Love At Sea

Hi everyone.  Welcome to Thursday.  I am happy to report my head is finally eased off and is just a dull roar now.  I was a little concerned earlier today when the migraine intensified once again.  I thought for sure it would be back to bed and no crafting.  However, it did decided to ease off and I was able to get back to crafting.  I seem to have so much to do but not enough time.  As much as I like to organize my craft room, I think I had better start organizing my time too. 

I recently ordered a few more items from the Spring catalog from Stampin' Up!  My card today was made using a new sizzix clearlits die called Happy Whale.  I think we are just going to jump into the card.  Ready?  Let's get started.

 

As always, we are going to begin at the beginning.  I started with a base card of Read Red cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  Next I cut a piece of Whisper White to be 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  Using my pastels and a cotton ball, I created a sky background on it.  It was then attached using runner adhesive.  I added the water by cutting strips off a piece of Pacific Point card stock.  I used a pair of decorative scissors to do this.  The design the scissors cut is called bounces but I thought it would work well for waves too.  The strips were adhered using runner adhesive.  I then added a few lines of glue with my 2 way glue pen to the strips and added dazzling diamond glitter to them.

 

To make my boat, I used a new set of framelits from the Spring catalog called the Ovals Collection.  I only cut 2 of the next to largest oval out.  I cut off a strip from one and layered the piece on the card using runner adhesive.  I save the cut off piece.  I took the other whole oval and layered it onto the first cutting the excess that hung over the edge off.  I used this cut off piece as well as the first one to make the layers.  The port hole is a Soft Suede 1" circle with a Basic Black 3/4" circle layered on top.  Again, trim off any excess overhang.  The anchors are part of the Happy Whales clearlit die.  I cut them out using the die and my big shot from Real Red card stock.  They are attached to the boat using a liquid glue. 

 

Here are the love whales themselves.  I cut one out using Bashful Blue and the other is cut out of Pretty in Pink.  For their eyes, I used the circles from the owl builder punch and of course Basic Black and Whisper White card stock.  The water blowing out of their spouts is also part of the Happy Whale clearlit.  I cut them from Pacific Point and attached them using my 2 way glue pen.  I added dazzling diamond glitter to the drops.  Then I drew the mouths on with a fine tip black marker.  I did add a little gel pen to their eyes but this was after the photo was taken.  I then took some Glimmer Red card stock and cut out little hearts with the owl builder punch.  I glued one onto each whale as a fin and scattered the others on the boat and in the sky area. 

This card went together very quickly.  I am so pleased with my new items that I used on this one.  I do hope you don't miss out on these.  

That's it for today.  I am going to go back to crafting but will go slow so my head stays in check.  Wonder what I should try next?  I guess you will have to come back by tomorrow to see what I come up with.  Until then, thanks for stopping by today.

Sorry, No New Share Today

Hi everyone.  It's Wednesday and I am sorry to say I do not have a share for you today.  I spent most of yesterday in bed with a horrible migraine.  It was the kind where the least bit of light made me cringe.  Needless to say crafting was simply out of the question.  I hope you understand that I would rather have been crafting.  Please come by tomorrow.  I hope to be back in my craft room at some time today.  Thanks for understanding. 

Another One of My Favorite Couples

Hi everybody!!  It is Tuesday and here in Arizona we are back to being dry again.  We have had rain since last Thursday and it has been WONDERFUL!!!!!!!  Of course my dog would disagree.  She does not like to get her paws wet.  Yes she is a diva.  I thoroughly enjoyed all the rain.  It had been so long since we had consecutive days of rain that it was amazing to behold!

Yesterday I ventured off onto the road to Easter.  Well today I am back on the path of Valentine's Day.  I woke up yesterday and was thinking about famous couples that I have watched over the years.  Now a lot of you may think I am speaking of real people.  Well you would be wrong.  I mean couples like Betty and Barney Rubble, Wilma and Fred Flintstone, Mickey and Minnie mouse and so on.  I decided to choose one of these special couples to use on my card for today.  I wanted to try one that I have never done before so I hope you like it.  This dynamic duo is a very odd couple and come from a show I use to watch growing up - The Muppet Show.  Do you know who it is now?  Let me show you.

 

Here's the happy couple.  It's Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.  Aren't they cute?  I started with a base card of Elegant Eggplant cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  To this I added a layer of Whisper White cut at 4" x 5 1/4".  I took this piece of white and ran it through my big shot using a Valentine impression folder that I picked up a year or so ago at a local craft store.  I did spray this embossed piece with my champagne shimmer spray which is not visible in this photo but it is there.  I attached this to the base card using runner adhesive.

Next I made the heart frames for my character faces to peek out through.  I used Cherry Cobbler card stock and my Heart framelits to do this.  I cut out a small heart from the card stock and then put the next size up around that hole and cut it to make the frames.  I snipped one of the hearts and interlocked the two together.  I adhere these to the base card using my liquid glue.  I added the rhinestones to the hearts and the pink rhinestones to the background after I attached my characters.

 

Kermit is one of the easiest character to make.  I chose to make him out of Gumball Green card stock.  I also used Whisper White, Real Red and Pretty in Pink.  I punched out one retired 5 petal flower which I used for his collar and 2 ornaments which make up his head.  His mouth is the wide heart from the heart to heart punch in red with a pink small heart layered onto it.  His eyes are 3/4" circles, flattened on the bottom.  I sponged the edges of all the green with matching ink.  All pieces are attached together using my 2 way glue pen except for the top ornament.  It is attached to the bottom with a dimensional.  The eyes are drawn on with a fine tip black marker.  I attached the completed frog with dimensionals to the card.

 

Miss Piggy is equally easy to make.  I used Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Melon Mambo, Real Red, Tempting Turquoise, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight and a sparkle pink (non Stampin' Up!) card stock  for my colors.  Her head is a 1 3/4" circle.  Her mouth lip is a 1/2" circle as is the white of the eyes and the eyelid (cut in half for eyelid).  The blue of the eyes and the red tongue is the largest circle from the owl builder punch.  For the black of the eyes and the nostrils, I used the 1/8" hand held circle punch.  Her snout is a 3/4" circle.  Her neck is a large oval trimmed and her hair are several scallop ovals layered.  Her ears are from the retired 5 petal flower punch and her headband is a 1 3/4" circle offset from a 1 3/4" circle hole.  I gave here a rhinestone necklace.  All of her pieces are assembles using a 2 way glue pen except her snout.  That is attached to the face using a dimensional.  I attached the completed Miss Piggy with dimensionals to the card.

 

For the inside greeting, I decided to use my alphabet stamps and my white craft ink to create the saying on my own.  I used the big shot and the heart framelits to cut a heart from Basic Black card stock.  Stamping the letters in white onto the black surface is known as the chalkboard technique.  It seems to be really popular right now.  Anyway, one it was stamped, I used my heat gun to help dry the ink and then attached the black heart to the card using runner adhesive.  I added a small heart  which was punched from Silver Glimmer card stock to the bottom of the black heart with runner adhesive.  

Well that's it for today.  I hope you all will come back tomorrow to see what my creative brain comes up with next.  Thanks for stopping by today.  

Jumping Holidays

Happy Monday to you all.  Last week, I tried to share lots of Valentine cards as that holiday will be here before we know it.  However, when I sat down to craft this weekend, I found myself skipping a few months down the road to Easter.  I know.  I have totally missed St. Patrick's Day but I promise I will make something for it too.  Anyway, I just could not help myself and want to share with you the card I made.

 

I started with a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Daffodil Delight and scored it at 4 1/4".  I used a retired stamp set called Easter Blossom and stamped the flowers across the bottom of the Daffodil.  I did this with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I added a layer of Whisper White to this.  I cut it to be 4" x 5 1/2".  I will go over the details done to the white in just a few minutes.

 

The cross I chose to use is from a stamp set I bought at a stamp convention a few years ago.  I stamped it using Garden Green ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I then used my Lucky Limeade and Daffodil Delight markers to color in the stems and center of the lilies.  Using my scissors, I carefully cut out the cross to place on my card.  With my 2 way glue pen, I added glue to the petals of the lilies and added Dazzling Diamond glitter to them.  The cross is attached to the card using dimensionals.  

 

Prior to attaching the white to the daffodil, I ran it through my big shot using the adorning accents edgelits to cut the edge that you see here.  Next I used the essentials paper piercing pack to pierce the matching design right above the scallops.  Using the Garden Green ink, I stamped the greeting onto the card with another stamp from the retired Easter Blossoms stamp set.  I then sponged the edges with Daffodil Delight ink and attached it to the card with runner adhesive.

 

To complete the background of my card, I stamped the little butterfly which is from the set I bought at the convention.  I randomly stamped it around the cross with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed it using clear embossing powder.  

I wanted to keep the card fairly simple and make the cross the focal point.  I think I achieved that.  Overall, I am happy with the look of it.  Next time I might use an impression folder on the white also but we will have to see.

That's it for today.  Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back tomorrow.  I look forward to seeing you then!!

Forever Sweethearts

Happy Friday to you all!!!  It has been a busy and exciting week around out house.  I had my 2 doctor appointments this week and our youngest daughter bought a new car.  We have had lots to celebrate and I am so happy for her.

Today's card is another Valentine card for you.  Now the inspiration for this one came from a sticker set I picked up at a craft store a while ago.  I was going through my stickers last month and happened to come across it.  I just knew I wanted to try it with punches.  Now it has taken me a until now to do it.  Well imagine my surprise when I ran across a card on Pinterest with this same design on it.  I did take a look at the card but went ahead and did my own. The designer on Pinterest was Melissa Banbury.  I wanted to be sure that I let you know her name so you can look for her card on Pinterest too.  Now let me show you my card.

 

Yes it is one of my favorite couples - Minnie and Mickey Mouse. They have been together for a very long time.  The sticker set had them sitting on a bench watching fireworks.  I wanted to change it up to fit Valentine's Day.  

I started with a base card of Cherry Cobbler cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Basic Black measuring 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  It's attached with runner adhesive.  For the top layer, I started with a piece of 4" x 5 1/4" Whisper White card stock.  I then used my pastels and a cotton ball to create a sky background for it.  I added a 1/2" x 4" strip of Crumb Cake card stock to the bottom with runner adhesive to represent the ground.  The entire piece was attached to the card with runner adhesive.  

The bench was made using a piece of Early Espresso card stock which had been run through the big shot using the woodgrain impression folder.  I cut a strip off for the bench.  I did not measure this.  To make the feet for the bench, I punched out a small oval and then punched a large oval off the side of it.  I did this twice.  I rounded the ends for the feet.   I added small hearts from the owl punch to the bench and used the small heart punch to put hearts all around them.  These were punched from Red Glimmer card stock and adhered with liquid glue.

 

As I begin to list the supplies used to make Minnie and Mickey, I will list punches used for both first and then list the individual one specific to each mouse.  The card stock colors for these are Cherry Cobbler, Basic Black, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight, and retired Blushing Bride.

Punches Used For Both:

Heads - 1 1/4" circle

Ears/Cheek - 3/4" circles

Arms/Mickey's Leg - Word Window (I know you can't really see Minnie's arms but they are there)

Minnie Mouse Specific:

Puffy Sleeves/Center of Bow - 1/2" circle

Outside Bow - Modern Label

Upper Dress - 3/4" circle

Lower Dress (Skirt) - retired Butterfly punch -- use half

Bloomers - 3/4" circle

Shoes - retired Heart to Heart 

All pieces were assembled using liquid glue.  Now I did not remember until after I had taken the photos and uploaded them that I wanted to add polka dots to her dress and bow.  I would do this using either the small circle from the owl punch, a white gel pen or little pearls.

 

Mickey Specific Punches:

Body - Large Oval

Shorts - Owl Builder

Hands/Shoes - Small Oval 

Again all pieces were assembled using liquid glue.  I attached the finished Minnie and Mickey on the bench to the card using dimensionals.

I know this is a lot to take in so if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.  I will do my best to give your more detailed instructions.

Well that's it for this week.  Thanks for stopping by today and have a fantastic weekend.  I will see you all Monday!!!

Inspiration Strikes!!

Happy Thursday!!!  Remember when I shared all those neat Valentine's from my husband's grandmother last week?  Well, I was looking at them again and decided to make a card based off of one of them.  Let me show you my card and then I will show you the Valentine.

 

Here is my version of my card.  I'll give directions for it in a minute.

 

Here is the actual Valentine in my scrapbook.  Remember my card is based on this so it is not exact.

 

I started with a Cherry Cobbler base card cut at 4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2".  I added a layer of Bashful Blue cut at 4" x 5 3/8".  I ran this through the big shot using the cloudy day impression folder.  I added some white craft ink to the clouds and adhered it to the base using runner adhesive.  To finish by background, I added a couple of torn strips of Garden Green for a grassy area.  These are also attached using the runner adhesive.  I sponged a little Garden Green ink onto this to add some shadows.  The greeting was stamped directly onto the blue sky using Cherry Cobbler ink and an alphabet stamp set that I have.

 

Here is my boy.  I used Marina Mist, Whisper White, Basic Black, Garden Green and Early Espresso card stock to make him.   Here is a list of the punches I used:

Neck/Arms/Legs/Socks - Word Window

Eyes - Owl Builder, 1/8" Circle and 1/4" Circle 

Hair/Hat - Large Oval

Nose - 1/4" Circle

Body - Wide Oval

Bow Tie - Retired Heart to Heart and Owl Builder

Hands - Boho Blossom

Shorts - 1" Square

Shoes - Little Labels Punch Pack

Collar of Shirt - scrap

I used a black marker to draw on a mouth and white gel was added to the eyes.  All pieces were adhered together using liquid glue and he was attached to the card using runner adhesive.

 

To make my wheelbarrow of love, I started with my big shot and my ovals #2 die (which is retired).  I cut out the largest oval from a piece of So Saffron and cut it in half.  I ran the half through my big shot using the fancy fan impression folder and sponged Soft Suede ink lightly over the top to highlight the design.   The handle for the wheelbarrow is a word window punched from Chocolate Chip card stock.  For the wheel, I started with a 1 1/4" circle in Old Olive.  I layered a 1" circle of Marina Mist on top of that.  I then used the owl builder punch to punch out the little hearts from Glimmer Red card stock.  I added a rhinestone to the center of it for bling.

The flowers were made using the leaves from the bird builder punch first.  I punched lots of them out of Garden Green card stock.  I then punched a 2 1/2" circle from So Saffron to adhere the leaves to it using my 2 way glue pen.  I tried to cover the majority of it although I see a few spots in the photo.  I used the scallop flower from the itty bitty punch pack and punched multiple flowers out of Melon Mambo and Pretty in Pink.  I attached these to the leaves with the liquid glue and added a rhinestone to the center of each one.  For the final touch, I punched out several small hearts from Glimmer Red using the small heart punch.  I attached them using the liquid glue.  The completed wheelbarrow is adhered to the card using dimensionals.  

Well I am off to my mammogram appointment.  I cannot wait until it is finished so I can come home and craft.  Have a wonderful day everyone and please stop by tomorrow to see me.  Thanks for coming by today!!!!

Finally Punching Again!!

Hi everybody and happy Wednesday.  I cannot believe we are almost at the end of January.  Where has this month gone?  It seems to just be flying by.  I have had so much going on that my punch art time was lacking.  I have really missed it.  I did not realize just how much until I sat down to make today's card.  It was so nice to be surrounded by punches once again.  I know that may sound weird to some but for me it is so true.  So let's get started so I can show you what I did.

 

I chose to use one of my favorite punches today - the owl punch.  But before we get to them, let me tell you about the base card.  I started with a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" base card of Rich Razzleberry card stock.  It is scored at 4 1/4".  I added a layer of Bashful Blue card stock cut at 4 1/8" x 5 3/8".  Prior to attaching it to the base card, I ran it through my big shot using the cloudy day impression folder.  I added some Whisper White craft ink to the inside of the clouds using a sponge dauber and brushed the edges of it with Marina Mist ink.  It is adhered to the base using runner adhesive.  I then took a scrap of Garden Green card stock and tore off strips to make the grass.  They are adhered using the runner adhesive and then Dazzling Diamond glitter was added to the edges of the grass using my 2 way glue pen.  For the final touch, I made the tree.  The trunk and branches are made using Chocolate Chip card stock.  I cut the trunk to be 2 inches wide and the branches are just scraps.  I ran these pieces through my big shot using the woodgrain impression folder.  I adhered it to the card using the runner adhesive after the owl was placed in the hole and backed using a piece of Basic Black card stock.

 

The leaves of the tree were made using the branch from the 2 step bird punch.  I punched several out of Garden green card stock and glued them down using the 2 way glue pen.  I overlapped them to create the dense look and trimmed off the excess that hung over the edge.  The greeting was stamped on using on of my alphabet stamp set and Pacific Point ink.  I stamped directly onto the card.

 

My girl owl is all dressed up for her Valentine date.  I used the chocolate card stock for the body.  All pieces except the center dot of her bow are from the owl builder punch.  Her dress and bow are Melon Mambo .  For her eyelids, I used Pink Pirouette card stock.  It is the largest circle of the owl punch cut in half.  Here eyes are Basic Black and Whisper White while her mouth is Tangerine Tango.  The dot in the center of the bow is a 1/4" circle punch.  All pieces were adhered using the 2 way glue pen.  I placed her in the hole which was made using the 1 3/8" circle punch and glued a piece of black behind her.   White gel pen adds highlights to her eyes, dress and bow.

 

My little man owl was made using the owl punch also.  His body, eyes, beak and feet were made using the same colors as the girl (chocolate, black, white, and tangerine).  I made him a bow tie to where with the center being a 1/4" circle.  The vest is made with Pacific Point card stock and has black marker lines added to it for design.  I made the top hat for him free hand. All pieces are attached using the 2 way glue pen and the finished owl is attached to the card using dimensionals.

The hearts that decorate the tree are made using the big shot and an embosslit folder called Fashionable Hearts.  I cut them out of Silver Glimmer card stock and attached them to the tree using liquid glue.  I did add some Perfect Plum and Rose Red ink to the silver hearts but it really does not show up in the photo.

Well I am off to see what else I can punch today before the house goes crazy again.  Please come by tomorrow and see if I am successful.  Thanks for dropping by today!

Memories of a Friend

Hi everyone and welcome to Tuesday.  As promised I am going to share a project I worked on for my husband.  This was a special project that he is taking to his fire station to hang up in their day room.  On January 16th, 2012 we lost a very good friend who passed away very unexpectedly.  His name was Mike and he was my husband's 2nd engineer on his ladder truck.  To say we went through a hard time is an understatement.  The entire crew was devastated and lost for many weeks.  His loss is still felt today and he is greatly missed.

To have a day to remember him, the crew and their spouses got together to have dinner and share stories.  We all brought something to remember Mike by and my project was my contribution this year.  See the crew wanted to display something in the station as a remembrance and I was more than happy to help.  We decided on a shadowbox and I am going to share it with you today.

 

I wanted to show you the background out of the box frame so you could really see how it looked.  I used several items that were given to me by my hubby as well as a few sticker sets that represented things he loved such as fishing and hunting.  I made sure to put a friendship saying on it since this is a remembrance made by and for friends of his.  I also put an Irish Blessing that was read at his funeral. I attached everything down using ModPodge adhesive.  I added brads to the matted sayings and photo.  These stuck straight in but will help keep these secure.  I allowed it to dry completely prior to putting the lid on it. 

 

Here is a picture of the finished box.  Yes that is my hand and arm reflection that you see in the glass.  That is why I made sure to take the other photo first to show you.

Well that's it for today.  I am off to my annual doctor's appointment but I will return tomorrow with another share for you.  Please stop by to visit if you can.  Thanks for dropping in today!!

Happy Martin Luther King Day

Hi everyone.  I totally forgot today was Martin Luther King Jr Day today.  While I should have something to share with you I am afraid I don't.  We spent Saturday going to a toy show here in town.  My husband is a toy collector of the He-Man series from the 1980's.  He has an entire room (his office) devoted to this collection.  There are figures everywhere as well as vehicles and structures from the series.  When our oldest daughter moved out, I took her bedroom and made it into an office for him to use with plenty of shelf space to display his collection.  After all what good is a collection that sits in boxes never to be scene out in the light. 

I will admit I am always on the look out for items that I collect too.  Wizard of Oz and I Love Lucy are my favorite things to look for.  I must say that neither one of these is any where near as large as Dave's.  I don't think I could ever collect as much as he has.

Sunday we spent with out youngest daughter since she needed some help and guidance looking for a car.  Well actually, my husband and her boyfriend helped her.  I just stayed out of the way which was fine with me.  I did not feel great and needed a day to just relax.  So I did not get the photos taken for today's blog.  I will post the project I worked on for my husband's fire station with you tomorrow.  For those of you who have to work today, thank you for all you do.  And to those who have a day off, take time to do something you love.  I will see you all tomorrow!!!

Pages from the Heart Day 2

Hello Friday viewers!!!  I am so glad you decided to come back today to see the next set of scrapbook pages.  In case you were not here yesterday, I shared a few pages from a scrapbook of Valentine's that had belonged to my husband's grandmother.  She had them saved up since her childhood and I wanted to protect them by archiving them.  Instead of so much discussion today, I will share more pages instead.  So without further delay, let's get started.

 

Don't you love the little boxer in the bottom right corner?  The one next to him folds down and becomes a 3 dimensional Valentine.  

 

One thing that surprised me when going through these was the color.  We tend to use lots of reds and pinks for this day as well as some purple.  In this group we see a lot of blue used.  It is in the background of some and serves as the main color on others.  Maybe I should give a blue Valentine a try!!

 

Sorry the photo is blurry.  My poor photography skill being displayed for you to see!!

 

Knowing that my husband is a firefighter, it should come as no surprise that this is a favorite for me.

 

Okay so this is not a Valentine.  It happens to be a shoe that belonged to grandma when she was a little girl.  I have 2 others that are displayed in this book also but this is the only one I chose to share.

 

Another page full for you too see.

 

Here you can see we find another expression that you don't seem to see today.  This girl is part of the big eye club!!

 

One more full page for you to view.

 

I love this sailing ship.  It is beautiful.  

 

And the balloon is pretty cool too.  What a clever idea for a Valentine.

 

This one reminds me of the old soda fountains.  I wish those were still around.  Anyway I think the design and sentiment is perfect for this day.

 

Last but not least is this one.  I wanted to share it because I find the wheelbarrow full of flowers a pretty cool idea that could easily be adapted to a hand made card.  I love the wheel too.  I think I might give one of these a try.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing these as much as I enjoyed sharing them.  I love to sit and go through this book anytime I am a little down.  These always make me feel happy.  Today we seem to have Valentine's that are so cartoony and based on characters from shows and movies.  I really like the look of all the older ones a lot better and am going to use some of these as inspiration for me in the next few weeks.  They also remind me of lots of people I love who have passed on like grandma and my mom.  Good memories are worth their weight in gold!!!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend.  On Monday, I will share with you the special project I did for my husband this week.  I was going to share it today but just had too many Valentine's that needed to be seen.  Please come back to see me and thanks for dropping in today to visit!! 

Pages From the Heart Day 1

Hi everyone and welcome to Thursday.  I am happy to report our plumber was able to come and shut off the water to the pipe that kept freezing so now I do not have to worry about that anymore.  They will return in a few weeks to replace the pipes and figure out what to do to prevent this in the future.  Of course the fact that we should be back in the low 70's by today will also mean no more freezing nights!!!!

Today I wanted to stay with the Valentine theme but in a different way than just showing you cards I make.  I was truly fortunate when I married my husband.  He had an extremely close relationship with his grandmother who lived here and I was able to spend several years getting to know her before she passed away.  With my dad in the military, we moved around and were never that close to my grandparents so I did not have the chance to spend lots of time with them.  Getting to know his grandma was a true blessing.  She had wonderful stories to share and mementos from the past to talk about.  I just found her fascinating. 

One of the items she shared with me was a box of Valentine's that she had collected and saved from her elementary school days.  I just thought they were beautiful.  When she passed away, I was given these and decided to make a scrapbook out of them.  While they are not my own creations, they do serve as inspiration when I need it.  So for today and tomorrow, I thought I would share some of the pages with you so you can see a glimpse into the past. 

 

Here's the first page.  While I love all of them, I will highlight a couple that are my favorites from here.

 

This airplane is unique to me but too cute to not share.

 

Love the little peek a boo girl.  Her fan actually moves so you can reveal her face if you like.

 

Here is another full page.  Isn't the elephant one with the cart and totem pole of kids cute?

 

The expressions on the faces of these tow are too funny.  I do not remember ever getting a Valentine with such big eyes.

 

Here is another big eyed one.  In a way her eyes are almost scary but the entire expression is cute too.

 

My favorite one on this page is the one that looks like a postcard.  However, I love all of them.  The skating couple is so cute in person.

 

This is the last page for today.  Again I find these to be so interesting.  The flowers were cut out of a card or something and were also given as Valentine's on their own.  The triangular one up top opens to be a fan.  It is really pretty.  

I hope I am not boring you with these and that you will perhaps be inspired by some of them.  Tomorrow I am going to show you a few more of the pages and of my favorites.  Please come back by and visit for a while.  Thanks for dropping by today.

Not Going My Way

Well it's Wednesday.  Unfortunately my week is not getting any better.  As I am typing this to you I am waiting for it to warm up enough to see if the water will break free in the pipes or if another one will burst.  I cannot tell you how depressing this is.  My husband is calling the plumber and I am hoping he can come and at least put a cap on these lines so that I do not have to worry about this any more for now.  I have been working on a special item for my husband's fire station.  I cannot show it to you until it is revealed there so hopefully I will be able to share it on Friday.  As for today, well I do not have a share once again.  I just cannot seem to work on crafts right now while worrying about the pipes.  It is truly sad because I have 4 cards I need to work on for other people as well as the project for my husband.  Once the plumber is reached and scheduled, I will feel better and be able to relax so I can craft.  For now I am just scared that we will have no water if the pipe bursts.  It is absolutely horrible sitting here waiting to see what will happen.  I will not depress you anymore with my woes.  I do appreciate your understanding.  I plan on sharing a few pages from a scrapbook I made with you tomorrow.  Please come back for the latest update on the pipes and hopefully to see some pretty pages.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Water Water Everywhere!!!!!!

Hi everyone and welcome to Tuesday.  I must say it has already been a very trying week.  I know you thought we were off to a good start since I had a card to post for you yesterday.  Well you got lucky with that one.  I happened to finish that card by Saturday and went ahead to blog it since we were having friends over on Sunday.  I felt really good about this and thought I would have plenty of time on Monday to work on a card for today.  I could not have been more wrong.

Sunday started with a bang - literally.  As I was standing at my kitchen sink, I heard a noise that reminded me of someone dragging something over rocks.  All of a sudden there was a huge pop and water was gushing on my kitchen window.  What I had actually heard was the pressure of water building up.  We finally have been having some cold weather here in Arizona and temperatures have actually been below freezing at night.  We completely forgot to open the spigot outside so it would drip thus keeping the pipes from freezing.  This was the result of our forgetfulness.  So with only 3 hours until our company was due to arrive, I found myself with my husband at Home Depot getting soldering materials to fix the pipe.  We had to cut off the part of the copper line that split and cap off the end. 

Somehow we managed to get it done only to find 3 other small splits on the plastic pipe line that was run.  My daughter's boyfriend use to work as a plumber so he was able to patch these up for now.  We will be runner new pipe completely in that area within the week.  We left the spigot on that night hoping it would not freeze again but apparently we did not leave it on enough.  The water coming out had frozen making a nice icicle hanging from the spigot.  Luckily it broke free and the water ran without causing any more damage.  What a blessing that is.

Needless to say, dealing with all of that really stressed me out.  I helped fix the pipe and then had to prepare a homemade salsa and homemade hamburgers all before people arrived.  We moved out dining room table into my craft room completely blocking all my materials in order to set up the buffet.  I was exhausted by the end of the night.  Monday was spent doing dishes and cleaning up from out gathering as well as doing laundry.  My hubby had a meeting and did not get to help me move the table back until he returned home that evening.  There was no crafting to be done due to this and honestly, it took most of the day just to clean everything up. 

I do apologize for not having something to share with you today.  Hopefully by the time you read this my craft room will be back to normal and I will be crafting myself silly.  As long as there are no more plumbing disasters (please no more), we should be fine and I will be able to get something prepared to share with you.  Thanks for understanding and please come by tomorrow to see me.  Have a terrific day!!!!

Pink and Butterflies - What Could Be Better?

Hi everyone and happy Tuesday.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  For those of you who had to work, I hope you have a few relaxing days at home this week.  Both my girls work on Saturday's and one works on Sunday too so I know those days off during the week are very welcomed.

One of my favorite things to use on cards is the butterfly.  When Stampin' Up! retired their butterfly punch, I was very sad.  Once I saw that they had a new one in the 2012-2013 catalog, I was very happy.  It is called Elegant Butterfly.  Now imagine how thrilled I was when the new Spring mini catalog came out and I saw the new Bitty Butterfly punch.  I had not used either one of these on a card yet so I wanted to use them for today.  This is another Valentine's card for you.  Let's get going shall we.

 

This particular card starts with a base of Melon Mambo card stock cut at 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4".  I added a 4" x 5 1/4" layer of Whisper White to this.  Once I cut the white to size, I ran it through the big shot using the elegant bouquet impression folder.  After impressing it, I attached it to the base card using runner adhesive.

 

The greeting on this card is from a retired stamp set called Valentine Defined.  I used Melon Mambo ink to stamp it directly onto the white.  Now I know you can see the little line up above it.  I do apologize for that.  It just happens sometimes.  The butterflies were punched using the Elegant Butterfly and the Bitty Butterfly punches.  I punched them out of both Melon Mambo and Vellum Paper.  I ran the pieces through the big shot using the impression folder called Honeycomb.  It is a new one from the Spring catty.  I layered the vellum on top of the mambo and attached it using my two way glue pen just in the center.  I added the pearls to the center of the butterflies to cover the glue that might show through.  For the trail they leave behind, I used some light pink rhinestones I picked up at a local craft store.   The butterflies were attached using dimensionals.

 

I used the same light pink rhinestones to add to the center of the flowers.  I thought it added a bit of sparkle and color to the otherwise white flowers.  I also added a couple of larger rhinestones to dots next to the filigree.

 

For the inside I used a stamp I have had for years.  I got it at a local craft store.  I stamped it using Melon Mambo ink onto Whisper White card stock.  I then cut it out using the heart collection of framelits.  I used my mambo ink and sponge to add some ink to the edges of the heart.  It is attached inside using runner adhesive.

This is a nice, simple card but I love the look.  Give it a try.  

Well that concludes my blog for today.  Thanks for dropping by and I will see you all tomorrow.

How About A Little Kiss?

Good morning everyone.  Well it looks like we made it to Friday once again.  My day will be filled with cleaning as we are having some friends over this weekend. I am so looking forward to seeing everyone and having fun.

Today's card was another one that I saw on Pinterest by Donna Schafer.  If you are not on Pinterest, you really should visit it.  There is just so much there.  Now back to Donna's card.  I just thought her was so cute and I wanted to try my hand at making one myself.  Mine is designed a little different than hers but I did not want to copy her.  Here is my version of the Hersey Kiss card:

 

I started this card by cutting a piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock to be 4 1/4" x 11" and scored it at 5 1/2".  I then added a layer on top of Whisper White which measured 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" and attached it using runner adhesive.  For the final full top layer, I cut another piece of Cherry Cobbler at 4" x 5 1/4".  I added some black and white hearts which were punched out using the small heart punch.  I attached the small hearts to the cherry using runner adhesive.  Once they were all attached, I ran the piece through my big shot using the Lacy Brocade impression folder.  I then attached my embossed piece to the card with the runner adhesive.  The rhinestones added to the small hearts were added after everything had been attached and the card was complete.

 

For my greeting, I decided to use a stamp from a retired set called Wandering Words.  On the actual stamp, the words and hearts are coming out of a mailbox.  I did not want the mailbox as part of my picture so I inked my stamp with my Cherry Cobbler Stampin' Up! marker being sure to only add ink to the hearts and words.  Once I stamped it onto Whisper White card stock, I cut it out free hand, sponged the edges with matching ink and attached it using dimensionals.

 

For the bottom half of the card front, I started with a piece of Basic Black card stock cut at 1 1/2" x 5 1/2".  I punched hearts out using the small heart punch. (These were attached to the cherry background.)  I then ran this piece through the big shot using the Fancy Fan impression folder and sprayed it using champagne shimmer spray.  I set this aside for a few minutes.  

Next I took my blossom builder punch and punched out 3 of the largest petals which have a scallop edge on one side from Glimmer Silver card stock.  I set these aside and cut a strip of the silver to attach to the back of the black so the hearts would be silver.  I attached it to the black using glue dots.  I then attached the 3 petals to the back of the black piece using glue dots.  The petals are simply turned upside down.  Now I recommend glue dots for this card stock if you need to attach the glittery side to another piece of card stock.  It just seems to work the best.  I took out a scrap of vellum paper to create the flags.  Two of the saying came from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set and the Bitty Banner stamp set.  I cut them out using my big shot and the Bitty Banner framelits.  I attached these to the kisses using my 2 way glue pen.  I angled them a little crazy so that they would fit on the card.  Once they were attached, I attached the entire piece to the card from using runner adhesive.  I added the rhinestones to it for a little more jazz.    

 

For my inside greeting, I used another retired stamp set called Sprinkled Expressions.  This was a Sale-a-Bration stamp set from last year.  I stamped the large heart and the words using Cherry Cobbler ink onto Whisper White.  I then took my corner rounder and rounded the corners.  I brushed the edges with Cherry Cobbler ink and attached it to the card using runner adhesive.

That brings us to the end of today's share.  I do hope you are getting inspired for Valentine's day.  Please have a nice, relaxing and fun weekend.  Be sure to do something you enjoy.  I will see all of you on Monday.  Thanks for stopping by today!!!