Some Paper Piecing

The the current challenge over at Simon Says Stamp blog is all about paper piecing. I simply don't do enough of this technique.

This little card is made with Paper Smooches stamps, some kraft cardstock and some great patterned paper. The fun kitchen background is a Cuttlebug embossing folder. You know I love those googly eyes!

Reminds me of our summer (I can't wait for that) trips to the Farmer's Market. Love those long days and the yummy organic veggies!

This close up photo is more true to the colors.

Have a great week and thanks for the peek.

Love T.V.

Home from an extended weekend in the Napa Valley, California's glorious wine country! Just what we needed. Hope you had a good weekend, too.

I have just a few minutes to post this card for the current Paper Smooches SPARKS cool shades challenge to use these "Royal" colors.


I had one more Valentine to make, this one is for my pal who loves retro stuff. So, I put together some Paper Smooches stamps (Boob Tubes, Geo-Graphic, Word Salad), a glitter pen, a Cuttlebug embossing folder and Spellbinders "Wonky Rectangles" for this card. I even tried a little hand outlining - a first for me!

Have a funtastic week - I'll catch up on your blogs early this week (I hate to miss anything).

Golden Oldies

The current challenge at A Blog Named Hero caused me to dig into my stash of old Hero Arts stamps. I found these stamps from the 2005 "ribbon" series (F3340, F3341 & F3343)! How's that for oldies? I stamped them,overlapping, with Hero Arts Mid-Tone and Shadow Inks. Kind of like old-fashioned washi tape, eh?

A couple other old favorite stamps used here are CL242 (the robot) from 2008 and CL400 (the elephant) from 2010. I used them with some Martha Stewart papers, some Nestibilities dies, Copic pens and some Stickles to complete these Valentines. Here's a couple of shots of the robot. I love the results!

 

This was a fun challenge. I regularly purge my stamps, but there are some that I will always keep because I love them so much! Hope you can play along and enjoy some old "friends".

Have a great day - it's National Pie
Day in the USA!- and thanks for stopping in!

A little washi

Washi Tape. I was thinking about why I hardly ever use it. First I thought it was because I didn't have a large enough selection, so I bought some more. Then, I thought it might be because I didn't keep it handy enough, so I bought this cool little birdbath thingy to hold it and sit on my crafting desk.

Well, I've finally figured it out. It is because I am such a neat and tidy freak! I want to straighten out all the rough edges and make everything clean orderly, and that is just not the beauty of washi tape!

So, I decided to take on the current challenge at Simon Says Stamp. My new Hero Arts stamps finally arrived on Saturday - YAY! No surprise that the first one I wanted to ink up was a typewriter (CL676, Typewriter Notes). Because the stamp is new, I am putting this card into the current Hero Arts contest, "Try Something New".Join in the fun!

I made a set of notecards in pink and yellow. Can you believe that I actually have washi tape with vintage typewriters?

This is about as close to CAS as this girl gets. What a struggle. Thanks, SSS, for really challenging me.

I hope you have a great day. This is a good day to honor the dream and keep the memory alive.

Thanks for stopping in,

Bee Mine, Valentine!

Ah, this is such a grand time of year - so many hearts and flowers; so much love. I {heart} hearts! I have a huge box of heart goodies and I love to dig in.

This little card celebrates love with the cutest love bug, Paper Smooches "Giddy Bugs". I also used "Geo-Graphic" for the honeycomb. Two Cuttlebug embossing folders, Hero Arts Frame Cuts DI008, and googly eyes complete the supply list.

Normally using vellum scares me (adhering it is always a puzzle), but I had fun with it this time. Love it embossed like this!

This is going into the current Paper Smooches SPARKS Designer Drafts Challenge challenge.

I am so excited to see some of the great new products Kim shared at CHA. Fun to come!

Have a glorious weekend - spread some love around! We have the promise of sunshine and huge ocean waves here in the SF Bay Area.

New All Over!

My dear crafty friend and teacher Bibiana just announced that she has a new card-making blog - please check it out. She is super-talented, a patient teacher and very dear lady.

I made a card to congratulate her on this new venture, using her blog as the color and design inspiration for my card. I added my own touch of whimsey so she'll know it is from me - ha!

I used some new corrugated kraft cardstock (from Michael's) and my new Newspaper Owl (D5562) Hero Arts stamp. I also used a couple of old favorite Hero stamps, CG434 and CL570 (doesn't it go perfectly with the owl?!) and Spellbinders Labels 17.

Bibiana loves Distress Inks, so I used my Distress Markers to color the flowers and then spritzed with Perfect Pearls and water. The sentiment is heat embossed and the owl is colored with Copic pens.

Bibiana encourages us to decorate the inside of cards (something I rarely do), but I did it for this one, just for her!

Since this card is all about new things, I am entering in the current Hero Arts contest, "Try Something New".

Congratulations, dear friend. You are going to love blogging and we are going to love that you do it! Thanks for looking,

Black and White T.V.

Yep, as a child of the 1950's, I grew up with it. And with the Mickey Mouse Club, Hoowdy Doody and Captain Kangaroo. Am I old, or what?

I made this card to celebrate those great times. I used a Paper Smooches stamp from the "Boob Tube" collection, a cool Cuttlebug embossing folder, and some black and white paper (do you remember t.v. test patterns?) from my stash.








For the sentiment, what could be better than using my vintage typewriter? Hubby said that it sounded like  Ernest Hemingway was in my craft studio!

I am submitting this to the Paper Smooches SPARKS  Trend Watch Challenge to make a card with a vintage theme.

This is also going to the Simon Says Stamp current challenge, which is  Black/White + a Splash of Colour.

Thanks for the visit. Have a great weekend. I'm going to set up the t.v. trays and put a t.v. diner in the oven........and remember the good times! Or, make some new ones.

Love Line

Do you remember that song?

Anyway, that is what I thought of when I saw the Paper Smooches SPARKS Trend Watch Challenge this week. The note says to use anything vintage, and I figure any rotary phone could be considered vintage.


I am so full of Valentine's thoughts right now. I love hearts and love! So, I combined the phone with the hearts and used this great American Crafts paper that I have been hoarding for years.

For this card I used one of my all-time favorites (yes, you've seen him before!) from the "Little Fella" set and a sentiment for the flag from "Word Salad".

Gotta love this guy! I sure do!

 Thanks for coming by. And, if you love somebody, be sure to tell them.

On the Boardwalk & a Winner!

When I make cards for kids, I keep them simple (like the monkey Valentine I posted last), but for others I sometimes pull out all the stops (that means extra postage!).

My Aunt loves the beach, the boardwalk and all things vintage. So, I put together this card with some great Graphic 45 paper that I've been hoarding and lots of other goodies.

I just received my new Hero Arts "Many Birthday Messages (CL611)" set which was perfect! I heat embossed it with some Zing powder and it created perfect little "sockets" for the silver "light bulbs" for the boardwalk sign! I love it.

Other details include Sizzix Architectural Accents dies, Stampa Rosa M58-493 stamp, Hero Arts D1006 die, Tim Holtz mini-rosettes die, twine, and a bottle cap that I decorated with the paper and Glossy Accents.

Since I used my brand new Hero Arts stamp set, I am entering this into this month's contest. Check it out and play along - the month is young!

Thanks for your lovely comments on my last post. I continue to work on my acts!

I do have a winner of the hexagon dies. The odds were good, only 6 contestants. The winner is commenter #4, Dawn. I have already alerted you, but please contact me.

Thanks to everyone, everyday!


Have a good one, dear blogger buddies,

Just 1 of 26

Hello and Happy New Year Everyone! Have you heard of the 26 Acts of Kindness Campaign? I really like the idea and I've been working on it. At first it was overwhelming, but once I opened my heart to the idea it was easy - and fulfilling and joyful.

Mostly I am keeping these acts private, but I have a little random giveaway to share with you as a little thank you for all your support and inspiration during the year.

While after-Christmas shopping I bought this Hexagon Spellbinders die. Have you jumped on the hexagon trend yet? Here is your chance. Just leave a comment here by January 7th at noon (PST) and I will draw a name on Tuesday the 8th. Be sure that I have a way to reach you. I will send it anywhere. Good luck.

Today's card is one I made for our monkey-loving nephew. I love hearts and everything Valentine's, so this is a start to all the fun. I used Paper Smooches Love Monkey and Good Gab stamps and plan to enter it into the current Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge, Anything Goes.

Stamps: PS Love Monkey, Good Gab

 

 

Simple and silly!

Thanks for stopping in and have a wonderful weekend.