Mimi, Oh Deer...

I love the Christmas card making season because there are so many wonderful people I can finally make cards for and send cards to, which gives me a perfect excuse to engage all of my stamps, punches, inks and fun paper crafting tools.

...and speaking of punches, I just had to get the EK Success reindeer edge punch this year - adorable, adorable, I say! See it in action below:

Supplies:
Cardstock: Echo Park
Ink: Adirondack in Red Pepper
Embelishments: COPIC, MS glitter pens, red pearls, EK Success Reindeer edge punch, Crop-a-dile Corner Chomper


Those reindeer noses were just calling for red pearls...I just had to do it, it was a MUST!

Another favorite, at Christmas time in particular, is Mimi. Penny Black came out strong this year and brought some seriously cute Mimi Christmas stamps. Mimi with the reindeer nose is just such a fun stamp to work with.

Christmas is a great excuse for using glitter with reckless abandon. It can't quite be seen here, but Mimi's antlers are shiny, sparkling gold - fortified by some Martha Stewart glitter pens.

Have a sparkling evening!

Mimi and the (Birthday) Bear

I chose to open the Christmas card season with a stamp my darling husband selected and gave to me for my birthday :). He actually went to my favorite store Wiggles & Giggles and picked it out for me :) with owner's help! He said it took them a while to find something I didn't already have! Oy!

I also absolutely had to do a non-traditional color scheme. That purple on the scarf and the coat was entirely too enticing.

Supplies:
Cardstock
Stamp: Penny Black Mimi and the Bear
Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: Reminisce edge punch, bling, COPICs

Best Fishes

A co-worker of mine, a true fishing enthusiast, recently had to undergo a medical procedure. I knew I wanted to make him a get-well card, but all I could think of were fishes, fishes, fishes...So, what do you get in that situation? Hmmm, see for yourselves:

Cute, huh?

Supplies:
Cardstock 
Stamps: Hero Arts
Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: COPIC markers


Have a great night!

A Fall Wedding

Recently, our son's preschool teacher, who also happens to be one of our favorite people in the world, got married. This, of course, called for a card! While I didn't have a particular idea about the card design, I knew that the card had to involve her wedding color, terracotta.

Now, I openly admit that terracotta is not the easiest of colors to work with, when it comes to wedding cards. A little goes a long way. Hence, the color splash design below.

The bride called it "very Miss Kim weddingish" :). I think I got it just right for just her personality...

Also, another teacher at the daycare approached me and asked, if I could create a card for the same person and the same wedding, which she could give to her. Here's what I came up with for her:

Supplies


Card I


Card stock: corrugated card stock
Embellishments: MS border punch, pearls, chipboard flowers, ribbon


Card II


Card stock: corrugated card stock, Bazzill basics in cream
Stamps: And the two become one...
Ink: Memento in Dessert Sand
Embellishments: Spica atyou pen in gold, bling, MS butterfly punch, ribbon, copper mesh ribbon, EK Success border punch

Have a great day!

Eeeeeek!

Halloween is near my friends! Even though I typically do not make cards for Halloween, I could not resist using the Martha Stewart spider web punches.

I typically also don't do CAS, but this card begged for it. I had to show off those itsy bitsy spiders :).

This card will be part of my "On the Edge" class at Wiggles at Giggles, coming up on October 30th at 1:30pm.

Supplies: 
Cardstock: DCWV metallic stack, orange and black cardstock
Embellishments: MS punches, pearls, Millenium pen

Eeeeeeek!

Happy birthday, princess!

I think I have mentioned before that I love making cards for my son's friends' birthdays. It's just so much fun to make cards for 4 year old kids, I am telling you! Given that I have a boy and am surrounded by boyish stuff all the time, I especially love making princess themed cards. They are just so very cute.

So, when I heard that my son's friend likes Cinderella and Rapunzel, I knew right away what the card should look like. And here it is:

I happened to spot this birthday stamp, when I was out looking for a Cinderella sticker. It is almost a perfect match to a fairy tale inspired card, with all its swirls and tiny little stars.

Supplies:
Cardstock: Surfer Girl, pink cardstock
Stamp: Inkadinkado
Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: Cinderella sticker, EK success border punch, MS border punch, pearls, Spica atyou pens


Have a simply marvelous evening!

Well, hello there, mojo...looks like you came back...

I've been MIA for a while, but I have a VERY good reason for that. I have embarked upon the ultimate crafting project - a brand new human being :). The early symptoms took care of most of my creativity so far, but it seems like my mojo is slowly returning! 


Very appropriately, the card I created is a baby themed card. Behold

Supplies:
Cardstock: Nursery Rhyme
Ink: Adirondack in Stream
Stamps: Stampin' Up
Embellishments: MS border punch, buttons in aqua, twine, staples


Have a wonderful Sunday!

Edgy Flower Power

Hello again! I'm having quite the productive weekend, and I love it when it happens!

While the card below has been created for my Made with Love card class I'll be teaching in July, it is, in fact, perfect as an entry in the Moxie Fab World Beautiful Borders as well as the second entry in the CAS-ual Fridays Getting Edgy challenge. As soon as I saw the Moxie Fab challenge, I thought...well, Moxie Fabbers, do I have the card for you!

 It is essentially brimming with all sorts of borders and edges, just as I like it. EK Success large flower punch steals the show, in my opinion. Tell me what you think!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Made with Love - Card 1

Hello sweet cakes, it's time to introduce a sweet, new project o'mine to you. I will be teaching a card class again at Wiggles and Giggles and this time it will be all about the kitchen and yummy food. I have created six different cards, which I will be introducing here on the blog as well as on Facebook.

Cupcakes take the center stage in this delicious card. There can not be a food themed class without cupcakes, in my opinion.

The sprinkles are a great way to use up your pearls and bling that you may have left over from a different project. As you know, I have a great deep passion for border punches and Martha Stewart's trellis punch adds a nice dimension here.

I will be entering this (and at least another) card in the CAS-ual Fridays challenge Getting Edgy. Typically, I am not a CAS kind of girl, but border punches and edges are right up my alley!!!

Have a sweet day!

Dads and Grads

I am so very excited to share the news that I will be teaching card making classes at my favorite store in the whole wide world - Wiggles and Giggles! So. Very. Excited!!

With Father's Day around the corner and various graduation ceremonies each weekend (including my own :) - a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering degree, wooohoo ), June is the perfect month to work on cards for Dads and grads. These cards can also be challenging, especially the ones for Dads, since the typical color palette and embellishments are rather limited.

Here's what I came up with for my inaugural class:

This is going to be fun! I can't wait!

Have an elephantastic night!

Wedded Bliss

How fitting that I have been asked to make a wedding card for someone and finally found the time to do it today, when William and Kate are getting married. Probably the most anticipated wedding of the decade, if not longer. I know I couldn't wait to see the bride. She was gorgeous!

Back to my little wedding card:

Supplies:
Ink: Memento - Dessert Sand
Stamp: unknown
Embellishments: MS border punch, MS butterfly punch, COPIC markers, pearls, Cuttlebug embossing folder

I stamped the cake, cut it out and then colored it with COPIC markers. I popped it up with some double sided tape.

Have a wonderful day!

Not yolkin' when I say...

Supplies:
Cardstock: Elizabeth Park by LYB
Stamps: Inky Antics
Embellishments: Bling, COPIC, Puffies

 ...have an egg-cellent Easter! Hehe...

Out of the Blue

I noticed that lately most of my cards are some variation of pink, purple, cream and such similar colors. It's time to break it up and present to you the second card in the Easter card series:

Supplies:
Cardstock. Elizabeth Park by LYB
Stamp: Hero Arts
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Embellishments: Bling, COPIC markers, hand-crocheted flowers, brad, Elizabeth Park by LYB border, MS border punch

I added one of my handmade flowers to this card. It's such a joy to be able to make your own embellishments!

Have a wonderful Saturday (my favorite day of the week)!

Hey chick...have an egg-celent Easter!

Easter is one of my favorite holidays! The Spring is finally here, it's getting warmer out, the whole world is full of hope and renewal. I happened to be asked recently to make a batch of Easter cards for a friend, and I happily jumped at the opportunity. The task was to create 5 cards - 3 for a female, 2 for a male (a challenge, which I will report on separately). A series of Easter cards thus came to be. Here's number one:

Supplies
Cardstock; Elizabeth Park by LYB
Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Stamps: Inky Antics
Embellishments: pearls in Sunshine Yellow, LYB border, Puffies, bling

Isn't that chick cute? Inky Antics never disappoints. Their Easter set is all I had to work with. This year like no other there were no Easter stamps to be had. I wonder why...hmmm...

Have a great evening!

Flower Power

I'd like to publicly thank Cath Edvalson of Moxie Fab fame for reintroducing me to crocheting. As is custom in the Moxie Fab world, each Tuesday brings along a trigger, a picture based challenge, which is sure to give your inspiration a jolt. This Tuesday was no different - the moment I saw the pretty crocheted flowers on the challenge picture, I

1) gasped
2) realized that it's been eons since I've crocheted something
3) decided I should totally participate and crochet some of my own embellishments.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Cath, it was such a great fun to work on a crochet (albeit micro) project again. I thoroughly enjoyed making the flowers.

Here is how I used them:

Cardstock: October Afternoon, Basic Grey
Stamps: Hero Arts
Ink: Memento in Ivy Green
Embellishments: handmade crochet flowers, brads, SU edger punches

The card in its nature is very simple, but the handmade flowers are the real gem here (if I do say so myself ;)). I was in great need of a birthday card for a friend, so that worked out perfectly.

Have many sweet dreams tonight!

Movin' On

Now, this is rare, but it happens. One of my friends is moving - of all places - to sunny Florida. Boy, was I glad to have Inky Antics New Address stamp set, so I could actually make her a card. I knew it would be a while before I got to use it, but the day has come...

A recent discovery in fancy new scrapbooking supplies sure are the "Puffies" 3D fabric stickers. Absolutely love 'em. I found a way to use them here. Behold the cute little house with a green roof!

In addition, Martha Stewart, words can't describe how much I love thee and your endless creativity when it comes to border punches. For those of you, who know me, you know that I am a border punch aficionado (really, a different word for addict) and Martha surely keeps feeding the addiction by bringing out better and prettier punches each season. I strive to collect them all ;).

Supplies:
Cardstock: Basic Gray
Embellishments: Puffies, MS border punches, EK Success border punches, COPIC markers, Spica atyou pen, pearls

Have a sparkling evening!

Happy Birthday!

Birthday cards are so much fun to make; but I find that if they're for little kids, they are a particular joy to create! My son is now in preschool and slowly, but surely, birthday party invitations are starting to come in. I completely missed the chance to make a card for the very first birthday boy, who invited us, but this second one, I was sure I didn't want to miss. Possibly one of the easiest, most inspired cards I've ever done. Here's what I created:

Cardstock: Bella Blvd
Stamps: Hero Arts
Ink: Adirondack in Red Pepper
Embellishments: Train sticker by Reminisce, Cricut, Mini Pom Poms, Spica pen

I saw those tickets and knew I had to use them. The pom poms were awesome to use and so easy to glue to cardstock. That was fun! I wonder whose birthday is next!

Have a wonderful evening!

On This First Day of Spring...

...I wish all the best to a very special co-worker and friend, who is retiring. We will stay in touch, of course, but there is something to be said and done about the fact that we will no longer work together. The end of an era, what else can I say.

One thing that's very exciting (to me) about my friend retiring is her intention to rekindle her love affair with stamping. She says that about 10-15 years ago she was really into it and has quite the collection of stamps still. I know I'm dying to see it. I'm sure it has quite a few rare gems.

To wish her well in her retirement, I put together a spring themed bag as a gift and made sure some cute acrylic stamps (new technology) were part of it. This gift called for a spring themed card, too, and here's what I created:

Supplies:

Cardstock

Embellishments: Sizzix Embossing Folder, MS border punch, Pearls in Sunshine Yellow, Felt Butterflies by Creative Cafe

Ink: Adirondack in Wild Plum

Stamp: Hero Arts

I specifically didn't crop any of the picture, just so you could see how gorgeous the blue sky was in my neck o' the woods today. :)

Have a gorgeous day!

Leaving So Soon?

My (now former) co-worker is moving on to a new position at a different company in the part of the state that I don't visit very often, if ever. Who will supply me now with fresh farm eggs and entertain with stories of her favorite hen Henrietta, I really don't know. I will miss her, though, that's for sure! This, of course called for a card - I couldn't let her get away without one.

I remember seeing a picture of her somewhere (facebook?) riding a bike, so this Mimi stamp seemed just prefect, especially since it symbolized the whole idea of leaving.
Now, you can accuse me of having a passionate love affair with Penny Black stamps, and I say you're right. Even my husband commented and said something along the lines of "This little girl is everywhere!" Yes, she is...
I also had some DCWV cardstock, which I knew I *had to* use, the happy polka dot-y kind.
As a matter of fact, the vision of this entire card was dancing around in my head, ever since I heard my co-worker was leaving:

Supplies

Cardstock: DCWV (Birthday stack)

Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black

Stamp: Penny Black - Mimi "Easy Rider"

Embellishments: COPIC, Doodlebug Inc button, MS border punch, EK Success border punch, pearls

Have a sparkling evening!

Happy Birthday, My Friend - or - Possibly the Coolest Card I've Ever Made (part 2)

Birthdays are such fun times, especially if your friends are involved. In this case, a very dear friend was involved, plus a desire to present her with an uber cool pop art card.

Since birthdays are one of world's best excuses to get cupcakes involved, too (not that I ever need an excuse), the card had to contain cupcakes.

Here's what I came up with:

Supplies:

Cardstock: DCWV Birthday Stack, Inky Antics Honey POP paper

Embellishments: EK Success punches, pearls in red, twine, Doodlebugs Inc button, Spica pen in pink

Stamps: Inky Antics

Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black

Have sweet dreams tonight!

Possibly the coolest card I've ever made (part 1)

This is possibly the coolest card I've ever made, if I do say so myself. I made it to welcome a brand new baby girl my co-worker recently welcomed.

And I say this not because of the outside...it's the inside that makes you go oooh! Take a look:

Yup, that balloon in the middle is a pop-up, a 3D balloon...squee! Don't you just love it!? Oh, the things one can do with paper...Now that I discovered Pop-Up paper, the possibilities are virtually endless. So, stay tuned for possibly the coolest card I've ever made (part 2) :)!

Supplies:

Stamps: Inky Antics, Hero Arts

Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black

Embellishments: Honeycomb Pop-Up paper, COPIC, Doodlebug Inc buttons, EK Success and MS punches

Have an outstanding evening!

Butterflies. Oh My...

Dear Spring, I miss you. Will you please consider coming early this year and staying a while?

Well, while I can't make it spring outside - we're having yet another snow storm today - I can definitely make it spring in my craft room. All I want to work with lately are butterflies and flowers, their vision dancing around in my head.

As always, I had quite a few cards to make, one of them a Thank You note, and all I could think of, as I said, were butterflies. Imagine, if you would, late hours of the night and a pretty exhausted yours truly. I was driving on (creative) fumes, if you will...and then this card came to be:

Supplies

Stamp: Inkadinkado

Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black

Embellishments: pearls in pink, EK Success Butterfly stickers, MS Border Punches

I've had this "Thank You" stamp for so very long and it's never been kissed by ink before. In my mind it kept asking for a card with flowers, but I find this even better.


Have a sunny day!

Comfy and Cozy

Well, hello again, everyone! It's time to welcome baby David:

Supplies:

Cardstock: DCWV

Ink: Memento in Tuxedo Black

Stamp: Inkadinkado

Embellishments: COPIC Markers, pearls, brads, ribbon, MS border punch

Talk about comfy and cozy! Just look how that bear cuddled up to the moon with his "bankie". Perfect stamp for cuddly, sleepy babies, I say. Comfy and cozy is the theme of the newest Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger, too. See for yourselves:

I happened to find the stamp featured on this card at the local Jo-Ann's store on clearance. Love it, when I find cute stuff for dirt cheap! As soon as I picked it up, I saw this card in my head. Made it in mere minutes, not hours. Love it, when that happens, too!

Have a peaceful, cuddly evening!

We Love Gramma

My son loves his Gramma, he seriously does...and Gramma loves him, more than words can describe. That's why I thought it would only be too appropriate to use the stamps I recently found at Wiggles and Giggles and make a card for her.

Martha Stewart punch set is once again in action on the first layer. I used the Hero Arts background stamp and some red ink to create the stripes and used that as my second layer. I enhanced the stamped image in the center of the card with a Spica pen for a lovely shimmer effect. I casually tied a bow using the very ribbon Gramma once pointed out she liked very much.

Supplies

Cardstock: Echo Park Wintertime, white cardstock

Ink: Adirondack in Red Pepper

Embellishments: EK Success punch, MS Punches. corner punch, Jo-Ann's ribbon, pearls, Spica pen in red, Hero Arts background stamp, Inkadinkado stamp

She absolutely loved the card and has it proudly displayed now on her night stand!

Have a lovely night!

Oh My, Moxie Fab...

...ok, this is a small step for the blogosphere, but a huuuuuge one for yours truly: this post is all about my very first, one of a kind, couldn't be more excited about it, entry in Moxie Fab's Tuesday Trigger...and what a trigger it is. See for yourselves:

Yum!

I am entering not one, but two cards (may as well make a grand entrance onto Moxie Fab stage, the Broadway equivalent of card making blogs :)).

Here's what I got:

Not just any anniversary card, but an anniversary card for my husband. He does not believe in Valentine's Day, but he firmly believes in anniversaries (so I forgive him :)). 

Supplies

Cardstock

Embellishments: Jenny Bowlin Studio (butterflies, calendar), Provo Craft embossing folder, bling

and


welcome baby Makayla. She arrived two weeks ago.

Supplies

Cardstock

Ink: Memento in Black Tuxedo

Stamp: Hero Arts

Embellishments: COPIC markers, pearls, MS Punches

Have a fantastic weekend!

Truly Grateful

I was recently so profoundly grateful to an entire office having helped me out that I decided to make a Thank You note and present the staff at the office with an Edible Arrangement. I wasn't sure which way to go with the card, until last night I thought of this:

Supplies:

Stamps: Hero Arts

Ink: Memento in Cottage Ivy

Embellishments: Prima Flowers, MS Punch, pearls

I love Prima flowers so much and here I really could use them profusely :)! Now I'm yearning to do more with them. They're just so lovely.

Have a splendid night!

Ready for spring

...yes, I am...ready! Done with snow and cold and ice...So I couldn't wait to move away from the snowflakes and penguins and icicles that were on my mind for the last couple of months and break out the fun, spring-y looking stuff.

As always, I have at least 3 or 4 cards waiting to be made and sent to dear friends. This here is no exception. What started innocently as a card for a baby girl (and got thoroughly messed up), got recovered by yours truly in a true scrapbooking fashion to become a different card entirely.

Penny Black stamps are turning out to be a huge favorite and are featured here.

 Supplies

 Cardstock: K&C Company, COPIC

Embellishments: MS border punch, EK Success border punch, stapler, Hero Arts stamps, Penny Black Mimi & friend stamp, COPIC markers, doodlebug inc button

Stay warm!

It's been ages...

It's been so very long that I've updated my blog, created a card or even thought about any of it. 'Tis the season for germs and my family's been dealing with more than our fair share. We're slowly getting back to normal and I notice I'm longing for my blog and my pretty papers. So, I'm back!

Below is a card I've created a while ago for a brand new little girl. Welcome baby Lydia!! Didn't post it then, as I wanted to surprise the parents. Here we go, though:

Supplies

Cardstock: DCWV

Stamp: Hero Arts

Embellishments: COPIC markers, BG Olivia felt flowers, pearls, Martha Stewart border punch

Have a great night!