marvy markers on the mushroom because I had a marker colour called mushroom, so that worked. I then sponged some iridescent medium over it when the marker ink was dry, but that seemed to wash it out, so I took some Momento rich cocoa ink and sponged that on to give it a little texture.  I used Crayola markers to colour the little fairy, and once the ink was dry I put stickles on her wings because all fairy wings sparkle.

A couple other things I did was I cut the big scalloped circle on my CraftRobo with a font called 09KutUps. Its a font with shapes with some similar to Nestabilities that you can cut directly from any cutting machine that will cut true type fonts.  Secondly, I wanted it to look like there was "fairy dust" coming off the wand in the first picture, so I drew some swirls on the cardstock very lightly with pencil.  Then I used my star dust stickles and went around the lines with little dots.  Once the stickles were dry, I erased the pencil lines, then I glued little flower shaped rhinestones in amongst the swirls.

Well that's it for now.  Its pretty late here, or I should say, its pretty early here (3:40 am).  I'm having another one of those nights were I can't sleep, so I thought I would post this layout.  Hubby doesn't have to go into work until later in the afternoon, so I'll be able to sleep a little later.

Take care & thanks for stopping by...

Cat

ADFD - New Release - Fairy Dress

Hi again!  It's another new release at ADFD.  This time around, there are some pretty special images.  They appeal to the little kid in me and the way I use to play dress up when I was small.  They're so sweet and whimsical.  I know you'll just love them too.

I've started to develop a really strong liking for kraft card stock lately.  I really didn't like it at first.  I got a couple pieces of Stampin' Up kraft cardstock last year, just to see if I liked it and I didn't - at all.  So, I just never bought any because I thought I wouldn't like it.  Then, for my Christmas cards last year, I thought that kraft and teal would look great together (which they do) but I didn't want to order anything from Stampin' Up, so I kept my eye out around the stores whenever I was out shopping.  I happened to stop into Zellers one day for something and thought I would take a quick browse through the craft section.  I've gotten some really good deals on punches and stamps on lines they were discontinuing, so I was hoping I would find some more of those good deals.  I happen to find a pack of Kraft cardstock on the shelf that had the corner opened so I felt it and it felt like brown card board.  This is exactly what I wanted.  I know a lot of people turn their nose up at buying inexpensive/no-name cardstock.  Well not me.  I'm not a craft snob. I use everything and anything as long it works and I like it.  So, I've been using this on all most all my projects lately.  And this next card has it too.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Fairy Dress (A Day for Daisies)
Papers:  Kraft cardstock (The Paper Company), red & yellow cardstock (Recollections), white card base (Staples 110#)
Tools & Embellishments:  CraftRobo (Nestability shapes & oval), red pearlescent fabric paint (Tulip), lemon yellow Liquid Pearls, large Hydrangea & Hydrangea trio punches (Martha Stewart), embossing stylus, ribbon (Dollar Store), Edwardian Script font (sentiment), pop dots, Star Dust Stickles, artists chalks (Loew Cornell), eyeshadow applicators (Dollar Store), liquid glue (Zip Dry)

This card is fairly straight forward.  I cut the Nestability shapes with my CraftRobo.  I then used the print and cut feature to print the stamp image and then cut the oval around it.  I coloured the image with artists chalk, and then coated the wings with stickles.  I attached the image to the Nestability shapes with pop dots.  I used my Liquid Pearls on the top & bottom scallops of the Nestability shapes.  Then I punched several of the hydrangea trio punches from yellow and one from red, and one large hydrangea from red.  I used an embossing stylus on the petals by going over them on top of a piece of fun foam so that they would curl.  Once they were the shape I wanted, I glued them together with Zip Dry.  I used red pearlescent fabric paint on the centre of the yellow flowers, and yellow Liquid Pearls on the centre of the red flower.  While the liquid pearls were drying, I cut my kraft cardstock and ran it through the printer to print the sentiment.  I usually use Paintshop Pro for all my digital work, and like to create my own word art, so I did that for the sentiment.  I cut my length of ribbon and tied my bow.  It took me several tries to get it the right shape.

Tip:  I ran a straight piece of ribbon through the knot before I tightened it so that I could slide the bow back and forth once the ribbon was adhered  to get the positioning just where I wanted it.

I glued everything together, and, voilà, my card was done.  I am really liking this colour combination.  And, I'm sure you will see a few more projects from me using kraft cardstock.  It is my new best friend in my supplies.

Don't forget that the ADFD challenge is still going on.  You could win a free ADFD image, plus, there is a free image to get you started if you don't already have any of ADFD images.  If you want to check out the store, there are tons of beautiful digi stamps to choose from.   Any ADFD image will be accepted in the challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Looking forward to seeing you again...

Cat

IBFD - It's a New Day

Hi everyone!  I'm a little late on this post.  My husband has been off for the last 3 days and has been making a mess of the kitchen.  He's been baking bread.  While I appreciate having nice hot, fresh bread, I don't like cleaning up the kitchen every time he steps in there.  I spent 2 hours cleaning the stove top the other day, and it looks like it hasn't been cleaned in 3 months.  I don't know how he is so sloppy when cooking stuff.  He certainly hasn't adopted the "clean as you go" method, that's for sure.  Usually, we can wait and run the dishwasher every second day, but I've had to run it every day this week.  And that sucker is full! It will give me a bit of a break from cleaning the kitchen when he goes back to work.

So anyway, I have a new card to show you.  Its for this week's challenge at The Brakefast Club - Challenge #10 - Ring in the new.  I saw this rooster image that I thought would make some really cute country cards.  This card isn't exactly country, but I thought the rooster would work well for the challenge since it rings in each new day. Here's my card:

Supplies:
Stamps:  Rooster (I Brake for Digis)
Papers:  DCWV (red cardstock), Bazzil (yellow - sun rays), Recollections (sun), The Paper Company (kraft), Wausau Exact Index 110# (white), Cougar 110# coated (vanilla card base)
Tools & Embellishments:  Swirling Lace around the page punch set (Martha Stewart), Classic Frame die (Spellbinders), black Sharpie marker, artists chalks (Loew Cornell), eyeshadow applicators (Dollar Store), kitchen sponge, light blue & green pigment ink (ColorBox Catseye), pop dots, spray fixative (Prismacolor), large corner rounder (EK Success)

This card was fairly simple, but there are a lot of pieces.  The first step is to sponge the sky.  I took some scrap pieces of cardstock and cut some cloud shapes.  Then, with a piece of sponge, I lightly tapped on some blue ink using the cloud shapes as masks on a 4x4 piece of white cardstock.  I sponged the sky & cloud background about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way down my background piece so that my "ground" layer would overlap it. Next I assembled my sun and sun rays.  I used scraps of cardstock again, and cut five long triangles of yellow cardstock.  I made sure they were fairly long since I wanted them to hang over the edge of my background.  I cut a circle from another scrap of orangy yellow cardstock.  I then used the little flower die from my Spellbinder's Classic Frame set to make the centre of the sun.  I glued the flower shape to the centre of the circle and glued the sun rays to the back of the circle, spacing them out evenly.  I decided where I wanted my sun to be on the card - about 1/3 way from the top - and glued it on the background.  The rolling hills are then made and applied.  To do this, I cut wavy pieces from scrap kraft cardstock.  I then used green ink to ink the edges to make it look more like grassy hills.  I cut the waves 4" long (same width of my background) and layered them on the background, slightly over lapping the bottom of the sun so that it looks like the sun is just rising up from behind the hills.  Next, I coloured the rooster with artists chalks using eyeshadow applicators, then spraying it with a fixative so the chalk wouldn't rub off. Once the rooster was dry I cut closely to the edge of the image and attached it to the front with pop dots.  I attempted to make a rub on for the sentiment, but the ink didn't transfer very well and was too light to see very well, so I just took a sharpie and traced over the printed sentiment.  Once everything was glued down where I wanted it and the way I liked it, I trimmed the sun rays with sharp scissors even with the background cardstock.  I then took a corner rounder and trimmed the corners, cutting through all layers at once.

In order to get the right size mat for a 4x4 piece, I cut my red card stock 5x5 and used my Swirling Lace punch set (yay! first time using it).  I adhered that to a 5x5 card base, and then attached my "picture".

It may seem like there's a lot of detail and steps to make this card, but all in all, it probably only took me about an hour to make the card.  And I got to use up a few pieces of my ever growing scrap stash.

I hope you like the card and try making a paper piecing project yourself.  It is a very fun way to use up your scraps.

Take care...

Cat

New Release and a New Challenge at ADFD

Its time again for a new release and a new challenge over at ADFD.  This week's new images are spectacular.  Here's a sneak peek of them, and you can purchase any one of them (or all) at the ADFD store.

Don't forget the $2.00 release image.  This week is it the ballerina slippers and is a super deal for $2.00

We are also starting a new challenge at ADFD - Challenge #9 - "A Fresh Coat of Paint".  So get creative, get messy. Its a lot of fun.  And congratulations to the winner of our last Challenge:  Sabina.  You can see her entry here.

This week I got to play with some acrylic scrapbooking paints that I've had in my stash for a very long time.  In fact, I've had them so long (and not used them) they were drying out and came out about the consistency of toothpaste.  I was annoyed with myself for not using them since they're such pretty colours and letting them get to this state, I tried to look on the bright side.  Now instead of just coating my paper with colour, they were also going to give it some texture. :)  First I'll show you my card, then I tell you how I made it.

Supplies:

Stamps:  Delicate Dancer (A Day for Daisies), You've Got Flair sentiment (You've Got Flair set, Close to My Heart)

Papers:  cardstock (Recollections & Bazzil), watercolour paper (Canson 100#)

Tools & Embellishments:  scrapbooking paints (Making Memories - Anthology collection), plastic stencil (Pebbles - Fancy Frills set), fancy tags shapeabilities dies (Spellbinders), ribbon (Michaels), classic ink (SU - Night of Navy), Stickles, paper flower (unknown), brad (Michaels), Iridescent medium (Windsor & Newton), sponges, rhinestone (Recollections), watercolour paints (Loew Cornell), Twinkling H20s

So, to make the background paper, I took a piece of grey cardstock and painted some of the green shade of paint in streaks on it leaving some of the grey showing through.  Then I took a stencil and put that in the corner and used some of the blue paint and stencilled the shape.  Since the paint is really thick, the stencil really stands up off the page and the streaks make the paper look aged.  Once the paint was dry, I took a few drops of Night of Navy ink and mixed that with some iridescent medium and sponged it on the part of the card front opposite the stencil.  I let that dry and then sponged over the entire card front with the iridescent medium again. To use up the left over ink mixture, I sponged it on the petals of the paper flower.  While all that was drying, I cut my tag with my Spellbinder die and stamped the sentiment with Night of Navy classic ink.  I had to stamp each word separately and mask the other words since the sentiment wouldn't fit the way it is and I only had room to put it on the left side of the tag.

For the focal image, I printed it on watercolour paper and used regular watercolour paints on her body and the bodice of her dress.  For the skirt, I used my long neglected Twinkling H20s.  Once the image was dry, I put dark blue stickles on all the flowers.  I decided since my background was kind of aged looking that I would take my distressing tool to the edges of it and the edges of the main image.  

I matted the ballerina on dark blue Bazzil cardstock, ran some navy blue satin ribbon through the tag and attached  it all to the card front.  The main image is adhered with pop-dots.

I had a lot of fun making this card.  I got really messy and used some products I hadn't used yet.  My only problem with the process is that I just got a set of gel nails the day before I made this card.  Now my nice pretty french manicure is stained Night of Navy blue.  Most of it came off in the shower and the shampoo really takes ink off your fingers well, so its all good.  I had fun and that's the most important part.

I really hope you all join in and get messy with your paints for this new challenge.

Talk to you later...

Cat

IBFD - Star with Baby Bear

Hope you all are doing well.  It seems that there has been a few issues with blogger.  I've been pulling my hair out thinking my computer was getting hung up everytime I tried to post something.  Well, at least now I know it wasn't me and that makes me feel a whole lot better.

I have a new card using the ever so cute Star with Baby Bear image from I Brake for Digis.  There aren't a lot of young children in my family.  My niece is it and she's 10, so baby cards are a little too young for her (although I know she would find this image adorable too), so I don't make a whole lot of baby cards.  To top it off everyone I know is waaaaayyyy past the point in their lives where a baby would even be considered. :)  So I saw this image and I just had to make a card with it.  And I had to use one of my favourite colour schemes for it - blue & yellow.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Star with Baby Bear (I Brake for Digis)
Papers:  coloured card stock (Recollections), white card stock (Wausau Exact Index 110#), patterned paper (Costco)
Tools & Embellishments:  ribbon (Michaels), Lace Heart edge punch (Martha Stewart), Classic Butterfly trio punch (Martha Stewart), Perfect Pearls, Copic markers

Its a fairly simple card, but I really wanted to show off the image.  Also, I needed to make the image large enough to show all the great detail, which meant there wasn't a whole lot of room left on the card front.  I usually don't make cards that are "off size" since its a chore to either find an envelope or make one for the off size.  I think this card turned out pretty nice.  I hope you all like it. :)

Take care & I'll talk to you later...

Cat

Just a Reminder...

The A Day for Daisies challenge is still open until Thursday night and then the new challenge starts on Friday. Make sure you get in on the current challenge though.  There is a great free image for you to use to play along, and you could win another image of your choice from the ADFD store.

So lets see those beautiful creations!  I know you can do it!

Cat

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I want to wish everyone a wonderful, happy new year!  All my best to you and yours in the coming year.

Cat

A Day for Daisies New Release

Hi everyone!  We have a new release at ADFD and they are spectacular.  They're so inspiring that I actually made two projects with them.  I'm actually going to make two separate posts because the second one has a surprise for you too.

So this new release is all about the beach.  I know I'm ready for some nice warm weather here in Calgary.  Its -20C here and even colder with the wind chill.  I don't know how it works with all you other ladies out there, but my husband isn't what I would call the romantic sort.  And I guess I've let him off pretty easy over the years in regards to buying me gifts.  I usually buy what I want and tell him what "he got me".  I'm also not a really big jewelry wearer either, but I do like to gussy it up once in a while and wear a necklace or some earings.  So, needless to say, I didn't get any jewelry for Christmas this year.  I decided to make my own and here is what I made using the new release images Pretty Sea Shells collection:

  

Supplies:
Images:  Pretty Sea Shells collection (A Day for Daisies)
Tools & Embellishments:  Inkjet Shrinky Dink, Bic Mark It markers, Sharpie markers, shell beads, glass beads, jewelry findings & chain, earing shepherd hooks, jewelers pliers, jewelers wire snips

I've had the square beads for a really long time and didn't know what to do with them.  They're made from shells and I paid quite a bit of money for them.  I bought them online about 5 years ago when I was really into jewelry making.  I didn't want to really use them on just anything, so I've held onto them.  Once I saw the new images, I knew that they would be great with these images.

I printed the images onto the shrinky dink, then coloured them with my Bic & Sharpie markers.  I didn't use copics because I find that they don't work that well on plastic for me and I can't get the intensity of colour with them as I can with Bics or Sharpies (however, in this case the colour was a little too dark).  After I finished colouring, I cut the images out.  I should note here that I printed the images 2" on the largest side, and once I heated the shrinky dink, the pieces shrunk down to about 3/4".  If you haven't used shrinky dink before and want to try this, you have to remember to punch a hole BEFORE you shrink them.  The plastic ends up being quite thick and brittle, so you won't be able to pierce a hole afterward.  When I was cutting out the images, I added a little extra at the top of the image and used my 1/8" hole punch.  This left a pretty small hole - just big enough for the head pins to fit through.  Once the shrinky dink was cooled down, I used my jewelry making tools and supplies and created these earrings.  I wore them out yesterday and got a couple compliments on them.  That was fun.

Check out the next post for my second project.  I have a little surprise for you. :)

Cat

A Day for Daisies New Release - Version 2

Hopefully, the order of these posts comes out the way I want them.
I've had the same wallpaper on my computer desktop since I bought the computer.  Its a lovely forest scene, but I was getting bored with it.  So I thought I would make a new one for myself and incorporate a calendar because I'm always clicking on the time thingy (technical term) on the task bar to get the calendar up.  I know its not that big of a deal, but it is an annoyance to me.  And since its been so cold, and usually its pretty cold throughout January here in Calgary, I wanted something that would remind me that warmer weather will eventually come back.  And the image I used is so pretty and serene, I had to use it.  Here is the second project I created with the ADFD new release image At the Sea with Sister.

Supplies:
Images:  At the Sea with Sister (A Day for Daisies)
Papers:  Digital background paper (Corina Nielsen - Memory Makers)
Tools & Embellishments:  digital elements by Cuddlebeez & Becky Young Designs, Corel PaintShop Pro X

I imported the calendar grid from Microsoft Word into my graphics program, and then created the aged paper using various brushes and textures to make it look aged and worn.  It was really fun to use my graphics program.  I don't do that much digital work for crafting anymore other than resizing and printing my digi stamps these days, so it was fun to get back to my "roots" so to speak.

I really hope you like the desktop wall paper.  As a little bonus, if you want it for your own computer, you can download the full size version (1024 x 768) here.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Have a safe and wonderful New Year!

Cat

Raggedy Ann Card

I've always loved these doll images, but have never known exactly how to incorporate them into my style of crafting.  This image is from I Brake for Digis and is a very versatile image.  Since I didn't know what to do with it, I just thought I'd go ahead and colour it and see what happens from there.  Its a rather plain card, but now that I've used it I can see a whole bunch of other possibilities for this card.  I think with some "props" like maybe baby blocks or baskets, or even chairs, or stumps, I could use this image for just about any occasion for a card.  I just needed to do something with it to get the imagination going.  Here's the card:

Supplies
Stamps:  Rag Doll (I Brake for Digis)
Papers:  Daisy D's (patterned paper), cardstock (Bazzil, Wausau Exact Index 110#)
Tools & Embellishments:  Ribbon (Dollar Store), Square Steps corner punch (EK Success), Floral Vine deep edge punch (Martha Stewart), copics

Well, that's all I have for today.  Hope everyone had a great Christmas and that Santa was good to you all.  If I don't "see" you before the year is out - Have a wonderful New Year!

Talk to you later...

Cat

ADFD New Release

Its that time again!  Another release from A Day For Daisies.  That girl keeps putting out some amazing stuff doesn't she?  I really love this image.  But then again, how can I not; it has a cat in it...  The image is called Tiger and is available here in the store.    Here's the card I made this week with the new release:

  

Supplies:
Image:  Tiger (A Day for Daisies)
Paper:  Bazzil cardstock, Recollections cardstock, Patterned paper (unknown), Wausau Exact Index 110#
Tools & Embellishments:  Ribbon (unknown), Craft Robo, Tulip corner punch (unknown), Paper flowers (unknown), rhinestones (unknown), Curlz MT font

Well, that's it for now.  Everyone have a wonderful Christmas!

Talk to you later...

Cat

New IBFD Card

Hi everyone!  Whatcha think of the new blog template? I love it.  Its so festive.  Its time for a new challenge over at the Brakefast Club.  This week is Snow or Winter theme.  I have the cutest little Snowman digi from IBFD and thought it was perfect for this challenge - he's sooo cute.  I know I'll be using this one over and over again. Here's my card:

Supplies:
Stamps:  Snowman (I Brake For Digis)
Paper:  patterned paper (Mom's Diner Salt - Recollections), pink & teal card stock (Recollections), white 110# cardstock (Wausau Exact Index)
Tools & Embellishments:  Drippy Goo edge punch (Martha Stewart), Snowflake punch (Martha Stewart), Christmas candy ribbon (Michaels), Star Dust Stickles, Copics, Rhinestone (Walmart), white glitter (Doodlebug), Zig glue pen

I love this colour combination for Christmas colours.  I love the patterned paper I found at Michaels.  Its actually suppose to be a retro pattern, but to me it looks more like a Christmas pattern so I went with it.  I found this paper a while ago and wish I bought more.  I only had 1/2 a sheet left since I used it on some recipe swap cards (which I think turned out totally cute - I'll post those once everyone in the swap gets their cards).  The icicles along the top were very easy to create.  I used the drippy goo punch and put two layers - one longer than the other.  Then I put stickles on the drips to make them look icy.  I know there is an icicle punch, but I haven't seen it in the stores around here for quite a while, and I really should try using what I have on hand instead of buying new tools all the time.  The snowflake is punched with one of the new(er) Martha Stewart punch and stamp combo sets.  I didn't use the stamp part of it because I wanted to coat the snowflake with white glitter, which I did by using my Zig glue pen and then glitter.  I glued a little Rhinestone to the centre of the snowflake just for a little extra sparkle.

I really like the way this card turned out. You should check out the challenge over at the BrakeFast Club.  If you want to pick up this cute little guy, he's here in the I Brake For Digis shop.  Don't forget to get the discount code in my sidebar if you're going shopping.

That's all for today.  Take care...

Cat

Bummer... I lost my hit counter

I've been changing my blog template around a bit, and I lost my hit counter.  Bummer.  I guess I'll have to start over.  I do know it was getting close to 6000 since I installed it a couple months ago.  Oh well.  That will teach me to not pay attention to little details...

Don't you just love this blog template for the Christmas season?  If you want to see other free blog templates, scroll to the very bottom and you'll see a link to the designers website.  She has some really beautiful templates.

Now to figure out how to put my signature at the end of my posts.

Talk to you later...

Cat

EDIT:  I found it.  I didn't lose it, it just moved. :)  

New Release & New Challenge at ADFD

Today is a good day at ADFD.  There are two new events going on:  a new release with some gorgeous images, and a new challenge.  The new challenge is Tinsel & Tags.  This challenge is really great for this time of year since, in my experience, this is the time that I use a lot of tags.  I really liked the process of planning and making all the elements for tag.  Here's my tag for the challenge:

Supplies:
Image:  Tina, Trina, & Tim:  A Day for Daisies digital stamp
Paper:  Cougar smooth white 130# card stock (base), brown kraft mailing wrapping paper, patterned paper (K&Company), DCWV card stock, Recollections card stock
Tools & Embellishments:  MS branch punch, Family Treasures corner punch, 1/8" circle punch, small corner rounder (EK Success), Ribbon (Michaels), chip board shape (Making Memories), Brads (Michaels), Scalloped Daisy border punch (Fiskars), EZ Cutter knife & oval template, gold gel pen, black gel pen, Tim Holtz distress inks (fired brick, bundles sage, walnut stain), iridescent medium (Windsor & Newton), Embossing pen (Making Memories), red & gold glitter embossing powder (Stampendous), red Stickles, Prisma pencil crayons, oms, mini tinsel pompoms (Dollar Store), Create-a-shade pearl paint (Close to my Heart)

I wanted the chipboard piece to shimmer, so I used the Create-a-shade pearl paint by CTMH.  It gave it a nice shimmery silver finish.  I popped the coloured image onto this, then I added the tinsel pompoms as the furry trim to the sock.  I bought some iridescent medium about 2 weeks ago and I am loving that stuff.  I've been using it on everything, so I had to use it on this project too.  For the background of the tag, I had some brown paper left over from wrapping up parcels I was sending through the mail.  I took a piece larger than my tag and crumpled it up a few times so that I would get it really wrinkled.  I adhered it to my tag and cut off the excess. Then I used the walnut stain distress ink and went around the edge of the tag.  Next, I mixed some iridescent medium with water & a couple drops of fired brick distress ink in one container, and in the other I changed the ink to bundled sage.  This made some nice "glimmer mist" that I painted onto my tag.  I put red on the top half and green on the bottom half.  I used my heat gun to dry the paper since I'm too impatient to let it sit long enough to air dry.  Then I took my embossing pen and drew swirlies on the top halve and covered it with green glitter embossing powder, then I did the same on the bottom half with red glitter embossing powder.  The tree on the tag isn't hard to make.  I took some scrap green cardstock and just punched about 30 branches with my MS branch punch.  I also cut a triangle out of the same scrap cardstock.  Then, starting at the bottom, I glued the branches onto the triangle, working across then up the triangle, making sure my little branches hung over the edges a little bit.  I did two layers like this because I didn't want the base to show through.  One that was done, I put little red stickle baubles all over the tree and used a star shaped brad with the prongs cut off and used pop dots to adhere it to the tag.  I didn't have a small enough stamp and I really didn't want to fuss with the computer and printing for the sentiment, so I just cut a piece of scrap white cardstock with my EZ Cutter knife & oval template and hand wrote the sentiment.  I used a gold gel pen to go around the edge of the oval, then I used the red homemade "glimmer mist" and painted over top of it to give it some sparkle.  Once it was dry I attached it to the tag with pop dots.

Wow!  That seems like a lot of steps, but really it wasn't that bad.  I think all in all it took maybe about an hour to make the tag.  I'm not excited about the way it looks in the picture, but in real life, it is very pretty and shimmery and I think a pretty good start for my first "Tim Holtz style" tag.

My next project is a scrapbook page using one of the new release images.  These new images pulled at my heart because we have a little dog that is pure joy for us.  She is so sweet natured and affectionate and we just love her to death.  Here is my layout:

Supplies:
Image:  Family Pet (or Good Dog) - A Day for Daisies digital stamp
Papers:  Pets paper stack (Imagine That), Exact Index 110# white cardstock (Wausau), corregated cardboard, matte photo paper (Kodak)
Tools & Embellishements:  Dog theme stickers (Dollar Store), Ribbon (Dollar store), Brad (Michaels), Letter stickers (Paperbilities), Floral vine deep edge punch (Martha Stewart), Iridescent medium (Windsor & Newton), Red brick distress ink (Tim Holtz)

For the layout, I wanted to get as many cute pictures of our little baby as I could fit in the middle of the heart, so I made a collage of her pictures and printed it out on 8 1/2 x 11 matte photo paper.  To make the heart frame, I cut a piece of cardboard to the size and shape I wanted (about 7"x8") and then ripped off as much of the top layer of paper to reveal the corregated paper underneath.  Then I took the homemade glimmer mist in red and sponged that onto the heart frame. (here's a close up pic)

While the cardboard was still damp, I distressed it a bit more by rolling up some of the edged and tearing it a little bit as you can see in the picture above, but here's another close up pic:

I glued the frame onto the printout in the spot that got as many of the pictures I really wanted.  I then trimmed away the excess photo.  I took about 12" of grosgrain ribbon and tied a bow in the middle of it and added a brad by bending the prongs and putting them through the knot in the centre of the bow.  I cut off the bits of the prongs that stuck out past the knot.  I used Aileen's fast grab tacky glue to glue the ribbon to the frame.  I like this glue because it really does live up to its name.  Since I was folding the ribbon over and scrunching it up, I needed a glue that would hold it in place and this glue is one of the best I've found for this (other than glue dots which I'm out of right now).

To make the lacy mat for the background, I took a piece of 9" x 9" paper and puched around it with the MS floral vine deep edge punch.  I wish there was a corner punch for this punch, or if there is one I haven't seen it in the stores around here, so I just went to the edge and just let whatever happened to the corners happen.

For the Good Boy image, I first coloured it digitally in my Paintshop Pro program, then I printed it out 3 times. I cut the various layers of the image and used pop dots to make the image 3D, kind of like making a paper tole image with it.  Here's a close up of that detail:

The title for the layout was done with letter stickers I've had in my stash forever.  I think I bought the package when I first started scrapbooking about 6 years ago.  I've only used them on this layout and one other layout. They're usually not my style, and I usually use my CraftRobo to create titles for my pages, but the colours seemed to go with my layout and they're convenient.

So other than the couple of doggie dollar store stickers I added, that's it for my layout.  I had fun creating all the different elements I did for this layout.  And, of course, I love doing layouts about my little doggie.  She takes such cute pictures.

Thats it for today.  Talk to you later...

Cat

Things that make you go "hmmmmm"...

I just had stop and think today.  I had to go and do some grocery shopping, so I thought this would be my opportunity to slip out and stop off at Michaels.  I printed my coupons and away I went.  Well, I wandered around the store for about 20 minutes wondering what to get with my coupons.  Then I thought, why am I buying stuff I don't need or want just because I have a coupon.  I don't know why I feel I have to buy something if I have these stupid coupons.  What's even more sad is that I couldn't find anything to buy because I have so much stuff that almost everything I looked at, I already have.  And if I didn't have it, I know it was something I wouldn't use. It makes one shake their head doesn't it?

Talk to you later...

Cat

BrakeFast Club challenge - Anything But a Card

Another challenge is on at the BrakeFast Club.  The challenge this week is to make a project other than a card. I love making altered items, so this was an excellent time for me to make this cute little altered domino. I am really into altering dominoes for some strange reason the last few months. I made a bunch a couple months ago for a craft show and realized how easy they were to do and now I'm hooked.

Supplies
Image:  Sun & Stars - I Brake for Digis
Paper:  Wausau Exact Index 110# cardstock
Tools & Embellishments:  Copic & Sharpie markers, Iridescent medium (Windsor & Newton), plastic domino game piece, Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

I printed the image out on white card stock 1" x 2" then coloured it with copic & sharpie markers.  I painted on a little iridescent medium on the sun & stars to give them a little sparkle (doesn't show up very well in the picture.  Once everything was dry, I glued the image to the smooth side of the domino.  Since the image had square corners and the domino has rounded corners, I just saturated the corners with white glue and shaped them to the domino.  After the glue dried, I used a black sharpie and coloured the sides of the domino (mine are white) so that it matched the image better.  After I was sure everything was dry (I let it sit overnight), I coated it with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.  Mod Podge Dimensional Magic is a clear coating just like crystal effects, but you can get it at Walmart.  I did a product review on this stuff in this post if you're interested in reading it.  Once I get a flat back bail for it, I will adhere that to the back and run a chain so I can wear it as a necklace.

You should get in on this challenge.  It really is a lot of fun.  You should also try making an altered domino if you haven't yet.  They're fairly inexpensive.  I found mine in the cheap bins at Michaels with a bunch of kids toys.  I paid $3 for a set.  If you want to use the same image I used, you can find it here in the IBFD shop. Remember to grab the 10% off code in my sidebar if you're going to go shopping. :)

Well, that's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by.

Talk to you later...

Cat

IBFD - Patchwork Angel

Hi again!  I'm back with a new card using the Patchwork Angel from I Brake For Digis. I wanted to make a card with totally non-traditional colours - I'm kinda like that - non-traditional. :)  I thought this image was perfect because of the style and it gives you the opportunity to really mix up the colours.  I entered this card into the BrakeFast Club's challenge this week: Christmas or Holiday.  Even though the colours aren't your normal holiday fare, I think they made a pretty festive card.  Here's what the card looks like:

Supplies:
Stamps:  Patchwork Angel - I Brake for Digis, sentiment (SU!)
Paper:  Recollections card stock, American Crafts card stock, DCWV patterned paper
Tools & Embellishments:  paper flowers (unknown), rhinestone brads (Michaels), Ribbon (Offray), corner punch (Dollar Store), Copics (Y06, B29, Y02, BG10, RV23, BV00, B00), Shapie markers (orange, teal, lime green, pink, blue), Bic Mark It markers (key lime), gold glitter pen

Don't forget, if you head over to the I Brake for Digis or I Brake for Stamps store, grab the 10% off coupon code located in my right hand side bar.  Every little bit helps!

Thanks for stopping by.  Make sure you pop over to The BrakeFast Club (link in my sidebar also) to check out what next week's challenge will be.  The new challenge will be posted tomorrow. :)

Talk care...

Cat

ADFD New Release - Tiny Brother

I have another adorable image to show you from A Day For Daisies new release this week.  Its called Tiny Brother.  Its such a sweet image and really shows the beauty of pregnancy and the curiosity and caring an older sibling has when a new baby is expected into the family.  I really hope you get a chance to take a look at (and perhaps pick up a couple) of the new images Tammy released today.  I think you'll love them just as much as I do.  Here's my card made with the new image:

Supplies:
Image:  Tiny Brother - A Day For Daisies digital stamps
Paper:  K&Company, Recollections, Other unknown, Wausau Exact Index 110#
Tools & Embellishments:  Crayola, Prisma, & Roseart colouring pencils, oms, Spellbinders Fleur de Lis die, Offray ribbon, Martha Steward Doily edge punch.

Thanks for stopping by...

Cat

Stuffed Calamari Recipe

I love seafood.  I am not, however, the greatest when it comes to cooking it.  I usually over cook it and then it ends up being rubbery.  There is a little greek restaurant about 2 blocks from our house that serves the most delicious stuffed calamari.  I order it in the appetizer size every time we go there.  We haven't been to the restaurant in a few months because my husband was put off with something with his last meal there and doesn't want to go back.  I've always enjoyed their food, but some things have changed and it isn't quite the same, but I'd still go if he would go with me.  So, I've been missing the calamari and decided I would try to make it myself.  I couldn't find a recipe anywhere on the internet for this dish, so I had to "wing it".  I think it came out very tastey - not quite as tastey as the one at the restaurant, but nonetheless, tastey.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures of the dish, but here's the recipe:

Suffed Calamari

Total cooking time approx. 1 hour.  Total prep time (after thawing the squid) approx. 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 350F.  

Ingredients:

Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup white wine
1/2 tbsp finely ground white pepper
2 rounded tbsp dijon mustard
salt to taste

In a heavy bottom sauce pan, on medium high heat, make a roux with your flour and butter, then slowly add the cream to make a very thick white sauce.  Turn the heat down to medium - medium low and slowly add the white wine, mixing with a whisk so as to not get any lumps.  Add the pepper, mustard, and salt and continue to cook until the alcohol is cooked out and the sauce has re-thickened.

Tip:  If you don't have white wine or don't want to use wine, you can substitute it with no/low salt chicken broth. (edit:  you will need to adjust the amount of salt you use if you use chicken broth with salt)

Calamari:
6 small whole calamari (squid - with tentacles and head removed - I used frozen)
2 lb ground chicken (you could use veal or turkey, but the restaurant uses chicken in theirs)
1 small leek, chopped finely (about 2 - 2 1/2 cups)
1 cup finely chopped pinenuts
1/2 tbsp finely ground white pepper
salt to taste

If you're using frozen calamari - thaw in a bowl of cold water, drain and pat dry.  Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Stuff the calamari with the chicken meat mixture.

Ladle some of the sauce into the bottom of a shallow baking dish.  Arrange stuffed calamari in the pan and ladle over remaining sauce.  Cover with tin foil and place baking dish on a cookie sheet (the sauce may bubble over).  Bake in pre-heated oven for 45 minutes.  Remove the tin foil and finish cooking for another 10-15 minutes to brown up.

Serve with rice and vegetables of your choice.

You'll notice there is quite a bit of pepper in this dish.  Its the one spice I could definitely pick out in the restaurant version  I didn't add any other spices/herbs to the meat mixture because 1) I didn't want to ruin it, and 2) I could never tell if there was any other spices in it other than the pepper.  The pepper should make it a little spicy, but not over powering.  You may have to adjust how much pepper you use according to your taste, but I like lots and lots of pepper and those are the amounts I used.

I really hope you all try this dish.  I thought it was very yummy and quite easy to prepare.  If you try it, please let me know how you like it.

Talk to you later...

Cat

I didn't know...

that people could post comments on your profile at SSC. So a whole bunch of people sent me birthday wishes and I didn't even know so I didn't acknowledge the well wishes. To everyone who sent me Birthday wishes, THANK YOU SO MUCH. I didn't want anyone to think I was snubbing them or being a snob. I didn't know they were there until today. I guess I should check at CDAC as well since that site has the same structure as SSC. In my defense, I'm not use to those sites and find the architecture very confusing...

Thanks everyone!

Cat

New Released Images & a New Challenge at ADFD

Just when I thought Tammy's images couldn't get any cuter, she releases some more fantastic digi stamps.  The image I chose to work with for this release is sooooo cute.  There is something about babies that just melts my heart.  Its probably because I don't have any human babies of my own, that I just adore little baby pictures. Here's the card I made with the Tub Time image available now in the ADFD store.

Supplies:
Image:  Tub Time - A Day For Daisies digital stamps
Paper:  SU! tempting turqoise card stock, patterned paper (unknown)
Tools & Embellishments:  Copics, Ribbon (Michaels), Glitter thread, quilling tool & quilling paper, Marvy Uchida Southwest corner punch, Fiskars corrugated wave paper crimper, Fiskars wave edge scissors, Mod Podge Dimensional Magic

Here are a couple close up photos of the detail on the bubbles and the little fish.

The next card was made for the current ADFD challenge.  You all should head on over to the challenge page for ADFD (here).  Tammy has a really super cute image for you so you can play along.  The challenge this week is "All About the Wrapping" - in other words, you need to incorporate wrapping paper somewhere in your design.  I have this beautiful purple foil wrapping paper that I've been hording for the last couple years. Its so pretty that I haven't wanted to use too much of it because I wanted it to last. So I decided to use it for the background on my challenge card.  I think you'll agree that its gorgeous paper.

Supplies:
Image:  Dressed up for Christmas  - A Day For Daisies digital stamps
Paper:  Wausau Exact Index 110#, SU Elegant eggplant
Tools & Embellishments:  Copics, Ribbon (Michaels), ribbon (Michaels), purple & gold stickles, EK Success Venetian Corner Punch, Glittertex mica flakes

So, hopefully, we'll see your entries into this week's challenge.  Its a lot of fun and as always, Tammy will have a little something special for one lucky person as a reward at the end of the challenge.  Check out the new images too!  You'll love them.

Talk to you later...

Cat

I was Awarded and Award!

I've been chosen to receive the prestigious "Stylish Blogger Award" by Lisa over at her blog Land of EnCRAFTment.  Thank you Lisa.  Its an honour - truly.  It makes me happy that there are people who actually visit my blog and take the time to leave me a message, let alone pick me for an award.  There are some stipulations in accepting this award, however.  I think I have fulfilled the first one already, but I will list them here because others will need to see what they are (also part of the stipulations).
In accepting this award I agree to
1. Thank the person who bestowed the award on me and link back to them;  (check)
2. Share 8 things about yourself;
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers you recently discovered;
4. Notify those 8 bloggers and let them know about their award.

So, 8 things about myself.  Well, this was hard one because I don't think I'm really all that interesting, but here they are:
1.  My favourite colour is Royal Blue.  It's just such a rich and regal colour.
2.  My favourite flowers are Gerbera Daisies because they're pretty and fun.
3.  My best friend since I was about 16 years old is Janet.

4.  I love ice fishing - I even have my own ice auger. :)

5.  I wanted to teach music before I decided to become and engineer.

6.  I had drawings on display in the Winnipeg Art Gallery when I was 12.

7.  I'm the oldest of 3 - one sister and one brother.

8.  I'm named after a little girl that died from tuberculosis.  She had red hair and freckles and my dad told my mom that is what their daughter was going to look like  - and I did.  This was before I was even born.

Now for my pay-it-forward awards.  I have only met one of these ladies in person: Gail.  She's a sweetheart. She's one of the founders and a member of the Stampin' Canada on line community where I hang out most of the time.  Donna is another member of Stampin' Canada, but I have not had the pleasure of meeting her in person yet.  Ruth is another lady from Calgary that I met on line through the Splitcoast Stampers blogger group the Paper Palls.  We haven't met in person, but I like to check out her blog - she has some cool projects.  All the other ladies on my pay-it-forward list are new friends I've "met" on line through my new adventure on the I Brake For Digis design team.  Here's the list:

1. Gail:  http://jackpineridge.blogspot.com/

2. Donna:  http://yellowdoggreetings.blogspot.com/

3. Ruth:  http://stampoffeh.blogspot.com/

4. Nancy:  http://nancyscreativemess.blogspot.com/

5. Lisa:  http://www.lisasparkleandstamps.blogspot.com/

6. Karin:  http://karin-withaniforpaper.blogspot.com/

7. Danielle:  http://missdaniellerenee.blogspot.com/

8. Barb:  http://papertherapyponderings.blogspot.com/

Again, thank you Lisa.  I'm off to let everyone know I've awarded them the Stylish Blogger Award.

Have a great night everyone!
Talk to you later...

Cat

I Brake For Digis - First Card as a DT member

Well, my term on the I Brake for Digis DT starts today. :)  I thought I would start off with a card I made for the challenge running right now over at the BrakeFast club (link is in my side bar).  The challenge this week is inchies. I've only every made two cards with inchies, so this was not my usual style of card.  I got these images a little while ago to make some little goodies for Christmas (some re-packaged tea - ssshhh! don't tell my sister) and thought they would work well for an inchie card.  Here's a picture:

Supplies:
Images:  Tea Pot, Tea Bag, Tea Cup - I Brake For Digis digital stamps
Paper:  Bazzill Coredinations, Recollections Kraft cardstock, Patterned paper (unknown - I think it may be Daisy D's), Wausau Exact Index 110# white cardstock (base & images)
Tools & Embellisments:  Prisma pencil crayons, oms, Fiskars small scallop edging scissors, EK Success edge punch, Ribbon (Moderne Home), Curlz MT font (sentiment), sanding block, Cuttlebug embossing folder

The images are adhered with pop-up foam squares.  I wanted the images to look a little old-fashioned, so I used the small scallop edge scissors as a corner rounder and set one scallop in slightly and nipped off the corners.  I had to put my reading glasses on for that task!

Overall, I like how the card turned out.  It was fun making my first card for the IBFD design team.

Talk to you later...

Cat