How to build a snowman

I wanted a simple design to be able to 'mass produce' my cards, but ended up doing a lot more layering for all three panels than intended! I created the 'HOW TO BUILD A SNOWMAN' word strip on the computer after playing around with fonts for a while! Then I added a sweet little snowflake charm from my last order at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Then for the inside...I really like the look of the snowman against the black card (and I was able to use my new Hocus Pocus Mini Layering Stencil, also from The Funkie Junkie Boutique) with some Texture Paste...but alas, how do you sign the card?! So I created the other inside panel, figuring the first instruction in building a snowman would be to 'let it snow'!  And there you have it, 3 pages of layers and stamps!

Side note: in building the die cut 'parts' of the snowman, first I lost the die for the hat and finally found it stuck to the back of some packaging sitting on my desk, then the little holly berries die stuck to the platform and when I pried it off with my craft knife it flew across the room, hit the wall and landed somewhere in the midst of the paper stacks and embellishment bins, who knows where, about 3' away, never to be seen again! Or maybe someday...

 Thanks for looking, and Merry Christmas!

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog-It's the Holidays Challenge

November Birthday

 My oldest (42) is a steampunk kind of guy who has always loved cats...

...and more recently, dogs.  His birthday is in November, so I dug out an old Farmers Almanac, salvaged from a public library sale, and found this awesome page to use as the background for his card...oddly enough, it talks all about cats!

So I used the Tim Holtz Mini Cats and Dogs along with the Clear Stamps/Things Talk for the party hats, present, and balloons.

The challenge this week is to 'Recycle' (create something previously used) at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday Treat

We have a lot of birthdays in October and November!  Teenagers can be difficult to shop for, so gift cards save the day! This gift card holder is cut from the Tim Holtz Gift Card Bag Die Set.  The size is absolutely perfect for a gift card!

I stamped the Birthday Cupcake from one of the Tim Holtz Mini Blueprints Clear Stamp sets, and then adhered the little bag to the inside of the birthday card.

This is the front of the card. Oliver likes cats. This cat stamp is from Stampendous, Cling Cattus Librum,  and the dictionary stamp is an old one called Define Your Life.

The 'Treat' Bag is for the challenge at The Frilly and Funkie Boutique Blog: Treats not Tricks

Birthday Tag Selection

My sister-in-law turns 60 this Saturday and I decided to make a collection of humorous tags for her to be able to share with her friends who are of the same age. For each 'tag' I made a front tag and a back tag and then joined them with ribbon. 

She also has a trip to Hawaii planned soon with two of her girlfriends,  so I thought the first one was especially appropriate!

I have a friend who wears summer dresses that my hubby calls 'moo-moos', but I don't dare send this one to her!

This is from a stamp set called 'You Know You're Getting Old', created by a retired company, Skipping Stones Design. (The birds are, of course, Tim Holtz Crazy Birds)

The cocktail is also from 'Skipping Stones Design' but from a different set called Girls Night Out, but the cute little dog is from Tim Holtz Mini Cats and Dogs.

And a shot of the 'tag holder/birthday card...I scored the cardstock at 4" and 4 1/2" to allow for room for the tags to tuck in, and added ribbon to tie it together.

Anyhow, I hope she gets a chuckle out of these! Thanks for looking!

And for some great tag inspiration, visit the blog at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog:Tags

 (Formerly know as The Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog)

Monochrome Birthday

I started a project making a collection of humorous birthday tags for my sister-in-law who turns 60 this Saturday. Then I saw this challenge at Simon Says: Monochrome. The DSP I was using for the tag collection included this monochrome sheet and I thought it would work perfectly for the card/tag holder.

The birds are from Tim Holtz Crazy Bird Talk stamp and die combo. The sentiments are from a retired company, Skipping Stones Design. The DSP (retired Stampin' Up) I have had for over 12 years from when I first started papercrafting! The other dies are from Spellbinders, My Favorite Things, and Sizzix/Tim Holtz. I also added some ribbon to tie the tag holder closed.

I will share the tags on my next post!

Footprints in the sand

Sometimes I'm glad I hoard scrap supplies.  I've been holding on to this cute little cricket pendant for 7 or 8 years after picking it up at a going out of business sale.

Same with this Dreamweaver Stencil, I've had it for years and have never used it! It reminded me of the spray from the ocean.

I added some Stampendous Fran'tage Embossing Powder to some bottlecaps because it reminded me of sand. And the little chipboard pieces are from Scenic Route, equally as old!

The 'net', I knew I would eventually use!

I used Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain in Broken China and in Wild Honey, and Bubble Layering Stencil on the 9 x 12 Canvas.

Just in time to join in on the fun at Frilly and Funkie: Embellishments, Trinkets, and Trims.

Things you love

I love this Dragonfly Vine stamp. I love the Bleeding Cowboy font, and this sentiment stamp reminds me of it. I love dictionary page background art.

I cut out this page from a Webster's Dictionary. The paper is quite thin, so I copied it onto a piece of light gray cardstock with the printer density turned down.

Then I stamped the image with Versamark and black embossing powder, then adhered the page to a piece of cardboard so I could mount in a frame.

It's too bad the lighting in the bathroom doesn't do justice to the wall color, but I ran out of time to get a better pic!

This is for the challenge at Frilly and Funkie: I love it because...

Happy hour means a nap!

This week's challenge at Simon Says: Happy Hour.  I started out making a Thank You card for a neighbor who recently hosted a fun 'Cinco de Mayo' party, but got a little carried away with the theme and turned it into a birthday card (see sentiment below)!

Thanks for stopping by!

Explore

Youngest son wants to go to Japan, and tomorrow is his birthday, so I wanted to make him a card incorporating a travel theme.

I used an embossing folder on some foiled paper and rubbed in some black distress paint to give it some definition.

Cutting it down to the wire for the challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  'Don't be fooled, be foiled'.

Sunshine Girls

I was going to make a St. Patrick's Day card to mail to my favorite cousin, but ended up having to complete a couple of other projects and ran out of time to get it there by tomorrow. But, having that on my mind, I went with a pretty green background and a 'blessing', don't know if it's Irish or not, but it reminded me of this one!

May the road rise up to meet you
may the wind be always at your back
may the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields,
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of his hand.

I fit this into three challenges:

Frilly and Funkie: Pass the Tissues Please - I used Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap Plain to soften the image behind the window frame.  (I received the die cut window frame from Linda at The Funkie Junkie Boutique as a thank you for ordering product a while back!)

Simon Says: Feminine/Girly - I added the lace, the buckle slider, and the paper dolls to make it a little more 'girly'.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge-Whatever the Weather - Sunshine

Thanks for looking!

Ski Monster

Just a quick birthday card for my grandson who just last week learned to ski...and loves it! Happy birthday to my favorite six year old! (He loves getting treats in his cards!)

I like this one for the Wednesday challenge at Simon Says: Whatever the Weather.

Catch a leprechaun!

I made a couple of St. Patrick's Day cards for my two grandkids. This one is for my granddaughter, who is three years old.  I've gotten them spoiled into expecting treats with their cards from 'Grandma Cutie'.

This follows this week's Wednesday Challenge,  Simon Says: Create a Scene. I've always loved silhouette stamps, and this one is a really old, retired set from Stampin' Up; I just blocked out the sentiment and the little butterflies so it looks like she is trying to catch a Leprechaun.  The Leprechaun is also from a retired Stampin' Up set called Pinch Proof. I sponged the background with Ranger Distress Ink, Tumbled Glass and Mowed Lawn.

Thanks for looking!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is the first of two St. Patrick's Day cards for my grandkids. This one is for my grandson, who just turned six years old.  I've gotten them both spoiled into expecting treats with their cards from 'Grandma Cutie'. 

This follows this week's Wednesday Challenge,  Simon Says: Create a Scene.  The Leprechaun is  from a retired Stampin' Up set called Pinch Proof. I sponged the background with Ranger Distress Ink, Tumbled Glass and Mustard Seed for the sun rays from Tim Holtz Layering Stencils.

Thanks for looking!

Blue Birthday Butterfly

The current challenge at Frilly and Funkie is Winter Blues, mostly monochromatic in shades of blue. I need a birthday card for my Mother-in-law next week so I decided to try out my Tim Holtz Framelits Butterfly and Die.  My Mother-in-law is 85 and I think probably doesn't appreciate the Funkie style as much as I do, and the ribbon I chose ended up not so Frilly, so it is a little more simple than I would normally have gone for.

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Truck Inspiration

When I saw this amazing tutorial from Sara Emily Barker I just had to have the Lumber 3D Texture Fade embossing folder.  In trying to locate this particular tutorial I came across several other projects where Sara Emily used this folder, and all are quite amazing!

This particular card is for a nephew's birthday, and there was a vintage truck on the property where he grew up so I was inspired to use the Tim Holtz Clear Stamp set, The Journey.  I was in a bit of a hurry to get the card in the mail and feel I could have spent a little more time on the Lumber background, but I will definitely play with this folder again!

Current challenge at Frilly and Funkie: Inspired by

Thanks for looking (and thanks for the inspiration)!