Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Snowflake Legend, Stamp Simply Ribbon Store Style!

Hello!  Happy Tuesday!  Today I have two embellished snowflakes to share!  Years ago I used this Snowflake Legend on smaller snowflakes and I loved them. You can find that post HERE.  Then last year I embellished this snowflake HERE.  Recipients seemed to enjoy them too! Here in West Michigan, it definitely is still winter with snow on the ground! I always leave any snow related decor up until March!  And since I'm leaving "The Tree" up year round, this is a perfect time to embellish with snowflakes, no?  One of my after holiday sale finds this year was this beauty purchased at Hobby Lobby!  It spans ten inches and packs sparkle!  I'm thinking you still might be able to find snowflakes at Michaels or Hobby Lobby and now cheaper than half off too!    

The Snowflake Legend (entire legend is located at the end of this post) is computer generated and cut using a Spellbinder Classic Oval Die.  The tag bases are from a pack of Melissa Frances Tags!  They are beautiful, simple to use, and what a great buy with eight of each size included in the set.  The Floppy Pink Blossom turned butterfly is also a Melissa Frances product.  The blossoms are sewn onto netting.  You may want to use more that one if that's the look you're going for.  For this embellishment, I really wanted just a small piece of the trim, so I clipped one of the blossoms leaving the netting and sewing intact.  As I was playing with them, as they are so soft and wonderful, what did my eye see?  A butterfly!  The blossoms are folded and laid flat to achieve this look.  Score! More ways to use trims and supplies is a plus in my book! Seam Binding, snowflakes, and 120 long Pearlized Pins as antennae complete the butterfly look!  The smaller tag sports cotton 5/8" Cotton Lace which is around the Spellbinders Oval Die cut along with more Seam Binding and 1/8" Velvet Ribbon

This snowflake spans about five inches and is sparkly too! To this Melissa Frances tag base, I used 1/8" Velvet Ribbon, Seam binding, Silk ribbon along with another Melissa Frances Floppy Blossom Pink Trim butterfly!  Here I used the Velvet Ribbon as antennae. Kaisercraft adhesive pearls are used on both tag embellishments. Metallic Silver String is also used on both snowflake embellishments.  

A closer view of this Tag shows the shading of Tim Holtz Tattered Roses Distress Ink.  The White Loop trim on the tag left side adds a super base for the Velvet Ribbon.  All ribbons, trims and die cuts are adhered using Scor Tape and Therm O Web 3D Foam Squares.  I cannot wait to place these on "The Tree" and watch how the lights will dance and sparkle!  Tune in on Thursday to see pictures of "The Tree" with these lovely snowflake legend ornaments!  

All bold text and colored wording are products found at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.  Click on the words and you will be linked directly to each item!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I will see you Thursday!


Snowflake Legend
Long, long ago, a shining 
star led the way to a 
CHILD born in a manger.
It is believed that 
SNOWFLAKES are little
pieces of that gleaming star
that guides us to the light
of the world, our Lord,
Jesus Christ.

(I do no not know who originally authored this saying.  
I found it years ago in an Oriental Trading catalog and 
adapted it for a Sunday school project)

Monday, January 21, 2013

"THE TREE"

Hello friends!  Have you ever had an idea that you wanted to accomplish and it just never saw a beginning?  After the Christmas holidays, for many years, my family has heard me say, I'm just going to leave our Christmas tree up, remove all the ornaments and decorate it seasonally throughout the coming year!  

Good idea? "Whoa, wait, not so fast" I believe I heard several times!  "You can't do that" expressed other family members.  What were they afraid of?  It's not like I was asking them to do anything, in fact, it would alleviate some of that after holiday packing and putting away for them!  Right?
  
Why or why did I give in each year and reluctantly remove "The Tree" carefully packing away all the ornaments, trims, and ribbons?  I had come to LOVE "The Tree" year after year.  After all, it told a story.  It was about my family and it was our story.  Maybe I just wanted that feeling all year through.  Maybe I wanted to keep those lights sparkling within us!

 My girls have all their childhood ornaments adorning their Christmas trees now.  Paper plate angels, candy cane reindeer, and salt dough school picture frames, among many other ornaments have been handed off to them. Every year of their life so far, Grandma has gifted them Hallmarks "Granddaughter" ornament too!  I hope they feel the same as I did when unwrapping each of those ornaments year after year. As a family we decorated "The Tree" each year, and watched our life unfolded before our eyes!


So, as I reflect on Christmases past, I've decided that this IS the year.  
I have decided "The Tree" will remain standing throughout 2013! All ornaments have been removed, leaving the lights, netting, and ribbons intact. My plan is to decorate for the different seasons, or maybe the holiday at hand.  I can think of Valentine's Day, Easter, or how about family Birthdays?  Yes, "The Tree" has reached a new beginning and I hope you will join me for the journey! I can't wait to get started!  Take good care!  

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Key to my Heart!

I have an easy Valentine card to share today!  The designer paper is from BoBunny's Love Letters Collection.  Cream cardstock is used for the card base and the stamped elements on the card!  Look at that sheer gold heart ribbon!  One loop tied with seam binding creates this lovely ribbon embellishment with tails!  Super easy! 

The images and sentiment are found in JustRite's Antique Valentine Tags One.  This is a clear set featuring 19 stamps!  I used Versafine Onyx black for all stamping.  The stamped images are hand trimmed and the sentiment is circle punched. The gold hearts are cut from the sheer gold heart ribbon too! The gold heart print on the sheer is a wonderful solid heart image, making it easy to cut out and use as another embellishment! Main designer paper panel and lock stamped image are adhered using Therm-O-Web 3D foam squares.

I want to share how the stamped imaged looks up close.  After I stamped the images, I immediately dry brushed on Perfect Pearls.  It gives a wonderful gold sheen to the stamped image, perfect for a lock & key image, no? Perfect Pearls is a fine dust like medium that can be used dry or mixed with water creating a mist to spray on your art. It comes in various colors and is super easy to use! I placed a piece of 1/8" Scor Tape to the top and bottom of the designer paper panel then dried brushed on the Perfect Pearl powder.  I am pleased how this worked!  I applied Perfect Pearl powder twice and then lightly rubbed with my fingertip smooth and remove any excess powder!  The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store carries a variety of colors in Perfect Pearls! 

All words in bold and color fonts are items that can be found at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store!  Click on the wording to take you directly to the products!  Take good care!  I hope you have a great rest of the weekend! 

Friday, January 18, 2013

Happy Easter!

Welcome to JustRite's last day of their 2013 CHA Release! We hope you have enjoyed the past two weeks of JustRite designers sharing their CHA release creations! It has been a fun release for sure! 
 
How about a couple carrot treat holders for Easter? With JustRite's Floral Flourishes  Background stamp, I stamped two shades of orange ink on orange cardstock before cutting with Spellbinders Pennant Dies.  I measured in on the top on each pennant side 1/4" then proceeded to score each from the pennant point to the measured mark I made pennant top. When assembling, at the pennant point the cropped flaps overlap widening to a light overlap of flaps to the top of the pennants. 

The pennants were adhered together with scor tape!  I then pinched the pennant points and trimmed to give a straight line! Floral Flourishes is a deeply etched red rubber stamp measuring 41/2" x 5 3/4" in size.

The final CHA set is JustRite's All in the Family Large Sentiments!  I stamped my Easter sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black before punching with my circle punch. I used a tiny clothespin to attach the sentiment!  The treat is in a clear bag, tied with burlap string, and embellished with Satin leaf trim & striped ribbon.

Here is more inspiration for you from the following designers! Enjoy & take good care!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

From my Heart!


Here we are, Day 9 of JustRite's CHA Release!  Today we are revealing our new Background Stamps!  I have used two of the three new backgrounds on my cards today!  The third,  Flourishes Background Stamp is used on my creation tomorrow!  I used Prima Washi tape for the first time today on my card!  I know, a little late to the party!  But I have to say I liked the ease of it, and this tape allowed me to readjust without damage to the cream colored card base. I applied small ric rac over each strip of Washi tape with 1/8" Scor Tape.  
   
JustRite's Antique Damask is stamped with Memento Bahama Blue and cut using Spellbinders Classic Heart Die. Using ScorTape I applied the Prima orange Pom Pom trim to the backside of the heart!If you look closely behind the Heart on the card you can see Antique Damask ever so lightly!  I stamped it with VersaMark Watermark ink


From the Heart sentiment is found in this set, Antique Valentine Tags One.  It is set in with the wonderful colorful Prima Perles and a coordinating blue leaf from Prima's Zephyr Collection!  The Washi tape is also from the Zephyr Collection.



Spellbinders Labels Twenty Nine, Die one (the smallest) cut the sentiment image before gluing it to the card.  Blue Seam Binding is used for the card bow and a base to which the embellishments are built upon.
For my second card, I created a flower tree of sorts!  Spellbinders Foilage die cut the leaf/branch and Spellbinders scalloped heart die for the heart!  A clear dot was glued on the heart after adhering it to the misc button from my button stash. White seam binding finishes off the base of the button embellishment. Decorative scalloped edging is from Kaisercraft's Secret Admirer paper pad.  

For this card I used JustRite's Garden Gate Background. JustRite background stamps are made with deeply etched rubber and are mounted on static cling foam. The stamped background is trimmed before attaching to card base. 

I chose to place my sentiment on the card inside.  It came from JustRite's Hugs & Sentiments clear stamp set.  I stamped using Versafine Onyx black ink.
The card inside designer paper and edging also is found in Kaisercraft's Secret Admirer paper pad.  These paper pads come with 4 die cut pages! Gotta love that!

There we have it, JustRite's CHA day nine background sets revealed!  Tomorrow I used the new Floral Flourishes Background in an "out of the box kinda way" along with the final reveal set, All in the Family!  Can't wait to share!  See you then!

Take a look at all the background inspiration the following designers have to share!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Key to my Heart Valentine!

Welcome Wednesday!  I've another Valentine Card to share today!  Simple, and oh, so fun!  Words that have been changed to bold colored type are items found at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store!  Click on the words and you will be taken directly to the products in the store!

This paper is wonderfully designed!  Study all the keys for a moment, most of the key tops are hearts!  Some keys are line drawings, others are all colored! Some have the word love for their bottom key part! Definitely this BoBunny Love Letters Collection paper begs the stamped sentiment, "Key to my Heart" to be used, no?

The sentiment is stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and is found in JustRite's Antique Valentine Tags One Clear Stamp Set. The Kaisercraft wooden key is another perfect element for the paper!  I cut one heart off my row or Satin Hearts Trim, added a Kaisercraft adhesive pearl and glued it upon my Seam Binding bow!  The oval window was punched using my SU oval punch and also to punch the stamped oval sentiment piece.  I shaded the oval opening with Versafine Smokey Gray ink.  The entire BoBunny Love Letters Collection Paper panel is adhered to the card using ThermoWeb 3D Foam Squares. That way it raises the paper and creates a raised window for the JustRite stamped sentiment!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I hope this helps you start thinking of those you love for Valentine's Day!  Take good care!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Hugs & Kisses Valentine!

Good Monday to you!  Hope you had a great weekend!  The weather here in lower Michigan has been unseasonably warm, which made for a nice few days!  But today we are back to freezing!  I have a Valentine for you today!  In fact, it is one of the Valentines I intend to gift my hubby! Lets get started!
Isn't the red lips ribbon the best?  I love that it is sheer ribbon and creates such a wonderful bow!  I tied the bow with white seam binding and used a bit of the white seam binding for button embellishing the heart die cuts. The designer paper is the Love Letters Collection from BoBunny!  I cut two hearts using Spellbinders Classic Heart Dies. A couple misc buttons from my stash are also embellished with Kaisercraft Adhesive Pearls, a staple in my craft supplies! The paper heart doily is from the dollar store!  

Don't know why my designer paper strip looks orangish here.  It is much more red in real life!  My sentiments for this card are from JustRite's Antique Valentine Tags One. The stamped glitter edged frame on the card front is also from this set! The sentiments are stamped with Versafine Black Onyx ink. Now I have share that I did indeed put on lipstick and kiss "Love You" for the card inside.  Admittedly, I have not done that since our college days! Chuckling here as I write this post! I'm curious to see if he will question whether those lipstick lips are stamped or mine!  Time will tell on that one!  

There you have it!  My husband's first Valentine of the season!  All the highlighted products used on this creation are found at The Stamp Simply Store!  Just click on the colored wording and it will take you directly to the items!  Take good care!   

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Planting Love!

Welcome back!  This is Day Nine of JustRite's CHA Release!  I made a card for today using JustRite's Poppies Label Twenty Nine Set. I think you'll enjoy this set as it can be stamped and colored as I have done, or simply stamped! Looks fabulous either way!

Poppies Labels Twenty Nine is a JustRite Cling set featuring 8 deeply etched red rubber stamps. I stamped three sets of the smaller poppies image with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I proceeded to Copic color the images before "fussy" cutting them out using my xacto craft knife.   

I used Spellbinders Labels Twenty Nine for my card base and a white panel to adhere my poppies on. I used a side of a Spellbinder A2 Fancy Weave die cut frame to anchor the poppies.  My sentiment circle punched with Tim Holtz Old Paper Ink shaded edges, Want2Scrap adhesive pearls, a fabulous Prima Zephyr flower & leaf, and lovely green stripe ribbon finish the card!  

Be sure to visit the following blogs for more Poppy goodness!  Enjoy!
JustRite Inspiration
Kathy
Michele
Eva
Kazan
Barb
Angela

Friday, January 11, 2013

Circle of Love Birthday Wishes!

Happy Friday!  How was your week?  Welcome to Day 7 of JustRite's CHA Reveal! Today I have a square card for you using JustRite's new Circle of Love Vintage Labels Three set.  I knew I wanted to color the flower image, so I stamped that first with Memento Tuxedo Black and proceeded to color with my Copic Markers.  I chose to "fussy cut" the colored image with my craft knife.

Circle of Love is a JustRite Cling set featuring 11 stamps. Next up was stamping the decorative frame twice with Memento Angel pink ink.  I cut them with JustRite Spellbinders Custom coordinating Vintage Labels Three Dies.  The sentiment was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and hand trimmed to fit design.  I even used some sewing machine stitching on this creation!  After building the layers, I added seam binding bows, a burlap string bow, and some Kaisercraft adhesive rhinestones from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Be sure to check the awesome creations the following JustRite designers have to share!
JustRite Inspiration BLOG
Barb
Angela
Sheri
Kathy

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Valentine Peeps! Stamp Simply Style!

Hello!  How about a simple Valentine treat today?  I have been wanting to do this with marshmallow peeps forever!  I finally got it to the finish line with Valentine Heart Peeps!  

Here is what the packaged Peeps looked like, my local grocer also had these in bright pink.  I had tongue depressors on hand, so that is what I chose to make my Peep Pops out of, however popsicle sticks would work just as well.  Covering the handle part of the depressors was a snap. The depressors are approximately 6 inches in length.  I traced the depressors onto My Mind's Eye Lucky in Love (HERE) designer papers and trimmed them at 4 1/2 inches in length. That way the Peeps did not come in contact with the paper. 

A simple glue wash applied to the depressors is all that was needed to adhere the paper to each of the sticks.  I like to work on a paper plate for this as it can be thrown away when done.  A few drops of water mixed with the glue is what is pictured on the plate.  I also keep a little cup of water so it is at hand if and when more water is needed.  

I used clear envelopes (HERE) to cover each individual Peep Pop.  I trimmed off the adhesive flap and it worked perfectly.  I always have clear envies on hand and I use them often for packaging.  That way I did not have buy a package of bags only to use a few.  I used divine twine (HERE) to tie the clear envies, making sure to leave long tails of twine to use on the tags.

I used one of the sentiments and one of the decorative heart stamps from the above JR set, Hugs & Kisses (HERE).  It is a clear set featuring 26 stamps.  I used Versafine Smokey Gray (HERE) ink for stamping the sentiments.  It was the first time I used this color and love, love, love it!  Versafine works great with clear stamps!

Here is a single Peep Pop!  Note the beautiful ribbon tied above the tag!  Sharon has just listed Valentine Ribbons (HERE) & (HERE) in The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store.  Something new to me used for this creation is a ZIG Painty Chisel Marker (HERE).  The stamped heart and the larger heart base are cut using Spellbinders Classic Heart Dies (HERE).  Each larger heart base is edged with this new white paint pen. Talk about smooth and easy!  I LOVE this new paint pen! 


THANKS SO MUCH FOR STOPPING BY!  HOPE THIS POST INSPIRES YOU TO GET GOING ON THOSE VALENTINES FOR THE SPECIAL PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE!  

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Live, Laugh, Love! Sending you Sunshine and Laughter!

Welcome to JustRite's Day Two CHA Release!  I chose to create this chalkboard card for today using Live, Love, Laugh Vintage Labels Two!  I started with my chalkboard base and stamped with SU White Craft Ink.  The chalkboard base paper is cut from a self stick sheet. This product is from Darice and was purchased at Michaels!   


Another fantastic JustRite set designed by Amy Tedder!  Live, Laugh, Love Vintage Labels Two is a JustRite clear set featuring 30 stamps of pure goodness!  Yes, you read it correctly, 30 stamps! This set coordinates JustRite Spellbinders Custom die set, Vintage labels Two!  My center label focal point is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and colored with Copics. Two misc buttons from my button stash tied the greens into the overall design! The red frame is cut using Spellbinders A2 Matting Basics Card dies. Striped Twill ribbon and divine twine is from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store!  Talk about fun!  I am loving the return of the chalkboard look in stamping, how about you?

You will want to visit the JustRite BLOG everyday through January 16 for all the CHA release day links and to get the daily scoop about the new sets! 
Sending you sunshine and Laughter today and everyday!  Make it a good one!  


Click on the individual names on the following JustRite blog list to take you to each respective designer's blogs!  Enjoy! 

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Hello Friend! Enjoy the DAY!

Happy New Year to you!  Here we are and already it says January 5th on the calendar!  How was your Christmas Holiday?  Lots of action going on here in our neck of the woods!  I have pictures to share periodically of all the festivities!  But for today I have a card for you using one of JustRite's new winter 2013 CHA release sets, Enjoy the Day Vintage Labels Four.

JustRite's Enjoy the Day Vintage Labels Four is a JustRite Clear set featuring 18 stamps.  This set is designed by Amy Tedder and coordinates with JustRite Spellbinders Vintage Labels Four Dies.  

The vision for this card was a sunburst of sorts!  I stamped the rays with Memento cantaloupe ink.  The sentiment celebrate is stamped with Memento London Fog.  Memento Bamboo Leaves and Tuxedo Black are also used. A few touches of Copic color on the oval stamped label base, Bakers twine from The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store, a misc button, tiny twinkles and voila' we have the perfect card to cheer someones day! Praying today and everyday of 2013 will be enjoyable one's for you and those you love!  I'll see you tomorrow with a Day TWO JustRite CHA Release creation!


Here are the talented JustRite Designers participating in today's hop!  Click on name to arrive at each individual respective blog.  Enjoy!