Happy New Year!

May 2008 bring you peace, love, joy, hope, happiness & success!


Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Santa and his elf....

I found bags like this on Splitcoast, and totally stole their idea! I thought they were SO cute! I had to make them for someone! So, I made 2 Santa bags and 1 elf bag. The only difference I made to the ones I found online is the fur for Santa. Everything else is a total copy! But aren't they adorable!!!!

Recipe:
Paper: white or colored gift bags at Wal-Mart or Michael's; red, green, white and black cardstock
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: silver and gold embossing powder, fur (JoAnne's), circle punch

Happy stamping!

These are Christmas gifts for my cousins and aunt. I made 8 of each of these for them. They really all turned out so nicely! Thank you Heather Casey for the sketch idea!!! I took it and ran with it! Does the blue card look familiar, Heather???!!! *wink* These were super easy cards, and didn't take long at all to make.

Recipes for all 3:

Paper: white cardstock, watercolor paper, Brocade Blue, Choc. Chip, red cardstock

Ink: Black StazOn, Brocade Blue, Mellow Moss, Real Red, Choc. Chip, versamark, Going Gray, Martha Stewart's Silver ink pad

Stamps: Sincere Salutations, Every Day Flexible Phrases, all snowman images from Fiskars clear stamps (found at JoAnne's), snowflake background stamp (I've had that stamp since I started, so I have no idea where it came from!)

Accessories: Silver ribbon, multiple types blue ribbon from multiple places, aquapainter, white puffy paint, silver embossing powder, sponge, rhinestones

Happy Stamping!

This is a new cube that I made for my cousin for Christmas. Thankfully, we don't exchange with them until New Year's Day! So, I was able to do this after Christmas. This really turned out nice! I first saw this technique on CraftTV online, and I thought it would make a wonderful gift! And the fact that the blocks stay together is an added bonus! I can't wait to make one for myself and perhaps I can teach it at Michael's sometime this year! I think this would be a super cool idea!!!!!

Recipe:

Blocks: 9 pack from Michael's or Scrapbook Station (you only use 8)

Pictures: 10 pictures, 8 3 x 3, 2 3 x 6 I think?!

Adhesive: Anything super strong!!!!! Hermafix won't cut it! Wood glue that is not harmful to pictures would work as well!

If you would like this template to make on your own, just send me an email and I'll send it to you!

More to come in my next post! (I can only put so many pictures in one post!!!)

Merry Christmas!

May you all have a safe and wonderful Merry Christmas! And Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Gina K's sketch challenge

I subscribe to Gina K's blog, a stamp creator, minor competitor to Stampin' Up, and she had a sketch challenge posted. So, of course, I have to do the challenge!!! But, this was really easy! It's so easy when the layout is taken care of! Then you know what size stamp you'll need, and the only thing you need to worry about is what paper to use! Then everything else falls into place!

For this one, I used Figgy Pudding, because she did on her card. But, I didn't want to be a total copycat. So, I picked the snowflake paper that I have seen on many cards on Splitcoast, and since I have The Snowflake Spot, my new favorite stamp set!, I put the two together! I think it turned out really pretty! The hardest part was those brads!!! I dipped them in white craft ink and then dipped them in Dazzling Diamonds. But, as you know if you have craft ink, it takes FOREVER for the craft ink to dry. So, handling them is pretty much impossible! The ink comes right off! So, getting those on the paper was pretty tricky, but I figured it out....



Recipe:Stamps: The Snowflake Spot
Paper: Figgy Pudding, DCWV gray
Ink: Sage Shadow Craft Ink, White Craft Ink
Accessories: brads, Dazzling Diamonds, Heat & Stick Powder, rhinestones

Happy Stamping!

It's gift bag designing time!

Today on Splitcoast, the challenge was to use wrapping paper on a card, or decorate a gift bag. Well, if you know me well, you should know that nothing that I give as a gift is wrapped. I'm a bag lady! I'm not the best wrapper, and those corners are ridiculous to get crisp! So, I usually decorate the tissue paper (when I have time!) with stamping. Today, though, I looked at the challenge and at some of the submitted works, and I really thought I would skip the challenge. Then I thought about Denise's cards that I just finished, and what was I going to put them in??? So, I went in my stamp room and came out with a bag! I'm happy with it. Obviously, I could have done better with different paper, but it turned out ok! I was so excited that I could use my new Stampin' Up Christmas Designer Paper Dashing! I have seen some really cool creations with this paper, and had to get it at my last party. There are so many awesome designs in this packet, it was hard to pick which paper to use!!!!

I'm really starting to be a challenge chaser, as they call it on Splitcoast! I have to check every day to see what the new challenge is! It's VERY addicting!!!! But, it's putting good use to all my stuff, and my brain! Because I have to really think and broaden my horizons when designing some of these cards! But, I have to say, that I really do have an ulterior motive. I'm hoping that as I keep doing these challenges, I'll get better and better, and someone will notice and invite me to be on a design team! I would LOVE the opportunity to do something elite like that!

Anyway, on to the bag! Here it is!

Recipe:

Stamps:Baroque Motifs, Alphabet from Anna Griffith

Paper: Dashing, Very Vanilla

Ink: Ruby Red Craft Ink

Accessories: Clear Stickles, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds, silver ribbon

This bag was really easy to put together! It really didn't take more than an hour.

Happy Stamping!

Sketch Challenge

Today I completed my first Sketch Challenge while the kids were all napping. Ah, two full hours of blissful quiet!

I have never tried anything like this before! I really like this layout!

Recipe:

Stamps: Carte Postale, Baroque Motifs

Paper: Le Jardin, Always Artichoke, So Saffron

Ink: Always Artichoke, So Saffron

Accessories: hardware, glue dot, 3-d dimensionals, two different size circle punches, oval stencil, ribbon.

This is another easy card! It's pretty nice when the layout is pre-determined! That's half the battle sometimes!

Happy Stamping!

Tuesday's Color Challenge

Today's color challenge on Splitcoast was using Elegant Eggplant, Wild Wasabi and So Saffron. To me, I would never put those colors together. At least all three together. So, this is what I came up with. I stole the idea for the 3-d trees from a very talented stamper's blog!

Recipe:

Stamps: Loads of Love, Every Day Flexible Phrases

Paper: Wild Wasabie, Basic Brown, Very Vanilla, white

Ink: Elegant Eggplant, So Saffron, Craft White, blue, black

Accessories: Lumiere paint, Elegant Eggplant reinker, So Saffron Reinker, sponge, Liquid Applique, Glue dots, brads, 3-d dimensionals

This card took me ALL day to make, and I'm still not happy with it. It's the colors, I just know it is..... I thought I could mirror a winter sunset. It, of course, didn't turn out like the picture in my mind, but the rest of the layout did! So, can't complain too much! Overall, not bad....

Happy Stamping!

New Post II

Here's the rest of the pictures....

New order!

I just got an order from my cousin to make her different cards and she would pay me! Yay! So, I came up with 8 different cards. I need to make one more, I miscounted. I thought I had 9 last night when I was taking all these pictures. I was SO ticked that I didn't have 9!!! But, I was too tired to worry too much about it! I'll do the last one tomorrow. Too bad I don't need a birthday card! I just got my StampingBella stamps in the mail today! Yahoo! I'm so excited to use them! They are super cheap, because there's nothing to them! I need to buy EZ-Mount from JoAnne's (Shhhh - it's the competitor!) so that there's some sort of cling on the backs so I can use my acrylic stamp blocks.

Anyway, one of the stamps is "Cupacakabella" and this "bella" is sitting on top of a cupcake! It's super cute! I also got a "fella" for my "bella"! I got "grillabella". It's this guy who is holding burgers and standing near a grill. I got "minivanabella" where there's three kids hanging on a mom and there's a minivan in the background! Super cute as well! Then I got a "cardbackabella" for the back of my cards! And one little stamp that is a stack of cupcakes. I can't wait to use them!!!!

So, back to the subject at hand.... Here's 5 out of the 8 of the cards I made for Denise. I hope she likes them! If not, don't be surprised to see one of these cards from me in your mailbox!

I'm not doing any recipes for these cards. You'd be here ALL DAY AND NIGHT reading!!!! Plus, I'm sure there aren't any cards on here that you all would want to make anyway!

Happy Stamping!

New Technique challenge!

Today's new technique challenge on Splitcoast is working w/ Dazzling Diamonds. I LOVE Dazzling Diamonds, so this was an easy challenge!



Recipe:
Stamps: Bubble Queen
Paper: Mellow Moss, Regal Rose (I think), Very Vanilla
Ink: Black, Mellow Moss, pink, blue (for the bubbles), blush blossom
Accessories: Crystal Effects, Dazzling Diamonds, Simply Circles brass template, rhinestones, aqua painter.

This card literally took me 20 minutes to make. Super easy!!!!

Happy Stamping!

Figgy Pudding Christmas Cards

Tonight I felt inspired by all the challenges I've been involved in at Splitcoaststampers. If you ever want to look at my gallery, just look in the member gallery and my "codename" is Stampin'NPA. Some of the cards are repeats as to what's on here, and some aren't.

These two cards are NOT going to be posted on Splitcoast. They aren't THAT good! I just had to use this paper! It's like that money that's burning a hole in your pocket. You know it's there and you HAVE to spend it! I have this awesome paper and I HAVE to use it!!!!

The first card is very simple with a very simple layout. I wanted to showcase the background. I just really like snowmen! So, I didn't want to hide them with silly embellishments.



Recipe:
Stamps: Sincere Salutations
Paper: Figgy Pudding, Bravo Burgundy
Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Sage Shadow(sponged around the message oval)
Accessories: punch for ribbon holes, Stampin' Up ribbon that I found in my stash

This next card is similar to one that I made at a stamp camp a while ago. I, of course, wasn't too keen on the card we made then, but I do like this one! It's simple as well.
The second picture, you can really see the irredescent embossing powder at work! It's on the snowflake and the brad!



Recipe:
Stamps: The Snowflake Spot, Sincere Salutations
Paper: white cardstock, Figgy Pudding
Ink: White Craft Ink, Always Artichoke
Accessories: silver brad dipped in white craft ink and embossed, corner punch (Fiskars), irredescent embossing powder

Off to bed. Crazy Christmas shopping tomorrow! And snow is coming! AAAGGGHHH!!!!! At least once I get home from shopping, I can get into my pj's and stamp the day away!!!!!!!! Can't wait for that!


Happy Stamping!

My Favorite Things Part Two

So, here's a card from the other My Favorite Things stamp set that I got, Icing on the Cake. I needed to make a b-day card for my friend, of course, it's late. As usual!

Recipe:

Stamps: Icing on the Cake (My Favorite Things)

Paper: Lovely Lilac, basic white

Ink: Lovely Lilac, Basic Black

Accessories: Liquid Applique, white, red and purple stickles

The card was boring, so I put purple stickles in the middle of all the splotches in the background. It kind of added a little zing.

I'm getting there! Slowly but surely!

Happy Stamping!

My Favorite Things New Stamp Set

I received my first My Favorite Things package in the mail today! I couldn't wait to tear into these stamp sets!!!! I started with Baby It's Cold Outside. This is obviously NOT like anything on Splitcoast, but it's my first try so it can only get better!!!!

You can click on the pictures and you can see everything up close.

Recipe:

Stamp Sets: My Favorite Things Baby It's Cold Outside, background - other from Archiver's

Paper: Holiday Stack (a couple years old), white cardstock

Ink: Real Red, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Blush Blossom, Bordering Blue

Accessories: Red and Clear stickles, Heat & Stick Powder, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, ribbon

Technique: Paper piecing coat, scarf, background, liquid appliqued the tops of the boots

Happy Stamping!

The rest of the cards...

I finished the rest of the cards for Kevin's grandmother this evening. I ended up just making two thank you, two thinking of you, and two other ones. I can't remember what the message is!

They turned out ok. A little boring, but his grandmother is 90 years old!!!!

Wonder if I'll still be stamping away at 90?? I'll probably have a whole other house to hold all my stamps and everything that goes with them if I last that long!

Happy Stamping!

Card pack

Here are some pictures of cards that I am making for Kevin's grandmother for Christmas. I am streamlining and only using 3 colors, and 4 stamp sets. I'm using the new Garden Silhouettes and Stem Silhouettes for the flowers, Carte Postale for background when it matches the flower I'm focusing on, and Sincere Salutations for the message. As usual with my cards, the insides are blank so she can write her own message and not worry about writing over my message.

So, enjoy!

Happy stamping!!!!

Archiver's

Let me just tell you that I will DEFINITELY be back! Archiver's is such an awesome store!!!! I had so much fun there!!!!! I mean, look at the picture, can you tell??? The bad thing is that the store is in Cleveland. So, it took us about 3 hours to get there. In the pouring rain. But, we made it. My mom, Kim Nichol, and I. I, of course, spent the most money, buying everything from background paper, including Figgy Pudding, YAY!, to liquid applique to chipboard!

It was just an awesome experience! I had heard such wonderful stories about what a great store Archiver's was, but never really thought to go there. We have a few stores around us, plus I work at Michael's, so it's not like we're hurting for craft stores. But, once I found the Cleveland store, I figured we could make a trip up there to see what it was all about. And it was everything I thought it would be and more! I'm already planning a trip in the spring to go back up there!!!!

We also hit a store called Cord Camera, which apparently is an Ohio chain. It's a camera store slash scrapbooking store. That's where I bought this cool mat! It's so much bigger than Stampin' Up's, I just had to buy it! They had quite a few cool things in there that Archiver's didn't have. So that was neat to see even MORE different things!

Overall, it was a very cool experience. And now I'm exhausted, but my mind is quaking with ideas with all these new tools and products that I have!!!!! Can't wait to start creating!!!!!!!!

Happy Stamping!!!

My other My Favorite Things card

Here's my other challenge entry. I decided to go Christmas this time and see what I came up with.... I got some really nice comments on both, which was pretty surprising! Tomorrow they post who the guest designer will be in March. I would LOVE the opportunity to design for a stamping company! I just want to get my foot in the door!!!!

Anyway, enough chatting! Here's my card:

Recipe:

Stamps: A Beautiful Season, The Snowflake Spot, Everyday Flexible Phrases

Ink: Classic Black, Real Red for the scarf, white Craft for the snowflakes behind and words, silver gel pen for the "stitching"

Accessories: Versamark and white Martha Stewart glitter for the snowman image, Kaleidescope clear embossing powder (Michael's), mat pack for holes for "stitching", ribbon.

Very easy, once I figured out what I want to do. This was the last side of the green paper that hadn't been stamped on! There were 3 drafts before I got this! It was fun to make even if I don't win. After looking at other entries, there's no way I even have a chance! I just don't have the whole creative brain that some of these people do, and they haven't even been stamping for as long as I have!!! Plus, it helps when you kind of have a disposable income to buy all the current stuff that is out there. Hopefully one day, I'll be as good as some of these other people!

Anyway, Olivia is sleeping, hopefully for a while, since she was up all night last night. And Jack is playing, so I can work on my Michael's crafts!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Stamping!

My Favorite Things

Last night I was on a live chat "cocktail party" for My Favorite Things, a stamp company, on Splitcoaststampers. It went by SO fast! I'm so glad I have DSL and not the old dial up! I would never have been able to keep up! There ended up being about 40+ pages of people chatting back and forth. It was really cool!

I found it very interesting how a lot of these people are good friends, and just like I do, lots of these people drool over everyone else's work on Splitcoaststampers. It's a very unique community where these people are from all over the world and they all come together and share their latest creations.

Anyway, the party was because My Favorite Things was releasing 3 new stamp sets. I, of course, bought two! (The third one had a dog in the scene, and if you know me well enough, you know how I feel about animals....) They sent out a coupon, so that just enhanced a sweet deal! And they are looking for guest designers starting in March, so the first challenge to find someone was to make an Artist Trading Card, or ATC, and attach it to a card. So, in essence, it's a card within a card.

Here's mine:

Recipe: Stamps: Sweet Treats, Every Day Flexible Phrases

Ink: Pretty in Pink, Positively Pink, Going Gray, Bordering Blue, Real Red, Garden

Green, Classic Black

Paper: Black, Pretty in Pink, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Mat Pack, Michael's ribbon, Crystal Effects for the fudge, Glitter Glue for the "vanilla" ice cream, aqua painter for the pinks and gray/blue to blend the colors a little bit; Simply Circles brass template for the black dry embossing.

I'm going to make a Christmas one, so I'll post it here as well when I have time to finish it. 1AM came too quickly and I was just too tired to continue!

Happy Stamping!

Splitcoaststampers

If anyone ever travels through Splitcoaststampers, which you can find at www.splitcoaststampers.com. If you ever see a card by Stampin'NPA, that's me!!!! I was always under the impression that you had to be a Stampin' Up demonstrator to have a gallery. Not so! So about a month ago, I started my own gallery! I have received a lot of compliments on the stuff that I have put on there. Some of what you see here is on there. And I'm really into the color challenges, because they are just that. A challenge! I made a Christmas card using Pretty in Pink and Wild Wasabi, which is green. It turned out pretty good! I would never in a million years have put those two colors together!!!! So, I posted it on there, but didn't post it here. So, you'll have to check out my gallery when you're surfing the 'net!

Happy Stamping!

Merry Christmas!

Well, I am on the ball this year. I actually have most of my Christmas cards made and sealed in the envelopes! Last year, I was probably just in the beginning phases of my cards! I don't think they went out until a couple days before Christmas. So, this year, I'm doing much better! Plus, I streamlined my card this year so that it wouldn't take me forever to get them done! Thanks to my cousin, Luci, for helping me attach the three holly pieces to the cards on the way to DC for a girls weekend getaway! What better way to get stuff done, than in the car on a long trip!!!!!

Recipe for this card:

Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Ruby Red, Very Vanilla

Stamps: Fine Lace (background), Etruscan, All Year Cheer (I don't remember which one....)

Ink: Certainly Celery, Red Glitter gel pen from Michaels, Ruby Red sponged ink around the edges of the holly pieces.

Accessories: Brayer (to help get all the ink down for background paper, Stampin' Dimensionals, and comparibles from Michael's

Technique: tearing paper, 3-d effect

This card was SUPER easy to make. I literally stamped everything in like 2 days. I made stuff for 100 cards.

They are going out in the mail hopefully by Friday. I have a few more to make, and we ran out of regular pictures, where my kids look SUPER cute, so the rest of the cards will have our Wal-Mart picture from Hell. I am really sorry to the recipients of these cards. Olivia just would not smile for anything! She was afraid to be on that stupid table. Which I would have been too! That thing was really wobbly!!! Poor girl! And Jack. What a great boy he was! Usually he's the one causing all the headaches. He sat up there, and smiled his fake smile and acted like everything was fine! Oh the trials and tribulations of children! How wonderful they are!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh, it's midnight!

Time to hit the sack!

My Christmas card class is tomorrow evening at Michael's and I am SOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!!! This is essentially my first class, because all of my other classes have been with my mom, or my friends! I don't know anyone in this class, so this should be interesting!!!!!!!!! I just have to remember to bring everything!!!!!!

Wish me luck!!!!

Happy Stamping!!!!!

Roses in Winter

I have decided to make some cards for my grandmother's birthday coming up on Thanksgiving Day as a gift to her. This is for my other grandmother! She is a fellow scrapbooker, when she feels like going up to her attic/workroom to work on her books. So, I know that she would appreciate these cards!

I haven't used one of my favorite sets in quite a while, and now that I have a new package of watercolor paper, I decided to try it and see what I could come up with. All I did was stamp in Regal Rose and Mellow Moss, using regular dye ink (classic ink pads), and then using my Aqua Painter and blended it all in to make it run together. The other card is Pale Plum and Mellow Moss. Same technique. They turned out quite good, I think! I'm impressed anyway! Wish I had more Regal Rose paper!!!!!! How annoying to find a great combination and not have enough paper to make more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, that will have to be on my next order!

Happy Stamping!

Black Magic

The other day I was surfing the internet and I found some samples of "black magic" cards. Where you use black cardstock, and stamp your image with White Craft ink. Then you heat the ink and color your image with colored pencils. I'm sure metallic colored pencils would show up better, but I was surprised at how nice my colors came through. I just used my Prisma colored pencils. I tried to stamp with StazOn White, but it was very faint. The White Craft ink showed up so much better.

Here are a couple samples of what I created. I bought a bunch of 2008-2009 planners at Michael's. They were on sale for $1.00 each! Couldn't pass them up!!!!!!!!! I was trying to come up with an idea to decorate them, when I found the black magic info. So, I tried it out, and really liked the end result. So, I just found all my flower stamps that I could color inside of, and stamped the day away! The only bad thing is that you can see the reflection of my camera when I took all these pictures. Oh well!!!!!

Happy stamping!