WMSC 21 - I'd like to check you out

I actually did make a card for the WMS sketch this week -- shocking I know! So check it out at the WMS Sketch Challenge blog. And a random participant will win a free stamp set!

I love cheesy puns. Just ask my hubs... he groans every time I come up with something. So I've been dying to use this pun on a card and I finally found a good reason to use it.

I had a stamp of a library check out card -- remember those? I used to love stamping the due date on those check out cards and slipping it back into my library book. My library moved to a self-checkout system with a receipt when I was in junior high and it just wasn't as cool (ok, hope that doesn't date me).

So when I saw the library card sitting on my desk, I decided I needed to pair it with the sentiment: "I'd like to check you out".  Hardee har har! Perfect to give to a dorky book lover. Ok, I'm gonna keep chuckling on my cute sentiment and you guys can roll your eyes now.

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Stamps: (Text It, Sweethearts) Waltzingmouse Stamps, (library card) PTI
Ink: PTI
Accents: (buttons) PTI
Fibers: (ribbon) American Crafts

You Inspire Me

It's been pretty warm out here. Warm falls mean warm winters which means wet winters... I hate wet winters. I'm really hoping for some cooler weather soon. 70's in late October just seems wrong... I've got some cutey patotie cardis that I'm ready to wear...

That said, it's been REALLY hard to make holiday cards right now... I want bright happy pink flowers on every card! ;-) So today we have a fun little card with some hot air balloons!

I loved hot air balloons as a kid. For some reason, I remember my mom trying to get me into one and I freaked out about it. By the time I was ready to get on the hot air balloon, they were closed for the day. Alas, a lost opportunity as I'd love to go on a hot air balloon ride now!

The balloons are colored with Copics and then cut out. They're adhered to the card with some dimensional adhesive to add a little depth to the card as well.




Stamps: (Up Up and Away, Dare to Be You) Verve
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Memento
Coloring Medium: Copics
Cardstock, Fibers: PTI
Tools: (corner rounder) We R Memory Keepers), (texture plate) PTI

Caring Hearts Blog Hop

Welcome to the Caring Hearts Blog Hop! You should be coming from Ayana's blog. If you didn't come from her blog, you should definitely start here to view the entire blog hop. The Caring Hearts Card Drive aims to collect holiday cards (Thanksgiving and Christmas) for the elderly. You have until November 15 to create a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Winter Holiday card and upload it to this blog post -- and all entries will get you entered for some fun prizes. More details about the card drive are also posted over there.

Today I'm sharing a little Christmas card.

Normally I'm not a gold person but I felt compelled to use some gold. I stamped the music background using Musical Backgrounds from WMS. I used VersaMark and then I dusted the entire background with gold Perfect Pearls. Then I sprayed the entire piece with a mist I created with water and gold perfect pearls.

The tag comes from Nutcracker Sweet  and the sentiment comes from Compliments of the Season. I used some crinkly gold ribbon and some pins to finish the card off.

Thanks for stopping by! Cassie's blog is the next stop on the blog hop! Be sure to see what she has up her sleeve!




Stamps: (Musical Backgrounds, Compliments of the Season, Nutcracker Sweet) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (brown) Tim Holtz, VersaMark, (gold) Perfect Pearls 
Cardstock, Patterned Paper: PTI
Ribbon: May Arts
Accents: (pin) Little Yellow Bicycle, (button) Papertrey Ink

Birthday Wishes

I'm horrible with on-time birthday wishes. Absolutely horrible. Don't get me wrong - it's not because I don't love my friends, just always late. This year I vowed to be on time... so I've had my cards made a month ahead of time, sometimes even more. But that doesn't mean the card gets sent on time... I pretty much gave up with the summer months (sorry guys) and I figured I'd just start over with the fall birthdays.

I've used this layout before and it's fun to create the taller layouts. For this card, I wanted to not use a white base and use white as my accent color. Just a different twist to the usual. I embossed the roses in white and then sponged some white ink in the flower centers.

Happy Birthday W! May you have a fabulous one!

Stamps: ( Roses in Bloom, Fancy Phrases) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Versamark from Tsukineko
Embossing Powder: (white detail) Ranger
Cardstock, Fibers: PTI
Tools: (decorative edge scissors) Provo Craft

WMS October Customer Waltz

 

Welcome to the October WMS Customer Waltz! Be sure to check out the WMS forum for the full list of participants! 

We have another fun little guessing game for you. Be sure to find the special word on every participating DT member's blog-o to answer the following question: What is the subject of one of the new stamp sets to be released in November? Just as a hint, there are 11 clues and it's a little tricky so as long as you're in the ballpark, that's good enough. Place your answer in the WMS forum by 11:59 pm Eastern on Tuesday, October 19th for a chance to win something fun! Good luck guys!

Last weekend, I went on a little trip to chill with some fabulously wonderful crafty girls! (Big waves to Pat, Lindsay, Tara, Rebecca, Linda, Steph, and Kirsty!) And while I was on my little trip I picked up new toys! :) When I got back, my husband greeted me with a kiss and then kindly said "Wow, you didn't buy as much as I expected". Ah, true love!

This week, work brought me up to the state of New Hampshire. Typically, I don't rent cars when I'm on a trip because I hate driving. I take taxis and walk when at all possible. However, in this case, I had no choice but to drive an hour from the airport to the client site. That said, the Northeast had the loveliest leaves at this time of year... so it was one lovely drive (well, at least the part of it I did in daylight...) 

So while I was driving, of course I was thinking about my new toys... new toys and leaves led me to this simple card...

The leaves are all from Blessed by You. I stamped the leaves individually with a watermark ink. Then brushed different colors of the Perfect Pearls Metallics. I was ok if the colors merged a little... gives it character.The frame from Very Vintage Labels No. 1 and again, it was brushed with one of the perfect pearl powders. Ok, I went a little powder happy. ;-)


I also sprayed the entire card with a mix of water and gold perfect pearls. It gives the entire card a subtle shine although it does not show up in the photo. It's as if the kraft cardstock has specks of gold in it. Since I didn't want droplets, I sprayed pretty far away and just let the mist fall onto the card.

I love the fall leaves and the Northeast but it also made me super sick. My husband thinks my getting a flu shot right before traveling didn't help... I think its sitting next to a lady on the plane who didn't know how to cover her mouth... eh, who knows. Back to bed for me!  (I will apologize now that I'll probably go through the waltz a little slower than my normal pace)

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!



Stamps: (Blessed by You,  Very Vintage Labels No. 1) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: (Kraft, Vintage Cream) PTI
Ink:  Versamark from Tsukineko, (Dark Chocolate) PTI
Accents: (gems) Hero Arts
Coloring Medium: (markers) Copics
Tools: (Labels 1 die) Spellbinders

Beware Beware

I love that it's starting to cool down! I'm a big fan of soups for dinner and I always associate soups with cooler weather.  I think we just had our last warm spurt so finally I can dig out the winter blankets and the sweater bin. I've never been a big fan of the winter but it's been such a HOT summer that I'm so excited to see some cooler air.

This is just a fun little Halloween card using Halloween Party from WMS. I stitched three lines with the sewing machine to serve as my spider web. After stitching them, I stamped my little spiders right over the lines. I thought it was a fun little effect.



Stamps: (Halloween Party, Very Vintage Labels 3) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Patterned Paper: PTI
Fibers: PTI
Accents: (Gems) Hero Arts
Tools: (border punch) Fiskars

Caring Hearts Card Drive

I'm having one of those weeks... I don't get Columbus Day off so everything being closed totally threw me off yesterday. I hope those of you who were lucky enough to have the day off are rested! :)

I also want to apologize for not making the commenting rounds very well yet! I know you all are creating fabulous works of art. I'm super busy so it's throwing me off a bit. I'll be catching up this weekend! :)

I'm sending this card as part of the Caring Hearts Card Drive, sponsored by the ever so adorable Vera Yates! She's asking for Thanksgiving and Christmas cards. I decided I'd make a Thanksgiving card since I've done so many Christmas ones already! I used a little paper pleating to create the turkey feathers.This cute pleating was inspired by the Moxie Fab Perfectly Placed Pleats.

If you have a chance, send a card for the Caring Hearts Card Drive! :)


  
Stamps: (Falling for You) My Favorite Things
Ink: (Dark Chocolate) Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: (Nutmeg) Cosmo Cricket
Fibers: (ribbon) PTI
Tools: (corner rounder) We R Memory Keepers, (border punch) Fiskars

spooky halloween

I wanted to pull up this oldie but goodie set Halloween Party from WMS.

 

A simple card that shows you how I totally can't sew straight for the life of me if I can't cover it up with something like another layer. Hah, but I have decided that crooked sewing is actually spookier than straight sewing!

Waltzingmouse October Release Blog Waltz

Welcome to the Waltzingmouse October Release Design Team Blog Waltz. Make sure to start at Claire's blog to go through the entire waltz! You should have come here from Anya's blog, if you didn't be sure to make the rounds! There's som fabulous eye candy.  This month there will be 5 fabulous sets being featured in the waltz (Big Blooms - Poinsettia, Compliments of the Season, Frame It, Holiday Labels No 14, and Text It)!

Remember you can win a free stamp set by leaving a comment at each blog post along the waltz, including this post! Your comment must be received by 11:59 pm EASTERN on October 9. One winner will be chosen from comments on Claire's blog and one winner will be chosen from comments left on one of the DT member's blogs! So leaving a comment on this blog gives you a chance to win some free goodies and by making the rounds, you can increase your chances!

Season's Greetings Card

So, I will admit I didn't think it was possible... When I was at CHA, I tagged along with Mona one of the days. Mona insisted we stop by the Graphic 45 booth -- graphic wha? Somehow I had never heard of them and when we got there, I still couldn't figure out what the big deal was. Don't get me wrong.., the booth was stunning,  "just not my style", I stupidly told Mona. Now I'm gonna eat my words...

I adore it. Give me more any day. I couldn't stop using the Xmas line with the sentiments from WMS's Compliments of the Season. Everyone this year is getting Xmas cards with these fabulous images and sentiments! I need more! I loved this image so much I couldn't cover any more of it up..  I let the main focus of the card be the image and I just added some tidbits here and there. The lace is from the fabulous Nina Brackett! Thanks so much Nina!

I'm going to Archivers this weekend. Guess what's #1 on my list? You got it... Graphic 45. I hear a big fat "I told ya so" coming my way. ;-)


Sleigh Bells Ring Card

The "Sleigh Bells Ring" sentiment from Compliments of the Season and Musical Backgrounds seemed like the perfect merge for this card. The frame comes from Holiday Labels No 14. There's actually an extra flourish on there but in order to make the sentiment fit, I did mask the flourish when I stamped.

The music background is stamped with Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored the dots of the patterned paper with a Copic Marker -- I felt that when it was white, it was too glaring. 




Great Big Hugs Card

This is actually the card I'm sending off to Cammie's Heart to Heart Card Drive. I already sent it off but since I had used stamps that weren't released yet, I couldn't share it. I encourage you guys to send cards off even if you can't win anymore. :)

I stamped flowers from Big Blooms - Chrysanthemums in different colors. I laid those panels out and then tied a ribbon around it. The label frame comes from Holiday Labels No 14 and the sentiment is from Frame It.

I'm the last stop on the blog waltz today. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the projects! Remember to leave a comment here by 11:59 pm EASTERN on October 9 for a chance to win WMS goodies!



Season's Greetings Card

Stamps: (Compliments of the Season) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Graphic 45, Pink Paislee
Fibers: (lace) Courtesy of the Fabulous Nina Brackett
Accents: (buttons) Papertrey Ink
Tools: (star punch) Fiskars


Sleigh Bells Ring Card

Stamps: (Compliments of the Season, Holiday Labels No 14, Musical Backgrounds) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock, Ink, Fibers: Papertrey Ink
Accents: (gem) Bazzill
Tools: (label die) Spellbinders


Great Big Hugs Card

Stamps: (Holiday Labels No 14, Frame It, Big Blooms - Chrysanthemums) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Papertrey Ink, Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Fibers: (ribbon) Papertrey Ink
Tools: (label die) Spellbinders

Waltzingmouse Stamps October Preview - Day 3

Welcome to the third day of the Waltzingmouse Stamps October Release previews! The DT and I will be sharing projects over the next several days featuring FIVE new stamp sets that will be available for purchase at the Waltzingmouse online store starting Thursday, October 7th. This is such a fun release -- lots of great all-season sets and fun Christmas sets!

Be sure to check out Claire, Anya, Bonnie, Jennifer, Joan, Julia, Lisa, Lynn, Mona, and Sandie who all have fabulous projects to share with you!

I sort of have a hodge podge of cards today covering basically all the 5 sets with traditional and non-traditional Christmas cards. Have you guys started your Christmas cards yet?

A Merry Christmas to You Cards 
(Before we begin, yes, that's a Rubik's cube under my card.... I couldn't find anything else... Hush!)

For my first set, I wanted to create some quick Xmas cards. Sometimes the best way to add a little spice to your life is to create the card with different colors. :) This means you can use the same smashing layout that you spent time perfecting and you can give everyone a unique card. My husband feels that the green one is not Christmasy or Wintery enough... but what does he know? ;-)

I picked the medium sized poinsetta from Big Blooms Poinsettia and stamped it. I didn't move it from my block so all of them have a similar position on the card. I then stamped the sentiment from Compliments of the Season in gray ink (well, black ink for the red card). I used the text background from Text It on the colored paper and adhered it to my card. Tied a ribbon and called it a day.

After I was all done, I decided these cards needed some glam. I shimmered these babies up with some Pearl Glimmer Mist. Of course, silly me, didn't let it fully dry before standing them up -- hence the green one is curling a touch -- but once its fully dry, just bend it a little and it'll be a-ok.

The results are stunning though! It's as if I stamped the image on some shimmery white paper and shimmery colored paper. The ribbon has mist on it as well so it's nice and shimmery too! I LOVE spraying everything and anything in mist right now. Heck, I'd spray my husband in mist if he'd stand still long enough. ;-)


Yuletide Blessings

 

This card is dedicated to everyone other there who loves label stamps but doesn't always want to use them with the die cut label. These labels look fabulous just by themselves! If you don't own any nesties or this particular label, you can still use these Nestie compatable stamps as fabulous framing images. At first, I was just going to stamp the sentiment but I love the flair that the frame adds.

The flower is colored with Copics and then carefully trimmed. Since I knew I was going to trim the flower, I wasn't careful with coloring my edges. Why bother taking your time when you know it isn't going to matter?

Vintage Merry Christmas

For this card, I started with the patterned paper. I knew I wanted to use it. So we went from there and let the stamps speak to me. Normally, I pick my stamps and colors first... It took a slightly vintage turn.

This particular label I used is really versatile. Claire actually has two designs on it - one on the top half and one on the bottom half. So I inked up only one half and stamped it twice. You can also just ink the label as is -- see Sandie's card for a fun example of that. This means you have 3 possible frame looks, all with one stamp. How awesome is that? Yay for versatility and yay for Claire stuffing as many designs as possible into one gorgeous stamp set! (You could even do a 4th style by stamping the entire stamp twice)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous day!
 


Merry Christmas Card Set
Stamps: (Big Blooms - Poinsettia, Compliments of the Season, Text It) Waltzingmouse Stamps
 Ink: (White, Pure Poppy, Simply Chartruese, Spring Rain) Paperytrey Ink, (Cobblestone) Vivid, (Tuxedo Black) Memento
Cardstock: (White, Pure Poppy, Simply Chartruese, Spring Rain) Paperytrey Ink
Fibers: (ribbon - Pure Poppy, Simply Chartruese, Spring Rain) Paperytrey Ink
Other: (Pearl) Glimmer Mist 


Yuletide Blessings
Stamps: (Big Blooms - Poinsettia, Compliments of the Season, Holiday Labels No. 14, Text It) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Patterned Paper: (365 Degrees) Pink Paislee
Ink, Cardstock, Fibers: (Spring Moss, Ripe Avocado, Pure Poppy) Papertrey Ink
Coloring Medium: (markers) Copics


Vintage Merry Christmas

Stamps: (Compliments of the Season, Holiday Labels No. 14, Text It) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Vintage Photo, Antique Linen) Tim Holtz Distress Ink
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon
Cardstock: (Vintage Cream, Aqua Mist) Papertrey Ink
Fibers: (Fine Linen) Papertrey Ink, (twine) May Arts
Accents: (buttons) Papertrey Ink

Waltzingmouse Stamps October Preview - Day 2

Welcome to the second day of the Waltzingmouse Stamps October Release previews! The DT and I will be sharing projects over the next several days featuring FIVE new stamp sets that will be available for purchase at the Waltzingmouse online store starting Thursday, October 7th. This is such a fun release -- lots of great all-season sets and fun Christmas sets!

Be sure to check out Claire, Anya, Bonnie, Jennifer, Joan, Julia, Laurie, Lisa, Lynn, Mona, and Sandie who all have fabulous projects to share with you!

Today both of my cards feature Frame It. It's a fabulously fun set that allows you to frame you images. No need to draw those lines by hand anymore. In my previous cards, I'd waste about a sheet of cardstock to get those frames *just right*. Now, I can just stamp away! Claire also included some fab sentiments in it along with some cute images to use (which I know the rest of the DT has started showing off already)!

So let's get started, shall we?

It's Christmas Card

Of course, I had to start with a Christmas card. :) This first card uses Frame it and Big Blooms - Poinsettia. I stamped the frame first and then masked off the sides to stamp the flower. I love the look of the flower inside the frame -- almost as if you're looking through a window. I colored the flower with my Copics and the flower is also highlighted with a subtle yellow outline.

As Joan mentioned yesterday with her lovely card, kraft is a very forgiving cardstock to color on. This is the first time I've done it and there's a couple things I did that I wouldn't normally do with white cardstock. (1) I used Y21 to highlight my flower... way too dark normally but on kraft, it barely shows up. Suh-weet! (2) Somehow you're able to color a little messily and it looks a-ok. And I seemed to have less bleeding than I normally do when I use reds... perhaps I'll be coloring on kraft a lot more now... I could almost be a master colorer with kraft... hah!

I've been itching for a reason to use the lace that Nina gave me when we met at CHA. Finally found a great use for it in this card. :) Thanks Nina!



The one thing about the frame is that you don't have to have the sentiment opening on the bottom. You can put it on the top, the left, the right, or the bottom. :) Who says you have to follow the rules?  I like the look of the sentiment to the side and by changing where the opening of the frame is located, you increase the possibilities of this set tremendously.


For My Teacher Card

Frame It also works with some fabulous images from previous WMS sets, including Blessed by You.  At this point, I was pretty mask happy. So I figured, let's keep masking!

I stamped the frame and sentiment in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder. Stamped the apple and leaf. Then I masked off the edges (along with a small buffer) and masked the appel and stamped the text from Text It. I think it gives it a neat effect. :) The apple and leaves also have some glossy accents on them for extra flair.

Thanks for stopping by! :)







It's Christmas Card

Stamps: (Frame It, Big Blooms - Poinsettia) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Graphic 45
Fibers: (lace) from the Fabulous Nina Brackett, (ribbon) Papertrey Ink, (twine) Jewelry Essentials
Accents: (button) Papertrey Ink

For My Teacher Card

Stamps: (Frame It, Text It, Blessed by You) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Watermark Ink) Tsukineko, Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Papertrey Ink
Fibers: (twine), (ribbon) Papertrey Ink
Accents: (glossy accents) Ranger, (button) Papertrey Ink

Waltzingmouse Stamps October Preview - Day 1

Welcome to the first day of the Waltzingmouse Stamps October Release previews! The DT and I will be sharing projects over the next several days featuring FIVE new stamp sets that will be available for purchase at the Waltzingmouse online store starting Thursday, October 7th. This is such a fun release -- lots of great all-season sets and fun Christmas sets!

Be sure to check out Claire, Anya, Bonnie, Jennifer, Joan, Julia, Laurie, Lisa, Lynn, Mona, and Sandie who all have fabulous projects to share with you! A huge welcome to both Joan and Sandie who are the latest addition to the WMS DT!

I have two lovely Christmas cards today. To get in the mood, I kept singing Christmas tunes. My husband kept complaining at me when I'd sing "In the summer we can build a snowman, and pretend that he's a circus clown". Whoops... it felt like summer... However, I was told that if I'm going to sing Christmas tunes before December, I should at least get the words right. :-P

Compliments of the Season Card

The first card showcases 3 of the brand new sets: Big Blooms - Poinsettias, Compliments of the Season, and Text It.

When I first saw the poinsettias, I just knew I wanted them to be felt. I stamped the bracts (or the colored leaves) and leaves onto some felt. The flower of the poinsettia is actually grouped inside the yellow structure in the middle of the leaves. I used a fun vintage looking gem (colored with my copics yellow) to serve as the poinsettia flower.

Felt takes a little longer to take in the ink. Keep the stamp on a little longer than you would paper.


Season's Greeting Star Card

For this card, I wanted to show how you can incorporate the sentiments from Compliments of the Season with other fun sets. I pulled out the lovely star from Seasons of Love - Tags. Season's Greetings fit in there perfectly and I used some of the star embellishements from Compliements of the Season as well.

Both of these cards and sets are perfect to use to participate in the Moxie Fab World Jolly Holiday Greetings Challenge. Have you started yet your Xmas cards yet?

Thanks for stopping by today! :)



Compliments of the Season Card

Stamps: (Big Blooms - Poinsettias, Compliments of the Season, Text It) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Dark Chocolate, Chai Tea, Chamomile) Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: (Dotty Biscotti) Papertrey Ink
Color Medium: Copics
Fibers: (brown twill) May Arts, (felt)
Accents: (gem) Bazzill, (doily) Wilton


Season's Greeting Star Card

Stamps: (Compliments of the Season, Seasons of Love - Tags) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: (Spring Moss, Dark Chocolate) Papertrey Ink, (straw) Tim Holtz
Cardstock: Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper (365 Degrees) Papertrey Ink
Fibers: (twine) May Arts
Accents: (button) Papertrey Ink, (pearls) Hero Arts
Tools: (corner rounder) We R Memory Keepers