Memories are Stitched with Love

I just love this stamp! It is so sweet. I got it last summer at Heather's Stamping Haven in Ottawa. Heather has some of the most delightful stamps. Check out her site (click above on the name of her shop).

I stamped the image on watercolor paper and then watercolored it with Tombow markers. I mounted the matted image on some beautiful Anna Griffin designer paper. Purple and green is one of my all time favorite color combinations so I decided to make this Valentine card in these non-traditional colors. Valentine's Day doesn't necessarily have to be red and white!

Now what I really want you to notice is the punched hearts and X line below the image. I bought this and several other punches at Heather's Stamping Haven. The punches are by Tonic Studios and there is actually a Tonic Border Punch system for these punches. I love them! You'll surely be seeing a lot of my cards using my new Tonic punches, as well as a couple new Martha Stewart punches I've recently acquired...but those will be later.

Inside the card I stamped the sentiment, "Memories are stitched with love." Around the sentiment I glued the cut out hearts from the front.

The ribbon was in a sale bin at Michaels. I LOVE this ribbon. It is called Bohemian Manor. I found another color combination of the same pattern. Isn't it pretty ribbon? I didn't need more ribbon but I couldn't resist when I saw it in their clearance bin.

The little heart button was the only button in my stash that matched the paper and was heart shaped. I wanted a cluster of buttons, but NOPE! There was only one single matching button so I hope this will do. I threaded some DMC embroidery floss through it.

I am making a series of Valentines using this stamped image so you'll be seeing more over the next few days. Let me know in your comments which is your favorite.

As always, I appreciate your stopping by and love reading your comments.

Garden Collage - Part II

The other day I decided to make a concerted effort to use some of the beautiful stamp sets that I've purchased and for whatever the reason, have not yet put ink to rubber.

This bird and the sentiment, Gentle thoughts of you, are the other two stamps in the Garden Collage stamp set.

This is a really simple card. Nothing magnanimous about it but sometimes a simple card fits the need of the moment. I watercolored the image with Tombow markers and mounted on Wild Asparagus designer papers. The tiny flowers are Prima flowers.

I think this stamp has a lot greater possibilities than what I've done with it for today so we'll see what the future holds for this stamp set. I think I've rediscovered why I wanted to buy it in the first place. Now to make it work.

Until next time.......

Happy 29th Birthday Jonathan!

It is a mystery to me how it could possibly have been 29 years ago today that my first born entered the world. I'm sure Jonathan would cringe to know I'm posting this but I think birthday's of our children are just as much a celebrated day for themselves as it is for their momma! Of course I get all misty eyed thinking about that day 29 years ago. My beautiful 9 pound 10 ounce blond, blue eyed baby boy entered the world. All of his "firsts" run through my mind's video eye like a movie.

But 29 years old! Whew...how can I be old enough to have a child who is 29?! Aren't I just barely that age myself? ha ha ha ha - rolling on the floor laughing at that. Oh wait...I can't get up off the floor if I roll there. TOO OLD! LOL

Anyway, today in honor of my son Jonathan's 29th birthday my card is dedicated to him. He always loved cake too.

All stamps are by justjohanna rubber stamps.

Happy Birthday to you dear Jonathan!

Love ya bunches!

Now THIS is what I call a non-traditional Valentine card. Hee hee hee. I don't think there is much else I can say than it is a Valentine for someone special and certainly isn't your traditional hearts and flowers. I think he'll appreciate it though. Nuff said.

This is made from Stampin' Up! "Monkey Business" stamp set. The patterned paper is my favorite from My Mind's eye. I used my new Martha Stewart border punch/embossing tool on the bottome of the image to carry out the vine theme in the image. Then added a bit of machine stitching to the mats of the main image and sentiment. Finally I stamped and embossed the bunches of bananas and cut them out and mounted them on pop dots.

And there, my friends, is a very non-traditional Valentine card.

Garden Collage

Continuing on the same thoughts with regard to New Year's Resolutions, do you make them? I don't. I never keep them so why set myself up for a fall if I firmly resolve to do something like lose 50 pounds on January 1st and by January 3rd I'm eating an entire bag of M&M's?

But lest you think I'm a person without goals, that isn't true either. Have you heard about the new Morgan Freeman / Jack Nicholson movie called "The Bucket List"? That is what I prefer to do...make a list of things I want to do before I kick the bucket. Hopefully I'll have plenty of time to achieve my bucket list but then, that is part of the fun.

So, you ask, what does a bucket list, hollywood movies and cardmaking have to do with today's card? Well, one of my things on my bucket list is to use all of my stamps. WHAT? I have stamps I've not used? You betcha I do! Hopefully I will remedy that though. So this year I'm going through all of my Stampin' UP! stamp sets that I just HAD TO buy and then never used.

This stamp is from a set called "Garden Collage." I have another card in the making that I'll post later from this stamp set too.

To make this card I stamped the image on watercolor paper with versafine sepia ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I emboss only to keep the ink from running when I'm watercoloring. I tend to use a lot of water on my brush and work and rework colors so the embossed image is important. I used Tombow markers direct to paper, layering colors and then blend with brush and water.

To the butterfly I added Waterfall Stickles and then once they were dry I put clear dimensional glaze on top of the wings to give them not only a 3-D effect, but also it makes them look more translucent like an actual butterfly.

The background paper is Bo Bunny. I stamped over the subtle daisy pattern on the paper with the Stampin' UP French Script stamp. I punched photo corners and then stitched away on my sewing machine: first the mats to the designer paper and then the photo corners. I wanted a leather bound feel to this so I put some burnished brass eyelets on the photo corners.

Now I love using ribbon but even though I have plenty of ribbon in my stash to match this image, ribbon just didn't seem right. I started to add jute, but wasn't satisfied with the look. Then my big bag of raffia called me. VOILA! My card was complete.

There, not in a nutshell but rather a long epic description is the creative process for making a simple card. Hmmmm...perhaps I should make a resolution...I should resolve to simplify. Oh well, despite the time it took to make the card I thoroughly enjoyed each step. Isn't that the important thing? I think so.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy 2008!

A new day! A new year! New beginnings. There always seems to be anticipation and excitement surrounding celebrating the first day of a new year. I suppose I feel that too. But, I'm a sentimental soul and I tend to play the past in my mental video screen. Joys. Sorrows. Successes. Failures. Happiness. Disappointment. Perhaps that is what goes into deciding whether to make New Year's resolutions or just look forward to living your life one day at a time, hopefully learning from the past.

Whew...heavy topic today. Just some random thoughts...

On a stamping site a discussion is taking place to pick your favorite card you've ever made and tell why you consider it either your best work or why it is your favorite that you've made. Well, as I posted yesterday, I've been cleaning, organizing and preparing to make lots and lots of new cards in the new year. But as I clean and organize I come upon stamps I haven't used in a long time and cards I've made that I was really proud of.

FINALLY, I'll get to the point of this card today and the topic of this post. I think out of all of the cards I've made I'm particularly drawn to this particular one. I don't know what there is about this stamp but I find it interesting, artistic, and in a strange way, sort of romantic from an historic sense. It makes me think of Italy. I don't know why...it just does.

So for my first card to post on my blog for this new year is a stamp I've had forever, made by Sunsine Designs. I've painted it with twinkling H20's and added some machine stitching using both a feather stitch as well as a zig-zag stitch.

New cards to come but today is sort of a reflective day for me.

Floral friends

I confess! I'm still putting away things in my stamp studio. But yesterday when I stamped this Maryse Carrier image I stamped and embossed two samples. I always stamp more than one image at a time because invariably I mess one up. Well, after I posted the card this morning I went back to my cleaning and organizing and ... well...there was the second image just begging to be watercolored with Tombow markers.

I love this paper from My Mind's Eye so I decided to paint this image based on the colors of the paper and use some scraps of ribbon that needed to be used anyway.

THIS is how I make cards...from this and that and scrips and scraps and images that are just waiting to be colored.

OK...now I really am going to put away my toys!

Friends brighten your day

I was supposed to be putting things away and cleaning up before the new year. I saw this Maryse Carrier stamp that I've had for years. Next thing I know, I'm inking it up and making a card. So much for the housekeeping detail......

This is a Maryse Carrier image from a few years back. I stamped it on watercolor paper with versamark and embossed with gold detail embossing powder. I watercolored the image with Tombow markers and then added a lot of different colors of stickles glitter glue.

OK...back to straightening things up. I'm looking forward to more card making in 2008. Happy New Year!

Miss You!

I really am enjoying my new MY FAVORITE THINGS stamp sets. This set is called Rain or Shine. As I look out my window and see literally mountains of snow outside, it makes me long for the days when all we'll have left are puddles and raindrops, instead of mounds and drifts of snow.

I used some Susan Branch Art Impressions designer paper for the background and colored the image with prismacolor pencils. I added clear dimensional glaze in the puddle beneath the dog and woman and also on the umbrella, which I stamped, cutout and mounted over the image on foam squares.

"Miss you" sentiment is actually from a different My Favorite Things set. Most of the sentiments with the Rain or Shine set have to do with get well cards.

I thought this was kind of sweet card. My husband, who I always ask his opinion, gave it a "it's ok, but not one of your better cards" comment. Hmmm...I kind of liked this one. Oh well...I'm really having fun with these new stamps sets. I see a lot of possibilities for uses.

Thanks for stopping by.

Celebrate!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas - or holiday that you and your family and friends celebrated I hope it was a happy time for you. And in just a few more day's we'll bid farewell to 2007 and ring in the new year.

It is a time to CELEBRATE! For many reasons you may want to celebrate. It could be for new beginnings, it could be for birthdays, promotions, new goals and ambitions. It could be because we made it through another year! Whatever you celebrate, do it with style and laughter and love!

I treated myself to three sets of My Favorite Things rubber stamp sets. Y'all know I'm an animal lover and I just love the headless ladies with their dogs. My stamps just arrived in the mail so this is the first I inked up to CELEBRATE! I colored the image with prismacolor pencils. Beneath the image I've punched the mat with my new Martha Stewart punch/embossing tool. Woo hoo...don't ya just love it when Michael's has 50% off on purchases? I'm a punch-a-holic and I love to use my coupons on a new punch!

Happy New Year! I hope you'll continue to stop by and check out my cards in 2008.

Best wishes for new beginnings, continued joys and all good things in the new year to come.

Homespun friendship

It appears that I'm on a polka dot kick these days since several of the last cards I've made use a background paper with polka dots. It wasn't intentional but it sure is looking speckled around my blog! :-)

I was cleaning off and putting away things around my workspace and I found another image I'd stamped and colored ages ago but never mounted on a card. Well...so much for tidying up in my stamp studio. Today's MojoMonday #16 sketch over at Julee's blog POETIC ARTISTRY helped me get the image onto the card. Here is Julee's sketch for today:

This stamp is a fairly new one for me. I've used it before but I don't get tired of it. It is one of Heather's Stamping Haven, here in Ottawa original stamp designs. You know you can check out her shop site by clicking on HERE to see more about her shop and for information to order online.

I painted the image with twinkling H2O's. Then I added some machine stitching, ric-rac, buttons and flowers.

As much as I love making Christmas cards I must admit that this was a fun change of pace today to make something with barefoot girls and wild flowers. As I sit in front of my window I'm looking out at three feet of snow! YES! I said three feet. We just braved the largest stnowfall in a 24 hour period yesterday. That was on top of the foot+ we already had on the ground so we have lots of snow and barefoot, flower filled days appear to be a long way off.

PAWS-ing to say thanks

Since my dogs are well mannered pups (hee hee) they need to have their thank you cards ready to send to say thank you for the Christmas gifts they received in their dog club Secret Santa gift exchange. (And YES, they actually participated in a gift exchange!)

For the layout I used this month's challenge sketch layout from the internet web site, THE STAMP SHACK. At the Stamp Shack the creative team comes up with wonderful challenges from layouts, technique challenges, to color challenges, to theme challenges. This is the the sketch for the December layout challenge.

My Newfoundland Dog stamp was a gift from Deborah, my stamping friend from Nova Scotia. The sentiment is a stamp from a plate of newly designed dog and cat stamps designed by Tricia (Got Cats.) The paw print stamp is from Inkadinkadoo stamps.

ATTN! Chicagoland. LOST DOG!!

This is not a hoax. You know my love for my Newfoundland dogs, 'Bella and Gabe. Well, another Newfoundland pal of ours is lost and we'd like to ask the readers of my blog who live in or will be visiting the Chicago area if they can to be on the lookout for a lost Newfoundland dog who is lost in the Chicago area.

The dog,who answers to TUG is a 2 year old male Newfoundland dog with white feet and a white chest and he is lost and alone and scared in the big city.


His family is heartbroken without him and are offering a $5,000 dollar reward for his safe return, no questions asked. You can see pictures of Tug and get more information here:

http://www.k9adventure.com/johnny.html

He's been spotted around this area:
Merchandise Mart, around 300 N. Wells Street, as well as the area around the dog park at Grand Ave. and Orleans

It is our sincere hope that his family gets their Christmas Wish and Tug comes home safely!

This is really important. Please check out the information on the web site and if you can help or see Tug, please call the number and help get him back home to his heartbroken owners.

Holiday jingle

Here she is again, full of her "holiday jingle." Remember that last week I said I colored a number of these images but couldn't decide how I wanted to layout the card. JULEE'S MOJO MONDAY 15 layout this week provided me with the perfect layout for this dear old elf to include an actual bell on the ribbon.
The patterned paper is double sided Bo Bunny card stock. Of course the stamp is from Art Impressions and colored with Prismacolor pencils.

The inside sentiment says "Hope you're all a-tingle with the holiday jingle."

Silver sleigh

I've been seeing this panel layout for cards all over the blog-o-sphere so I decided that using powder blue and one silver panel, embossed with my cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder and mounting the panels on white and then brown cardstock would work great with my Anna Griffin Sleigh stamp.

For the image I stamped the sleigh with versamark and embossed with silver detail embossing powder and matted on powder blue and brown card stocks. Again I added a couple of silver punched snowflakes using my Martha Stewart snowflake punch.

I'm just loving this Anna Griffin sleigh stamp!

Warm Holiday Wishes

Yes, YIKES! I'm still making Christmas cards. I know! I know! They should be in the mail. Well, just think of it as extending the Christmas joy and cheer if you receive my card after Christmas. The warm wishes will be nonetheless sincere.

This is the first time I've used this Anna Griffin (All Night Media) sleigh stamp. My oldest son gave me a gift certificate last Christmas to Hobby Lobby and this was one of the beautiful stamps I bought with it and am using for cards this year.

The layout is very simple. I stamped the sleigh and sentiment on white cardstock with Navy dye ink. I matted it on silver metalic card stock and mounted both on blue card stock. I love punching everything I can with my Martha Stewart Snowflake punch so I had to add a silver snowflake, centered with a navy brad on top of blue polka dot sheer ribbon. I added a little blue Martha Stewart fine glitter below the sleigh. I can't decide for sure if I like that or not.

I had better get busy and finish up my cards and get them in the mail. I don't want you to have to wait until Valentine's Day to get a Christmas card from me. :-)

The Nutcracker

This is the second "toy" themed card for WEDNESDAY STAMPER challenge this week. It is actually a money holder card.

The stamp is one that I bought at a garage sale and on the end of it it just says "Under Construction" Lindsay, ON, Canada. I've checked online but can't find a manufacturer by that name for rubberstamps. Lindsay isn't too terribly far from me either so I'm curious about this stamp's origin.

I stamped the image on glossy white card stock with versamark and embossed it with black detail embossing powder I colored the image with sharpie permanent markers.

I tried to make up my own template for a money holder card so I used a circle punch on the inside to punch a hole for the denomination to show through --->

The beard is a bit of cottonball glued on. This was kind of fun. Perhaps a bit like an elementary school art class project, but it was fun.

Santa's workshop

Today's theme over at WEDNESDAY STAMPER is "toys." This card is one of two that I tried for this week's toy challenge.

This is one of my new Paper Inspirations stamps called Santa's workshop. I'm so frustrated. I love these new Paper Inspirations stamps but they are so highly detailed that I've found it difficult to get a clear image. I have stamped and messed with this card all day long and it still isn't there.

The background paper is green velvet textured paper. It is so rich. This scan probably doesn't show the texture. I've stamped holly in the corners and embossed it in gold detail embossing powder. Then I applied a few red crystals for some sparkle and a red satin bow.

If you've experienced troubles stamping with highly detailed and/or photo type stamps, please let me know any tips or tricks you've discovered to get clear, lovely impressions.

All a tingle...

Are you getting "all a-tingle with the holiday jingle?"

I colored about 10 of these images yesterday with my prismacolor pencils. This is the first card I made with it. I think this might be used as a gift/money enclosure card.

I'm not too thrilled with this layout so I imagine you'll be seeing several different cards using this image over the next few days.

The stamps are from Art Impressions rubber stamps. Colored with prismacolor pencils and a touch of stickles on the bells and "liquid snow" on her hat and cuffs of her mittens.

This gal cracks me up.

Let heaven and nature sing - Mojo 14

I've had this snowman stamp for a couple of years but this year I've thoroughly enjoyed playing with it. The stamp is titled, "Woodsy Snowman" and is made by Stampendous rubber stamps. I stamped the snowman with versamark and embossed it with silver detail embossing powder and then used my Tombow markers to watercolor the image. I added stickles for some glitter and silver metalic paper and cord for a bit of extra frosty sparkled.

For today's layout I used this layout challenge for the Mojo Monday sketch # 14 from JULEE's (POETIC ARTISTY) blog.

The inside sentiment for this woodsy snowman says, "Let Heaven and Nature Sing."

Thanks for stopping by!