Winter Wishes

 Haul out the holly
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again
Fill up the stocking
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now...

 

It has been overcast, rainy and blustery and I love it! I was so excited when I turned on the radio and discovered that KOST FM is now playing Christmas music. As I listened to We Need A Little Christmas I worked on another card using Treasured Times Sweet Christmas stamp. You can see the easel ornament card I made with this stamp here . This time I started out with a bank white card which I cut into a house shape. I covered the house and roof with paper and used a bow topped gift for a chimney. Next, I placed the stamped image behind a die cut frame, added trees and a deer. I finished it off with some Stickles  on the snowflakes and deer antlers.

For we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
Candles in the window
Carols at the spinet

And we need a little Christmas
Right this very minute
We need a little Christmas now!

sharing this post with:

Share Your Cup 

Time Travel Thursday 
The Chicken Chick 

Holiday Cheer

I woke up with a cough and low grade fever- boo hoo! But I wanted to be one of the first to say Happy November! Can you believe we are on the downhill slide to the holidays? 

 
 I've started on my Christmas cards and wanted to share this easel ornament version I made using Treasured Times stamp #616-S, called Sweet Christmas. The November Challenge at Treasured Times, which runs through the 14th, is to use four different shades of the same color and some bling. 

  I used a variety of greens on my 
ornament easel card - sage, lime, grass, evergreen - and colored the image with my Zig Water Pen and Distress Inks.

 

 I also used a snowflake punch with gold glitter paper and a pine needle border punch on the card. 

I cut the ornament shape out with my Cricut in 3 graduated sizes to layer behind the cute Christmas boy and girl. The flowers are K & Company and Prima, and I found the narrow gold tinsel string at Target. If you want to see more Design Team cards go here.

Anyone else working on home crafted Christmas cards or gifts?

Treasured Times Rubber Stamps Blog Hop

Welcome to the Treasured Times Blog Hop! 
The Blog Hop begins today and ends on August 7, and our new Challenge begins August 3rd. You have the opportunity to win prizes in both!

 Rules- can't live without 'em, but I promise there are only a couple.

• Visit all eight participating blogs/FB page.
•  Leave a comment at each. 

Easy, right?! You will finish at the Treasured Times blog and leave a comment for Jody letting her know that you completed the Hop & left comments at each blog to be in the running for this prize:

 

 I'm number #6 on your hopping journey, so if you are arriving from Gelsomina's blog you are in the right place. 

 I made three projects using the Sugar Skull stamp by Tracy Moreau to share with you. The first one is a card I created using a technique called Soot Stamping. To do this technique you need a household candle, glossy card stock, a clean stamp, and a spray sealant. There is a video tutorial HERE

Pass the card stock quickly over the candle flame, glossy side down, to cover the surface with soot. Carefully press the stamp onto the blackened area. Next, lightly spray the image with sealant to protect it from smearing.

I had so much fun soot stamping and liked the striking results. I decided to make this card all black and white, so to give it extra visual interest, I added texture by embossing white card stock, adding a small doily and using sheer loopy-edged ribbon. 

I will be mailing this card to one of you who leaves a comment on this post!

For my next project I decided to use the stamp in more traditional Cinco De Mayo colors.

 This is a double easel card made with Spellbinders Nestabilities Label Nine die cuts. You can watch a tutorial on how to make a triple card HERE

I followed Kim's directions but just made two easel sections. The card folds flat for mailing.

Do you like the bright, happy colors? After I embossed the skull image with red embossing powder, I colored it in with markers. I also used pearls, glitter, chipboard and a Basic Grey flag to decorate it. The doily was white before I spritzed it with Heidi Swapp Primrose mist. Here is a side view -

My last project using the sugar skull stamp is the 'sweetest' of all! Haha! I repurposed a match box for Halloween. The first thing I did was paint the interior with white acrylic paint and let it dry. Next, I covered all surfaces with decorative paper. I used a bead and brad inserted in one end for a drawer pull. 

I stamped the sugar skull in black and distressed the edges with Ranger Orange Marmalade ink. I used purple and black bakery string as an accent and adhered a bright orange flower and glittery spider near the top.

The gold tile is a piece I made from air dried clay, which I painted and stamped. Here is a closer look at the drawer pull

What do you think is inside? 

Four 'fun size' Snickers bars fit perfectly!

Somebody is going to be happy, happy, happy when they open this Halloween greeting!

I stopped at three projects, but can't you just picture this stamp being used for a pirate themed card or creation?

Now head over to
 Adriana's Facebook page

She's next on the Blog Hop.

  Carol Salisbury – http://scrappydayz.blogspot.com/
Elisabetta Monnini – http://www.lizziebusyhandmade.blogspot.com/
Franca Marzi – http://piccolepassioni.blogspot.it/
Nadja Robbins – http://nadjarobbins.blogspot.com/
Gelsomina Mori – http://romanticherie.wordpress.com/
  Adriana Ortolano – https://www.facebook.com/adriana.ortolano.9?fref=ts

Busy Week

Let's see - in the past 6 days we have nursed a cat while she recovered from dental surgery and complications, celebrated a birthday, shopped for a new garbage disposal and had a surprise backyard visitor. Oh, and College Girl kicked herself for not getting tickets to Comic Con after she learned that Tom Hiddleston made a surprise appearance, in costume and in character - LOKI!

Nothing fancy shmancy for Handyman. He likes a home-made angelfood cake  with plain  buttercream icing like his mom used to make - no food color, no chocolate, no haute cuisine flavors. And he likes extra icing, so I usually put that down inside the cake center. It's not a pretty cake, but it tastes great! I use an old recipe from a vintage cook book that belonged to my mother in law.

From Searchlight Recipe Book, 1931

1 cup egg whites, 1 and 1/4 cup sugar, 1 cup cake flour, 1 tsp cream of tartar, 1 tablespoon of water, 1/8 tsp salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Sift flour and sugar.(measure after sifting) whip egg whites lightly. Add salt, water and vanilla when half beaten. Sift in cream of tartar, continue whipping until whites hold their shape. Divide sugar into fourths, fold in each fourth with ten careful strokes of a spatula. Divide flour into fourths and repeat. Pour into un-oiled tube pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool upside down in pan.

I bet many of you have squirrels visit your yards, but we never have! We've had road runners, opossums, skunks, a bobcat, and packs of coyotes close by, but nary a squirrel. I just happened to see this spotted fellow when I glanced outside at the bird feeders.

 I made this card for my sister's birthday this week. Love the pink and green ribbon. It's Lily Pulitzer-esque, don't you think? The cupcake is mounted to a decorative acetate square which I adhered with foam tape for dimension. 

Later this week we are having a blog hop at Treasured Times Rubber Stamps. There is a great prize for the August Challenge winner, and our design team is going to have creative ideas for you on each of their blogs. I can't wait to show you what I've been working on! Come play with us~

sharing this post with:

You're Going To Love It
Cottage Style Party 

Iced Tea at Four O'Clock

Happy Pink Saturday!

Look at what has just bloomed on our patio - pale pink Four O'Clocks! These charming flowers open late in the day and stay open all night.

 

 Night-blooming flowers tend to be pastel, not bright tones, as they rely on scent to attract pollinators during the night. Four O'Clocks are a favorite of Hawk Moths.

 

  These flowers sprouted from seeds left by last summer's Four O'Clocks - all I had to do was water them. It's funny to look outside late at night and see them nodding in the moonlight.

Treasured Times Rubber Stamps sent a Terrye French teapot stamp to me to make a card, and I decided to 'go pink.'

 I used:

• Bazzill card stock
• heart eyelet and ribbon
• doily colored with pink Distress Ink
• sewing machine for border seam
• Sizzix nestabilities die for matting
• Making Memories pearlized paint on teapot

The leaves and flower are stamped twice, fussy cut, and mounted on foam dots for dimension.

 What happened to June? College Girl helped me take out the 4th Of July decorations and place them here and there in the house. I scored the other day at Target by snagging a navy blue wire lantern at half off. I also picked up some cute patriotic paper napkins. With today's temperature rising to 95, it is officially iced tea season!

 To get you Started:

For the best sun tea, don't bother with the sun.

• Step 1: Combine cold water and tea in a glass (BEST!) or plastic pitcher at a ratio of 1 tea bag per cup of water. You can use loose tea leaves (1 1/2 teaspoon per cup) if you'd like, but save the good stuff for hot tea.
• Step 2: Place the pitcher in the fridge, not out in the sun. The flavor in the end is better, and it's safer to drink.
• Step 3: Wait 5 hours (more or less depending on how strong you like it).
• Step 4: Discard tea bags, sweeten tea as desired, and serve over ice. Store the leftover tea in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Above info courtesy of The Food Lab

~Enjoy the last weekend of June~

Sharing this post with:

Pink Saturday 

What To Do Weekends 
Favorite Things 
June Totally Tuesday 
Made You Look 

Easel Cards and Using Die-Cuts ~

I'm a believer in not reinventing the wheel, especially when I want to give something handmade to multiple people.

  

That's where store-bought die-cuts come in handy! 

After making an easel card for Treasured Times Stamps and Scrapbooking  I had an itch to make more of them - three more to be exact! They are fun to do and yield pretty results. 

I used my Sizzix Weathered Clock die to cut out cardstock clocks for the front of the cards and used floral die cuts from K & Company to complete the look. You can find the K & Company sets at Michael's, JoAnn's, Hobby Lobby, Archiver's or online.
 

Here is my blue version ~

I used My Minds Eye card stock, Perfect Pearls Mist, glitter, and Distress Ink.

Above is the side view and below is a closer look at the ribbon and eyelets ~

I added tiny yellow blossoms to the front ~

Here is the pink and yellow card. I used Liquid Pearls and Stickles on this one ~

I have another easel card in the wings, and an announcement of a giveaway - I am so happy I reached 200 followers! Love you ladies!

sharing this post with:
Monday Funday 

You're Invited To A Party~

 

I made a card a few days ago with this Terrye French stamp (above) from Treasured Times Stamps and Scrapbooking. The minute I saw this stamp Mardi Gras came to mind. Mardi Gras falls on February 12 this year. The official colors of Mardi Gras, which is also known as Fat Tuesday because it occurs before Lent, are purple, green and gold. 

I used:

• TCW Chickenwire stencil
• Adirondack gold paint
• Spellbinders Lacey Circle & Labels Nine die cuts
• Stickles, Liquid Pearls and Distress Ink
• Tim Holtz tissue tape with music notes
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology crown adornment, stained with purple alcohol ink
• harlequin ribbon and gold mesh ribbon

I used the stencil and gold paint to create a background on white card stock. When it was dry I placed strips of tissue tape vertically and horizontally across the stenciled design.     

The stamped design is adhered to the card with foam to give it lift and dimension.

The sparkly mesh ribbon adds glitz!

You can visit the Treasured Times blog to see how  other members of the Design Team used this invitation stamp. There are lots of charming folk art style stamps available, including seasonal  images.

Do you celebrate Mardi Gras? How do you observe Lent? Has anyone visited New Orleans for Fat Tuesday?

Valentine Easel Card~

Treasured Times Stamps  sent me two stamps to craft with and I immediately set to work on making cards! I decided to make an easel style card with the Terrye French 'love' stamp. I used:

• white card stock
• K & Company floral die cut and acetate
• Perfect Pearls Mist on the clock die cut
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations weathered clock
• heart eyelets, Crop A Dile and ribbon
• The Paper Studio Doodle Hearts embossing folder
• Distress Ink and Stickles
• Recollections super fine glitter in pink

I cut a piece of card stock 4 and 1/2 inches by 9 inches, and folded it in half.  Next, I folded the upper half back on itself at the midway point which was 2 and 1/4 inches by 4 and 1/2 inches- it looked like a letter 'Z' from the side.

 I decorated a 4 and 1/2 inch square piece of card stock with woven heart-embossed strips on pink matting. Then I layered the weathered clock die cut which was spritzed with Perfect Pearls Mist. I added the K & Company floral die cut, acetate butterfly and acetate sentiment. Lastly, I placed a fussy cut stamped Terrye French heart inside the clock. I stamped the heart with glue and sprinkled super fine glitter on the image.

 

If you look closely, you can see that I also added a strip of heart punched paper along the bottom front. I used a Martha Stewart border punch for this piece.

To give the card edge something to rest against so it stands open, I used my Crop A Dile to insert two heart shaped eyelets through which I tied ribbon.

 I will share my other card next time so I don't bombard you with photos! College Girl starts a new semester this week and has been getting ready to go back to the school routine - she cleaned out her closet, bought some shoes and spent some Christmas money on a Kate Spade bracelet which was on sale.

   
         

I love the positive message inside, don't you?

sharing this post with: 
Monday Funday at Uncommon Designs
Mosaic Monday at Dear Little Red House