Projects 115-118 of 365: Snow Swirled and Delightful Decorations Cards December 21, 2010

Hi all,

I’ve got some more Christmas cards for you…..Can you believe Christmas is just a few short days away!!!  I’ve barely started my Christmas shopping…LOL…..good thing I always give out a lot of handmade gifts….

On another note….. I just got braces on my teeth last week.  I had no idea the pain people really go through with these things!!!  I was expecting the teeth to be sore, no surprise there, but I had no idea how badly these things tear up the insides of your cheeks!!!  This is insanity-level pain, and I only have the top ones on right now (won’t be getting the bottom ones for another 3 months because they have to move the top ones a bit to get the lower ones to fit.).  And I also love how they wait to spring on the list of foods you can’t eat until they already have these torture devices on….. There are TONS of healthy foods on the list of things you can not eat…. so I better stock up on the vitamins.  Can’t have (or at least have to be very very careful with) raw vegetables, whole apples, nuts, popcorn, etc…..I know its logical, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it   On the other hand….On the suggested list are ice cream, cake, brownies, pudding….Doesn’t it sound like a license to go junk food crazy???  :)

On to the cards….  All of these cards are pretty quick to finish, so if you still need to make more cards before Christmas hop to it, and try these on for size…

Project 115 of 365: Delights of the Season

115 of 365: Delights of the Season

Not much explanation needed for this one, just a simple card pieced together, but don’t you just love that ornament punch.  I could not have been happier than when I saw that Stampin Up had made two more stamp sets to use with this punch (Contempo Christmas and Tags Til Christmas), and they are both MUST HAVE sets!!!  (please ignore the sloppy glue marks on this one…..this was one of the earlier versions when I was experimenting with what to do with the strings on the ornaments….tiny glue dots are much less noticeable than using actual glue…)

Stamp Sets:  Delightful Decorations, Many Merry Messages

Project 116 of 365: Decorate with Joy

 

 

 

 

116 of 365: Decorate with Joy

 

Stamps Used: Delightful Decorations

Project 117 of 365: Snow Swirled Resist

117 of 365: Snow Swirled Resist

This card happened because I had seen a really similar card online somewhere last year, but I didn’t have the really pretty patterned paper that they had used on the bottom of the card….So I did what I do best….I improvised and made my own patterned paper.  I started with a plain old sheet of whisper white card stock.  Then I used my versamark glue pad to randomly stamp the snowflakes from the Snow Swirled Stamp Set all over my 12×12 sheet of cardstock.  I then sprinkled it with Iridescent Ice Emboss Powder and used my heat gun to emboss it.  After that I used a sponge dauber and Soft Suede Ink to rub all over the paper.  In person this really looks so much more beautiful and sparkly than in the picture.  It actually looks quite suede like from the rubbing of the ink across the paper and purposely applying the ink uneven.  This is one of those projects where it pays off to be sloppy  (this technique is called Emboss Resist.)

Stamps Used:  Snow Swirled, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Project 118 of 365:  Snow Swirled Navy

 

 

118 of 365: Snow Swirled Navy

 

Ask anyone who has ever done a Christmas card class and they will likely tell you that I am obsessed with heat embossing.  I just love the effect, the smooth raised texture of the ink.  It just looks so classy and professional.  And running a close second to heat embossing would be using any of the emboss folders or texture plates in my Sizzix Big Shot.  ”Texture, Texture, Texture” is my motto and I can’t get enough of it when I’m making cards!!  Seriously, all these texture effects are soooooo easy and so much cheaper than the been-there-done-that patterned paper that everyone has.  So don’t be intimidated by that heat gun, give it a shot, you will be hooked just like me.

If you are wondering how I got the tree and the greeting lined up so straight…..check out the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig (yes, that ‘s its real name.)  If you are a perfectionist this will be your best friend!!

Stamps Used:  Snow Swirled

Hope you guys are more prepared than I am for Christmas day

Stop Back Soon For More Fun!!!

StampinBetty

Projects 112-114 of 365: Christmas Cards for Elizabeth Residences December 13, 2010

I always enjoy doing card classes for the ladies (and a few gentlemen) at Elizabeth Residences, an assisted living facility about 45 minutes from my home.  I was so excited to be invited to do another class with them, as it has been several months since I have been back….

Then the morning of the class (last Thursday) I got the dreaded news that my grandmother (from Arkansas) had passed away over night.  I had just returned from flying out to see her and be with my mother after “Granny” had had a stroke the prior week.  I so hoped she would recover, as I hadn’t spent nearly as much time with her over the years as I had wished I had.  There was so much lost time that needed to be made up for from when my brother and I were children and custody cases led to our father taking us so far away from so much of our family.  In recent years as all the true stories of those dark days come to the surface I’ve been trying and promising to spend more time with this whole HALF of my family.  Its just so hard to accept that where I thought I still had several years its already too late.  I will always regret waiting too long.  I will always be sorry for not trying harder to visit like I said I would.  On the rare occasions that I did get to spend time with them it was so special for me, and it was a beginning to filling in that hole in my gut from wondering “who am I.”  Visiting down there always feels like its the place I am supposed to be.  There are people who look like me, and like the same things I like.  It feels like I place I could call home.

This year has been so tough…I lost both of my grandmothers in the past 5 months, and a long line of other misfortunes this year.  So All I can say is that I have no doubt that next year will be a better year.

….Anyways….I still went and held the card class, as I already had everything all planned and packed up ready to go…and I knew it would take my mind off things for a little while, since I couldn’t go back to Arkansas  any way….there was a huge winter storm on its way in….

Here are the three cards I had everyone make:

Projects 112-114 of 365: Christmas Cards for Elizabeth Residences

112 of 365: Simple Santa

 

The Simple Santa card is cased from a card by J. Belanger on SplitCoast Stampers

113 of 365: Blue Christmas

 

 

114 of 365: Ornamental Season

 

The Ornamental Season card is cased from a card by Marie Shaughnessy from SplitCoast Stampers.

Stamp Sets Used:

• Many Merry Messages
• Snow Swirled
• Tags Til Christmas
• Lovely as a Tree
• Christmas Punch
• Serene Snowflakes

 

Thanks for stopping by….be back soon!

StampinBetty

Project 101 of 365: Just Believe Birthday Card October 12, 2010

Well, as of yesterday I have been back at my old job of selling Mercedes Benz for one week….but I haven’t sold any cars yet….LOL!!  I expected it to take awhile to get back in the game.  I have to re-learn everything I forgot, and learn everything that has changed, plus become calmer so that I come accross as more confident to my customers.   Gee….its so much easier to “sound” confident on line…haha.  I’m sure the nerves will calm soon enough   Too bad “almost” only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, because I’ve “almost” sold a bunch of cars.  LOL!!!!!

I’ve also been too tired to post anything when I get home from work, as my body still hasn’t gotten used to my new schedule.  I was so used to staying up late (especially since my husband works late), so trying to get to bed earlier has been a struggle, but slowly all is settling in

As always, I have a huge PILE of projects just waiting to be blogged about.  Starting with this cute birthday card I made for my sister-in-law a few weeks ago.  This card is cased, and I will add the name of the original crafter as soon as I find it.  (I’m on a break at work, and my notes are at home.)

Project 101 of 365: Just Believe Birthday Card

101 of 365: Just Believe Birthday Card

101 of 365: Just Believe Birthday Inside

 

Supplies:

Paper:

• Crumb Cake
• Very Vanilla
• Early Espresso

Stamps:

• Just Believe
• Full of Life

Ink:

• Cherry Cobbler
• Crumb Cake
• Crushed Curry

Accessories:

• Stickles
• Vanilla Ribbon
• Modern Label Punch
• Punch Windows Set (for Sizzix, this is where that larger modern label is from)

Well, thats all for now.  Come back soon!

StampinBetty

Projects 94-96 of 365: 3×3 Halloween Cards September 26, 2010

Next, I based these 3 small cards on the 3×3 cards made by “cindy89″ over on the Stampin Up! Demonstrator site.  These cards are almost completely copied from her cards.  There are only minor changes…

Projects 94-96:  3×3 Halloween Cards

94-96: Halloween 3x3's

94 of 365: Happy Halloween 3x3

95 of 365: 3x3 Owl Halloween

96 of 365: 3x3 Crow and Candle

Supplies:

Paper:

• Cajun Craze
• Basic Black
• Whisper White
• Wicked Fun DSP
• Rich Razzleberry
• Old Olive
• Newsprint DSP
• Very Vanilla
• Old Olive DSP

Stamps:

• Dark & Dreary
• Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:

• Basic Black
• Cajun Craze

Accessories:

• Circle Punches: 1/2″, 1 3/4″
• 2″ Scallop Circle Punch (non SU)
• Word Window Punch
• Polka Dot Rich Razzleberry Ribbon
• Scallop Trim Corner Punch
• Rhinestone (non-SU)

Well, I’m off to a good start on my Halloween Cards.  I have a bunch more to post, but they will have to wait.

Until Next Time,

StampinBetty

Project 93 of 365: Spiderwebs and Candles

Woohoo…..over the past few days I have made sooooo many cards with the new goodies I ordered from the fall catalog!!!  I must have been in the zone.

The first bunch of these cards are all Halloween cards, and I am pretty darn happy with myself for the results.  As mentioned in the previous post I”m not really a Halloween person, but this year I must have caught the spirit.  Maybe it started with that awesome haunted house…

I must confess that since I have not previously made Halloween cards that most of these were at least started/inspired by other cards I have seen on Splitcoast Stampers or the Stampin’ Up! demonstrator only site.  I will give credit where ever necessary

This first card was inspired by a simple card by someone using the screen name “Speedy Stamper” on Splitcoast Stampers.  The layout is based on her card, but I changed all the colors, distressed the web, added some brads, and then added the “happy halloween” greeting.

Project 93 of 365: Spiderwebs and Candles

93 of 365: Spiderwebs and Candles

Supplies:

Paper:

• Pumpkin Pie
• Basic Gray
• Old Olive
• Very Vanilla

Stamps:

• Dark & Dreary
• Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink:

• Basic Black

Accessories:

• Black Striped Ribbon
• 1 3/4″ Circle Punch
• 2″ Scallop Circle Punch (non-SU…this one is slightly bigger)
• Word Window Punch
• Spiderweb Emboss Folder
• Dimensionals
• Medium Black Brads

Thank you for looking, and there are many more Halloween Cards to Come!!

StampinBetty

Projects 89-90 of 365: Pumpkin Thank You’s September 22, 2010

A few days ago I stumbled across another blogger with a great Stampin’ Up! blog.  Her blog is Odden Designs (and while I didn’t copy the web address to link I do know it shows up right away if you google Odden Designs.  Well, she had these really cute, simple 3×3 thank you cards that I just loved.  So I had to make the 3×3 pumpkin card for myself (completely copied from her card) and then I made a simple modification by adding another, different shaped pumpkin and made it into a 4×4 card. So quick and simple that it will be hard for you to resist making these cards for yourself too

Project 89 of 365: Pumpkin Thank You Cards

89-90: Pumpkin Thank You Cards

Aren’t those pumpkins just too cute….just circle and oval punches are all you need…

Supplies:

Paper:

• Basic Black
• Old Olive
• Whisper White

Stamps:

• Because I Care (“thank you”)
• Baroque Motifs

Ink:

• Chocolate Chip
• Old Olive

Accessories:

• Oval Punch
• Circle Punch
• Modern Label Punch
• Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder
• Sizzix Big Shot

My “texture day” is not over yet….I still have one more to post yet tonight

StampinBetty

Projects 83-86: How much time do you have? September 9, 2010

Where to start, Where to start?….

I had started stamping some 4×4 panels with the bees from the Just Buzzin By stamp set.  I was just randomly stamping these with black ink, and as I saw them all laying out I had a great idea.  What if I started with the same basic panel, but then finished each card with varying amounts of “extras” to show you what you could accomplish in 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes.

83-86 of 365: Just Buzzin By

It worked out great, because sometimes you need a card “right now”, so this 5 min notecard would work perfectly.  It is just the plain black/white bees mounted on 2 contrasting colors of cardstock.  It doesn’t get any simpler than this, yet it is so cute, and anyone would be happy to receive it with your personal note inside!!

Project 83 of 365:  Just Buzzin By in 5 Minutes

83 of 365: Just Buzzin By in 5 Minutes

Next, in 10 minutes you can color all the bees yellow (Daffodil Delight) to give it a little more pop…..

Project 84 of 365: Just Buzzin By in 10 Minutes

84 of 365: Just Buzzin By in 10 Minutes

With 15 minutes you can go another step further by completely coloring the bees, even giving them rosy little cheeks, and mounting them on contrasting layers of cardstock.

Project 85 of 365: Just Buzzin By in 15 Minutes

85 of 365: Just Buzzin By in 15 Minutes

If you have 20 minutes you can really deck this card out.  We have our panel with fully colored bees, mounted on several layers of cardstock, transformed into a 5 x 7 card, and then the braided taffeta ribbon (you braid this yourself from 3 strips of the 1/8″ ribbon).  This card is still super simple but with the coloring and the braiding it just takes longer.

Project 86 of 365: Just Buzzin By in 20 Minutes

86 of 365: Just Buzzin By in 20 Minutes

Supplies:

Paper:

• Whisper White
• Basic Black
• Daffodil Delight
• Bashful Blue

Stamps:

• Just Buzzin By

Ink:

• Staz On- Black (or Memento- Tuxedo Black)
• Stampin Write Markers

Accessories:

• Snail Adhesive
• 1/8″ Taffeta Ribbon

So there you have it, how much time do have?

StampinBetty

Project 79 of 365: Weekend Wedding Card September 1, 2010

I’ve got a few cards to post for you today, so we will just have to see how far we get

So I am still searching for that “dream job.”  As much as I love crafting, with all the home repairs we are in need of and some of the things my husband and I want to do, I’ve decided it would be easier to do with a steady income, as you can never really predict what’s going to happen when you are running a tiny online craft business.  Don’t worry, I have no intention of abandoning everyone!!  This blog is my “therapy” and keeps me creating.  It is the perfect mix, because all of the jobs I am qualified for are so totally different than what I do here, my arts and crafts keep me well rounded  By education and professional experience I am a TOTAL numbers person, I actually have FUN running statistical models.  In graduate school I used to affectionately refer to my advanced stats homework as being like playing with a video game….if you keep working at it eventually you will get it “right.”   And I gotta tell ya….the feeling of satisfaction of being able to make sense of all the piles of what would seem like pointless data, or random effects to most people is much the same way as I feel when I complete a cool craft project.  My life needs both of these extremes to be satisfied

It would also be nice to work in a field that actually puts my Political Science Master’s Degree to work, and help payoff those student loans…LOL!

The project I am posting today is a wedding card I made for a wedding I attended about a week ago.  This card was super quick, and you might recognize that it is very similar to other wedding cards I made this summer.  I think this is because I loved the way that first one turned out, and since I was always running short on time for all the rest I ended up making different versions based on that card.  The one thing I have tried to do on ALL the cards was to match the colors of the wedding cards to their invitations/wedding colors.  I thought this would give the cards more of a personal touch.

Project 79 of 365: Weekend Wedding in Cherry Cobbler

79 of 365: Weekend Wedding in Cherry Cobbler

Supplies:

Paper:

• Whisper White
• Cherry Cobbler

Ink:

• Cherry Cobbler
• Whisper White Craft

Stamps:

• Bella Toile
• For the Bride

Accessories:

• Whisper White Satin Ribbon
• Half-Back Pearls from Pretties Kit
• White Emboss Powder
• Square Lattice Textured Impressions Emboss Folder- Sizzix

Remember that the New Holiday Mini Catalog is online as of today!!!  There is so much cool stuff in there I wish I could buy it all

StampinBetty

78 of 365: Get Well Card for my Brother August 21, 2010

Thursday (Aug 19th) was my birthday, unfortunately it could not have been any further from a happy birthday at all.  That morning my brother got HIT by a car while riding his bicycle!!!

My brother is probably the healthiest, most fit person I have ever known.  He was training to be in the next Iron Man competition.  He had a professional coach, and had been doing VERY well in recent triathlons that he had competed in, so it just angers me to no end that in the blink of an eye that all got ripped away from him by some idiot who obviously shouldn’t have been driving (I mean, if you are fit to drive a car you would have seen a 6 foot tall man riding a bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)  I don’t think there is any legitimate reason this guy could possibly give that would excuse the fact that he not only plowed into a person who is far from invisible, but he also accelerated just before he hit him (my brother remembers hearing the car speeding up). Since he was actually speeding up as he hit my brother it threw him up onto the front of the car, and then when the idiot realized he hit someone he slams on his brakes throwing my brother from the hood of his car, smashing to the ground.

His injuries are BAD, but thank God, not life threatening.

While I realize this could have been worse I am still SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO angry at the guy who did this.  What was he doing that he didn’t see my brother???????  It was early morning, and the intersection was VERY well lit, not to mention it was already pretty  light out, plus my brother’s bike has flashing lights on it, the bike has reflectors on it, as does his helmet, and to say it again, he is a 6 foot tall, very muscular man.  If you can’t see him, with all those visibility enhancers, you have ABSOLUTELY NO business driving a car.  To top it off, the guy who hit him could not speak a single word of English, so as my brother is laying on the ground in absolute agony, and most likely in shock, the guy hands him a cellphone expecting him to call 911 himself.  PLEASE do not send me any immigration controversy stuff over this statement as I am all for immigration, and inviting to other cultures, at the same time I DO NOT think you should be able to get a driver’s license if you can not speak at least a minimal amount of English so that when you ALMOST KILL someone you will be able to at least call 911 and get the poor guy some help (I’m sure 911 would have had Spanish speaking operators if they guy could have even figured out how to call for help, but he didn’t know how!!!!!!!!!!!!! How can you have a driver’s license and not know how to call for help, and if you can’t speak or understand a word of English how can you even know the driving laws of this country, road signs are all in English!!)  Again, I am not starting an immigration debate I am just venting frustration about this whole situation, and I am not applying my anger to a whole group of people, my frustration is with this ONE person who I don’t think should have been driving since he could not see a 6ft tall person on a bike with blinking lights in the morning light and could not communicate, at all, to be able to get the man he almost killed some help.

Thanks to this person its not likely my brother will be able to achieve a goal he had his heart set on and worked SOOOOO hard trying to accomplish.  Not to mention, due to the extent of the injuries, the BEST case scenario still has my brother not being able to work for 3 months.  He has a wife and child to support and has a wonderful job that he got after graduating college with a 4.0 GPA.  So this man who has NEVER harmed anyone, whom I’ve never even heard wish ill will against another person now has his entire life changed by someone who obviously wasn’t paying any attention to driving.  My brother has made a life of doing good things, he was in the Marines after graduating high school, then went to college, graduated at the top of his class, married a wonderful woman, and has the most adorable daughter, and he is the ONLY person in my family who has called me to wish me a Happy Birthday every single year no matter what he was doing.  But this year, thanks to some thoughtless, uncaring person I didn’t get that call!

Project 78 of 365: Get Well Card for my Brother

78 of 365: Get Well Card for my Brother

Get Well Card Inside

Supplies:

Paper:

• Chocolate Chip
• Whisper White
• Old Olive DSP

Stamps:

• Sincere Salutations
• Curvy Verses
• Watercolor Trio

Ink:

• Chocolate Chip

Accessories:

• Chocolate chip 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon
• medium white brads

StampinBetty

Project 54 of 365: Friends Never Fade in Baja Breeze July 12, 2010

Another fabulous item in the new catalog is the Greenhouse Gala Designer Series Paper.  It’s just so pretty and coordinates so well with the Friends Never Fade set.  I am an admitted DSP hoarder, but I think this blog has helped me stop that nasty habit.  My problem was that I was always buying all the pretty papers, but then never using them.  I was always saving them for some special occasion that never seemed to come along..  LOL!  I have no idea why I do that.  So shortly after I started this blog, and really took a good look at the piles of beautiful paper I already owned I made a commitment to myself….either use it or if its really so pretty that it needs special attention frame it and hang it on the wall.  Since my walls are not covered with framed patterned paper LOL, I think have finally broken my pretty paper hoarding habit.

Project 54 of 365:  Friends Never Fade in Baja Breeze

54 of 365: Friends Never Fade in Baja Breeze

This card is cased from a card on the demonstrator-only site by someone who just goes by “Diana.”  Her card was a standard A2 card, but I changed it to a 5×5 square card, and used the Greenhouse Gala DSP instead the stamped background she used.

Supplies:

Paper:

• Whisper White
• Baja Breeze Textured
• Greenhouse Gala DSP

Ink:

• Baja Breeze

Stamps:

• Friends Never Fade

Accessories:

• Large White Brads

I’ve Still got one more to post yet tonight….

StampinBetty