22 and 23 of 365

Have I told you lately that I LOVE Impression Obsession stamps. Anyone who knows me, knows this fact. This fish/flower is awesome. I made it a while ago and added dew drops to look like air bubbles and it is still one of my favorite images. It hangs in my studio.

These poppies were sent to me by my secret sister that I have in an online group. The picture really doesn't do them justice. She colored them with copics and it is beautiful. I don't know who she is. I will find out the end of April, but she is definately talented!

Thanks Kathy for talking to Tracy who talked to Kim, lol. You Rock!

4 C's and Judy's Birthday!!

23 years old!!!!!!!!!!

Hard to believe that DD1 is 23 today! I'm only 29! How did this happen???? Here are two pictures of her; one with her long beautiful hair that she cut off last year since her students thought she was one of them, and then one with short hair. This one was taken in Florida last May. The good looking guy is DS.

She's still in New York with her fiance and won't be home until the middle of February, but we did talk this morning and she should get my card today. When I think of her, I see her as a one year old with all her curls (that she doesn't have anymore) and saying "What's dat?" She wanted to know what everything was and she hasn't changed at all. Now she's all grown up and getting married in July. Happy Birthday little girl!! I love you very much!!

Crazy Cards & Crafts w/Croushore

Last night was the 4 C's class and we had a full house! It's amazing that everyone can have the exact same paper and embellishments and still come up with totally different looks. We covered the mailboxes that I got at Target in their dollar spot and then let the creativity flow. (And we didn't play until 11:00 this time!)

Next!

I was in an image swap online about a year ago and I received this beautiful image. Yesterday was my dear friend Judy's birthday, and knowing how she hates to color, I had to color this one for her. I went back and highlighted areas with a sparkle gel pen. I'm so ready for spring, can you tell?!? I hope Judy had a wonderful birthday. Tomorrow I will post pictures from last nights 4 C's class, where Judy won the door prize and Linda brought a cake for her and we had a blast making Valentine mailboxes. But those pics will have to wait until tomorrow because I haven't uploaded them yet. Happy Birthday again, Judy.

20 of 365

This is an ATC I made for the card club I'm in. Ink or Dye. We met last night and we always exchange a card and an ATC. January is "open theme" and then we choose themes for the rest of the year. I bought this clear set from Hero Arts last January and have never used it. The dress is a perfect fit for the ATC. I used copics to color it and then added Flower Soft the the ruffles. Pretty cool, even if Ido say so myself. I love Flower Soft, and of course it's another one of those products that sits on my shelf and never gets used. I'm having so much fun teaching out of my house now, because I have so much .... "stuff" that I can use now that I couldn't before because we didn't have it in the store.

I've been asked to start a "Birthday Club". If you're interested, please e-mail me and let me know. The way it will work is that I will compile everyone's birthdays and those who want to participate will send a HOMEMADE card to the people on the list when it's their birthday. Then when it's your birthday, you'll get a lot of homemade cards. It's really cool. I belong to one online and it's so exciting on your birthday to have all these cards to open from all these people. And not only that, you get tons of ideas for your own cards to make. So, if your interested, you'll need to let me know. It's starting up SOON! Also, stay tuned for news about upcoming classes other than the Baker's Dozen and 4 C's. A lot of stuff is happening!!!!

19 of 365

I cannot take credit for these pretty cards. My good friend Linda G. (you remember her, the one who made the get well "Bite Me" card for her sister), had these flowers and came up with these cards to go with them. Pretty cool. You know the older I get, the more ....... what's the word ...... um ....... taken ..... enthralled .... mesmerized....I don't know, the more I'm drawn to color. It's so cool. Even on a dreary day, like today and yesterday, and the day before, and the day (you get the picture), you can find amazing colors in things. My DH says I'm like a kid, if it's bright and colorful, I'm excited. Doesn't matter what it is, lol. Oh well, Linda, great job! Love the colors!!

18 of 365

I made this card last year and I really like it. So often we don't use wide ribbon on our cards because I think we're afraid it will over power it. This is a real pretty sheer ribbon with hearts. I stamped the double hearts and colored them with water color pencils and a blender marker. I then added red glitter and a brad. It's one of my favorites and I hope you enjoy!

17 of 365

Last Thursday was NATIONAL HUG DAY. (You know they got a day for everything) I have this really cute stamp of a bunny in a heart from Great Impressions and by adding the sentiment "Sending you love....wrapped in a big bunny hug", and a few hearts cut with the nestabilities, and of course some cool ribbon and a fiskars punch, I made a cute "Hug" card.

Click on a picture

By the way, if you click on a picture, it will blow it up for you to see the details. Just don't look for the mistakes! 'Til Tomorrow!

15 and 16 of 365

Obviously, you can see that one is a card and one is a scrapbook layout. I actually made two of the cards. One for each of my daughters. The stamps are by Close to My Heart and were given to me by my dear friend Kathleen. I stamped the girl in Versamark and applied Sparkle N Sprinkle Lagoon Blue embossing powder. I then stamped the sentiment on the small oval in Marvy #10 Lt. Blue. The sentiment was too long for the oval, so since it was a clear stamp, I curved it on the block so that it would fit. "Be Yourself...everyone else is taken." My girls are definately "themselves". I then used my nestabilities and cut out the scallops out of a piece of glitter cardstock. Pop dotted them onto glitter white cardstock after adhering really cool rick rack that actually sparkles. The whole thing was matted on silver cardstock. I'm please with the results.

Now to the scrapbook page. DD2 has never scrapbooked before. She will be 22 in less than 2 weeks. Can you believe a child of mine who has NEVER scrapbooked before. Even DS has done it once or twice. He doesn't care for it, but he'll do it for mom. Well, anyway when she was home in December, she had some really great pics of Dan the Man (mentioned below with his card) and herself and she decided she wanted to scrapbook them. I literally gave her no direction and she took off. (Of course, using any and all of my stuff she wanted). She had a piece of green fuzzy cardstock and cut out the "green" freehanded. She then stamped Riley Moose golfing and cut him out. I had some buttons of golf balls, etc. (don't ask...I buy any and everything that I think I will someday use...and look...I was right!) She cut the shanks off the back of the buttons and attached them. The sentiment says "It's never to cold ... to golf". I'm not sure if they were in Florida or Maryland when this pic was taken, but I thought it was a GREAT page, especially for a novice. She did several more and maybe I'll share them here over the next few weeks. I really miss her! For that matter, DD1 is still in NY with her fiance who just got back from Afghanistan, and I really miss her too! And then there is DS, who is away at college and extrememly busy with his horn. I miss him horribly! Well, this is what we raise our children to do. Be independent. It just seems like yesterday that they were all here and it was chaos. Oh, that's right, it was last month. LOL. There's is something to be said about peace and quiet. It's all good.

I will post two cards each day until I get caught up. I apologize for being remiss this week. It's just been weird. And now to get cleaned up for Baker's Dozen tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday. 'Til tomorrow!

Baker's Dozen for January

These are pictures of the first Baker's Dozen held at my home studio. We had a great time! Since then, there have been three more classes held and as of February we're going to 8 dates you can choose from including 2 Friday night classes. If you don't have to get up Saturday for work, relax and enjoy! I'm not giving you any more previews of the cards here; you know how I like the element of surprise. I will still give you the list of markers you'll need if you want to use the exact same colors I use, if you don't, you know I tell you it's your card, make it yours! I'll post #15 of 365 tomorrow. Right now I'm getting ready to head to the Eastgate Baker's Dozen. I know it's early, but you should see the stamps my friend Kathleen has!!!! (She's hosting the Eastgate Baker's Dozen in her home. She's a doll!!!) She makes me feel like I've never bought a stamp in my life, lol. I know I've sold a lot of my old Stampin' Up sets, when I taught at the store and couldn't use them. But OMG...she's a very sick person....she's......a......STAMPAHOLIC! I think I'm seriously heading there with her! 'Til tomorrow!!

14 of 365

I'm sending this card to DD2 sent she moved back to Florida. I miss her horribly, we had a lot of fun scrapping and stamping. I love this saying, "May the road always lead where you need to be". Very appropriate for her. I can't tell you who makes the stamps because I made this several years ago as a sample for my LSS which is closing. So I thought what better use than to send to DD2. Enjoy!

13 of 365

A day late and a dollar short. Sorry for being a couple of days behind, but I've been busy working on classes and basically enjoying some time for me. Number 13 of 365 is actually made by my good friend Linda G. She was at the house for the 4 C's class and made the remark that her sister always says "Bite Me". I started laughing because my best friend Susan gave me a stamp for Christmas that says "Bite Me". When DD1 and DD2 and DS were teenagers and would give me lip for something, I would say Bite Me, give me ten or twenty or whatever. Push Ups. The punishment of choice in my house. You should see my DS' shoulders. I credit it all to push ups!! None of them have done them in several years. Guess they learned. Anyway, Linda borrowed my stamp and made this beautiful Get Well card using the Judith technique and stamps. And then on the inside....Bite Me. Hilarious! Beautiful card Linda! If I ever get sick, knock on wood, I want the same card. You know where the stamp is....

#12!!

Today's card is stamped with an old Stampin Up set I have and use often. It's called Best Blossoms from 2006. I have gotten more use out of this set than any of the 400+ that I have bought in the past 10 years. It's one of those sets that just works. I used one of my Lace brass cutting templates and really like this card. The templates take time, but the effect is really cool.

We had a great time this past weekend with Baker's Dozen classes Saturday, Sunday and Monday. I have another Baker's Dozen Friday night out at Eastgate and then the 24th, 25th, and 26th. If you haven't signed up, be sure you do right away, as there aren't many seats left. Next month, I've been asked to add a second Friday night, so we will have 8 classes to choose from. 'Til Tomorrow!

9, 10, 11, and 12 of 365 Oh My!

Okay, I've failed....I am not posting every day, but I am trying (vbg)! So now we have 4 cards posted today, so I'm back on track. I am posting the other three cards that are being done in Baker's Dozen this month. You've already seen the Valentine cards made with CTMH set. I absolutely love this set. The birthday card we're doing is one of the "Hoppers" of the House Mouse family by Stampabilities. I adore House Mouse stamps. I have over 70 and that doesn't include my clear ones. We used brown liquid applique for the chocolate frosting and the saying "the fun is in the frosting" is from a Hero Arts set.

The second card is "Chocolate. It's not just for breakfast". This card was inspired by Deb, who lives in Oregon. She said she got the inspiration from Fiskars. There is nothing as good as a box of chocolates!

The last card of the Baker's Dozen is the Christmas card. I used Riley Moose Santa from Hannah Stamps. (My understanding is Hannah has sold Riley recently). This card would make a great gift card holder. I used white liquid applique on Riley's beard. All glitter on these cards is Starfire glitter from Sparkle N Sprinkle.

Okay, so this is 9, 10, and 11. I will post again and it will be #12 of 365, which will catch me up to today!

7 and 8 of 365

Happy Snowy Friday!!! Oh my goodness! It's so cold! (and that's something you never hear me say) Baker's Dozen classes kick off tomorrow and I'm sharing the Valentine's card you will make this month (which is unusual for me as I always like to keep you guessing). You can either make the boy card or the girl card. You will make three, so maybe you want to mix it up a bit. This set is by "Close To My Heart" and is absolutely adorable! I used the cuttlebug and embossed the hearts and then used my nesties and cut out the hearts. Ribbon is by May Arts and a little Starfire glitter from Sparkle and Sprinkle. There is no better glitter, in my honest opinion. 'Til Tomorrow!

Sorry, that should read 5 and 6 of 365 not 6 and 7!

6 and 7 of 365

Sorry about not posting my card yesterday, but it was a long day packing daughter #2 and frankly a bit sad. Any way, the Christmas card above was made by Dan the Man, daughter #2's boyfriend. It is a Hero Arts set from last year. He stamped and cut out the reindeer. He stamped the snowflakes in silver along with the sentiment "Let it Snow", (which it is certainly going to do tomorrow!). He pop dotted the sentiment and reindeer, used a cotton ball pulled apart for the snow, and glittered the nose of the reindeer. He then wrote a very nice note on the inside with a silver gel pen. I'm so proud of him, lol.

Today's posting is not a card, but a box. My son's friends, Heather and Ryan, (more trombone players) are getting married and have asked me to help them with their invitations, favors, etc. Heather really liked the Holly Berry House victorian box and since her colors are white and black, I made up two for her so she could see what she wants to use. I also used the medallion stamp for the front of the invitation, but failed to get a picture of it. We're planning on a Saturday in March getting together stamping, cutting, pop dotting, glittering,...you get the idea. Meanwhile, I am making these same boxes only with 5 sides for Daughter #1's wedding in July. I'm also making her invitations, save the date, thank you's, table cards, etc............I may never want to emboss again. 'Til tomorrow!

3 AND 4 of 365

Okay, I missed yesterday's card post. So today I will post both yesterday and today! The butterfly is stamped using Stamps by Judith. I used two different leaf stamps and getting the idea from Judith's catalog, created the butterfly. The filigree is scraps left from cutting out of my Cricut and the ribbon is recycled from a card I received a couple of years ago. I absolutely LOVE Judith stamps and have really enjoyed teaching classes with her stamps. If there is interest I will teach another class with Stamps by Judith. Let me know!

The second card is an embossed card from DCWV. I took a cotton ball (yes, Shirley, cotton) and rubbed chalk over the embossing. I would love to tell you who makes this hummingbird stamp, but I honestly don't know. I borrowed it and have no idea who the company is. I colored this card with water color pencils and a blender marker. The Happy Birthday is by Denami Designs and the ribbon is by May Arts. I then used a glitter gel pen to highlight it.

The 7 Baker's Dozen classes are almost completely full! If you haven't contacted me for a seat, email me right away. If I have not emailed you, it's not because I don't want to, but I don't have contact information for everyone. Spread the word! If need be, I will be happy to add a class or two. If there is something you would like to do, let me know and I'll make it happen if at all possible.

I enjoyed lunch today with Deb, Alona, and Pam! I haven't seen any of them in a while, (maybe because Deb now lives in Oregon, Alona has been in California with family, and Pam has been laid up). We had a LOT of fun talking and getting caught up and then Deb and Alona came back to the "scrap palace" (that's what my son calls my workroom)for a couple of hours.

Now on to tomorrow, where I will spend the day packing up daughter #2 to move back to Florida. This makes me sad but this is her life and her decision. I will miss her and have really enjoyed scrapbooking with her the past couple of weeks. Her boyfriend likes to stamp with her (can you believe it?!?!?) and he stamped a Christmas card for DH and me. Tomorrow I will post his card. Someone saw it at the 4 C's and thought it was a die cut. 'Til tomorrow!

Contact Information

Happy Sunday night to everybody! This day has flown by!! I wanted to take a quick minute and ask you, if you're not receiving my emails, then PLEASE email me with your email address. I probably don't have it. The only ones I have are the ones that people have given me. The seven Baker's Dozen classes are almost full for this month and the 4 C's is already sold out for the evening class. I'll be happy to schedule a second one if needed, but since I may not have your email, if you are interested in knowing what's going on with classes, please contact me.

2 of 365

Day 2 of my 365 cards. Only 363 more to go! I hope everyone is enjoying the first weekend of the new year. Stayed up way too late last night watching the Sugar Bowl, Daughter #2 was all for Florida Gators and of course the rest of us were for Cincinnati. Well, we don't have to tell you how that turned out. Oh well, there's always next year.

The stamp I used for the card today is by the same company (obviously) as yesterdays. I absolutely love the detail in these stamps! These are the only two stamps I own by them currently, but I am definately getting more. Simple card, made with cardstock that I already had cut for a Baker's Dozen class a year ago. I used a Fiskars corner punch and plum pearls by Kaiser. Simple, no sentiment, so can be used for just about anything. It just dawned on me that if I make 365 cards, I'm going to have to mail them all. I might keep the usps in business all by myself. Who knows, you might be the recipient of one of my cards. Enjoy!

365 in 365

Okay, this is going to be hard. But my goal for 2010 is to make at least one card each day. Some days, hopefully I can make several so that I can have a day off. I am going to attempt to post one card every day on the blog. Of course, maybe someone will send me a card and I will post theirs (with their permission of course). Then I won't have to make one every day. Remember that my oldest daughter is getting married this summer, so I'll have to make quite a few ahead of time, as there is no way I'll be posting the week of the wedding. So I'm giving you the responsibility to stay on me so I don't miss a day.

Hope you like today's card. I use this awesome stamp from Animal Spirits Stamps original art by Sue Coccia. You can visit her websit at http://www.animalspiritstamps.com/ or http://www.earthartinternational.com/ These are amazing stamps with so much detail. They do take a long time to color, but I love the way they look. The sentiment I used is by Printworks. "You give my day a lift". That's what ya'll do for me. Each of you give my day a lift! Happy New Year! It's going to be AWESOME!