Inspiration from my Birthday Girl! (Part 2)

Here's another card I made with my birthday girl's fave creature.

image stamp: Stampavie, markers: Copics, sentiment stamp: Technique Tuesday.  The jewel snowflake,  cork and papers are all very old goods from my stash.

I would like to submit this to the following blogs:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

Use it Tuesday: Creatures (penguins are creatures :))

Whimsy Stamps Challenge Blog: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!

Liz

Inspiration from my Birthday Girl! (Part 1)

Hey everyone!

It was my middle daughter's 7th birthday today!  We decided to take her out for dinner but while I was volunteering at her school this afternoon she said she really wanted her grandparents (from both sides of the family) to join us.  When I said that it was too late notice and they probably wouldn't be able to make it, she turned on the puppy dog eyes (complete with tears welling up) and said "Can you please just ask?"  How could I say no?  There's no harm in asking.  So at 3pm this afternoon I called the grandparents and asked if they could come for a birthday dinner at a local Chinese Buffet restaurant (as the request of my little C2) and to my surprise (sort of) they all responded with "Okay" and no hesitation.  How great!  An impromptu party of 9 to celebrate a special day.  Life is good.
In honour of my little C2 and her passion for all things "Penguin" I got a jump start on the Christmas cards and make a few that I knew would make her smile!  Here's to you my little mango.  I love you lots!

image stamp: Darcies, markers: Copic; sentiment stamp: Technique Tuesday

I stamped the image in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with black glittery embossing powder.  I then coloured the adorable Penguins (who make me think of my 3 little sweeties) with Copics.  The lime green background is very old left over packaging from some scrapbook embellies.  It was probably one of the first items i got and I saved the packaging because it was pretty and I was on a budget back then.  The velour red snowflake ribbon is also a couple years old and has been hiding in my stash for some time.
This card makes me smile.  It's simple and sweet.

I would like to submit this to the following blogs:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes
Use it Tuesday: Creatures (penguins are creatures :))
Whimsy Stamps Challenge Blog: Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by!
Liz

Twisted Tuesday Challenge #62 -ANYTHING GOES!!!

Hey Everyone!

Had a super great time yesterday with some friends and their kidlets enjoying the fall freshness and sunshine.  It definitely is getting chilly around here!  Brrrrrr!

Anyways,  It's the 5th Sunday of October and that means (*drum roll*) its an ANYTHING GOES challenge over at Twisted Tuesday Challenges!  Wahooo!  I can't wait to see your creations.  To get you in the mood here's a little something I put together!

the flourish diecut and title font: Quickutz, patterned paper: MME,  flower-Prima, stamp: CTMH

I stumbled upon these sequence of photos on my computer of my little C1.  She's about 2 and half in these pics (she's 9 now!)  How cute it is to see her little smile all excited to eat her ice cream and then see her little messy grin transform into little Miss Grumpy Pants when daddy had to take the ice cream away to save it from creating a super sticky mess on our stairs.  Ahhhhh....Mem'ries!

Be sure to play along over at Twisted Tuesday Challenges!  There is some good stuff to be won and who knows...you may get a chance to be a Guest Designer!  Sweet!

Thanks for stopping by!
Liz

Yippeeeee!!!! I'm a Winner!!

Hey Everyone!

Yikes!  It's been a few days since I've posted!  There was a bit of an illness overwhelm over in my home the past week with the kidlets!  C2 came down with strep throat AND a mouth sores infection which made my little one quite whiney and piney and all around miserable!  Not much time for crafting when you're tending to the needs of a munchkin!  I'm glad she's back to her ol' self and I can get back to some crafting fun!

In the meantime, I'm so stoked to share with my you my excitement!  I'm a winner over at Paper Smooches SPARKS Challenge Blog for THIS card I created. YAHOOOOO!!!

Thanks soooo much for the honour and I can't wait to play again!

Have an awesome day!
Liz

Paper Smoooooch Quickie!

Hey Everyone!

I'm a crafting machine!  But not really...just wish there was more time (don't we all!?).  Just another drop in today to share with you a card I made with the folks over at Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge Blog in mind.  I was inspired (again) by their sketch for this week's challenge.

Here is my creation!

image stamp and sentiment: Paper Smooches; ink: Distress Inks, photoframe die: PTI; Stickles

Here is the sketch for inspiration:

I tried my hand at a single layer card this time.  I die cut the frame on sticky note paper and used it as a stencil to colour the frame by blending Salty Ocean and Mustard Seed Distress inks together.   I misted them with Perfect Pearls water for some shimmery goodness.  I then used the cut out as a mask to cover the frame to I could stamp over top and colour the cameras with Copics.

Voila!  Turned out pretty neat, I think.

Thanks for dropping by!
Liz

There She Goes...and here comes Christmas...(Part 2)

Hello Y'All!

I'm back!  It's 1am where I am and I really need to get back to sleep.  I fell asleep putting my little one down for the evening.  Then I woke up about an hour ago and decided to blog a couple things...and now I'm feeling another sleep overcome me!

Here is my 2nd card I made for the "Be Prepared" Challenge over at the There She Goes Blog.

Image and sentiment stamp: TSG; various patterned papers of unknown origin; Peeled Paint Distress Ink

How absolutely ADORABLE is this image?!  I paper pieced the image using scraps from my scrap drawer.  LOVING how many of my projects are slowing eating away at this stash!  The paper strip at the bottom of the card is also from said stash.  I masked off the border and blended in some Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

I would like to submit this to the following blogs:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Use a Rubber or Clear Stamp

Sister Act Anything Goes Card Challenge: #28

Use it Tuesday: Scraps, Pieces, Odds and Ends.

Okay, here comes the sleep! (*YAWN*)


Thanks for stopping by!
Liz

There She Goes...and here comes Christmas....(Part 1)

Hey Everyone!

It's been quite the busy day today.  I'm loving how the weather this fall has been such a great mix of sunshine, breezes, autumn crispness in the air and the odd day or two of rainy days to keep it all alive and well.  Today was one of those sunny days with cool Autumn air.  Love it!  The colours are in full bloom.
I've been getting a jump start on the holiday card making. (YAY!) and I just wanted to stop in and share with you a couple I made using some "There She Goes" stamps.  These stamps have the cutest and coolest images to colour in and create with.  Their sentiments are unique and perfect for any occasion.  I was sooooo excited to have stumbled upon their products!  They have a holiday card challenge "TSG229-Be Prepared" over at their blog.  Be sure to check it out!

Here is my first card:

the sentiment and the image are from TSG; background stamp: Hero Arts; inks: Copic Markers and Distress Inks.  The doily, pink chevron ribbon and blue strip are all bits and bobs from my scrap drawer.

I used non traditional Christmas colours on this card and I love how it turned out.  The white embossed houses look like a little snow covered town and the Distress Ink blending spritzed with water laced with Perfect Pearls is always a fave go-to technique for great results everytime!

Penguins are a huge favourite in my home any time of the year (unfortunately the coolest images always seem to have only winter themes) and this little guy is off the charts adorable!

I would like to submit this to the following blogs:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Use a Rubber or Clear Stamp
Sister Act Anything Goes Card Challenge: #28
Use it Tuesday: Scraps, Pieces, Odds and Ends.
Hero Arts: Holiday Challenge-A Few of My Favourite Things

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Liz

Twisted Tuesday Challenge #61 Celebrate Naturally!!!

Hey Everyone!

It's new challenge time over at Twisted Tuesday Challenges!  I can't believe how fast 2 weeks flies by! I truly loved seeing all your creations!  Keep 'em coming!

This fortnight the challenge is (as always) fun and sure to get the creative juices flowing: "Celebrate Naturally"!
The Challenge: Use a Celebration theme
The Twist: Use a natural element (i.e. wood, raffia, twine, hemp, hay etc)

The first weekend of this month I ran my first 5km run for CIBC Run for the Cure.  It supports breast cancer research.  I had just recently taken up running.  Primarily to lose some weight and to moreso to improve my fitness.  Endurance sports was never my forte!  When I participated in track and field events my specialty was anything that required throwing: ball throw, shot put, javelin.  Although I tended to excel in many sports, running was definitely not my strong suit!  Anyways, I figured signing up for this race with a friend of mine on a team her mom had put together (her mom is a breast cancer survivor) would be a great motivation for me to get better at this running thing and support a great cause as well!

As it turned out it was harder than I anticipated but my team members were great motivators.  Especially at the end when I was about 100 meters from the finish line (and in DIRE need for a washroom) and I almost gave up and walked across the finish line, they pushed me that last few meters and I completed it running!  Yay!  A milestone for me!  Definitely a reason to celebrate for me!  Moreover, our team of 5 people raised a total of $1205 for breast cancer research!  Another reason to celebrate!

As a result, my layout this week is based on this experience!

patterned paper: various unknown, DCWV, MME;stamps: CTMH, Recollections, Flourishes, MFT;wooden flowers: Dollar Store; pennant punch: Fiskars (Jenni Bowlin)

The pennant was a great stash buster using scrap bits from my scrap drawer.  Not to mention the banners are all strips of paper from the same scrap drawer.

I hope to see your creations for this weeks Twisted Tuesday Challenge linkied up over there!

I'd also like to submit this to the following blogs:
Use it Tuesday: Scraps, Pieces, Odds and Ends
Boy Meets Girl: About A Girl: Use Texture

Thanks so much for dropping by!
Liz

Another Card for a Celebration Heavy Weekend!

Hey All!

This past weekend was a trifecta of celebrations: Thanksgiving, a birthday and an anniversary!  Here is a card I made for my hubby's parents 47th wedding anniversary!
I stamped my 2 older daughters' hands on the white card with their fingers in a heart shape.  I then die cut a heart out of the centre and put in a picture of my youngest daughter with her beloved Nonno and Nonna.  The whole centre panel is raised up using pop dots.

ink for hand stamps: Colorbox; flower: Prima; happy die cut and sentiment: Simon Says Stamp.

 I love how the " happy' part floats above the photo.

I would like to submit this to the following challenges:
Sister Act Anything Goes Card Challenge: #28
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Use a Rubber or Clear Stamp (clear stamp="anniversary")
2 Sisters Challenge Blog: #165 Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Liz

Birthday Card from Cardabilities and Paper Smooches Inspiration

Hey everyone!

I'm actually writing this post from my phone. This is a first for me so I hope it turns out okay. I just wanted to pop in on this rainy Canadian Thanksgiving day to share with you a card I made using this weeks sketch - Sketch #84 over at Cardabilities and the Designer Drafts over at Paper Smooches.  This weekend was a Hat Trick of Celebrations as it was Canadian Thanksgiving, My hubby's parents 47th wedding anniversary and my hubby's dad's birthday!  Wahoooo!

The newsprint background: Hero Arts; sentiment: Paper Smooches; star die cuts: Quickkutz;background gear embossing: Sizzix, paper: DCWV,MME; border punch: EK Success; banner die cut: Simon Says Stamp

This card was soooo much fun to make and used up scraps which is great!  I'll post the deets when I get home tomorrow. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Liz

(EDITED to add: Oct 14/12)

I'm back from a weekend of great food, great family, belly laughs and feeling blessed.  Thanksgiving will do that do a person!  It's wonderful!

Today is still a day off up here in the great white north (yay!) so the family is (hopefully) headed to a corn maze for some fun!

Here are the sketches that my card was based on!  

I would also like to submit it to the following blogs:

Simon Says Stamp: Use a Rubber or Clear Stamp (background Newsprint=rubber; sentiment=clear)

Use it Tuesday: Challenge#65: Scraps, Pieces, Odds and Ends

Sister Act Card Anything Goes Challenge: #28

Thanks for stopping by!

Liz

Wahoo! Challenge #3 Up and Running @123Get Scrappy!

Hey Everyone!
It's a new month and a new monthly bingo board challenge opportunity over at 123GetScrappy.  Be sure to head over and check it out!  This month's board is chocked full of goodies to get you in the scrappy mood!  I can't wait to see what you create!  Its always a please to see the wonderful scrapbook layouts you all create!

With out any further delay here is my creation for you!

The patterned papers are from MME and DCWV, the veneer cameras are from Studio Calico, the city scape die is from Memory Box

I used the last column down on this month's board:

As it turned out, I actually used the top row as well (Chipboard (title), sequins, stitching).  Cool!

There are 3 different kinds of stitching on this layout.  There is actual needle and thread stitching around the city scape; there is faux stitching for the border of the layout (poked holes and then connected them using a marker); stamped stitching for the journalling (using clear stamp from Autumn Leaves).  

The sequins were pulled off of a leftover string of sequins I took off an old baby dress that no longer fits any of my girlies.  It was sitting in the bottom of my scraps drawer.  The sequins were originally all silver but I coloured them to match my layout using Copic Markers.  The triangles were also cut from a scrap piece of patterned paper from the stash.

I was also inspired by the folks over at Color Me Scrappy with the sketch and colour challenge this month:

I'd also like to submit this layout to the following challenges:

Use it Tuesday: Scraps, Pieces, Odds and Ends

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Use a Clear or Rubber stamp

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Liz

TGF Garden Variety Head Start on Christmas!

Hey Everyone!
Just popping in today to share with you a card I made for this week's Garden Variety Tuesday over at TGF Blog: to get a Head Start on the Holiday season!  Quick and easy and using up scraps and bits from my scraps drawer to hopefully wittle it down to something more manageable!  (A girl can dream can't she? ;))

image: The Greeting Farm; happy holidays frame: Silhouette cut; paper DCVW, metal: Lifestyle crafts

The blue circles, embossed metal and buttons were all hiding the depths of the scrap drawer.  Not to mention the patterned paper is from the first Christmas Pad of paper I bought from Michaels at least 7 years ago! (quite possibly more!)

I'd like to submit this to the following challenges:
Use it Tuesday: Scraps, Pieces, Odds and Ends
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Use a Rubber or Clear Stamp

Thanks for stopping by!
Liz

Happy World Cardmaking Day!!!

It's been a busy day visiting family today so I didn't get to spend much time celebrating this special occaision.  Poo.  However, my girls and I did get a chance to put together a couple cards for my brother (in-law) who's celebrated a birthday last week.  They were quite excited to put their cards together all by themselves!  I was quite impressed with their creations!  Tomorrow I'm running a 5km race for the CIBC Run for Cure for Breast Cancer.  I'm a little stressed as this will be the first year that I'm actually running.  Keep your fingers crossed that I don't pass out.  My goal this year is to NOT finish last.  As long as that happens I will declare it a personal victory...and a big victory for the fight against Breast Cancer!

So....here are my contributions to World Card Making Day!  I hope you all got a chance to create a card today!

Sentiment and 'You' diecut:Simon Says Stamp;paper: MME, metal: Lifestyle Crafts; Embossing folder: Sizzix. 

I love using photos in cards, especially when they are for family members.  I love how the metal embossed background adds just the right amount of bling for this guy card.

I'd like to submit this card to the following challenges:
Sister Act Anything Goes Challenge: #27
Moxie Fab World: Metal/Wood and Cork Challenge

My eldest daughter who's 9 made the following card.  She picked a Page Maps card sketch from a binder I have and just went with it!  She chose the papers/colours, punched everything out and put it all together!  I'm so proud...and so was she!  Way to go my girl!

Owl punch from SU, leaf punch from Martha Stewart, Sentiment Stamp Simon Says Stamp

 

I love how she made the little owls look at eachother.  Soooo cute!  She even used the beak on the owl punch to make the bow on the girls owl's head.  So creative!

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:
Papertake Weekly: Anything Goes
Eureka Stamps: Wings and Things

And the last card is made by my middle cutie, C2.  She did the same as her big sister and picked a Page Maps sketch and just went with it.  She picked out all the papers and put the whole thing together by herself.  She even cut out all the bits using the Cuttlebug and some mommy supervision.  Check it out!

sentiment: Paper Smooches, dies: Spellbinders, paper: BoBunny, banner die: Simon Says Stamp

Very typical of my little C2 to use anything with Penguins on it!  This card is personal to her because of that.  I'm quite proud of her little creation!  Not bad at all for a 6 year old!

I'd like to submit this to the following blogs:

Simon Says Stamp Wendesday Challenge: Going Dotty

Paper Smooches Sparks: Anything Goes

Sorry for the lengthy post!  

Happy World Card Making Day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Liz

New Challenge at Twisted Tuesday! Challenge#60! YAAAAAY!

Hey Everyone!

Has it been 2 weeks already!?  I've been a busy bee over here.  Trying to get the last bits of summer fun in over the weekends with the family.  The weather has been wonderful these last few days (except today but it got better as the day went on).  Can't wait for all the leaves to change colour.  I love Autumn!

Well, there's a new challenge up and running over at Twisted Tuesday Challenges!  Challenge #60 (ALREADY!!!).  This fortnight's theme is: Heavy Metal!!
Challenge: Use alot of layers (i.e. heavy)
Twist: Use Metal on your creation.

LOVED this challenge!  I dug deep into my stash.  As it turns out I really like the metal embellies and have a lot waiting for their moment to shine!

Here is my creation!

patterned paper: MME; sentiment stamps:PTI; hat stamp and crochet flower: Recollections; metal grommets, photo turns, corner edge:Making Memories; tag/scalloped lable: Maya Road; die cut woman and letters: Quickutz; copper wire: Dollar Store

 I bent copper wire into flourishes and attached to layout with copper brads.

I wrapped a circle punched piece of cardstock with white yarn and coloured strands of it with markers to get a similar pattern as the ball of yarn in the logo.  Tooth pics mimic the knitting needles of the logo.

Hats Off to Liz is a group of wonderful ladies who volunteer their time and talents to create hats (chemo caps) for cancer patients as well as baby burial gowns/blankets/hats for babies who grow wings and fly off before/soon after they arrive on earth.  For more information or ways to help make a difference please check out our website or check out this link.  I am so very proud to be a part of it!

The grommets used in this layout are at least 5 years old.  I have them in many different circle sizes and in brass, copper and silver.  I also have them shaped as flowers.  Used MAYBE once in since I've had them!  The scalloped label and tag I've had for a couple years.  There's more where those came from...all awaiting their time!  I'm glad these ones found their way out!

Be sure to join in all the Twisted Fun over at Twisted Tuesdays and check out my fellow DT members for inspiration and show them some commenting love!

I can't wait to see what you create!

I'd also like to submit this to the following blogs:
Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
Use it Tuesday: Use 2 Hoarded Items
Moxie Fab World: Metal/Wood/Cork Challenge
Anything Goes Challenge Blog: Out with the Girls

Thanks for stopping by!
Liz