First 2 of 4

We have 4 birthdays in March. I like to wait until I actually get them in the mail before I post them. I have got to tell you, I am getting much better at making custom envelopes! At least the people at the post office think so! This card is for my older son. It is a milestone birthday for him, but I kind of liked this image for him - actually, I think it is my favorite Edwin. I am super afraid of chickens, but I fell in love with these three (2 on the front and 1 on the inside). They are Bildmalarna, I think. Of course Edwin is Magnolia. I kind of sketched in the hay bales and then colored them.

I went easy on the stickles - only the "golden" egg and the chickens combs are glittery! Aren't they just the cutest? I have recently purchased a lattice die for my cuttlebug - it didn't cut well, but I love the idea so you get to see the part that it did cut! Guy card = button instead of flower. Liked that little rubbery button that says you're the best. I used a dashed line punch and threaded the twine through. I like the different look. This card is on red cardstock. Amy R of Prairie Paper and Ink does a lot of videos and she has shown me over and over to cut some extra pieces of dp when I am making the card front. These will be used to decorate the inside of the card. Life has become a lot easier since I do that! Not only, but the inside of the card isn't hard to make anymore and it actually makes sense!   What do you think?

The copics I used on this card are: E00, E11, E51, E53, E57, E59, E18, R20, R22, R27, R29, BG000, BG01, BG05, Y21, Y26, YR23.

This next card is for one of the younger grandsons. Actually this one is nine.

I couldn't believe my luck when I found that ribbon in my stash! And that paper, too! How perfect that was for this image! I used my stamp-a-ma-jig to lay out the scene and paper pieced the clouds. If you go ahead and stamp them first you will have that nice black edge even if you accidentally cut some of it off when cutting out the pieces! (Thank you Kristina Werner!) I used a few Tim Holtz distress inks on the inside. They really do match the dp! I recently bought a Tim Holtz die that cuts a bunch of different tags all at the same time. Just had to give it a shot, and found a stamp with a cute sentiment that fit on one of the tags. See what I mean about the inside? It looked ok just plain, but I love to ink anything I can! So here are the copics I used on this card: E51, E57, E18, E53, E00, E11, E59, C2, C3, C5, C7, R20, R27, R29, R14, YR23, Y21, Y26, BG09, BG05, BG01, YG23, YG13, YG09, YG17.

I don't usually post two cards at the same time, but it has been quite awhile and since they are both done ---. Sure hope you all enjoy them. Please leave me a comment! I just love hearing from you! The next two cards are for women, so they will be (hopefully) more frilly. I love frilly, I just don't make mine real fussy. I just might though this time! Stay tuned! Hugs to you all, Barb F



Stamp Set

Just a quick one - the banner stamp is from My Little Shoebox "Audrey".

Get Well

Get well cards are really not easy for me to do. I do have this cute CC image (I abbreviated this when I first got them so I am not sure if that is the name or not). We have a nurse in the family so I thought I would get more use out of it than I have. I really like it though. I get mentally challenged when my space area is so small. I am hoping for normal postage on this one, but I won't know for sure until I go to the post office. On the inside I did a Kristina Werner technique with that banner. I just love that stamp. Will look up the maker if you ask me. Anyhow the white flowers are done with that pentel white pen. I love it much more than the unibal or inksential. It really flows!

 I think maybe I photographed this with a tad too much light. But that is a better alternative than too dark. The copics I used are: E00, E11, E31, E33, E35, E37, E29, YR23, B00, R14, R17, R20. Somehow I folded the card a bit off, so I used a decorative punch on the top edge. This card is an odd shade of red but the R14 is really similar to it. I have a real affinity to those edge punches! I love lace. I am seriously thinking of using some of my lace stash in my cards! That is one way to get rid of it. I am surely not going to be doing anymore fancy sewing! I sewed for my kids and my grandkids. I am done! Of course we still have little ones coming all the time, but the granddaughters I am talking about are over 20. I would so much rather use that lace than have it sit in the closet. I think the tombow mono multi glue will be the adhesive I choose, or else score tape. 

The inside of my card is a reflection of the outside ( Amy R technique). Actually if it weren't for her, the inside would

more often than not be just my handwriting! This banner stamp is stamped on the card and also stamped on paper that I colored.  The greeting is a clear stamp which I stamped part on the top of the banner and the rest on the bottom of it. Then I cut only the banner out  - This is such a great technique as you can be as sloppy as you like when you are coloring - you are cutting it out! The white pen does the flowers on the original. I believe I will leave the butterflies alone next time. I don't really care for the gold pen I used. Then you adhere the banner onto the paper - if you cut a little of the black off, its no big deal as its perfect on the paper! I did use my stamp-a-ma-jig to place it on my card otherwise it would have been a major guess and that's too much work for a guess! The colors in the banner match the blue dotted paper on the front.  Hope you like this one.
I have been working on scrapbooking photos from a trip to Hawaii a few years ago. The book I found here to use is 8 x 8. Boy does that limit what you can do! It took me hours to get the first page done and then it only has one photo on it. Not my idea of fun! Then all of a sudden I got inspired last night and zippo - I managed 5 pages! I think I have found the secret for me with these albums. If I have a lot of photos to get into the book and lots of things I want to say, then I should probably forget all the extra creative stuff  as there really isn't going to be enough room anyhow! I tend to pick the small albums for our trips. It seems to take less room to store them than the big ones. So I cut a single piece of cardstock 8 x 8, place my photos (group them by activity - if too many for one page, do a double page layout), make sure I have room for my journalling ( this time I am using little homemade tags with a little ribbon on one end - if my room is scant, I can move them as they pivot from a brad) and then see if I have room to "decorate" the page! Also before I started this time, I wrote out my journalling for each group of photos in a little dollar book I picked up. It goes together much easier when all the big thinking is done before you start!!! Hugs to you all, March is a real busy month, so there should be lots to see here! Look at the counter! Almost 20,000!!! Wow!! Thanks to you all for making this such an exciting venture! Hugs again, Barb F

Card Set - another

Thanks for the super response to my Valentine card! The gal I made this set for has a passion for cameras and I had remembered seeing a "camera" paper last time I went through the stash! I cut out 6 cameras - all different. She also likes the color blue. Cut out the spellbinders background - some are facing vertical, some horizontal - depends on the camera image. I have a cuttlebug embossing folder with dots. They are raised (just in case you are like I am and get confused which way is which as you know it depends on which side of the card you are talking about!!). I used Tim Holtz' broken china distress sponged lightly over the background, so now the dots show up. Made little banners for the message and the stamp set is Hero Arts All Occasion Messages. Tied a white ribbon around each one and do you see the little bird on the envelope? Well, he is stamped on the inside facing where you would write. The blue rectangle is the one piece box. Tied it all up with the same white ribbon and sent it off. When I make this for an older person, I will include a sympathy card but hopefully this gal won't need one for a long time.  This set was fun to make and didn't take very long. I am getting more streamlined!!
Had a little time to take care of a small box of stamps. I bought them from a friend last summer and have been shuffling them around out of my way every since. Not good! I figured that since they were wood mounted, I would make them into stuff I could use my acrylic blocks with. There is some stuff out there called amazing tape (they have their own web site). I managed to get a couple of stamps off the blocks - didn't want to put them in my microwave as I use it for food. I used a good liquid glue to hold the tape to the back of the stamp. They do work BUT I lost a few stamps completely as they tore - they are really old. Then decided that it just wasn't worth the trouble. I brought out a clear box to store them in, stamped them into my book, numbered them and put them away. They are off the floor!!!! So what is my storage? I did a post once before. The biggest part of organizing is realizing the categories that mean something to you, and limiting them to a manageable few.

So Step 1 - come up with your category list
Mine is: backgrounds and scene elements (1), fruit, veggies and flowers and trees (2), words (3), people(4), vehicles (5), xmas, holidays (6).
Step 2 - Numbering system - careful as you don't want to change this after you start.
I numbered my wood stamps (they are stored together) 1- up to but not including 500. The cling stamps and clear stamps were and are stored in notebooks. I started them at 500 . Then I had stamp sets that I put in plastic photo boxes in a closet and named the larger box and numbered the little plastic boxes it held. This one was confusing and I was always looking through the little boxes for what I wanted to use. The notebooks got jammed and I found I was stamping much less. I now have a storage in a plastic, rolling file case. It uses hanging folders to hold several page protectors each. Now here is the tricky part - explaining the page protectors. Anyhow getting back to numbering, I add a BA (for basket) to each page protector number. That lets me know when I am in the reference book, where to find the stamp. Ok so to clear this up a little, you want your numbering system to not only give a specific name to a stamp but to also clue you in to where you have it stored! Not everyone has enough room in one place to put all of their stamps.


Step 3 -How I do cling/clear stamps - you will need laminating sheets. They need to be large enough to  cover an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of cardstock. You do not need a laminator to use the sheets. You should use the cheaper cardstock for this. I am still using the staples ones that I bought forever ago - I use them for almost everything! Your big choice here is in how you adhere the laminated sheet to the cardstock. You can actually peel the back off and stick it to the cardstock and then trim the excess off or you can use your tape runner and stick the printed side to your cardstock and then trim. Now you have a plain cardstock face and a laminated one. Your stamps will stick to the laminated side, you will stamp the stamp on the plain side and in your book at the same time, You will number your laminated sheet - like 9BA. You also have the option of making (this one is a good choice) your sheet in one category. For example - all the stamps you have stamped and stored on this one laminated sheet are people. When you are done, slide the sheet into a page protector to help hold the stamps in place. Make a copy of this sheet on your printer and its ready to file in your main book under that category - be sure to label that protector before you make the copy. It saves you from stamping in your book.

stamps on laminated sheet                 back of laminated sheet                 stamped individually in book

The upper photo shows a copy in the book (see how much easier this is?) and the bottom photo shows the bin. Hopefully this all makes sense now? So when I want to make something and I have an idea what I want to stamp, I can leaf through my book and gather stamps up as I come across them. The wood stamps are numbered as is the big plastic boxes they are in. I like this one above as the best! I find more and more, I am going to the stamps stored here. I have 4 more little boxes to move out of my closet into this one. I may have to get a second bin. But when I don't have any idea at all, my notebook is my salvation!!  Just looking at all my stamps gets my creative stuff going!! Hugs to you all, Barb F

Early Valentine

This one is for my real Valentine! Now, as you all know, I am not a professional and I do NOT have any connections to anyone in the business of cardmaking or scrapbooking. Since I recently got a bunch of new followers, I thought I would restate that. With that said, I recently took a Clean and Simple class online. One of the contributors was Kristina Werner. About that time, she had put together a card kit for Simon Says Stamp. I just had to buy it! There is a kit every month by her or a subscription where the cost is a little less. One of the reasons, other than the fact that I knew I would love whatever she put together, was that a winter set of Tim Holtz' distress inks was included! I don't know about the March kit as I have so much stuff that I am trying not to buy more just now!! This card was made from that kit. I know she gathered lots of really neat stuff for this kit and I was dying to get into it. She also included an 8 1/2 x 11 photo sheet of cards made with this kit! So mostly the front of my card is her doing. A few of my own touches, but I just love the stuff this gal does!! The inside of the card is  an older Tilda that I just adore. It used to be much harder for me to color her hair, but I guess that old adage about practice is true! I punched out a few little hearts and glued them on. That part of the stamp never seems to stamp perfectly and I thought this was a better solution than masking out the ones that don't stamp as nicely as I want them to.
I did something very new to me, I cut out the spellbinder's die and THEN stamped and colored it! That tiny little stamp is from a set from Stampingscrapping.com. It is to go with a spellbinders label set. It is also one of the first stamp sets I ever bought!! Now you know I had only been scrapping for a year at the most before I started my blog. For those of you interested in my stamp storage - hang in there. I have to find time to try unmounting my stamps before I can pass it on. Need to find a little more time.
So here is the card!

This is the front. Behind that cute tag is a single sheet of cardstock! Told you it was a cool kit! The tag is made entirely from  pieces in the kit except for the eyelet and my punched, raised heart (which has stickles - just couldn't stand it, went through stickles withdrawl!!). This tag was shown on that example sheet and I just adore it! Thought the edge of the card needed a little something, so I punched the lacy edge.

I used the spellbinders dies to cut these. My Tilda is copic colored with:R20, R59, R27, E00, E11, E18, E37, E35, E33, E31, Y21, Y26, Y28, YR20, YR23. I used dimensionals to hold up Tilda and there are stickles on the punched hearts as well as a little bit in her basket. I also stickled her wings. I love how she came out. If you want to do a comparison, she is in my banner. I colored the stuff in the banner when I first started coloring!! Hope you enjoy this and a Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!! Hugs, Barb F

February boy

Seems like I can't get away without making a scene fairly often! I had such fun making this one! First of all, I knew I would get to use my copics and then secondly, it is always a little bit of a challenge to come up with something cute.I am hoping you think I managed both! I know the owl is a bit large, but I love that guy - he has google eyes by the way! I stamped the fishing one letter at a time. I am pretty pleased with the way it came out. Those clouds are a single cloud stamp. I finally broke down and bought a cloud! Its a whole lot easier than drawing them!! At least for me. The message "Fishing you    Happy Birthday" got in my head and I just had to find something to use it on!! I thought it was just too cute and you know how that is! The fish, bobber and Edwin's wings are Spica pen so they are glittery in the right light. I did the water with zigzag strokes of copics - used three different colors. There are two colors in the grass. And then used the spica to make some waves. I really liked the way it came out. Actually it was a supreme accident! So was the ribbon borders and I know I will do them again. The inside is heat embossed with white embossing powder.

Originally I was going to paper piece the balloons, but ended up liking them way too much and just left them alone. Of course I use a stamp-a-ma-jig to layout my scenes. I am really getting much better at actually using it for more things - like placing letters. It sure makes life much easier and doesn't take much time at all. So here are the copics I used: Y21,Y26, Y28, Y17, B91, B93, B97, YR23, Y08, B00, B0000, E25, E00, E11, E37, E29, E18, E33, E31, E35, E41, E21, R20, YG03, YG63, YG67, YG11, SPICA 03, 00, 11, 18. Sure seems like a lot of colors when you look at the picture! I imagine everyone is as excited about seeing all the new products being released at CHA as I am! So far there is only one thing I just have to have no matter what - that is at least one of the new distress markers from Tim Holtz! I finally have almost all my stamps organized so its going to take something beyond beyond for me to buy more before I am completely done.

My biggest and best suggestion is no matter how you store your stamps, you really should make a category divided notebook of each stamp. My categories include: people, flowers and vegetables, background stamps, scene items, words, vehicles. I stamp every stamp into that notebook (it is looseleaf and really not neat at all!) and then near that image I tell where it is stored. I have my wooden ones in huge boxes (2 rows high), my cling and clear stamps take a bit more explaination - I will take some photos and post my way of storage shortly. I look through my notebook and decide what I am doing. Then I go get the stamps and voila! If I am not sure of the size, I can measure the image in my book. Since I redid the cling, I have pretty much decided to unmount my wood stamps and store them like the other ones. I find I go to the cling/clear first because its so easy to find them and put them back.

Please leave me a comment and tell me if you think I am improving. I am really wanting to streamline my processes so I hope I haven't lost any quality. What do you think? Hugs to you all, Barb F

Card Sets

First of all the link in my last post was wrong.  I corrected it just now so if you try it again you will get instructions on making this neat one piece box. It is the perfect size to hold six cards with some embellishment and not cramp them. Here are two sets I made last night. One is for my daughter who is ill again. Thought it would cheer her up and both sets took less time to make than a card! This can't get any more simple! Someone emailed me to ask me to elaborate on the class I just took. Thought I would wait until Sunday but found I had a little time today. So here goes:

When you take a class, you really should remember that all the instruction you receive is private and there is a limit on how you share. The class is actually available to take, just not the prize part. And you know, nobody takes a class just for the prize part, since very few people actually win one! But there were some basic things that "everyone" knows somewhere just forgot about. Those things I could share. So I decided that I will share with you how to make this card set. It is entirely my design, came from my thoughts, not something I actually learned in this class but maybe. I know that doesn't make much sense so I am going to stop rambling and tell you how to make this little set. You will need one of those one piece boxes I got on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=FLeSul16EiTbFGZtJV3FdTBw&v=xsWsD5Dhj5E&feature=player_detailpage
Let's hope this is the correct link. Just in case, it is called "greeting card box" and is done by Jacque1263.
Next I cut 8 1/2 x 11 pieces of neutral cardstock down the center making two 4 1/4 x 11 pieces from each. Fold the 11 side in half (5 1/2) and you have a standard a2 size card. Next pick out a big background stamp from your stash. I didn't want to cover the entire background of my card, so I turned the stamp sideways. They are stamped with shadow inks from Hero Arts. I use the light colors a lot for subtle backgrounds. By turning your stamp, it lets you lay your card down and use the same part of the stamp and not have to measure! Then I stamped my sentiments using dye ink as it cleans up so easily with water. Some people use the same sentiment more than once in a set. I didn't. Just because I am realizing I have a bazillion stamps I forgot about. (That topic is for another long post). I punched out a bunch of tiny butterflies. The ones on set 1 were colored with copics rather quickly. They are from a stamp/die set from Hero Arts. I am going to start charging them!!!! Hahaha!! It is a new product and I love it. However, it was taking way too much time, so I switched to the butterfly punch and used some of my precious paper!!
Next I tied the ribbons. By doing two sets at the same time, you end up saving a lot of it!! Time, that is! Then you glue on the butterflies. I used glue dots, but there are lots of glues you could have used. Then on set 2, you will notice one of the cards has double butterflies. The pattern ones seemed to get lost, so I took them off and layered them with a solid color so they would be noticeable. I got braver on my paper selection for card set 2 box and love how it came out. Since these were quickies, I just didn't decorate the boxes. I do try to make my ribbons on boxes removeable without untying them.
I hope my directions were clear as this really is a quick way to make a card. I think they are pretty and believe it or not, there are no stickles anywhere and no roses and they would send individually through the mail at a normal postage rate (which just went up)!! I am getting tired of spending $2 or so to send a card that takes me forever to make. So the "fancy" ones are now just for family and super close friends! Hugs to you all, Barb F

January birthday and more

Herre is a new birthday card - I am sure you will see that the card class I took did have an effect. I love the way this card came out and it is actually missing some of my usual components. Guess I am finally learning when to stop?!!
And this is the inside. The cupcake and the "sweet thing" are from a cling set. And on the inside, I stamped the flaming candles over the ones on the cake. The cardstock is a fairly bright yellow, so the colors aren't quite as bright as in real life. I also did something a little different with the ribbon on the front.  Here are the copics I used: E00. E11, E43, E47, E33, E35, E37, E21, YG11, YG13, YG17, R20, RV21, RV23, RV29, Y08, C1, C2. I wrote over the sweet with a copic.  I was floundering around on youtube and an inspiration hit me - wouldn't a card set be a neat thing to send along with this card? It's for a granddaughter. So I searched for an a2 sized box and here is the link for this fab box!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=FLeSul16EiTbFGZtJV3FdTBw&v=xsWsD5Dhj5E&feature=player_detailpage
Sorry the link I posted was not the one I wanted! Just fixed it!

The box is made from a 12 x 12 piece of cardstock or heavier paper. It is one piece and just so neat!

I decorated the outside of the box and tied it with a ribbon that isn't too tight to slip on and off without untying. I took a photo of the cards in the box. If you are going for no raised embellishments, I am sure you can get 8 plus envelopes into the box. I made a nice even 6 . I started making them basically the same but got quickly bored, so they aren't! None of them are copic colored. I used mostly dye ink as the clean up is a snap! Next time I will make a card that I can replicate without it bothering me. It is such a nice little gift. Hope she likes it! Of course I am sending a check along also!!

I used the little memento inks since I have a whole lot of colors, I was able to do each card in its own color. I also added a little touch to each envelope to make little sets. Give this little box a try. It's really amazing that I made two and they both held the cards and both closed! Hugs to you all! Barb F

Fun Technique

This card is stamped and white heat embossed. You then color it with Prismacolor colored pencils. It really was fun and I just love how pretty it comes out! You saw a similar uncolored version of this card that I used for a condolence card. The stamp is probably my all time fav - a rubber, wood-mounted Hero arts stamp. This card is a standard A2 so that should give you an idea of size. I thought the bow a nice touch but it really isn't necessary. My lovely class is over except for the wrapup on Monday. I am sure going to  miss it. I am working on my next birthday card and it has a Magnolia image on it. Hugs to you all, Barb F

Very Productive Night

Couldn't sleep last night, so got up and made a card. This one is a super neat technique! The "blossom" is made from folded small circles! I just love it and of course it was just a little too simple for me, so I stamped the background and added a tiny bow. Just had to add more! OK!! I learned something really important also that I thought I would pass along - most of the background stamps (the big ones) seem to allow for a 1/4" border all around the image. Hero Arts border stamps actually cover 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. So it was by accident that I realized this last night. If you are wanting your background to cover the whole card you have a choice, you can cut the card down or have a border. Or use Hero Arts. I am not sure all the stamps are like that, so measure them before you use them and get disappointed. We had another condolence card I had to make in a hurry and Jennifer McGuire's latest proved to be a really pretty card. I will be posting a colored one soon. She showed the stamping on black with white ink and then coloring the image. It is knockout! I thought when I first stamped this that it was perfect for my condolence card as it and used Gina K's method of gold embossing the edges to make it a little more elegant. So here are both cards!

This one has a hole cut in the front and a dashed line around the opening done with colored ink.

Don't think the gold embossing is showing too well. The color is really all off, but the photo is clear. This backgound is BLACK!, the image is stamped in WHITE and the edges are GOLD!! I thought it came out really nice and can't rephoto it as its already in the mail! Let me know which you like best! Hugs to you all, Barb F

Day 5 stuff Clean & Simple

For anyone who is taking this class, you knew I would do this technique! It is a wet distress ink. You actually wet the distress with pearl water before you put it on. Wonderful!! Jennifer McGuire of course!!! She is about the best in my opinion. So without anymore teases, here are two takes on the same technique.

This one with the white border is already in the mail as a condolence card. It is a separate piece as I wanted my edges to be defined. So I inked them. On the blue one, my image wasn't very visible, so I lightly inked over it with vintage photo. My message stamp is not in the best condition which accounts for its unreadability. This one is really shiny and I just love it! The first one was my first choice for that condolence card. I think it looked more professional. Oh well, we know its not! Love, love this technique. I will surely use it again! Hugs to you all, Barb F

Wow! Lots to see!

So I have 2 clean and simple cards and 1 birthday card for you today. I have been busy!

I cut the letters on my cuttlebug - that is a first for me. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the cricut is a lot easier! Used that mono stuff glue and its wonderful. It has a green and white bottle. I glued the letters onto a piece of vellum and cut it fairly close to the letters. The background is a butterfly punch. Inked the edges with the fall purple distress ink. Perfect color! The tiny butterfly is also a punch. It looked odd to me, so I added the stickles. I like it now! Had to add them to the little butterfly so you could see it!

This one was so much fun! Cut the postage stamp edge with an edge punch. Made the tiny envelope on the cricut. The tiny heart is again the center of my double heart punch. The post card stamp is  stamped in a dark brown memento ink. Then I masked the image and stamped the background with a words stamp (I think it might be in French) with Hero arts light brown shadow ink. This is on an ecru cardstock. The edge was lost, so I masked a straight line on the inside of the card and sponged on the darker ink. Love how it came out! The message is "what lovely news" and from Gina K.

This one is on Kraft cardstock. I stamped various little kitchen stamps on the background with that same brown memento ink. Dragged out my corner frame punch for the frame for my little picture.  The copics I used are: Y21, Y28, Y26, E00, E11, R20, YR23, E25, B91, B93, B95, C1, C2, C3, G21 and Spica colors: 21, 09, 00. It felt so wonderful to put a ribbon on a card! And flowers and stickles and little gems (they are in the corners of the frame).  The gal this is for just redid her kitchen, so I kind of thought it appropriate for her.  And here is the inside.

The color didn't photograph well as it is the same as the outside! I used Tim Holtz paper for the calendar and frame around it.The little tag is colored with the spica pens, and her name is on the reverse side. It is tied with brown and white bakers twine. The Happy Birthday is heat embossed white. Don't know why it photographed so poorly. I stamped the inside to match the outside with the kitchen things. This is also the first time I tried the new copics paper! Got to say, it was much easier to color on. It blended much easier, was a whole lot easier to stay inside of the lines also. It is wonderfully smooth to the touch. I think that when I got into digital stamping and had so much trouble finding the right combo for me so the copics wouldn't run, that it was really a good thing. I colored on Staples cardstock. It was tricky, but I kept at it. I really learned a lot about how I color. There is a paper out there for everyone. We all color differently - some of us have a light touch (I think you have to learn this one) and some of us put way too much ink down and then have to fix it. Like everything, you have to be better at fixing than doing!! Practice, but do fix as that is when you really learn. Hope you all like what I am doing. I am loving this Clean and Simple class! Hugs to you all, please leave me a comment so I know whether you like my stuff or not!! Barb F

C&S Day 3 and a little explaination

This one is supposed to have been done using the same cardstock for the raised cutouts. I really didn't like that look so I changed it a bit. Cut these out on the cricut. The tiny hearts (light colored) are the centers from a double heart punch. Found a tiny clear heart stamp in my collection but it had a border around it. I decided I hadn't ever used it with the border, so I cut the border off! The background stamping was an accident and really not part of this card. I stamped my happy (heart) day stamp and it was a bit crooked. Well, there is always the saving fact that you can make a backgound from anything! So I did. I sprayed the whole thing with a perfect pearls mist and let it dry. I can't believe I chose pink for this, but after putting all those hearts on it , it was a good choice!
Now to give you some explaination. I didn't know I could write anything about my clean and simple cards. Found out quite by accident looking at other people's blogs that they did, so I guess I could.  I was dying to tell you about how I chose to do what I did on the other Clean and Simple cards. If you are interested, I am about to edit the last couple of posts with that info so it is close to the card I am talking about. That way if you want to try , you will have it together. Hugs to you all, Barb F

Clean & Simple day 2

Loved making this one with that Tim Holtz die! (my idea of course)
This one started with a sprayed background. You mask off the border so it doesn't get sprayed. I used a very shiny one whose name escapes me. While it was dying, I cut the border die and colored it with the foam tool from Tim Holtz using the distress inks. The message is Gina K and it is raised. That paper under the town is supposed to be like a map. The color was really wrong, so I colored it with distress ink. I can see from the photo, that it really isn't the best match but it does "go". It is also too wide vertically and detracts from the town. I love how the background comes through the die cut and you can bet I will be doing this technique again! I do love that die. Hugs, Barb F

Clean and Simple Day 1 - 2 more

Loved this one! Just my take on the card. This card was done using the "rest" of the cricut cut word thinking. The rest of the cut were the words "of you" I colored the whole thing with copics. This was fun on the thinking part since I don't very often use the broad end of the marker. I found a tiny open heart button in my stash and filled it with stickles! You knew that was coming when you saw the bow!!! I adore this card and will probably be making more.

Very clean and simple and I love this one, too! After hunting through my book, I found these gorgeous hibiscus' They are from 2 different companies but both were rubber stamps. Don't know about the companies of any of these, but love all of them. This card took a couple of minutes once I found the stamps. When this class is over, I will try to do a post on how I am now doing all of my stamps - even digital. Hugs all around, Barb F

Clean & Simple 1

I enrolled in an online class called Clean & Simple cards. So I promised myself that I would really participate and put my cards up as I did them. I am slightly behind, since this is my version of the first card and they are on day 4! There is more than one card per day so that gives you an idea! This one is supposed to have white dashed lines where the stickles line is. Mine was so crooked, that I realized I should have used a ruler! And since I didn't - well, you know, stickles fixes everything and it also looks more like something I would make! But look - no ribbon or flowers! Hope you like it. I did put some info in the sidebar. Hugs to you all, Barb F
So here is my edit - the center of the card is masked off before you stamp. So I was limited to whatever big stamps I had besides the greeting. I cut a few of the clocks out to use as my embellishment. They were a little too large to sit horizontally above my greeting, so I placed them on an angle. Hey, whatever works!

Happy 2012!!

I wish you all a wonderful 2012! Here is a birthday card actually for a late December birthday. It is for a very dear friend who reads a whole lot. So as needlework is my other passion, I made her a corner bookmark. It sits on the corner of a page to mark your place. I know, most of us have given up the ghost and gone electronic, but since she hasn't - she gets a neat gift!

That text is a page from a junk book that has been crumbled and inked with distress ink. As you all know, if a card is for a female, it has to have a bow and flowers! They all have to have glitter! I must keep Ranger in business with all the Stickles I use. Its on the flowers, her barrette, the cup, her top and around the oval. I found I needed those little pearls on this one. This is a Bildmalarna image. The copics are: E00, E11, E33, R20, R81, R85, Y28, Y21, Y11, Y15, YR31, YR20, G21, G28, G99, C2, C3.

The message is from Gina K's group. I am loving how the insides of my cards are coming out now. How about you?  And here is the little needle work thing. It fits inside of the card - how convenient that was!
So right after Christmas, I treated myself to Tim Holtz's new pinecone die. I just fell in love with it! I also love the leaves it makes. Of course I just had to make some and then didn't know what to do with them. I also bought the paint dabber from him - its name escapes me right now but its something like snow cap. It amazed the heck out of me how white it stays after it dries! The blue wreath part is a spellbinder's die and the white embossing is from a matching stamp set by Cindy from Stampingscrapping.com. I fell in love with that set and ordered it about the same time as the pinecone. It took me 3 days to get my desk cleaned off so I could do stuff in my scrap room! I will post what I did with the twinking h2o's that I bought months ago and just finally got up enough courage to try them. I am loving the result!

Sorry, the image just won't go in straight, no matter what I do. So pretend the pinecones are on the top!
If you are looking for stuff for Valentine's day, run on over the Simonsaysstamp.com. They are putting out a kit (could be monthly, but for now, I just ordered Feb.) from Kristina Werner. And if you order the Feb. kit you also get the Winter Tim Holtz inks! Don't know how long that will last, but I got them! Its a beautiful kit also!! Hugs, Barb F

Christmas Birthday

Hope you all had a marvelous holiday! Here is a birthday card for one of my family in December. I can guarantee this will be my last post for 2011! I am showing you the inside of the card as well.

 After I kind of laid the card out, I thought, I wonder if I put buttons on that red cardstock strip? So it kind of looks like a car on the left! I love this paper pad but sure don't know which one it is! Sorry. I finally bought some twine looking stuff - its actually that sew easy stuff and I got 3 colors on a spool. I did the stickles very differently and like how unusual it is. There are also some stickles on the colored part. The background layering paper is black which is probably a first for me. I just don't think of black as a color! (It is, though).

I actually kept track of the copics! Hope you like the card as much as he did! copics: E00, E11, E31, E33, E35, E37, E29, R20, R59, C1, C3, C5, C7, C9, BG72, Y38. The sentiments are from Gina K. I found those cute car brads in my stash! I adore the buildings paper. Kind of thought it looks like a scene the way I laid it out? Of course that is Tim Holtz' distress ink around the edges.

Before I forget - I recently bought a Tim Holtz paint dauber - snow cap. I love that it stays a nice white unless you spread it really thin, then it mutes the color underneath it. I also bought a picket fence stain. (That also comes in a dauber like bottle). Loved both. I learned though that it does dry pretty fast! I kept waiting for it to dry as they were both so vivid! I also bought Tim Holtz' pine cone die and made a few pinecones! Love how that came out. Probably will show you in my next post. Found a youtube video on Cricut mat/book storage. She used a photo box (who doesn't have at least one empty one floating around?), the large index cards (think they are 5 x 7). You place the mat next to the book, write the title on the index card, file them alphabetically so you can find them again! -that is the real reason to organize. I also spent some time on my distress inks. I have bought at least 6 since the fall and I will take a photo and show you later. There are lots of ways of doing the inks, I use them in almost everything I do, so they need to be easily accessible without being "out". There is only so much room to put things out. So Happy New Year to you all!!!!! Lots of hugs and best wishes to everyone!! Please leave me a comment, so I start the new year all happy!! Barb F

As promised!! Happy Holidays!!

Hope you enjoy these!! I have to say I am very sorry that I forgot to take photos of the rest of them!! I managed to get myself into a state since I usually mail these out a lot earlier in December.  I put two on each sheet so they wouldn't take up a whole lot of room. Happy Holidays to all of you and a wonderful New Year!! Hugs to you all, Barb F

A Head's Up and special surprise

I have been working diligently on Christmas cards - there will be a few Chanukah cards also. I decided that I will photo all of them and do one huge post. I am not going to post that particular post to all of the groups I belong to. That is a special surprise just for you guys, my followers! It's my holiday gift to all of you. So far I have made all of 9 - I know, what happened to me? I have been following Tim Holtz's blog and his 12 tags of Christmas. Such wonderful ideas!! You will see some of the techniques on my cards as I am a real Tim Holtz fan - you can tell by the ink on my fingers! So be patient with me as I need to make lots more cards so I can get them in the mail. I came up with a kind of sketch idea that seems to work wonders at taking the hard out of the whole thing. I am just thinking present. You know, like gift? Wrapped with ribbon? You will see that they all have that theme. I have been watching videos on youtube as usual. Look up prairiepaperandink . The insides of my cards now make sense and are much nicer than last years groups! If you leave her a comment, be sure to tell her where you heard about her. She is wonderful!! So hopefully you will get to see this huge batch of cards before Christmas!! Hugs to all of you!! Barb F