Better Late Than Never

I made this candle gift box for mytime's (Lauren) timeless template challenge that was posted on her blog a week ago. However, due to a death in my husband's family I didn't get a chance to do the challenge until this weekend or post it until now.

I decided to use the For Keepsake template since I was going to be putting a small candle & nail file set in there and used Papertrey Ink's Flower Garden set to decorate the outside. After assembling the template, I stamped the images on vanilla card stock in memento tuxedo black ink and then colored them with prismacolor markers, cut out and adhered to the gift box with glue dots. The leaves were stamped with memento pear tart ink on vanilla scrap card stock then cut out and adhered to the box with mini glue dots.

Below I have included a pic of the entire ensemble with everything pulled out.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Flower Garden

Card Stock: Stampin Up! Creamy Caramel, Vanilla

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Pear Tart

Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Glue Dots, Ice Stickles, Candle, Nail File Set

Sympathy Trio

The need to make sympathy cards never seems to arrive at the right time. But then, what is the right time? Last week, I found myself needing to make several cards for my husbands family when Uncle Benny passed away last Tuesday. For my mother-in-law and my husband's aunt, I had some Thomas Kincade cards ready made just in case they would ever be needed. What do you do though, when the mojo disappears due to the shock of someone's passing on top of migraine medication?

In my case, I turned to the trusty keep it simple stamper method. It's never failed me before, and it didn't fail me now.

Using my Stampin Up! color wheel, I chose a color scheme for my cards (in this case soft subtles) and just moved the colors around. This way I was able to mass produce my cards, and still keep them somewhat personalized at the same time.

I pulled out a Stampin Up! Easter set that I thought was appropriate and a Stampin Up! sympathy set and just combined them. I'm very happy with the results. The outside of the cards has the verse from Luke 24:6 "He is not here but is Risen" from the Glorious Gift set; with the inside verse "Earth has no sorrow that Heaven cannot heal" from the Close as a Memory set.

Stamps: Stampin Up! Close As A Memory, Glorious Gift
Card Stock: Stampin Up! Almost Amethyst, Barely Banana, Apricot Appeal, Certainly Celery, Soft Sky

Ink:Stampin Up! Almost Amethyst, Soft Sky, Lavender Lace, Apricot Appeal, Pretty In Pink, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Confetti Flowers, Stampendous Bling Stickers, Mini Glue Dots, Stipple Brush

SCS Christmas Card Challenge

Second Post today.

Do you like to make your own Christmas cards? I sure do, that's why I always do the Splitcoast Stampers Christmas Card Challenge. This helps me make sure I have plenty of cards to send out at Christmas without all of the stress and fuss of making them last minute and not enjoying the season, not to mention the real reason for celebrating Christmas. Depending on how many cards you need, depends on how many you need to make a month. This year I'm only needing to make five cards per month since I've got so many left over from last year (I had made 10 a month).

I decided to use a set I had bought on the Splitcoast Buy/Sell/Trade forum from Papertrey Ink called Snowflake Serenade. I love snowflakes, snow, when it's snowing, ect. It's so peaceful and quiet during that time that it's somehow soothing. I decided to keep my cards monochromatic as well which is using one color family to make my cards; in this case the color family of blue.

I stamped the snowflake cards themselves using Papertrey Ink's Spring Rain color on Stampin Up! soft sky (retired) paper. Then stamped the peace saying in the same ink on white paper and stippling Stampin Up! soft sky ink (retired) around the edges. Using two different sizes of clear gem stickers, I highlighted the "dot" flourishes of the peace saying before adding primas and a punched snowflake all highlighted with a clear gem sticker. Below are two close up samples using the two different sizes of clear gem stickers.

Want to be involved in the challenge? You can jump in and sign up anytime.

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Snowflake Serenade

Card stock: Stampin Up! Soft Sky (retired), white

Ink: Papertrey Ink Spring Rain

Accessories: Stipple brush, primas, mini glue dots, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, clear gem stickers

Celebrate MFT Day!

On the 20th of every month, is Celebrate MFT day in the Splitcoast MFT forum. I'm a little late posting my project due to family issues, however, as far as I'm concerned every day should be a celebrate MFT day!

I wanted to have a book or journal to keep all of the masks I use for stamping projects without having to remake them all of the time; which can be a very time consuming process. So after finding a little garden journal in the Target $1 spot last weekend I got the idea of altering it to make my mask book.

I started off by stamping my new Flopsy Flowers image with memento tuxedo black ink and then coloring it with prismacolor markers. I'm in love with my prismacolor markers!!!! I then stippled a retired Stampin Up! ink around the image for the sky and then Stampin Up! Green Galore at the bottom to help accent the grass part of my image before layering. After adding some Making Memories brads I've had for some time, I then added some ribbon I found in the Michaels $1 spot. I just love how that ribbon looks like it's been "bunched up" to add some texture and dimension. The prima was found in Michaels clearance section as well. Now, since I knew I would be using my masking journal for several companies, I wanted to make sure the masks were separated and could be easily found. No problem!! Out came my Stampin Up! round tab punch that had been collecting dust to punch a bunch of tabs out of the scraps of card stock. I wrote the company initials on the tabs, added them to the book, and it was done. It took maybe 30 minutes max to make the whole thing. Easy as pie!

Stamps: MFT Flopsy Flowers, Walmart alphabet set
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Bliss Blue (retired), Green Galore
Card Stock: Pixie Pink, White, Pink Passion, Green Galore
Accessories: Stipple brushes, ribbon, mini glue dots, brads, prismacolor markers, prima flower, gem stickers

MFT Idol Week 6 Challenge - Nothing Is Impossible!

This week's challenge is to make a one-layer wonder, aka one-layer card. There was a collective groan in the challenge & chatter thread on SCS. However for me.....Yippee Skippy!!! I love one-layer cards! Sometimes for me, adding layers is harder than keeping it simple.

When I first started stamping there was no one around to teach me anything about the different techniques used, embellishments, and the like. I had to teach myself; so all of my cards were only one layer to begin with and extremely simple with no color guidelines to go by either. I didn't start using layers or embellishments until after I had met a Stampin Up! demo and went to my first workshop where I learned how to watercolor and 2-step stamp. In fact, I still have the stamp sets I ordered from that workshop too. However, I digress.

For this week's MFT challenge, I pulled out one of my newer stamp sets and couple of ones that needed too see some love. I stamped the knight & dragon first then masked them, stamped the castle & the trees and then removed the masks and used prismacolor markers to color everything in. Using the prismacolor blender marker on the castle & dragon gave both of them a rugged or mottled appearance adding to their charm. Using only part of a bouquet of flowers I stamped them at the bottom of the card to look like little "clusters" of flowers growing in front of the castle before adding gold ice stickles to the centers.

Once done with all of my stamping, I lightly stippled two different greens for grass and then blue for the sky and did the same around the edges of the card. Simple.

Stamps: MFT Good Knight, Bundles of Bouquets, Nature Calls

Card stock: white

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, PTI New Leaf, Rasberry Fizz, SU Glorious Green, Green Galore, Soft Sky

Accessories: Stipple Brush, Prismacolor Markers, Ice Stickles, Post-its (for masking)

Damask Designs

I finally got my Papertrey Ink set Damask Designs inked up my friend Dawn designed. Since I'm still dealing with my month long migraine, I figured using the keep it simple method would be the best way to go.

I started out by inking the background stamp with Rasberry Fizz ink and I just love how the background came out!! Way too cool! Once I started stamping with Sweet Blush, I got the idea to use the big Damask flourish as the centerpiece, but cut out and popped up with bling. Using the direct to paper technique, I added some Rasberry Fizz to the sides of the card itself before adding the gem stickers and the metal faux brad stickers.




For my second card of the the night, I stamped the background flourish in Ocean Tides ink; then stamped one of the smaller flourishes in Sweet Blush. I'm in love with the Ocean Tides background look as well and will definitely be using that background again! Stamped the tulip twice on white cardstock and direct to papered Aqua Mist around the edges of one panel before popping up on All Night Medial pop dots. Cut out the second tulip and then popped it up on Stampin Up dimensionals.



I'm really happy with the way both of these cards turned out especially with how I've been feeling lately. My migraines have been getting worse and lasting longer for some reason. Thank goodness I see the neurologist on Monday for them. In the meantime, I'll keep myself occupied with stamping.

Happy Birthday Damask

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Damask Designs

Cardstock: Rasberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush

Ink: Rasberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, Sweet Blush, Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Pop Dots, Gem Stickers, Metal "Faux Brad" Stickers

Wishing You Tulips & Birthdays

Stamps: Papertrey Ink Damask Designs, Wishing You, Handwritten Notes (inside)

Cardstock: Ocean Tides, White, Spring Rain, Sweet Blush

Ink: Ocean Tides, Sweet Blush, Memento Tuxedo Black, Aqua Mist, Plum Pudding

Accessories: Pop Dots, Dimensionals

MFT Idol Judges Challenge

This is my entry for MFT's week 5 Idol challenges. This week all of the remaining contestants were given the week off and the judges, all of SCS, had come up with a project, any project using just MFT stamps.


I had decided for my project to make something for a co-worker for our monthly "tea time" breaks on the weekends I work.


I started by printing off a couple of templates I had downloaded; one for my card and one for my tea bag holder. The template for my card comes from www.houseofstirfry.com/chia and the "oven" tea bag holder is PTI's "bun in the oven" template from http://www.papertreyink.com/. Once my "oven" template was cut out, I stamped tea bags & tea cups all over the sides before assembling. The stove top burners were punched using a Target $1 spot flower punch and scrap Stampin Up! basic grey paper and adhered with mini glue dots.


For my card, I traced the tea cup template on a folded 8 1/2 x 11 piece of white card stock folded in half, then cut it out and did the same with the Stampin Up designer paper. Stamped the image and colored it with prismacolor markers before adding Earth Elements brads and primas.

Close up's of the card and "oven" tea bag holder follow.

I feel fortunate to have made the MFT Judges challenge top 10 finalists for SCS to vote on for a VIP prize package worth almost $50 for the May MFT release; especially since my project was done while on migraine meds.

Stamps: MFT Tea For Two, Hot Stuff

Card stock: White, Not Quite Navy, SU NQN dp

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Papertrey Ink Chocolate, SU Going Grey, Soft Sky

Accessories: Stipple Brush, Sponge, Primas, Mini Glue Dots, Templates, Brads, Prismacolor Markers, Tea Bags, $1 Punch, Color Spritzer Tool, NQN Marker

Easter Morning And The Road Not Taken

I finally got to do one of Cornish Heritage Farms blog challenges. This we were to make a project or card for Spring/Easter. Right away I thought of Thomas Kincades release of Sunrise. This stamp just reminds me of Easter Morning; the day my Savior, Jesus rose from the dead leaving behind an empty cross on a hill, and an empty grave; taking my sins away and making me new again.



I'm really pleased with the how this card turned out since I stamped and colored it while on migraine medication...not an easy task let me tell you. However, I needed to relax somehow, and stamping is my form of relaxation.

I stamped the image in memento tuxedo black and colored with prismacolor markers before sponging Stampin Up! pumpkin pie ink around the edges of the card. I stamped from Mona Lisa Moments Motivational Centers the following phrase on the inside:


"Two roads diverged in a wood and I -

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost"


This phrase is from one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost called The Road Not Taken and to me it goes perfect with the Sunrise image. We are presented daily with two roads, or paths, to take and what is/are the outcomes of that choice.

What road did you take today?


Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms Thomas Kincade Sunrise, Mona Lisa Moments Motivational Centers
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin Up! Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: Prismacolor Markers, Sponge, Vintage Brads, Martha Stewart Ribbon Bow