Holiday Collection Framelits Gingerbread Boy Die

This is the final card I received from Terri's Technique Class last week.  

There was no name attached to this fun Christmas ornament card.  

This card gives me a case of the "I wants!"  I want the large scallop die on the background.  And I want the snowflake die behind the gingerbread layer.

Gingerbread boys are one of my favorite things. I LOVE to stamp their images and I love to make gingerbread Christmas tree ornaments.  I love the smell of gingerbread but I don't like the taste of it.  

Anyway, back to this fun card.  I love how it's a card and an ornament all in one!

The ribbon mix in the gingerbread window if fun too.  I wouldn't have thought to mix different types of ribbon.  It is adorable!  

I am thinking of making some ornament cards this year.  What a fun way to remember someone the whole holiday season by seeing their ornament (card) on the tree!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Butterfly Punch Card

I have another card to show you using Terri's ribbon technique from her Technique Class.  

This is a very pretty card and extremely versatile.  I can see it being used as a birthday card, a thinking of you card, a get well, card and even a sympathy card.  I love how the one butterfly was used for the ribbon technique.  It's subtle but very effective.  

There's tiny little pearls on the card that give it an elegant look.  I love butterfly cards and this one is very pretty.  I also like how the butterflies are cut on the edges.  It gives the card a fun look.

This card was made by Susan M.  Thank you Susan for the beautiful card.  I know who is getting this beauty!!

Be sure to check the links up at the top of this post.  The directions on how to do it can be found there.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Holiday Collections Framelits

And today we have another card using Terri's ribbon technique from her last Technique Class.   I thought this was a cute way to decorate the Christmas tree.  The red and green ribbons are perfect for this die.

I actually bought this die and the image set to go with it but I have not used them yet.  I'm not sure why.  Probably it was a bit too early to make a lot of Christmas cards.  Popping one in now and then is ok but I feel that right now it is Halloween season!  I will be having some fun Halloween "things"coming up in a few days too.  Fun things for the kids and fun things for the kids to help out with too!

I am especially lovin' the star at the top.  And that is one of the dies that go with the set.  I'm looking forward to playing with those two items in October. 

Now the word set is something that I am thinking I want to get.  

This card was made by Kim N.  Thank you Kim for the fabulous card!  

And thank YOU so much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Perfectly Preserved Thank You

This is one of the cards I had gotten at Terri's Technique Class last Tuesday.  The gals had done their swap and there was a pile of extra cards and they told me I could have them.  That was SO sweet of them all.  I LOVE getting new card samples to show the gals who come to my home to stamp!  

This card was made by Beth T.  I love the colors she used and since it was to be a card made using the ribbon technique that Terri taught she added the ribbons to the top of the lid .  How cute is that idea?  She used the matching die to cut out that part on the top of the jar.  What a fun die set to have.  I may have to consider getting it.  There's so many other things I want too so this will have to go at the bottom of the list.  But it is a cool set and die set to have.  

I also need to get my hands on some of that fun seam binding ribbons too.  I don't have very many current ribbons. I have TONS of retired ones and I need to use them up but it's hard to when you get the newer ribbons!

This was a fun card and I do thank Beth T. for it.

And I thank you so much for visiting today,
Wanda

Ribbon Strips Window Technique

Finally, another page to my ongoing Technique Pages.  I have not posted one in a while and I really need to get on the ball with these.  I have been so busy with so many other fun things that Stampin' Up! has had in their catalog that I forget about these pages.  

I go to a Stampin' Technique class once a month to help Terri out but I don't think to do a technique page myself to get caught up on them!  This is actually one of the techniques Terri demonstrated at her last class.  I love the look of her card.  She is such a talented lady and has a great eye for color and design.  

As I was looking back at the last technique I posted, it was another one from Terri's class.  Such a copy cat!!! LOL

The technique pages I sell in my web store are designed for you to print out and hold classes with.  You can print out as many as you like for your classes at no extra cost.  Set up your classes as you wish, teaching two (or as many techniques as you like for a set price).  Make the technique up and make a card using the technique and your class is set!!  There are still some finished technique pages available and ALL of the technique pages are on CD so you just click, print and decorate! The CD's also come with finished samples of the technique pages for you to view and/or copy too.  Easy enough to hold technique classes for months and months.  I am on set #5 right now and there are 20 techniques to a set.

Thank you ever so much for visiting today,
Wanda

Beautiful Wings Get Well Card

Today's inspiration came from a card I saw by Divinity at Scrap 'n Patch.  It looked like a fun layout to play with. And it was!

I did change it a little but the layout is the same.  My wording is off to the side and my butterflies are all on one side.  It just happened that way.  When I punched out the butterflies I had tossed them on the paper and I liked they way they looked when they landed there so I went with it.  I saw it as "one of those things that are meant to be!" 

The colors used hear are very simple too.  I used Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White and Basic Black.  It doesn't get much simpler than that.  And I got to use the new scalloped edge ribbon I bought last month!  

This really was a fun and quick card to make! So if you need a quick card that doesn't take lot of time but has a nice look to it, this is the way to go!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Word Play Wedding Card

Allie, if you are going to check on my blog today skim by this post!

Allie is my niece and she is getting married soon.  This is the wedding card I made for her and her hubby to be.

I found this fun layout here at Freshly Made Sketches. I'm not sure if this is one that I also have done from Split Coast Stampers, it sure looks familiar. 

I had a card pinned on my stamping board at Pinterest and when I was looking through them today I saw this layout and thought how pretty it would be as a wedding card.

The panel behind the focal panel has some fun stamping on it.  I used a Flowering Flourishes image and Shimmer paint.  It gave the white paper a nice shimmery look once it was heat set.  

I'm sure my niece will like this card!  It was also very easy to make too!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda 

A Serene Silhouettes Thank You

My card today was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest.  It as made by Kristin at Sunshine, Smiles & Stamps + Lovin’ & Life.  I liked the layout and the Always Artichoke color of her card so I ran with that.  It was the color and the layout that really caught my eye on this card.  So I made mine using the new fan background dry embossing folder. I stamped some tiny butterflies from the A Fitting Occasion.  The words are from the Petite Pairs set and the image is from the Serene Silhouettes set.  I colored in the image using markers.  I huffed on the stamp and then stamped it on Whisper White card stock.  I didn’t have any current ribbon so I used some grosgrain that I had on hand.  It was a very quick and easy card to make.  I just love this layout.  It sure did make such a pretty card too!

As I look at it in real life and on the screen I keep thinking to myself that I am going to be using this layout a bit more before I set it aside and forget about it for years!!!  It's a perfect card for some of those smaller images too.  Though the Serene Silhouettes image wasn't all that small I did chop off the bottom part of it.  But it was just weeds and ground!  They didn't need to be in this oval anyway!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Make A Mitten Stamp Set and Punch

Don't you just love it when a stamp set comes out with a matching  punch?  Especially a Christmas one?  It makes making that huge stack of Christmas cards SO much easier.

This is not going to be one of my Christmas cards but one never knows. I change my mind so often when it comes to what I want to use for our yearly Christmas card. It would be easy enough to do, though I think if I were to use this for our Christmas cards I would use the Xyron machine to put the sticky on the back sides for all of those dots.  Taping or gluing them in place would be a lot easier.  The dots and the ring on this card were actually glued in place.  

I got the idea for this card from Maurine  at Mama Mo Stamps.  She had made a baby card with this layout.  I took the layout and ran with it. I colored my dots.  I think hers were stamped and some of them colored in. Stamped dots would also work using a brand new pencil eraser.  I may give that a try but I don't think I would like the color as well as the card stock color.  It's SO much more solid and vivid.  Plus it gives the card a bit more depth.  

The mitten was stamped in Real Read and another one was stamped using Garden Green.  The two were punched out and put together.  

The colors used here are as follows:  the base is Whisper White. The next layer (cut 4" x 5-1/4") is Pacific Point. The top layer is Whisper White (cut 3-3/4" x 5").  The dots are done using a regular hole paper punch and they were punched using Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point and Garden Green.  The words were stamped using Pacific Point.  And the rest was explained above!!

The ring was done using the 1-1/4" punch and then lining up the 1-3/8" punch and just punching out a ring.  

And finally, the words came from the Petite Pairs set.  It's a pretty simple card to make.  I may play around with this layout a bit to see if I can some up with something a bit different.  There's some ideas roaming around in my head.  We'll see if they look as good on paper!!!  We all know how that can sometimes turn out, don't we?  LOL  And of course I'll swallow my pride and show you the horrors of stamped cards gone wrong too!!! LOL  Sometimes you just have to take the ugly with the good!  

Wouldn't this make a fun Stamp A Stack card?

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Patriotic Card

I have never made a Red White and Blue card for the 4th of July or for any other occasion.  So that meant that I needed to go to the Internet for some samples!  Something I don't ever mind doing!  I LOVE going on the Internet.  

Now I'm going to fill you in on a bit of information first because what I will say later is going to make me sound VERY old.  My dad was the youngest of 10 children.  So that meant that he was an uncle before he was even born.  So with that said you can do the math. This card is for my cousin's grandson (my dad's niece).  I don't know what that makes him to me.  Something about cousins removed twice, three times, whatever.  I just know he's a grandson of my cousin.  I don't follow the family tree stuff much.  Too many nuts in that tree!!! LOL

OK, onto the card.  I found this card on Sharon's "Created by You" website.  She has some fun cards on there and I check in on her site often!

This was just the card I needed to make for the open house that is tomorrow!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute to get the cards you need done, huh?  And this was one I couldn't send out later.  I HAD to make it and have it ready for the open house!  So here it is.  It's a very easy card to make.  I punched the stars out of glitter paper.  Actually I used glitter wrapping paper that I had gotten at Michael's.  It's not as thick as the card stock glitter paper so it was very easy to punch and I knew it wouldn't ruin my punch!  I also bought a roll in red.  I cut strips of red and set them in place over the white card.  I added the angled pieces and then the stars on top of that and set them in place with some tape and brads.  Then I taped that strip in place.  I stamped the words and assembled the card.  Oh, before I set the top layer on I did cover the bottom strips with Crystal Effects and covered it in the clear/white glitter.  Once that set up then I put the card together. 

I think it's a perfect card to give to a guy, especially one who is going into the Marines.  The party for him will be fun and we will be sending him off with wishes of a safe time in the service.  

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Love & Sympathy Thank You Card

I wanted to make a quick thank you card so of course I went on the Internet for some inspiration.  I found one something like this by simply entering "Love & Sympathy" at Pinterest.  Pinterest seems to be my home away from home lately.  It's my go to place for inspiration and information.  What a fabulous site and such a time consumer it is too!  Well, it was at first but now it's not so bad.  It could be bad if I let it but I do limit myself on there now.  I have repined so many things on my boards and I am now to the point to where I need to start doing more with those pins.  If you have not been there I suggest you set a timer when you do!

So now lets talk about my card because we know this whole thing  here is ALL ABOUT ME!  LOL  I wanted to make a thank you card for a friend I was seeing in a half hour and I needed something quick and easy.  And this is what I came up with.

The Love & Sympathy set was just made more versatile.  The flower is pretty enough to use for other occasions.

This is one of those kind of cards you can use for Stamp-a-Stacks because you know people will love it.  The decorative paper strip on the side adds a lot to the card, a ribbon and the image and you are done.  It's quick enough and simple enough but yet it has a really nice look to it!

It was a very fun card to make and I think I will be making more with this layout in the future.  It's a great way to use up some decorative papers too!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Love & Sympathy Card

This was the first sympathy card I made but i didn't care for it as much as the one I made yesterday.  I found this card on Split Coast Stampers too.  There's such pretty samples on there.  I tried to look for some samples on Pinterest but to search on there for them is a chore in itself! So I found a couple cards I liked and I ran with them.  

I did like this one and I still do but I didn't like it as much as I liked the other one I made yesterday.

It was easy enough to make too.  Just one layer!  Almost unheard of in my stamping world!!!  LOL 

I colored in the image with markers (Wisteria Wonder and Wild Wasabi) and then used the oval dry embossing folder around the image.  The trick to this is to try to get the image as centered as you can when you stamp it but move it up so you are stamping over the top 3/4 of space.  You need room for the ribbon and the words on the bottom.  

The ribbon was tied on the white piece and then set in place.  

It's elegant looking and quick to make!!  I could see making a bunch of these for a swap because they went together and so quickly.  

Do you like yesterday's card better too?

Thank you for stopping by today,
Wanda

Love & Sympathy Card

This card was very easy to make.  It took very little time at all too!  I love it when I can make a card that is not only easy but quick too!  You can't beat that deal.  

I used the Love & Sympathy set to make this card.  I found out a friend of mine's mother died this summer and I didn't know about it.  But I think it's ok to still send her a sympathy card. 

I found this card at Split Coast Stampers.  The card on their side was done using Craft for the ink color but I wanted a bit more colorful so I used the Calypso Coral and Wild Wasabi.  The words from that same set were stamped using black StazOn.  I prefer the StazOn because it dries faster and I feel that the image is a lot sharper.  

The ribbon is called Scallop Dots.  I bought it in black because I needed black ribbon and that was pretty much all Stampin' Up! had in black.  

This was such a pretty card too. I think I will be making a few but for other occasions.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A Papillon Potpourri Get Well

Ok, her is a much better version of a Get Well card that I feel I can actually mail out!!!  Unlike the one I posted yesterday!  Let's not even talk about that one anymore, ok?  LOL

This was a fun card to make and I was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest.  The card I saw there is a square card.  I don't run away from square cards like I use to but if I can avoid making one I will.  SO I worked with this one and got everything to fit in a 5-1/2" x 4-1/4" space!  

I used the Papillon Potpourri set for the butterfly and of course the butterfly punch.  I used the Delightful Dozen set for the wording and the En Francais set for the background on the Very Vanilla card stock.  I used the doily Sizzlet.  I had to hunt it down.  I knew I had it but I didn't know where it was. I thought it was a Sizzix die and I looked through my stacks of them several times but no luck.  I took out the catalog and found it and then I saw that it was a Sizzlet and I knew exactly where to look for it.  I think in the future I will refer to the catalog before I spend so much time trying to hunt something down.  

The base of the card is a half sheet of Crumb Cake with a piece of More Mustard designer paper on top.  The Doily is cut from a piece of Sahara Sand.  The layer the butterfly is on is Soft Suede. And of course the Very Vanilla.  

As I'm looking at this card on the screen I am thinking that I should have added more butterflies or something to that square.  It just looks like it needs something more.  Or maybe I should have sponged the edges and the edges of the get well!  Too late now but for future reference remind me to do that!!! LOL

It was a fun card to make. I especially liked coloring in the embossed butterfly with markers and a blender pen!  And with the butterfly punch it's SO worth it to spend a lot of time coloring because the punching is easy and quick.  It sure beats cutting them out by hand!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Ugly Best Describes This!

I needed to make a get well card.  This is not what I had in mind and I am NOT going to be mailing this card.  I can't imagine receiving this (especially from someone who makes a card almost every day) and feeling better!!! LOL

I just tell myself, "not all of them are winners" and I move on!  Sometimes it's SO difficult to put on paper what you see in your mind and other times it just comes out so well if not better!  Today was not one of those times!  

This card could use SO much finesse that it's better to toss it and start over than to try to fix it.  I think this is a case of "there's no fixin' ugly here!"  LOL  

Tomorrow's post will be SO much better (can't get much worse than this!).  Remember, I share it all with you.  The good, the bad and the ugly!!!  Today was the ugly!!!  

See you tomorrow,
Wanda

Frankie Halloween Card

Now you tell me.  How can you NOT pass up buying this stamp?  I got it at Michael's in their dollar bin.  But with an additional 20% off your total I got it for only 80 cents.  Now that's even a better reason not to pass him up!  Isn't he cute?  At Stamp Till You Cramp on Wednesday Trudy used this stamp and colored him in SO cute.  I was going to get a picture of her card before she left but I forgot.  I should have had her color one for me.  Her coloring is phenomenal!  Anyway, I just couldn't let this guy sit on the shelf any longer so today I decided to grab some Halloween papers in the tote and this stamp and create a fun card.  And that is exactly what I did.  Now if you use this layout The Googly Ghouls images will fit in the focal layer.  You can also just make them fit.  I do that all the time.  Just tweak the card for your image!  I think it needs some wording on the left side and I may add that at another time but for now this is how it's going to look!

So go use up some of those papers you have sitting around, regardless if they are retired or not.  Demonstrators know how to work in current papers on designs they find and like!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Stylin' Snowfolk Snowman Seed Card

This set reminds me a lot of the Cold Play set that Stampin' Up! had a few years back.  The only differences here are the snowman's body is whole.  In the Cold Play set the snowballs for the body were separate.  This set has a lot more accessories though.  There's some tiny mittens I can't wait to play with.  And there's a ladies hat so you can make a Mr and Mrs too!  I also like the cute buttons, though I didn't use them because I didn't realize what they were until after I had finished this guy!  I used the eyes and turned them sideways for the buttons.  It worked and it's cute!  

I made the snowman seeds cover, I am thinking about making this for my Christmas cards this year.  I do have my usual photos ready to go of the latest snowman I had made but I may do some stamping this year instead!  

I put the PDF file for this in my web store if you are interested in purchasing it.  It comes with no limits on how many copies you make or how many finished cards you can sell using the seed cover image. 

This was a fun card to make and of course I would say that, you know how much I love snowmen!

Thank you for stopping by today,
Wanda

Googly Ghouls Halloween card

Hello all of you Ghoulish stampers!!!  Don't you just love this Googly Ghouls set?  It's such a fun set to play with and today I am announcing that with the creation of this card I have used every stamp in the set!!!  Shocker, I know!!  It's rare that I end up using all the images in a set.  Heck, most of the time I buy the set because I just HAVE to have one image in the set!!!  Silly I know and I try not to do that anymore.  But it's hard.

This card was so simple to make.  I used the Split Coast Stampers #234 sketch.  I did change the rectangle boxes a bit but for the most part it looks like their layout.  

The decorative paper is from the Howlstooth pack.  It's not one of my favorite Halloween papers but it will do!  I have some other fun papers from retired packs and from other companies packs that I may be using later in the month.  I have so many papers that I need to use up!  

Oh and the little kitty in the bottom corner was made using a tiny punch I had gotten at Michael's for a dollar.  They had some other cute ones too and I might stop there when I'm out and about tomorrow.  They have 20% off your total sale and that means the punch is only 80 cents!!  Such a deal! 

This was a fun card to make and I'm hoping to get a pack of them together for a friend.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Googly Ghouls Halloween Card

Now I know the Googly Ghouls set is designed for you to use the wiggly eyes with but I didn't add them to this cute little witch.  I may add them later but I think I like her just the way she is.

I used the Howlstooth Designer paper on the top part of the card.  It's a fun pack of paper to play with.  It adds the "Halloween" punch to the card without making it scary.  This is a very fun card for a child to receive!

I stamped the little witch using Basic Black ink and I colored her in with markers.  The black ink took a while to dry so you may want to wait a few minutes before you color on it.  Or you can heat set it for quicker drying.  

This is also a very fun fold type card.  It's easy to do too.  You cut your card stock in half on the short side (4-1/4").  Then you cut off however much you want at the top.  Here I cut off 2-5/8". The piece I cut off was cut to 2-1/2" x 2-3/4" and was used for the layer on the focal part of the card.  So that piece of card stock was not wasted!  Though I find I waste very little card stock. I'm always using it for some little piece or punched layer.  

Once you cut the background layer you can cut the piece you want to stamp on.  My piece was cut 2" x 2-1/4".  I stamped the witch, let her dry and then I colored her in with markers.  I taped her to the background layer and I taped that layer on top of the decorative paper layer.  Oops, I forgot to tell you that the decorative paper layer measured 4" x 2-3/8".  I tied a ribbon around the top layers.  And then I taped the focal layer on.  It's taped on about 1/3 of the piece.  Be careful when you tape, you don't want any tape any further down that 1/3 of the piece or it will stick to the inside of the card.  So if you're one that likes to run your tape all the way across the card stock, STOP and pay attention or you will not be a happy camper!!!  You can add some words to the inside and stamp your envelope and you are done!  I love using this layout.  It's cute, different, easy and quick!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Cupcake in a Cup Birthday Gift

I made this cupcake in a cup on Saturday for my boss for her birthday.  I didn't post it on here right away because I've never made this before and I wasn't sure if it would taste good or not.  REALLY?  So you make it for a gift not knowing how it tasted? Yup, that's exactly what I did. I did go by the reviews I saw on the recipe and hoped for the best.  

Now, what is wrong with this picture?  Well, I think I should have used a bigger mug!! What do you think?  LOL  And I think Minnie should have been turning the other direction so it would look like she was trying to catch that mess coming out of the cup! LOL  Anyway, I ended up just cutting off the spillage and once the frosting was on top no one knew about the mess!!  It worked.  

You should have been in the kitchen when the microwave dinged and I opened the door.  I gasped.  Thank goodness I didn't have gum in my mouth, it would have been in my lungs!  I was shocked to see that mess. But like I said, I was able to get it off the mug and I moved on!

And I'm sure you'd like the recipe for this.  What I like is that you can make cake for one without and Easy Bake Oven.  Do they even make those things anymore or is there now an Easy Bake Microwave for kids to play with?  LOL  Anyway, you can get the recipe here if you want to give this a whirl!  Now I need to search for a sugar-free one for my mom.  My niece wants cupcakes for her bridal shower and my mom can't have the sugar ones so I will be hunting for a recipe for her.  Do you know of a good microwave cupcake for one recipe?  I'd love for you to share it.

OK, off to work on the shower invitations!  It's a bit elaborate and that is why it's taking so long to get them done but it will be OK because they are pretty and they are for my niece!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Owl Punch & Delightful Dozen Tissue Box

Aren't these cute?  I found them on Pinterest.  I had pinned it to one of my boards a while back so I would remember to make them.  I thought I would make some for the fall craft fair.  Since the tissues I bought came in a package of 10, I only made 10 of them.  I have more tissues but I'll save them for another day.  

There were a few things different on here than on the original tissue box.  The front of the owl was made using some retired decorative papers because I ran out of the dotted Pretty in Pink papers.  The background circle is a different color than the original.  The package is also different.  From what I could see the original holder looked like it had a boxy pocket on the inside and the top folded down and the whole thing was put in a baggie and ties shut.  The "get well soon" words from the Delightful Dozen set were done on a separate piece of card stock and that was attached to the cord that tied the baggie shut.  

For the box on the ones I did I used a pattern to make an actual tissue box.  I used a pattern I had gotten on Split Coast Stampers.  It was designed by JulieHRR.  The link to that pattern is here.  There's a bit of scoring but it's easy enough.  The card stock is already 11" and you cut the short side to 4" and the rest is scoring and a bit of cutting.  And of course the punch for the tissue to come out.  Fortunately the tissue I found has the opening at the top so this pattern works out well.  You can also make the hold elongated on the back side using the pattern you can find here.  

You really don't need any instructions to make the front of the holder.  It's all done using the owl punch, two oval punches, a 2" circle punch and the tiny flower punch for the cross.  The nurses cap is the front pink part of the owl turned upside down.  Cute idea, huh?  I hope these sell well at the craft fair.  It's coming up in about 2 months!!! I need to get my clay going.  Clay is my biggest seller.  I'm SO far behind on things right now.  My niece is getting married in December and the shower is in November.  My older sister and sister-in-law and me are hosting the shower and of course I'm making the invitations.  Way too many pieces on them too!!!  I will never learn.  And last night my niece also asked if I would make her wedding jewelry and the jewelry for the bridesmaids.  How could I refuse.  I just hope I have time to get them all done!!

Anyway, these tissue boxes were fun to make but there was a LOT of pieces to it. I'm glad I only made 10 and after dealing with all of those pieces I know that probably will not be making any more with this design!  

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Garden Green

I had been asked by several readers about our Gutter Garden.  Yes, it is still growing. On the top row on the right we had peas. They did grow but they were pretty heavy for that area.  They really do need to be put in the ground to grow best.  To the left of them is a Parsley plant.  It's still growing.  We take pieces off it all the time.  And on the far end we had radishes and carrots.  The radishes didn't do well there at all.  And much to my surprise the carrots are growing well.  I didn't think they would because they need to go deeper but they adapted to their environment and grew as long as they could and now they are growing wider.  SO that is a yes on the parsley and a yes on the carrots. But next year I'm going to plant them a bit differently.  I'm going to take some paper towel we have in the garage (it's smooth) and somehow glue the seeds to it and then just plant the strip of paper towel.  That way I won't have to thin out anything.  Thinning out things is hard in such cramped quarters.  The first watering made a lot of the tinier seeds bunch up (carrots being one of them).  

The middle row had spinach on the far left.  It did not do well.  The rest of that row has celery planted in it.  It is still growing.  And yes, it looks thinner but that's because we have been cutting stalks and using them.  A friend of mine takes one celery plant in each fall and lets it grow in the house.  She said she cuts off it all winter long.  I think I'm going to be doing that.  I am saving the one on the right end for that (if you were wondering why that one was all by itself.  

And the bottom row has onions in it.  They grew well and we have picked many of them.  We are not sure we are going to plant them again next year.  They really do need a deeper place to grow.  We talked about our planting for next year and flowers cascading down sounded pretty.  That would mean we would probably plant veggies on the top and the next two will have the flowers.  But that plan can change from now until next spring!!!

So there you have it.  It was well worth the time and effort that went in to making this.  This will all easily come down in the fall too.  The gutters are attached to boards that were placed on the legs of the deck.  They were wedged in under the deck floor and the legs.  Then they were tie wrapped to the legs of the deck in several places.   Tie wraps were even added to the gutters.  I'm not sure why hubby did that but it's on there.  Maybe next year he can use white tie wraps!!!  I do know that I want tie wraps on the left end of each gutter.  I want to be able to set the hose under it, turn it on and walk away for a few minutes.  The middle gutter has one at the end and it was perfect.  

We will be doing this again next year!  Thank you for asking and I hope I answered every one's questions. here.

Thank you too for stopping by today,
Wanda

Blooming with Kindness

It feels good to get back into the swing of making cards again.  I've got a list a mile long of things I want to make and they are not just cards!  I also want to make some "stuff" for Christmas gifts this year too.  I wonder if I will be able to get it all done before then??  I hope so!

So you want to know about this SUPER easy card!  I used the Blooming with Kindness and Petite Pairs stamp sets.  I stamped the image using Black StazOn.  

The background of the base of the card was textured using the Dotted embossing folder.  I just got this fun black scalloped edge ribbon.  I needed some current black ribbon and there really wasn't a lot to pick from!  But I do like this and I'm sure you'll be seeing it on future cards.

I cut the black layer at 4" x 5-1/4" and the focal layer at 3-7/8" x 5-1/8".  I taped the focal and black layer together and added the ribbon.  I did not tie the ribbon around the layers.  I just wrapped the ribbon around the front and about an inch or so around to the back.  I cut the ribbon and taped it in place there.  I took another piece of ribbon and tied a bow on the front.  I prefer to do my ribbons this way because I can then slide the bow if I need to.  It just works easier for me, that's why I do it that way!

The layer was set in place using Dimensionals so it's popped up a bit on the card front. 

This was a very simple card to make and using these colors, this card could easily become a sympathy card too.  

It's quick, easy, elegant and versatile!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Elegant Butterfly Punch Card

Today I spent a lot of my time working on the shower cards for my niece.  I'd LOVE to show you one but I am not even close to being done.  But be patient!  I will share it with you soon enough!!!  It's fun but very time consuming.  It was a busy day filled with that card, some necessary shopping and some computer work.  I am not a big fan of typing.  In fact, our son and daughter-in-law (to be at that time) gave me Dragon for Christmas.  My headphones hang on the side of my monitor.  I don't use it as much as I thought I would because it makes more mistakes than I do!!! LOL  OK, it doesn't but I do have to correct it a lot when I'm drawing up my beading patterns.  I say "sew through two beads" and it types "so through two beads."  GRRR!  So I gave up on it temporarily!  I was typing away today and my fingernails are a bit longer than I like them to be and I was hitting wrong keys.  I hit something on my laptop and I rendered it unusable!  I had no idea what I did.  SO I shut it down (best thing to do when I mess up the computer). I turned it back on and it wouldn't even let me sign in.  So when hubby (my hero) came home from work I had him look at it.  Apparently I had hit the lock the computer up button.  I don't know how I did that and I don't know if I could ever do it again (not intentionally anyway!).  But it's working now and I'm happy!  That's what's important, right?  LOL

OK onto this card.  This was a card I had made at Terri's last Stamp-a-Stack.  It is a very simple, clean and elegant looking card.  It was very easy to do too.  I do need to work on my bows.  The way the bow is turning it looks like the card is upside down!  

Terri always has such nice and fun cards to do at her Stamp-a-Stacks.  My sister and I LOVE to go to Stamp-a-Stacks.  The next one is in October!  We are waiting patiently!!!  Some not as patient as others.  My sister loves them even more then I do!  LOL

It doesn't show up in the card but the Marina Mist circle has some sparkle to it.  It was sprayed with a mixture of Shimmer Paint and rubbing alcohol.  I do not know what the proportions are on that but I will find out and get back to you!  Click on the photo, you may see a bit of sparkle.  If not you sure can see it in the rhinestones on the beautiful butterfly.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Wedding Card

I am knee deep in making shower invitations for my niece.  Thank goodness I love her a lot!!!  These cards are a lot more work than I thought they would be. But it's ok, I have a few weeks before I need to get them done so I can pick them up, work on them and set them aside as I please.  I only have one finished.  The one I first made to see what it would all look like.  I know what you are thinking, "why didn't you notice all the work then?"  Well, I had been working on it little by little not noticing how much work was going into it.  I would do one part and like it and them move on to the next part and then it finally was all done and I was happy and I liked it.  I did not look back to see all the work it would take to make 25 of them!  Oh well.  I've got all the paper cut and stamped now so there is no going back!  I will show you that invitation when I get them all done.  

So today was one of those "set them aside" days.  I thought I would make the wedding card.  I am not sure I like this card for them but I will hang on to it until I find something else, IF I find something else.  But for now this is the card they are getting.  I found it on Pinterest, Yolanda had it posted on one of her boards.   The "Mr & Mrs came from the "All Holidays" set.  It's retired but I kept it because of all the fun wording in it.  The "congratulations" came from the "Family Reunion" set.  The rest is just paper!  It was easy enough.  A nice break from the invitations.  And now I'm off to work on some more of the invitation!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Googly Ghouls

It’s great to be back stamping.  There are a couple of things I really miss when I’m very busy, one is beading and the other is stamping.  Busy is good but you do need some things to help you remain sane.  Yup, that means I’m sane, in spite of what you have heard!!! LOL

This was a fun card to make.  I  saw a card on Pinterest that had this layout so I thought I would give it a try.  I just cut the card stock and decorative papers until I got the size and shapes that I wanted.  I added a piece of the polka dot scalloped edge ribbon.  This is such pretty ribbon.  I like these Googly Ghouls characters, they are not frightening for kids.  It’s great to have kid friendly Halloween stuff.  After all, to them it’s just a day to dress up in some fun costume and go out and get candy.  They don’t need to be scared. 

Thank you SO much for visiting today,

Wanda

Feather Boa Halloween Wreath

I hope you all had a fun and safe holiday weekend.  I just kicked back and did some relaxing, some beading a little bit of cleaning and some crafting! And I am going to share my crafting with you today.

I saw a Halloween feather wreath on Pinterest and I thought I had pinned it on my Halloween Stuff board but I couldn't find it so I had to do a search for it.  I did find it, so you can view that one here.  I did mine a little different.  First I took a piece of foam pipe tubing.  It was something we had on hand so I didn't have to go purchase anything.  A Styrofoam wreath form will work too but this is cheaper to do, easy to form and it was something I had on hand.  

I taped the tube in a sort of circle.  My piece of tubing could have been a little bit longer but it worked out fine as it was.  Just trying to make do with what I have.  And I sure do have a lot of craft stuff here!!!  I taped my foam together with black duct tape.  I took a piece of wire and make a hook for the wreath.  Just wrap some wire around the wreath with a twist in it so you can hang it.  

Next I took two black feather boas and attached one end of them to the circle.  One of the boas has long feathers on it and the other is just a fuzzy fine feather boa (I like those the best!).  I wrapped them around the wreath together.  Feathers will fly!  I don't mind the bigger feathers but those little tiny ones just fly in the air and get everywhere!  So needless to say I will be vacuuming and dusting after I get done with this post!  I did trim up the inside of the wreath.  The opening was hardly visible.  I clipped a bunch of the feathers all around the inside and I liked the opening much better.  A larger wreath probably wouldn't need trimming.  I also went with a smaller wreath, not only because of the short piece of tubing but I knew a smaller wreath would take less boas.  Boas are not cheap!

Ok, let's back up here.  I forgot to tell you that I did paint the Styrofoam balls before I put the feathers on.  I stuck a toothpick in each one and painted them white.  The toothpick is so you can not only hang on to them but so you can poke them into something so they can dry.  Once they were dry I painted the colored parts and then the black dots in the middle.  I had gotten my foam balls at The Dollar Store.  They were not the best shaped balls but they were good enough for this project.  You just put the flat parts in the back!  

Ok, now go plug in your glue gun.

I set the eyes in place on the wreath to see where I wanted them to be.  Then I glued them in place.  I had gotten some pretty glittered balls at Michael's (using my half off coupon) and I placed them in the wreath where I felt it looked empty.  I had also picked up that cute owl.  That is not on the wreath I saw on Pinterest but I thought the top could use something, plus it made it easier to find the wire.  Now I know the wire is just behind the owl!

Now for you stampers, this would be cute using the new  Googly Ghouls set.  Just stamp them and cut them out.  Color them and place them in the wreath.  Use lots of purples, greens and oranges!!

And that was it!  I'm off to vacuum and then to create some cards.  

Thanks SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Super Clean Stamps!

I ran across this idea totally by accident.  I had just finished using the flower image from the Easy Events set.  I had taped off the flowers because I needed the words only.  It was for the card I posted yesterday.  I had used StazOn.  I prefer that black ink to any other because it sets up fast and it stays on!!  I can color with a blender pen and I don't get any smearing.  I had taken out my Stampin' Mist and set it on my worktable so I would remember to use it.  I know that StazOn is an alcohol based ink which means that it could dry out the rubber on my stamps.  So when I use the StazOn I make sure I use the Stampin' Up! mist so I protect my stamps.  So I'm stamping the words (a couple of times because I never get it perfect the first time!) and when I was done I grabbed a bottle off my worktable and sprayed my Stampin' Scrub and proceeded to rub my stamp on the sprayed spot.  I looked at the image and couldn't believe how much cleaner it looked.  I was liking the smell of the Stampin' Mist too.  I thought they changed scents.  But was it Stampin' Mist?  No, I had grabbed the bottle of Glade Tough Odors Solutions (like Fabreeze).  I don't know what mode my brain was in.  Wouldn't you think I would have noticed the size bottle?  Stampin' Mist does not come in a 22 oz. spray bottle.  It was the smell that caught my attention more than the size of the bottle.  I looked at the bottle so see if the scent name was added to it and then it dawned on me that it was not the Stampin' Mist.  I had cleaned my stamp with Glade Tough Odors Solutions.  I immediately sprayed it with the Stampin' Mist and wiped it off on the wet side of the Stampin' Scrub to make sure that my stamp wouldn't be ruined.  

So I thought I would try this with the other two stamps that were stained.  I'm SO surprised!  I won't give a second thought to using black StazOn again!  This stuff cleaned my stamps and it smelled good too but I did follow it up with an official stamp cleaner to make sure the rubber is preserved.  The top photo is the "before" picture and the bottom one is the "after".

Look how clean they are!!  The cupcake one was still very wet in the crevices when the photo was taken.  The duck was a little wet. If you click on the photos you can see the images closer.  

Thanks for stopping by today,
Wanda

End of the Summer

It's Saturday the 1st day of September, it is Memorial weekend and the end to a very long and hot summer here in Minnesota. Our light bill has been the highest it ever was.  These temps were not normal for our region.  We are use to a few days of the hot and humid stuff but we had more than a few days and these days were also one after the other.  UGH!  

I am not going to be posting for a couple of days so I have some time to spend with the family.  And besides, most of you are out of town anyway or spending time with your families.  I will post again on Tuesday.  I have some fun cards lined up and I'm hoping to have some other fun things ready for you as well.  It will seem weird to me since I have not skipped a holiday weekend at all in the 6 years I've been blogging.  

I wish you all a very fun and safe holiday weekend and I do thank you for visiting my blog,
Wanda