Simple Friendship Shoebox Swap Card

This is the card that Cyndi made for are Sunday Shoebox Swap. She said she took it directly from Andrea Walford's website. I think it is such a stunning card. It was very fun and easy to make too! Of course I can say that because I didn't have to cut all the card stock and decorative paper for it either. Gotta LOVE Shoebox Swaps for that alone, plus all the fun cards you get to take home with you!

I LOVE the colors of this card and the elegant all round beauty of it. Isn't it funny how you see decorative paper in a package and you think it's just ok but when you see it used on a card or scrapbook page is becomes STUNNING and something you HAVE to have!!!

This card was made using the Stampin' Up! "Simple Friendship" set. I don't have this set. I do believe it's going to be going on my ever expanding wish list!!!

This card is a very versatile one too. You can change that circle from friend to make a get well card, birthday card, thinking of you card, sympathy card and even a wedding card. And you know how much I LOVE versatility in a stamp set!!!

Good job on blog surfing Cyndi, I LOVE this card!!!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Snowman Notebooks! Weekend Project

I have SO many things to share with you that I don't know where to begin. I think I will post another notebook project. I started these snowmen a LONG time ago. Yes, WAY back when the Stampin' Up! set "Tags & More" was still a current set!!! I did hang onto this set because I continue to use that snowman from the set. He's just SO cute and he's the perfect size for my 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" notebooks I make. And a little note on my notebooks. I make them myself using a paper cutter, some copier paper, card stock, plastic coils and the RubiCoil punch machine. My machine is sort of broken at the moment. A while ago a spring sprung on it and the handle no longer flings back so the punch pins tend to stay down and if you don't make sure they are up it will either not punch your paper at all or it catches the edges and makes it look just awful!!! I did tilt the machine back and I try to remember to push the handle away from me before I punch and it's been a bit easier to work with. I did order the parts I needed. They should be arriving sometime this week. Great deal, just hope I can figure out how to put them on!!! And I was told that when you replace one you replace the other one too!!! Ok, just hope I know how to put them on!!! I'm REALLY hoping that the second one is still intact, though if it were wouldn't you think the handle would fling back somewhat???

Anyway, back to these notebooks. These actually started out as an adornment for Hershey Bar wrappers. I made one here using a Santa theme. I'm surprised I didn't have any on my blog!! They were pretty cute. And as I was cleaning up in my workroom and den (stuff has spewed into that room too!) I found these unfinished pieces SO I took the snowman parts and the brown layer and thought I would just make notebooks with them. I found some paper with these that were already punched. I think my plan there was to make notebooks with them after all!!!

I am in the process of printing out my cookbooks for an upcoming craft fair and in the meantime I'm digging through the piles of "stuff" have sitting around. SO while the cookbooks are printing I found these and finished the notebooks. They seemed more fun this time around!! Why is that? Do you think it's because I know that they are now completed and out of my "messy" area?"

Oh and laundry is going at the same time. More than "multitasking" if you ask me! Plus typing on the computer entering this post on my blog!!! It will be SO nice to get these things all done and be organized once again!!! Hope that is completed by the end of September!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

The card stock used here is Bashful Blue, Whisper White, and Chocolate Chip. I used markers to color in the snowman and I remember cutting them out by hand!!! No punches for them!! And the snow layer was made by tearing the card stock and setting a piece of foam tape behind it to give it dimension. I do remember making these and I do remember how cute I thought it was. I should give this a try with a current catalog snowman!!

These are great for Hostess gifts, Customer Appreciation gifts, Make n Takes and Craft Fairs. When I put these in craft fairs I wrap them up in a clear cellophane and tape it shut. It gives it a more professional look and they always sell out!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Intimidated by a Card!

Ever been intimidated by a card? This one sure intimidated me!!! This is the card that Autumn designed for the Sunday Shoebox Swap. I took one look at it and my first thought was "I don't even know where to begin. It sure threw me. It wasn't a "regular"or "normal" card and i was surely stamping out of my element tackling something like this. Fortunately Autumn wa standing next to me when I sat down. Perhaps she saw the "deer in headlights" look I had on my face and took mercy on me!!! LOL

She guided me through it and it wasn't so bad after all!!! I don't know what this card is called and I don't have the measurements for the bottom part. Autumn had everything all cut and scored and the slit in the top where the card slides in. Actually it doesn't slide in, it's taped in place. The box is folded up in half and it forms a standard size greeting card. The kind I'm use to seeing!!!

I stamped the image which came from the Stampin' Up! Hostess set "Kind & Caring Thoughts." I LOVE this set!!!

The butterfly was made using the new butterfly punch!!! It was folded in half and when you close the card up to mail it you fold the butterfly shut so it all fits in the card! Isn't it just an adorable card? I feel SO fortunate to be surrounded by such talented gals!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

On a Pedestal Birthday Card

This is a card that Angie designed for the Shoebox swap that was a couple of weeks ago. It seems like it was SO long ago now. Hmmm, that must mean I've been VERY busy!!! Oh and I have. I have lots of new things to show you as the days go by here!!! I even designed a new bracelet and I'm hoping to have some for sale in a few weeks. Just in time for Christmas!!! I seem to have my hands in too many projects lately. One HUGE project is getting my workroom in order. That is a nightmare in the making!!! The room became so cluttered with "stuff" and it's still overwhelming to me to tackle certain areas. But I'm plugging along and it's slowly coming together. I just ordered my counter top today for the 7 foot long row of cubes I have. It will be nice to have a smooth work surface!! SO the down side of that is I need to get it all cleaned up in 10 days!!! I shall prevail!!! LOL

Ok, onto Angie's FABULOUS card. This is from the Stampin' Up! set "On a Pedestal." I don't have this set but after looking at it and playing with it I may have to put it on my ever growing wish list!!! I say ever growing because of the new mini catalog. Have you had a chance to see that yet??? OUCH!!! There's hardly anything in it that I don't want!!! LOL

This card was a very fun one to make. And my card actually looks like the one on display!!! Amazing, huh??? LOL I really did enjoy making this card. And don't you just LOVE the new "in" colors?? I'm having a lot of fun with them. Oh and the matching polka dot ribbons!!!

I'm off to sort through some stuff and clean off a worktable so I can create something fun tonight!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Note to Self Altered Notebooks Weekend Project

I ran across some cut and punched copier paper and thought I should make notebooks with them. Well, that was the intention when I had cut and punched the paper a LONG time ago. It's amazing what you find when you start cleaning up "stuff." My workroom is such a mess and I've been digging and cleaning and finding little treasures here and there and junk almost everywhere else!!! Some things I wonder why I kept and other things I wonder where I'm going to stuff it to work on them sometime in the future!!! But isn't that how it got to the place it was at when I recently found it??? LOL

Anyway, these little notebooks were fun to finish off. Maybe I kept them so long because I was waiting for a set like this to come along!!! Yup, that must be it!!

I used Bashful Blue and white card stock. I used the Stampin' Up! "Lots of Tags" die. This die is the one I've used the most from that set. I used the "Trio Flowers" punch, the "Wide Oval" punch and the "Note to Self" stamp set. I bought this set because of the "notes" stamp. And I do like that background image from it too!! I'm sure the other 3 items in it will grow on me. This will be one set I will be keeping for a long while because of the word "notes!"

I added a yellow brad to the center of the flower and put it all together. This layout can be done with many store bought notebooks too!!! It's a clean and simple look that anyone would enjoy!!

I LOVE doing notebooks and when the parts come for my RubiCoil punch machine I will be a happier camper. The spring broke and I had to order new ones. I'm just hoping I can install them myself!!! Nothing like having the parts and being SO close and not being able to finish the task!! LOL

These notebooks can be used for Customer Appreciation gifts, Hostess gifts, Make n Takes, Craft Fairs and even a Stamp Camp project!!!

I have more altered notebooks on my blog. You can see them by clicking here,there's over 80 of them!!.
And you can find more weekend projects here, there are over 40 of them!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Take Your Place Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Lucky me, I found some time to play. I LOVE doing the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers. This layout was a lot of fun. Some interesting layers to it.

I was thinking of what I could do with the Stampin' Up! "Take Your Place" mini note kit. I like the images in it but thought I could use them for something more than just note cards! Well, then this sketch came along and this image fit it perfectly.

For the background I used the Cuttlebug "Snowflakes" folder. Between that one and the Dotted Swiss one I'm not sure which I use the most!!!

The tiny snowflakes on the Bashful Blue piece came from the "Holiday Blitz" set. Another set I get LOTS of use from!!!

The triangle layer is some new decorative paper from the "Autumn Meadows" package. And the snowflake was made using the new punch Stampin' Up! came out with in the new catalog!! LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it!!!

I sponged the edges and then I added a little rhinestone to the snowflake and then taped it all together!

It was a pretty easy card to make. I just LOVE that little tree image!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Botanicals Fall Card

This card is absolutely STUNNING!! My friend Ann S. made it!! She's such a talented person. And a great eye for art! She had the background paper and found the leaf in the Stampin' Up! "Botanicals" set and it was perfect for her card. I LOVE the colors of this card and the colors she used in the leaf. I believe it was the retired Spectrum pad "Pumpkin Patch" from Stampin' Up! I hung on to those Spectrum pads. You never know when you may need one!!! And after seeing that leaf done using it I was glad I did keep them!!!

I do not know where Ann got the background paper. It was an 8-1/2" x 11" piece. I'm guessing it was either from Michael's or Joanns. It was printed on one side only if that helps any of you who my go out looking for it!

The words were from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set. They were stamped on white card stock and then punched out with the oval punch. A scallop was punched out and added to the back of the oval piece.

A little sponging and stamping off was done on the focal part of the card. It was just enough to complete the card!

I'm SO thrilled to be surrounded by such talented stampers here!! It was a very fun week of stamping!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Together Forever Card

This is the card that our hostess Cyndi had for us to make. It's always nice to have new wedding cards on hand!!! This one is SO pretty too!!! I cheated on this one. Sue A. was sitting next to me an she made an extra center so I really can't tell you how that was made. It was embossed with something sparkly, that I do know!!!

The background was done using a "Backgrounds 1" template on Whisper White card stock.

There were two stamp sets used here. That center that I did not make myself is from the Stampin' Up! "Wedding Sweet" set and the "Mr. & Mrs." is from the "Together Forever" set. I have used that set a lot and just LOVE it.

A piece of ribbon was added to the top and the card was assembled. It was a very quick, simple and clean looking card. It's SO pretty!!! Didn't Cyndi do a great job on it?

This was the last card we did on that Thursday evening Shoebox Swap!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Happy Birthday Ladybugs!

This is the card that Amy designed for the swap a couple of weeks ago. Yup, it's taken me that long to get to some of these swap cards. I keep making cards and now scrapbook pages myself to post here!!! Imagine that!!! My designs on my blog!!! LOL I'll squeeze in the swap cards now and then until I get them all in here!

This card requires only a couple of stamps. We used the "happy birthday" from the Stampin' Up! "Teeny Tiny Wishes." This set has 24 word images to it that cover the major holidays and a few other greetings you "must" have! I LOVE this set. And get this, a lot of these work with the Word Window punch!!! Such a deal!!! And the other images were from the "Circle Circus" set.

The ladybug was done using circle punches and cutting off the top part of the circle so the head of the ladybug would show. The antenna were drawn in!! There were no antennas in the set. I asked when I sat down to stamp mine!!! LOL

Amy did dry emboss the background for us to save time. These cards are suppose to be designed for the one making them to get them done in about 5 minutes. The background was from the "Texture Plates Kit #4." I don't use those as much as I do the folders. The folders seem to be easier to use and the impression in the paper seems to be deeper and more defined.

The cute leaf is from the Sizzlits Dies "Little Leaves." I have this one but have not used it yet!! Sounds like 50% of my stamping stuff!! Kind of sad but I'm sure I will get to it soon so it will be more like 25% instead of 50%!!!

This was a very fun card to make and not hard at all!!! Amy did a great job with it and get this, mine did look like hers when I was done!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A FABULOUS Autumn Days Card

Sue A. is a phenomenal stamper. This card was for the Thursday Shoebox Swap. She punched out all of those inlaid pieces for us!!! It's such a fascinating looking card! And of course I just LOVE this set so that makes liking the card even easier!!!

Now when I said Sue had punched out all of those pieces, she even punched the corners for us!!! We just started in the center towards the top and began taping the pieces in place. We trimmed off the ones that hung over the edges and we were ready to stamp on it. Now because the card stock was taped on top of the Kraft card stock it gave the pieces a little space between them and the ink did not get on the Kraft card stock. Well, it did if you pressed to hard, like I did a couple of times!!! But you wouldn't have noticed if I wouldn't have said anything!!!

The words and image stamps are from the same Stampin' Up! "Autumn Days" set. This set could be very versatile set. I see the pheasant and pine cone stamps as ones that I would probably only be using in the fall. Maybe the pine cones for summer camping type cards or scrapbook pages but the pheasant, not so much!!! The other 4 stamps in the set can be used for masculine cards. They can be used as the focal image or a background. And I can even see using the wheat shafts on a masculine sympathy card. I saw the versatility in this set before I bought it.

There is one set I keep running across and I laugh at it every time I see it. I have not used it yet and it's on that list of "what was I thinking?" when I bought it!!! LOL I will make something with it soon and share it with you. It is not a very versatile set and obviously I wasn't thinking when I bought it. I probably saw a cute card made with it and just HAD to have it. Now it would have been smart of me to somehow save that photo of the card or the link or something but I did not!!! SO typical of me!!

Anyway, this card was LOTS of fun to make and it isn't as bad as it looks. The ribbon is the new Dusty Durango dotted ribbon, it's the backside of the ribbon!!! Again versatile!!!

Such a fun card! Thanks Sue for being SO creative and also for cutting out all of those pieces in advance!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

My First Official Scrapbook Page!!!

Yes Sharon H., I have finally done my very first Scrapbook page!!! I have had my scrapbook since January. It took me this long to get my nerve up to try a page!!! I did a back to back page which really means I did two pages!!! These pages are 12" x 12".

It was a lot of fun (after I figured out what photos I was going to use and where I wanted them!). It didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to and I am not going to tell you what I had originally drawn up for the pages!! It's close but not exact!!

I used 2 sheets of 12" x 12" Very Vanilla card stock. Those adorable leaves on the background are from the Stampin' Up! "Autumn Days" set. I just LOVE the leaf in that set. And as you can see, I did use it a lot on the background. I also had a tiny leaf paper punch so I punched out a bunch of little leaves and taped them in place on the pages. My main colors of card stock here are Brocade Blue and Not Quite Navy. The wording was all done on the computer. I thought it would be easier, quicker and neater if I typed it out instead of writing it by hand. It took long enough to figure out the layout, cut the pieces and tape them in the right places. So using the computer saved me some time. I am not a big fan of typing so I just went online to find the information about Enger Tower and I did a cut and paste. I did edit it for content because there was some information I didn't want on there, like dates and times, etc. I just kept what I needed for the information on the page and printed it out. In the future some of my pages will contain my own personal comments (where I feel they are needed!). I will be doing more pages but it will be slow going, I'm thinking it will be. It may go faster than I think it will, who knows. Only time will tell on that one!!! But the important thing is, I will be making more!!! I have HUNDREDS of photos to put in the book and I'd like to try to make a set of pages a week!!! Nice goal, lets hope I can do it!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Medallion Card

I LOVE this new Stampin' Up! "Medallion" stamp. There is SO much you can do with this one too. This card was made at our DIVA Shoebox Swap, Sandy was the designer of this card. Sandy is a very talented person. Her cards are never "ordinary." She has a flair for this. Sorry Sandy, I didn't get all the parts on straight. Her sample was FABULOUS and I probably should have taken a photo of that instead of the one I made. Hmmm, now there's a thought!!! I think I'll do that right when I start stamping at those things! The one done by the designer is always the nicest!!!! Why didn't I think of that before?

Now when I sat down to make this card the feeling of fear came over me. How do I do this? But after looking at it and asking a question or two I got it!! Like I have said before, when I go to these things you would think I have never stamped before in my life!!! I don't know what it is but it happens every time!!! LOL

The center of the Medallion has a Build-a-brad. The layer behind that was cut out and added with Dimensionals. The piece behind that was just the Medallion stamped on card stock. It was set up behind a piece of Crushed Curry adn then layered on top of the black piece.

SO I got this wonderful card all done and I was happy with it. Isn't it gorgeous? Sandy did a fabulous job making this card and dazzling us all!!

The theme for the swaps was to use the new "in colors" on the cards. Sandy used the Crushed Curry here. It looks like More Mustard in the photo but trust me, it was the Crushed Curry. It's just too fabulous!!! Great job Sandy!!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge Teddy &Train

Here it's Wednesday again and I was fortunate enough to have time to play with this weeks Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers. This sketch was right up my alley. I LOVE layers and this one had LOTS of them!!! I wanted to use the Stampin' Up! "Teddy & Train" set but I wasn't sure how I was going to get that teddy in that final layer. Well, cutting him out was the only option. He didn't fit there just stamping him in. And I really didn't want to make that #5 layer bigger. The whole purpose of the sketch is to follow their diagram. Making things bigger or smaller changes the sketch and takes away the challenge to the card!!

SO in sticking with the dimensions of the sketch this is what I came up with!!! I LOVED every minute of making this card!!

That little set sure has a lot of nice images to it. On the Certainly Celery strip there is a little duck stamped all over the place. I got it off the end of the train that comes in the set!! I was originally going to run the train along that strip but I didn't like the idea of the train going north and south when the layout of the rest of the card wasn't headed that way!!! SO just taking the duck was the way to go!! It worked!!

The Pretty in Pink layer has baby rattles stamped all over it using Pretty in Pink ink! I wanted to keep the colors soft but yet visible. Often using VersaMark just isn't dark enough for me. I often use the inks that match the card stock instead of VersaMark.

Those adorable buttons came from a package of little buttons from Michael's a LONG time ago. There isn't much left in that package anymore. Fortunately these buttons fit with the card nicely and I was able to use them!!!

The white background on this card was done using the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss folder. It was a pretty simple card to do, just lots of layering. But like I said I LOVE layering!!! It was fun!!! Go play with this sketch if you have time!!! Challenge yourself to do something with this many layers!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Templates and Folders

Here's a wonderful card to make if you need to do one quick!!!! This card was made by Peggy and believe me, it's a quick card!!! This would be great for those times when you have just a couple of minutes before you have to be out the door!!! Ever have that happen to you???

There was wording in the oval of this card but I didn't add it. This card was such a versatile card that I thought I would add some words later for the occasion I'm going to use it for. It's such a bright and clean looking card. This is such a talented group of gals. It's fun to see all the different ideas we all come up with. We amaze and astound each other!!! And of course we share with each other too!!

The background on this card was done using the Stampin' Up! texture templates and the Big Shot. I like the templates but not as much as the folders. I like the textured areas to be deeper and more defined like the are with the folders.

What is fun with this card is you don't need any stamps to do the background or to even dress it up. Just the words in the center are all you need. This is such a fancy looking card. It can be used for SO many different occasions. I'm thinking how fun this would be to use this layout for a wedding or anniversary card.

Isn't it a fun design? Peggy is a wonderful stamper!!! Thanks Peggy for the beautiful design. Sorry I didn't stamp the words you had on this card but I wasn't sure what occasion I was going to use it for so I left it blank.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Best Wishes Thank You

This is the card that Autumn designed for the swap. She used the Stampin' Up! "Best Wishes & More" set. It took me a while to find that set in the catalog. I was looking for a leaf set. But this set has a FABULOUS snowflake in it!!!! I like the flower in it too. The bird and heart are ok. I will have to give it a lot more thought before I add it to my wish list. I am trying not to buy a set because it has just one stamp in it that I like!!! I need to cut back on my spending. SO I'm only buying what I can get a lot of use out of. I LOVE versatile sets!!

Anyway, this card was made using Dusty Durango card stock for the main part of the card. The top layer is actually the Crushed Curry linen paper. I don't get to use that much because I thought it was hard to work with. Well, I was proven wrong here!!! I LOVE it on this card!!! The top little layer has the Soft Suede and Whisper White card stock. The ribbon is run through the top layer. An oval was punched in it using Horizontal Slot punch. The ribbon is actually taped on the back of the card. It doesn't run the whole lingth of the card. The bow is done by adding a piece of ribbin and just tying a knot. I LOVE those kinds of bows, they are less bulky and lay nicer.

The inks used here are Soft Suede, Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry. I have no idea what set the little "Thank you" is from. When I find out I'll update this post!!

This was a very fun, quick, clean and easy card to do!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Cheep Talk Swap

Here is a very fun card that I totally messed up last week when I was at the Shoebox Swap!! Angie designed this adorable card. This was the first card I made that night and messing things up didn't get much better as the night went on!!! LOL She had the bird more at the 4 or 5 o'clock position. I wasn't paying attention when adding the branches and leaves as to where the bird was suppose to go. So when it came time to add the bird I was at a loss. I ended up just fitting it in where I could.

Isn't this a fun layout?? And of course the colors are FABULOUS! I still LOVE the Rich Razzleberry! I'm thinking about maybe working it into our Christmas cards. I'm torn between a couple of ideas and once I decide then I'll know what colors I will use. Anyway, back to Angie's card. The images used here are from the Stampin' Up! "Cheap Talk" set. It's such a cute set. I may have to add it to my never ending wish list!!! UGH!!! Fortunately we have a year now to go through the list!!

I am working on a couple of projects I hope to have done this week to share with you. One is a bit tricky but tonight I actually figured out part of the issue. Hopefully I can get it all figured out so I can share it with you all!!! Oh and if I don't you know I'll share my mistakes with you too!!! I love your helpful hints on my projects of doom!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Circle Circus Flower Centers! Fun Idea!!!

Here is another fun card I made at the Thursday evening Shoebox Swap. This one was made by Denise. These swaps are SO much fun. I LOVE coming home with all of these fun cards!!! New layouts and fresh new looks!! All of these cards at the two swaps were to be made using the new "in colors".

Denise used the Rich Razzleberry, Sarah Sand and Whisper White card stock.

The flowers were punched out and the petals were snipped to define them. The center of the petals were made using the Stampin' Up! "Circle Circus" set. We stamped one of the images from that set on white card stock and then took a circle punch and punched out a piece for the center. Very simple and SO effective!!! Such a fun card. This card can be used for many other occasions other than birthday too!!

Isn't it a fun card? Great job on this one Denise!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Autumn Days Masculine Card

This was a very fun masculine card we made at the Shoebox swap. Juliann was the designer of this card. Isn't it fabulous? I had a little issue with this one!!! I rounded the corners on the left sides and wasn't suppose to. I wasn't paying attention when I was making the card. I swear sometimes when I get to these types of swaps I just become dumb about stamping. I look at the cards and can't figure out how to do them. All of the stamping basics seemed to have left me!!!

But I did manage to do the rest of the card and had I not told you about the rounding the corners part you never would have known!!!

There is SO much about this card that I like. The layout is fabulous for one thing. And the colors are all the new ones, Soft Suede, Dusty Durango and Crushed Curry. Oh and don't forget Very Vanilla.

I just thought it was a wonderful masculine card! Great job Juliann!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Housewarming Gift

You can hardly bring a card to someone with a new house without bringing them a housewarming gift. I thought Cyndi could use something to help her relax after unpacking all of those boxes. Moving is NOT fun. We moved here in this house MANY years ago and have collected a lot of "stuff" and now I'm slowly going through things and looking at "things" and deciding whether or not I want to keep them anymore. Each year I have "stuff" for the huge neighborhood garage sale. Plus I have actually been using some of these "things" too!!! Done collecting!!! I say that right now, who knows if it will continue!!! LOL

Anyway back to Cyndi's little gift. I used Whisper White card stock and ran it through the Big Shot using the Stampin' Up! "Bag with Scallops" die. Among my favorite dies to use!!! I punched the oval hole in the bag before I assembled it. It's SO much easier to do it right away!!! And yes, I have tried to punch the hole after I got it all put together. It's next to impossible!!! I put some acetate behind it so the opening had a window. I filled a little zip baggie with bath salts and set it inside the die cut bag. I did tape the scallop part shut. Sometimes I will punch holes in the the scallop part and the upper part of the bag and tie a ribbon though it so I can close the flap by tieing a bow. This time I made a bow and taped it in place with a half a pop dot (which by the way I do NOT like cutting in half!!! Though I did figure out if you put rubbing alcohol on your scissors it cuts nicely and no sticky residue on the scissors either!!!). The beautiful paper on the front is from the Razzleberry Lemonade decorative paper. I only have a half sheet of that design left and two full sheets of two of the other designs. That paper is almost gone!!! Do I buy another pack or try a different one??? What to do??? LOL

To get the hole in the decorative paper correct I just set the paper on the bag (before I taped it all together) and traced where the window should go. Then I punched it out. For the scallop, I punched out the oval and then I lined up the scallop punch, centered the oval and punched it out. It's a very thin scallop piece but it was what the window needed!!! Oh and notice I actually photographed the picture at an angle instead of head on so you could tell it was a bag and not just a piece of flat paper!!!

These are fun to make and to give away as gifts. These would be great for hostess gifts, customer appreciation gifts, craft fairs, make n takes, Christmas gifts, etc!!! These links contain many items under each topic!

The bath salt recipe can be found here.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Here is my card for this weeks Sketch Challenge over at SplitCoastStampers. I don't know what happened here to the photo, it's kind of fuzzy and the flash made the coloring look just awful!!! LOL It has the look of a kid coloring it!!! LOL

This was a fun sketch challenge. I got to use the Stampin' Up! "Farm Life" set and the new "Autumn Meadows" decorative paper. I am going to be using that set a lot too. Maybe I won't be buying a new package of the "Razzleberry Lemonade" after all!!! LOL

I stamped the image using black StazOn and then I colored it in using a blender pen and chalks. I was wrong the other day about coloring. I still like to color, I must have been in a non-coloring mood that day!!! I should really take another picture of this card so you can see that it is colored a lot nicer than it looks here. The flash must have bounced off it wrong. I'm not the greatest at taking pictures so it could be anything!! LOL

Ok, that is about all there is to this card. I wanted to make a masculine one, it's hard to find them!!!

If you have time head on over to SplitCoastStampers and give this sketch challenge a try. You don't need to head on over there if you don't want to post your card. You can just do the layout on your own!!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

New in the Neighborhood!!

I made this card for my friend and fellow demonstrator Cyndi. She had just moved in to her new home. I had trouble finding a set that would work for this occasion. Actually I didn't have a set!!! I did have the Stampin' Up! "Neighborhood" jumbo wheel!!! I have this thing about wheels and I also have a "thing" about not using them enough too!! I need to make another "happiness in your new home" card too and I may just use this wheel again for it. Hopefully I will have more time to do something different with it than just running the wheel across the card stock and coloring it in. I am finding out that I don't like coloring as much as I use to!!! Or maybe it was just the mood I was in at the time. Not sure on that one but I'll let you know the next time I have to color in something like that!!! Lucky you!!! LOL

This was really a simple card to make too! The coloring was simple, as you can see!!! I used the blender pen and markers to color in the images. This wheel goes so well with the "All in the Family" set. I have not put the two together on paper yet. I need to find some REAL play time!!!

There's not much to say about this card, it was pretty basic and simple!!! Tomorrow I'll post a more complex card!!! Tomorrow is the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers and those usually have several layers to play with so it would be a bit more complex than this card now wouldn't it? LOL

Thank you for visiting today!!
Wanda

Circle Circus Swapping!

This is one of the cards from the Shoebox Swap on Thursday evening. We all had such a fun time and it was held at Cyndi's FABULOUS new home!!! We stayed REALLY late and poor Cyndi had to work in the morning! Sorry Cyndi!

This card was made by my upline Sue L. I am not a big fan of the Soft Suede color but when I see it with the Crushed Curry I like it a lot more. I've tried to mix it with other colors and the Soft Suede looked like it was more of a brown olive color. I guess you just need to know what colors to mix together!! LOL

The stamp set used here is the Stampin' Up! "Circle Circus." I don't have that set and I may have to put it on my wish list. It makes a fun background too!! Every time I see things done like this with sets they somehow end up on my wish list. It's getting longer all the time!!!! UGH!

Didn't his make a fun birthday card? The words I believe are from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set. The Word Window punch was used and the "Modern Label" punch behind it. Don't you just LOVE punches? They sure do dress up a card or scrapbook page and it's SO much better than cutting them out by hand!!! I think I might do that once!!! LOL

I have more cards to share with you and I'll fit them in as I post on here!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

My Card for the Shoe Box Swap!!

I was at another card swap today with my fellow DIVA's!!! I LOVE it when us gals can get together and stamp. And when we do shoe box swaps, it's the best!!!

This is the card I made for the swap. I took the SplitCoast Sketch Challenge #239 and moved things over to the left so I could work in the scallop with the wording!!! You can see the original sketch layout and what I did with it that week by clicking here.

For this card I used the Big Kick and an embossing template on the white card stock. I used some strips of the Razzleberry Lemonade decorative paper. I almost fell over when I realized I was almost out of that paper!!! Shocker, huh? I rarely use half a package of decorative paper and this time I've used one almost up which means I may actually be buying a second package!! Even bigger shocker there!!! LOL

For the wording I used the Stampin' Up! "Holiday Blitz" set. And for the flower I used the FABULOUS "Kind and Caring Words" set. It's such a pretty set!!! I have lots of ideas for this set but I don't have the spare time to put those ideas down on paper. Don't you just hate that???

This was a pretty simple and basic looking card to make. This is a fun layout to play with too!!

I have LOTS of cards to show you that were made at the swap!!! I will be sharing them with you as the weeks go on along with other cards and projects I'm working on!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Kind & Caring Thoughts Sympathy Card

I was in need of another sympathy card. Gosh how I hate to have to make these things. Anyway, I was the website Koogle Knotes and I was inspired by a card Carol made. Ok, I was more than inspired, I practically copied the whole card!!! LOL I didn't have the background stamp she used so I used the Stampin' Up! "Texture" jumbo wheel. I just LOVE that wheel. And I did change the shape of the top layer but for the most part it's pretty much considered a CASE!!! I just loved the look of the card she had made and I thought it would be a perfect sympathy card for my friend.

When I do the Direct to Rubber technique I try to cut corners where I can. This one was easy to do. I stamped the flower image using the Melon Mambo ink pad. Then I took a blender pen and removed any color from the stem. I took a Q-tip and wiped off the stem so it was dry. Then I took my Rich Razzleberry ink pad and touched it on the edges of the flower tips. Kind of like the Rock N Roll technique. And finally I took the Always Artichoke marker and colored in the stem. I huffed on it and stamped the image on my cut piece of card stock. I set my ribbon on the stem but didn't tie it yet. I wanted to see where I was going to stamp the words. I added the words and layered the white piece on a piece of Basic Black card stock. Then I tied the Melon Mambo ribbon around it. This piece is set in place on the card using Dimensionals.

I taped a piece of the Melon Mambo ribbon to a strip of black card stock. That was then taped on a scalloped piece of Melon Mambo card stock.

The background was done using the Texture jumbo wheel and going in all directions using the Blush Blossom ink pad.

It's a very easy card to make. It just takes a little time to cut all those pieces. But all in all it's a pretty quick card!

Stop on over at Carol's blog and see the other fun things she has there! I have my eye on a couple more cards I may have to CASE too!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A 50 Funny! 50 Sucks Gift

I saw this on Sara's blog Sara's Creative Adventures. She's quite a talented lady. Her blog contains not only card but gift items and scrapbooking. Yes, scrapbooking!!! I know, I know. I'm getting closer and closer all the time to scrapbooking. I think once I get over that first page "shock" I will be fine. I just saw that Sara had a fabulous scrapbook page on her blog an I may have to give that layout a try! Just got to get my feet wet there!!

Ok, back to this post. This was the little project I was working on for my sister-in-law's 50th birthday!!! Sara used much bigger suckers than I did. Her's was for a 40th birthday so she needed 40 suckers (sucks). It looked pretty packed in there so I hunted around for smaller suckers. I probably could have gotten by with the larger ones. But this is ok, it gets the message across!!! LOL My sister-in-law will think it's funny and my nephew (her son) will eat all the suckers!!! He'll probably sneak them one at a time until it gets to the point to where you can tell some are missing. Then he'll be confronted and end up with all of the suckers anyway!!!

I used Rich Razzleberry card stock, Razzleberry Lemonade decorative paper, the Top Note die, Scallop Edge punch and the words on the front of the cube are from the "On Your Birthday" set. The wording on the Top Note piece was done on the computer. This was fun to make. I love to take a little break from card making and do some 3D stuff! I have wanted to make this since I saw it on Sara's blog but just didn't get around to it. And now I HAD to get it finished because my sister-in-law's birthday was here!!! I would LOVE to be ahead of myself for a change!!! Is it possible?

If you want to make one of these Sara has the instructions for it, just click here to find it! And while you are there check out the other things she makes! She's very creative!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Sweet Swapping!

I pre-posted this because I am off at a Shoebox Swap! I have not participated in a shoebox swap or any swap in quite a while! It's about time I get back into swapping!!!

Here is the card I have in my shoebox!!! I like the layout of this card and of course I LOVE the Razzleberry Lemonade decorative paper!!! And the Mellon Mambo color is SO pretty. It's a nice bright and cheery card. And just in time for my sister-in-law's birthday too!!

If you are not familiar with a shoebox swap, please read on!! To participate in a shoebox swap you need to cut all the card stock for the number of people in the swap. You put in the box any inks, punches, ribbons, stamps, etc. that are used to make the card. When you are at the swap all the pieces to the card are removed from the box and set out in front of the stamping areas. You sit down and make a card and move on to the next card until you have completed them all. It's a fun time and you come home with lots of full size (not card fronts) cards!

I will share with you some of the cards I will be making at the swap! Oh and there is another swap on Sunday!!! I don't have any idea what I'm going to make for that one but I'm sure I'll figure it out before then!! I'd better!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Once again it was another fun Sketch Challenge over at SplitCoastStampers. For me this card was stepping a bit out of my comfort zone with the #3 layer. I normally would have made a circle out of card stock and stuck it in the designated area. But the first few cards I saw come in had flowers in that corner and I thought that was a cute idea. SO I looked for something that would go with a flower that would fit in the #4 spot. I didn't have to look very far. I saw the Stampin' Up! set "The More the Merrier" sitting on my worktable and I immediately knew I wanted to put a snowflake in that corner.

But this isn't just your everyday run of the mill snowflakes. It's made using white velvet paper. I found some in a stash I had. I don't even know how long I've had this paper. I don't even know if they still make it anymore either!!! It's fun paper to play with!!!

I used the Sizzix Snowflake die and I cut it in pieces so it would fit nicer behind the #4 piece. Now that I see it in the photo I think the bottom could have used one more piece of snowflake. I can always add it later.

I used the jumbo Snowflakes wheel on the Bashful Blue background and I sponged the edges in with the Bashful Blue too.

The snowmen were colored in using markers, mostly from the Soft Subtles family. There isn't a whole lot to this card. Once I found out what image I wanted to use the rest was easy!!!

If you have time and are up for a little challenge, head on over to SplitCoast and give this layout a try!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Someone"s Turning 50!!!

My sister-in-law is turning 50 tomorrow and I made her a nice card!!! I didn't want to go to the store and get her one of those cards that rub it in! I don't want her to feel bad because she's now old!!! LOL I'll have some fun teasing her as it is!!! LOL

I am working on a gift for her too which I will share with you later in the week. Hopefully I'll get it done by the weekend when I can get it to her!

SO back to this card. I used the new Melon Mambo card stock on top of a piece of Basic Black. I used the Stampin' Up! "Flight of the Butterfly" set for the butterflies on the white card stock and on the background. The "Happy Birthday" came from the "Viola" set and the fun texture behind all those little butterflies came from the new "Texture" wheel. I just had to have that wheel because it reminded me of the "Canvas" background stamp that was retired a couple of years back. I REALLY miss that stamp. For the background here I inked up the wheel and then ran it across scrap paper for one round and then ran it across my cut piece of card stock. I didn't want it dark, I just wanted a hint of "texture!" It was just enough to tone the background down so it wasn't so bright.

I used the "Eyelet Border" punch for the strips on each side of the butterfly piece. It dressed it up a bit. And that is pretty much all there is to this card. It's just basic layering. And notice, I didn't even do any sponging!!! Could it be because all of my sponges need cleaning??? Or did this card REALLY not need sponging!!! LOL

It's now ready to get sent off in the mail tomorrow and her fun gift will be late!! I'm just shocked that I've been keeping up on cards this year!!! Shocker, huh??? LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

! Says it All!

It sure does!!! I got the most adorable thank you card in the mail today and I just had to share it with you all. I hope you don't mind Mary but I just had to show off your card. What an adorable way to use the Stampin' Up! "Pick a Petal" set! I have not played with my set much at all and I really should before they retire it.

I love how Mary used the flower petal and the flowered decorative paper. Such a cute way to use this set!!! Isn't it fun to see other people's perspectives on sets? I never would have thought to use a petal for an exclamation point! It's so clever!!! It's a very neat and clean looking card too!!

I just LOVE it Mary. Thanks SO much!!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Right From Fifth Avenue!

Don't you just love the name of that stamp set? "Fifth Avenue Floral." I LOVE the images in this wonderful Stampin' Up! set. I bought it a long time ago and set it aside to play with when I had time. I haven't even put it together yet. Well ok, just the one image!!!

I used that image on Whisper White card stock and Bermuda Blue ink. Then I used white ink on Bermuda Blue card stock. I accented these colors with Soft Suede and Dusty Durango. To be honest here, I chose the Dusty Durango because I had the ribbon to go with it!!! I was leaning more towards the Crushed Curry but I don't have the matching ribbon for that yet! The wording came from the "On Your Birthday" set. It's a very fun set to have, there's SO many fun verses in it!!!

I used the scallop edge punch on the Bermuda Bay card stock. It just needed a little something along that edge. It was a tough choice between tearing it and using the scallop punch.

That is really all there is to this card. It's pretty simple to do and it is quick if you heat set the white ink. It's craft ink and takes a bit longer to air dry. Heat setting it really speeds up the process!

It's a very FUN card to make!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Blah! Blah! Blah! Blah! Blah!

Have you ever made a card that was SO blah that when you looked at it you couldn't really see the background? If you don't know what I mean, just take a look at this card. Not a long look, it's not necessary. You'll immediately see the blahness (is a real word!!!).

I was playing around with Wednesday's Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers. I had already made a card that I was happy with, click here to see it. I just couldn't leave well enough alone so I had to play some more.

I used a couple of strips of decorative paper fro the Razzleberry Lemonade package. I taped them in place on top of some Rich Razzleberry card stock. I was happy with the way the two papers went together. Of course they should, they were designed to!!! LOL

Then I didn't stick with the size of the of the center piece in the card sketch. If you had clicked on the link above to see my card from Wednesday you'll also see the sketch for the day too. See how much smaller the piece is in the sketch? I wanted SO bad to use the stamp from the "Thoughts & Prayers" set. Well, I used it and it just didn't work.

Oh and throwing in some words didn't help make it any better!!! Lesson learned here: It's best to follow the sketch the way it's presented give or take no more than a half an inch!!!

I will give this one another try keeping the two background pieces and making the top piece just a bit smaller and I'll see if I can't come up with something better. Something that isn't so blah!!!

Thank you for visiting today, please come back and see a much more improved card!!
Have a great day,
Wanda