Another Tri-Fold Card and a few others

Happy Monday. How was your week last week? Ours was abit hectic. You know some times life likes to throw you a curve ball. Well I think last week was one for us. But we managed to make it through (alive even)..lol...But anywhoo, here are some cards I made last week and just wanted to share with everyone...Enjoy!!!! And I would love to say a HUGE HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DEBBIE (from Nebraska--as our little one calls her...lol...she's one of my lurkers...lol..) Happy Birthday girl. I hope you have a wonderful day filled with alot of memories to cherish!!!! Love ya girl!!!!! This one is a wedding card. I have absolutely no where for this to go, but I just felt the urge to make it. You ever get like that? I have always loved these 2 Magnolia stamps and thought they would make for a great wedding card. And I so love using feathers. I think they go hand in hand with the bling that I am very addicted to right now. What do you think? Not to mention, it's another tri-fold card. These are so fun to play with. Thanks Pam for enabling me girl. You were right, I would be addicted to making more of these cards. If you missed my last one just scroll down and you will see a link for the instructions on how to make these adorable cards. I'd love to see yours if you take the plunge as I have. I kept it simple again. The paper is from Making Memories Wedding line, the greeting stamps and butterfly are from See D's, buttons from Tim Holtz line, the hanging acrylic hearts from Heidi Grace, bling from Recollections, bench and silver ribbon from unknown source.

don't know why the color on her face is different from his. It really doesn't look like this in real life...lol...

just thought I'd do a close-up of the hanging hearts. On the frosted ones I added 2 hearts back to back with the fishing line in between..

this was just a simple card I made using the Christmas Magnolia stamp where she's holding the candle in one hand. I think this one is so diversified that you can really use her in so many different cards. I just like to cut the candle off and have her holding different things.

here's the inside. I have been wanting to use this stamp forever. It's all one stamp but I broke it up and used part on the front and the rest on the inside of the card. It's from Inkadinkado. It's the one with the quotes from kids. I added the little girls name and age onto the back of the card to give her the proper credit. Just a simple one, but I really do like the outcome.

here's one I made for the spring challenge but realized it needed to be spring. I used the right colors, it just wasn't a spring card. The quote is from Tim Holtz.

And here is a Sugar Nellie card. And I have to say that I just love this card. I don't know what about it that really makes me love it, but I do. The coloring isn't the best (as most of my cards aren't yet) but I just like the whole card itself. The striped pattern paper reminds me of my Grandmother's duvet cover she had on her bed in the summer. And this stamp is just so cute. Although the little froggie got lost in the coloring abit. I have to say I really love how her face turned out. Aged and rustic, kind of like her dress. It's another simple card and I hope that the recipient will enjoy it to...

Well that's all I have for today. I hope everyone has a lovely week ahead. We are suppose to get a mixture of rain and snow today. More rain that anything I think. And to those of you that just received the snow, you know, the MAJOR inches, I feel for you. Try to stay warm......Hugs from a thawing out Charm City...

All that Scraps Challenge--

Just another quick post. We got another 17" yesterday and we are snowed in once again. They are syaing we have more snow coming next Monday but don't know the predictions yet. Is this ever going to stop? Oh how I wish it would. On a better note, here's my first tri-fold shutter card I amde for the challenge over at All that Scraps. The challenge was to make a shutter card. I had seen the one Pam (Expressions with heart) had made and I just adored it. She invited me to play along, and since I have been snowed in, I decided to make one this morning. So what do you think? Sorry for the photo.I couldn't get a very good photo of it this morning.....Enjoy!!!!

.......Hugs from a very snowed in Charm City.......

It's Coming Again

Happy Tuesday morning...Just a quick post to share a couple cards that I made some time ago and just haven't added them yet. This past weekend we ended up with 24" of snow, well we are in the path of another storm that is expected to dump another 12-18" on us. Can you believe that. My heart sank when I heard that on the news. We just thought it would be alittle dusting but hell no, it's another nor-easter storm. And it's coming right at us today into tomorrow again. We still haven't finished digging out from the last one, not to mention, they haven't even plowed our developement. And the next question is, where are they going to put all of the new snow? There's no where left!!! Hum, maybe that's why they haven't plowed in here..ya think? Anywho, here's the cards that I have to share...Enjoy!!!! this one I used Spellbinders for the flowers, frame and the embossed background and just used ink to go over top of it. Something different for me. Haven't decided if I like the color... and here's another Kraftin Kimmie stamp...I colored her in with Prisma pencils. Just a simple and quick card... I had someone ask me about the recipe to make the box that I posted below with my Magnolia set. I don't normally take measurements when I'm just winging it. But I do remember that I started with a sheet of 12X12 cardstock and cut it to 10X10 and scored 1" on all sides and folded into the bottom part of the box. Then I just took another 12X12 sheet and folded it over the sides to make the top part of the box. But this wasn't big enough to go all the way around to bottom part of the box, so I had to cut another piece to cover the gap. I'm so sorry that I'm horrible at measurements as I make something from scratch. I will try and do better in the future. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments and stopping by my blog. You all really make my day. Hugs from a very snowy (and getting more snow) Charm City..

A Maggie Set and other's

Happy snowy Sunday peeps. And let me tell you, it's a snowy one here in Charm City. I understand that we ended up with 24" of snow from Friday and Saturdays' snow fall. Ouch!!! That was huge. And I think it's the biggest in history if I'm not mistaken. You should see it. It took all day yesterday to shovel the drive and walks in front of the house (and we still didn't get the main walk finished). And at the end of the drive it's like a brick wall of snow. Haven't even made it that far yet. We were hoping the plow trucks would come through before we would have to get out there and shovel it. Ok Debbie and Betty, thank you so much for your wonderful pretty stuff, but you REALLY could have kept it this time....lol...as much as I love snow (and I really do) this was just abit to much. Even for someone like myself. I don't have photos yet, but I plan on taking some later today. So onto something more fun..... I opted out of making anything for challenges this week and decided that I just wanted to play some to see what I could come up with. The cards/set posted below is what I made. Enjoy!!!!

here's a birthday set....made the box from scratch.....it really didn't turn out like I had envisioned either. here's the birthday card using the Tilda with the candle stamp...I cut the candle off and added the balloons...I also used distress refillable inks to color her in and did a light layer of vintage photo over the top with a sponge tool to give her the aged look...

this is the top of the box...so much going on.... more than I wanted...

box with the drawer open....

other side...I used a set of stamps from Autumn Leaves...and dyed the flower using distress ink Broken China...the flower is from the craft store that actually was pink in color...

here's is what I made to pull the drawer open. It's a handmade flowerette...I used the 6 petal flower from Paper reflections added my paper front and back side to match and cut and glued into a flower. The instructions for this is on Tim Holtz's blog under his 12 tags of Christmas from this year. I opted out of adding the center part and added some ribbon instead. The center is abit tricky but is manageable. ...lol...I made one on the card below with the Sugar Nellie card. It took alittl while to figure it out but this old gal did it...lol....

here's one I made using, yep, you guessed it, one of the few Maggie stamps I have...lol...different day, different color and setting....lol....I really am in love with scene cards, so I thought I'd dig out my StampScapes stamps and play some with her. I used all distress ink refills again except on the bench. I used Prisma pencils for that...

Deets for these stamps:

tree trunk, pebbles and tall grass---Stampscapes

trailer--Inkadinkado

pine trees--A stamp in the hand

bench--unknown

quote--Tim Holtz

and of course my Maggie stamp....

everything was stamped onto watercolor paper....

last but not least--here's a card with a Sugar Nellie stamp. I used the Tim Holtz flower tutorial (as posted above) and used the Marvy flower punch to make the rose, See d's for greeting, Sizzix for the leaves and parchement dies...and Nesabilities for the frame.... She really didn't turn out and I'm not sure that I really care for this card. I think the color red on the stamp is what is throwing me off. I just couldn't get a color to match the paper like I had wanted to...she's a little to red...lol...and I think the leaves are abit to big for that stamp too....oh well,--- she'll go in the box and sit....

Well that's it for today...I think we are going to try and clean up our broken canopy on the patio outback. With the weight of the snow it totally collasped it. BROKEN...I couldn't believe my eyes when I seen that...my heart sank...what does one do in a case like this but clean up and move on. That just gives us a justified reason to buy a new one this year... :O) ....well have a great day, hope you're all safe and warm....hugs from Charm City....

Kraftim Kimmie and Magnolia cards

Happy Sunday all...Just a quick post this morning. I have a couple cards to share. One is for Kraftin Kimmie's challenge--no embellishments--can you believe that. Me, with no doo dads. Ha! I'm the queen of doo dads ..lol..I have to tell you it was soo hard for me. Everytime I turned around I went to grab something to add to this card. So for this card to end up with "nothing" was just amazing. It's a bit rustic, ok well, alot rustic, and I really went overboard with the distressing to. I colored in the image using distress inks. I know I'm late posting this, but I didn't get a chance to upload it before now. Sorry...so have you been over and checked out all of the images that Kimmie has in her store? They are just soo kewl. I know I've said this before, but I have to say it again, I just love these images. They are so fun, very unique and they have personality. I guess that's what draws me to them. Their faces. Most of them have the, don't bother me now, kind of look...lol...or if looks could kill...well you have to see them for yourselves if you haven't already. I know I can't wait to get some more of them.

My next card is from Magnolia. But you already new that, right! lol...I have found that I just adore these little stamps. I only have a few so I'm sure you'll get sick of seeing the same images over and over until I can get some new ones. And there are so many out there to get. If you don't know here's a couple place to get them, Magnolia-licious and Hallmark Scrapbook. I know there's other places, but these are the 2 places that come to mind right now. Enjoy!!!

the butterfly is from See D's and the little greeting is from Inqued Boutique along wit the stamped friends puzzle on the inside of the card. The paper twist is some oldie twist from Making Memories (do you remember those)? Those were another hot item back in the day that we all just had to have in our stashes...lol...not to mention, do you remember this paper? It came out of Slab 1 or 2..(I think). It was in with the rest of the slab storeage so I'm assuming it was part of one..and lookie, I used my deckle scissors...lol...ok I'm being silly now. I'm up to early. It's 3 am here and I've been up since 1 :30am. Already did 2 loads of laundry, took care of dishes from dishwasher and have dinner in the over...woohoo...now I get to play until everyone else gets up and running...

Well that's all I have for now. I'm working on another mag stamp using more inks to color them in. I guess I'm still trying to find that happy medium with coloing in images. I'm just not happy wqith the way my images turn out. They don't have that vibrant bold look to them like I like. Does anyone have any suggestions, links that I can pop over to for tutorials on how to's? I'd love to go and read up on more....well have a great day...hugs from a cold and snowy Charm City

Be Mine Set for Magnolia-licious Frame Challenge

WooHoo...I finaly was able to get this finished for the challenge over at Magnolia-licious. The challenge was to use a frame on your card. I made the frame using my Cricut machine and welded the hearts at the top and bottom together. This card ended up being much bigger than I had planned but I really do love the outcome of it.

I don't know the names of the Magnolia stamps. They dont have a name on the packages. But I loved how I have Edwin looking at Tilda and Tilda is looking forward (to me with a smilin blushing grin on her face)...lol...I put this scene behind a transparency and added a bunch of feathers, wire beads and a bouquet of hearts to the sides of the card. Then I used the tutorial that Becca (Amazing Paper Grace) shared with everyone for the box. Have you seen this box? OMGosh!! If you haven't you really need to check it out. It's just awesom. I did however make mine shorter than what she did, and I really overworked the cardstock for the box. The next one I will know what to do and I won't have to try and refold it so many times...Enjoy!!!!

Isn't this just the cutest and creative little box evah? LOL...Thank you Becca for your instructions..

the front of the card....do you see the little "love" potion bottle...

and here's the little box...I tried to use the same materials as I did for the card....

Here's what I used from my Cricut machine... Sweethearts cart

tree--4 1/2"

frilly hearts--2"

hearts--2"

Mickey&Friends

fence--3"

Storybook

frame--8 1/2"

Plantin Schoolbook

flower border--2"

Well that's it for today...I didn't have to go to Jury Duty...woohoo...I hope everyone has a wonderful day...Hugs from Charm City

I'm Yours Be Mine or Else

LOL...I so couldn't resist this sentiment to go along with this Kraftin Kimmie stamp. I am so into these stamps it isn't even funny. I just love their expressions that are on their faces and their cute little do dads that come with them. The sentiment is actually a $1 stamp from JoAnnes that had a couple of birdies sitting on a limb and they were holding these little signs..I thought it went perfect with this little girlie that has a voodoo doll...lol....I thought it could be used for a funny Valentine's card for DH...we always do a mushy and a funny card for each other. So what do you think? Think I might get a laugh or two out of him? Well that's all I have for now. I have a couple of things in the works and hope to get them finished the next couple of days...Thursday I have "JURY" duty...that dreaded word.."JURY"...so I just have to wonder what is on the docket....oh well, best to everyone and I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday evening...Thanks for stopping by and saying hi....hugs from a very rainy Charm City....

My First Sugar Nellie and a Magnolia Card

First off, I am so doing the Happy Dance over here...lol..I was reading on Suzanne's blog (Scrap Bitz) on how she takes her photos of her cards. So I thought I would give it a try. Heck, anything would be better than what I have been taking. The photos below were from her instructions. And I love them. You can actually see the real color instead of the tint that I always end up with. Thank You Suzanne. You are AWESOM!!!! So the magnolia card I had posted with the feathers below I retook and it looks so much better. You can actually see how pink the papers are. The card and box below is my first Sugar Nellie card. I have to say that I really love how this set turned out. I purchased my Nellies from Funky Kits. They are offering a sale but they are over seas and the prices are different. A little higher than what you see on their page but I know with Pay Pal they did the conversion for me before I confirmed my order into American dollars. I'm new to this stuff so I thought I'd share this info in case someone else out there was new to it also. I also did something that I have only done one other time and that was I went Hybrid. The pattern paper and purple cardstock is actually from a kit from Digital Freebies. I purchased the year thing to get the archives for all of the freebies. And let me tell you it was so worth it. This was my first set that I printed and I really liked it. The bag I made I purchased the template from My Time Made Easy. It's called in a pinch bag. IT was so easy peasy to put together and well woth the money. There are so many ideas running through my head for this little darling. The flowers were inspiration from Patti Jo -PJSDeigns that I jsut had to try that as well. She makes some very pretty flowers out of cardstock. Hop on over and take a gander through her blog. I was just blown away. So enough of the rambling. Hope you like the set and the Maggie card I've posted tonight. Have a great evening....Hugs from Charm City

I think I used to much purple stickles though...I kind of went a little wild with it..lol.. Isn't this just a darling bag...you have got to go see the ones that Lauren has made..They are AWESOM!!!! And here's my Maggie. I think she turned out better than the other ones I've made so far. Although the cheekies needed to blend in more I just couldn't get that to happen..I left the sentiment blank and thought I would jsut fill it in next year at Christmas time... Thanks for stopping by tonight....

Kraftin Kimmie Challenge

Here is my take on the challenge over at Kraftin Kimmie. We were to use pink, red, chocolate and some hearts. I had alot of fun with this card. Still trying to learn how to color images in. the card has a tint on it and I couldn't get a great shot...sorry about that...I love love love this stamp. Look at her expression. It looks likes she's so frustrated...lol... here's the inside of the card. Just a simple one....well if you get a chance pop on over and play along....Well that's it for now...have a great day....Hugs from Charm City

Magnolia-licious Highlites Pretty in Pink Contest

Hello blogland. I've been wanting to post this card I made a few days ago for the contest over at Magnolia-licious Highlites blog. This is my second Magnolia card (well the first one I don't count) and I have to say that I really need alot of work on the flesh tones. I had seen someone else post a card doing a piecing and I really wanted to try that. So this is what I came up with. I also wanted to use this darling stamp but didn't want to make it into a Christmas card. So how did I do? The photo has kind of a tint to it. It's really crisp white in real life ... Well this is all I have for today. I do have a few more cards to post but I will do that tomorrow. I hope everyone has a wonderful day....hugs from Charm City....

Pink Elephant and Paper Take Weekly Challenges

Happy Friday---Man am I glad this week is over and it's finally the weekend. I know soon enough I won't be glad it's the weekend as I will have to be working them. This was just some disheartening news I received today at work. I have about a month and then it's weekend duty. YUK!!!! But you know what they say, this to shall pass. I just hope it will pass sooner than later. KWIM!!!!! On a lighter note, I made this card for our niece's birthday tomorrow. I used the sketch from Paper Take Weekly and the theme challenge---birthday---from The Pink Elelphant. The stamp is another from Kraftin Kimmie. Have you gone over there yet? If not, what the heck are you waiting for. They just released a new line of stamps and they are to die for. Let me say it again, To Die For!!!! LOL....I really thought this one fit our niece. She's so pretty and alittle glam like this stamp but has that little tude thing going on. Have you seen the artist' blog that creates these stamps, Annie Rodrigue? Holy cow girls and boys. Pop on over there and check her blog out Moonlight Whispers . I was flipping through her pages and I was in awe of her work. As I was reading I noticed that she uses ink to color in her images. It looked like liquid ink not from a marker. So me being the kind of person that I am, decided to try it on this little birthday girl. I have done this before, but I really tried to make it work with the blending and all. And I have to say that I really like coloring in with a paint brush better than a marker. Why, I don't know. I just do. I even used acrylic paint watered down with water (hair color). I remember back at the holiday season there was a tutorial using inks like this as well over in the classroom at Ellen Hutson that was very helpful. So I have all of these bottles of reinkers that I am putting to good use instead of using them on the ink pads themselves. I also used Canson watercolor paper 90lb. instead of the Neenah paper. I felt like this would hold the liquid ink better than the Neenah paper. I just used the backside of it instead cuz it was smoother than the front. It's called the Biggie Jr. and I got it at Joannes for about 10 bucks for 5o sheets. But I did use clear embossing powder after I stamped my image so it would keep the colors from bleeding together. So there you have it. A new found method ( for me anyways) of me trying to color in images. I know I still have alot of trial and error, but I think this will work for me as I just can't seem to get a hang of those darn cute Copic markers. So what do you think? Is she ok for my first try at using reinkers? paper is by Scenic Route reinkers from Distress Inks worn lipstick broken china and tea dye and acrylic is yellow ochre (with a little mix of tea dye ink) I also added some stickles this is the sketch for Paper Take Weekly Well that's all I have for today. I hope to play some more this weekend. I received some new stamps in the mail the other day from a very special friend and have been dying to play with them. I hope you all ahve a wonderful weekend. Hugs from a very warm Charm City

Just a little toot

Good morning all--I just wanted to pop in here and give you some of my happy news of a layout that was accepted over at Scrapbooking Magazine. If you don't already know, this is a free magazine that is published weekly and best of all, it's free. Free-- I tell ya. There's not many things in this world that is free. This magazine is chucked full of inspiration. All you have to do is sign up for their newsletter and it's delivered right to you in box. How cool is that. So gander on over and sign up if you haven't already. And then peek around a look at all of the eye candy that is there this week.

The layout that had gotten picked up was an 8X8 double page winter layout that I had done for a circle journal that I'm in. Here are the layout deets if you are interested in checking out what all I used.

Well that 's it for now. I'm off and running for a bit and hope to be back to play alittle later after school starts. Have a warm and safe Monday. Hugs from Charm City

Caardvarks Kraftin Kimmie and even a Magnolia card

First off, I'd like to say, Happy bitter sweet cold Sunday. And it is really cold here in Charm City. Today was just a lazy day. We finally took down and stored all of our holiday decorations yesterday. And let me tell you, it was such a chore. We have to go up in the attic to store all of the tubs and boxes. It's such a tight fit for 2 pleasantly "phat" people...lol....and I say that in a nice way. Any whoo, onto the cards for today...Enjoy!!!! you can click on the photos for a better view

I made this one for the challenge over at Caardvarks (sketch challenge). If you get some time stop by and take their challenge. They have some really nice candy going on with it. And don't forget to check out the DT's cards and the others that have posted. They are all just so inspiring. All of the product here is out of my "older stash." Anna Griffin papers (at which I just love love love her papers and I have been hoarding them). To make the scallop border I used 3 1" punched circles and used a pencil to trace them, then moved all 3 down the line to make the length of the card and cut them out. I added black stickles with a pearl inside to highlight each scallop. Used a felt flower border, green ribbon and a row of sequins on top with Prima flowers and one of those darling little Junkitz rubbery tag thingies that has been in my stash forever. In the upper left corner I used 2 of the felt flowers added 2 little felt balls with a stick pin with pearl beads to it. There's a better photo below of the stick pin. I added some Ranger Glossy Accents to the bottom of the pin so it wouldn't prick anyone who gets this card.

and here's the sketch

next up is for a challenge over at Kraftin Kimmie Stamps blog. This is my new love for stamps. I have to have "ALL" of them. They just released some new stamps and they are just darling little creatures. You have to pop over and check them out. The challenge is to use metal on your card and you have to use at least one stamp from Kraftin Kimmie. It took me awhile to color and cut Josephine out, but I really love how she turned out. She is just so cute. The metal I used was a metal saying (magic moments--don't remember who made this) brads (Karen Foster) paper clip and stamples (Making Memories). Added some stickles for a little glitz but I don't think it came out in the photo. Fiskars border punch and Prisma pencils with Gamsol. I'm still trying to work on my coloring. So what do you think? Isn't she just a darling little stamp? Pop on over and see what the rest of the girls did with this challenge.

here's the paper clip that I broke in half and used it on the ends to hold the ribbon.

In the photo's below, do you remember.......

this Borderlines victorian edger/ruler from Creative Memories?

or how about this Deluxe Card Template from Deluxe Cuts? I remember I just had to have all of these templates. I bet you did to. They were the hottest thing on the market when they came out. Not to mention the one's for scrapbooking. I had to have all of those as well. So as I was digging through my stash of "dusty tools" I came across these beauties and decided to make a card. Not to mention I dug out a Magolia stamp. I don't know why, but I have been so intimidated with these stamps. I have been a lurker on the Magnolia blog/yahoo group and have so admired everyone's work and wished that I could make something as gorgeous as their cards were. So I decided to give it a try. My card didn't turn out gorgeous, but for my 2nd card of Magnolia stamps I think it turned out ok. What do you think?

I used the ruler on the right border and added some Heidi Swapp chipboard letters to it for the greeting with Making Memories stickers at the top (I'm). Punched a 2 1/2" circle, added a black mat and I have her sitting on top of a string of ribbon that I folded in half. I used the Deluxe Cuts template to make the background. But you really can't see much of it with the circle. Added some Prima flowers and Robins Nest pearls. I know the coloring is just horrible, but I'm trying.

Well that's it for today. I'm off and going to work on dinner. We always eat early so I need to get crackin. Have a blessed week ahead. Hugs from Charm City

2S4Y Kazan's Sketch

How's it going peeps? Thank goodness this week is over. It's been one hard week for us here. I just hope that your week has been better than ours. I just wanted to pop in here real fast and post this card I made using Kazan's sketch from 2 sketches 4 you . I had alot of fun playing with this. It's a little out of the ordinary but I really love how it turned out. Enjoy!!! you can click on the photos for a better view I got this stamp from a dear friend Betty (the Scrappy Witch). It's one of Kraftin Kimmie's stamps. If you look at her face, look at how she looks like she's in so much pain with all of the little kiddies she has...lol...my first instinct was to use it as a Mother's Day card with matching envelope. So I used Kazan's sketh this week to make a Mother's Day card. The paper is from Cosmo Cricket (earth love and the boyfriend), DCWV stitch rub ons, Stampin Up heart punch, buttons and some pearls on the inside of the hearts. I used Prisma pencils to color in the image. There are other stamps that Kimmie makes and are all just as adorable as this one...I can't wait to use some more of her stamps.

the outside of the card..here I added some stickles for some added glitz.

this is the inside..I thought this was just so fitting. I used EK Success corner punches and printed the saying off the computer.

this is the outside of the envelope. I left it blank in case I wanted to mail it in the mail.

this is the back side of the envelope...

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. I think we are going to get a couple movies and chill for the night. It's just been a long week. Hugs from Charm City