LouElle's Cottage

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T05:57:00.000-08:00

I like to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas

I am sorry that it has been so quiet on my blog all year. I really do appreciate that some of you still drop by even though I never post anything anymore. Several cards have been started but never finished. I always get to a point were I can't make a decision which additional papers to use, what elements to add, which ones to leave off etc.
Besides cardmaking, I have spent most of my free time doing family genealogy which kept me very busy all year. Last but not least taking care of family and having a full-time very often stressful job.
I still check many of the blogs but I am so sorry that I leave very few comments and we all know how much time it takes. I have taken a few online craft classes and though my crafting is on hold I can't say the same for my shopping.
A few weeks ago I did make a little project and since I cased Christy Tomlinson it came together very quickly and I didn't even need to go out and buy anything. Over the years I have dabbled in so many different medias that I had everything in my stash.
I hope you all have a wonderful time with your families and friends

Alert!!!! Followers Are Gone!!!

2011-07-10T16:42:00.000-07:00

All my followers are gone!!! I was checking my blog and all the sudden the computer was hung up. I tried to exit out of the webpages and it would not let me. All the sudden my computer shut down. When I rebooted my blog came up but I had no followers. I just thought it might be slow loading. It turned out not to be the case. I have checked some of your blogs and I can't see your followers either, who are on Blogger. I have signed into some of your blogs through Google to see if it was only through my blog but still no followers. One of the blogs I checked does not have the followers under Blogger and hers do show up. I hope it is an issue with Blogger, not with me. Good luck to all of us.

You Are The Best

2011-06-05T13:36:00.000-07:00

I have a little something to show today. I am making ribbons for my granddaughters teachers. Today I finished three and I have two more to go.

Dominique wanted to buy an award ribbon at Michael's for one of her teachers but I didn't think the price justified the item. Luckily, Just Rite Stampers came out with the perfect set several weeks later. I saw Mona Pendleton's award ribbons and she sold me. My little attempts are totally cased on her gorgeous creations.

The papers I used are from My Mind's Eye and I darkened some areas with Copic's G000 and G00. The words are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. The bottom layer is cut with Spellbinders Blossom Three, the second layer is a fan fold, the third layer I cut out by hand and the top layer is cut with a SB small circle. I used a cream ribbon from PTI and the green ones are from American Crafts.

The three that I did today are done with the same DP and now I have to figure out what I will use for the other two. This will take forever, since I can't make up my mind. Too much DP, too many choices.

That's all for today. I thank you all for coming by and leaving such sweet comments, which are so much appreciated.

The Best Smile

2011-05-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I tried to do a layout and when I saw this picture on my camera I felt I had to do it. Her happy smile lend itself for a beautiful layout. I just wish I could take good photographs of my projects. It is so much prettier than the picture.

I finally was able to use some of my Websters Pages. Around the edges I stamped the greenish blue paper with a Stempelglede design in Tea Dye and some small butterflies from a PTI set. The large butterflies, the leaves and the label are all cut with Spellbinder dies. The little pearls on the butterfly body are made with a Viva Cream Pearl Pen. The flowers I cut using Magnolia Doohickeys and topped them off with some Prima flowers.

I hope you like my little project and I thank you all for dropping by.

2011-04-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody,
I hope you had a wonderful Easter Holiday. We haven't had real spring weather this year but at least it did not rain on Easter like it did the days prior.

You may have wondered what happened to me but I think everybody is used to my sporadic crafting. Well, I have spend every possible free minute doing my family research for the last few month and have collected a lot of new information.

Since my granddaughters birthdays are coming up I decided to get busy because I want to make each of them a book box card. My first attempt is finished. I can't believe it is done and Dominique's birthday is not until 2 weeks from now.

I have used SU textured CS and the DP is all Basic Grey Lemonade. Most of the edges I distressed with Ranger Distress inks. The doilies are cut with PTI dies and the sentiments are also from PTI. The lacy trim around the box is made with a Magnolia die that I received from my dear friend Christina. Thanks so much Christina, you know, you are the best !!!!!

The image is a Tina Wenke stamp from Stampavie. It is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on Fabriano watercolor paper (THE BEST) and colored with Distress inks. The flowers are from Magnolia, Prima and Wild Orchid and the ribbon is from my stash.

I hope you like my first attempt at a book box card. If nobody will leave a comment, I understand. Between work, family, home and my research I have left very few blog comments but be assured that I am always checking out all your beautiful creations. If you decide to comment, I thank you from the bottom of my heart that you took the time to do so. Happy crafting!!!

Daffodil and Muscari

2011-02-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I am ready for spring!!! The sun is shining and it is 52 degrees outside. A nice little break again until it changes back to winter.

I am working on more Birthday cards and this one is for a February Birthday. The yellow card stock is from SU and the two blue ones are from PTI. The yellow and the blue checked paper are digital ones from Pink Petticoat. I pulled out my Copic's to color my Hanglar Stanglar girl and put her on a oval scalloped Nestie. The ribbon and bow are from PTI and I cut out flags with a PTI die on PTI felt. The initials are stick-on. The middle one is missing because I have to find out what her middle name is. I used white Prima flowers and sprayed them with Lemon Meringue Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. For the leaves I used an MS punch and the other flowers are made with various small flower punches. I have only started on the inside. I am waiting for stamps with nice birthday wishes to see which size labels or Nesties I will have to use.

I have not participated in any challenges so I decided to enter my little card in the lovely hAnglar Only, where the theme is Colors of Spring.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Sarah Kay Birthday

2011-01-29T21:07:00.000-08:00

First, I like to apologize for not leaving comments on your blogs as I usually do. It just seems that the day has only 4 hours anymore, instead of 24. The days just seem to go too fast. Between working, taking care of the house and keeping in contact with family and friends by email there is just enough time to quickly check out every bodies wonderful creations.

I made this card last weekend for a friend, who's birthday was last Monday and I haven't been able to create anything new this weekend because I was preparing to send a lot of genealogy information to a lady that just started out researching her family. Genealogy is my other obsession. At least I don't have to spend the money like I do for my craft stuff, just hours of research on the computer.

Now a bit about the card. She likes red and black but I had to add some white and gold. The red CS is my favorite red from SU and the white and gold is from a MS Christmas collection. The circles were cut and embossed with the round nestabilities and the hearts cut with PTI heart dies and PTI felt. The butterflies are made with MS punches and I added some pearly accents with Liquid Pearls. The cute Sarah Kay image is colored with Prisma Pencils. Ohhhh... and the ribbon is from my stash.

The inside is pretty simple. I just continued with the same theme, circles and hearts. I hope you like my little creation.

This week I received a few of the new LOTV stamps and a new watercolor paper that I like to try out and hopefully soon I will have a new birthday card to show.

Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving me a comment, if you like. Again, I want to apologize for not leaving my usual comments.

Get Well Soon

2011-01-22T22:40:00.000-08:00

Today I made a Get Well card for a friend of mine, who is recovering from back surgery. She is doing well and is able to sit at her computer again, after having had a very short recovery period. I am so glad to hear some good news, because this past year brought a lot of sad news for friends and co-workers and it is continuing into the new year.

We are having springlike weather and I think that has influenced me to choose these soft colored papers from Pink Petticoat. As usual my pictures do not show the true colors, which are actually a bit brighter.

For the first time ever I have used doilies, which I originally had bought for placing homemade cookies, chocolates and such on top. I also used the Fleur de Lis Pendants and the Peony dies from Spellbinders for the first time, which I have had forever. The couch stamp and the sentiment are from a PTI set. The flowers are a MS punch, retro flower punch and another little punch from my stash. The flowers I believe are Prima and I used a MS punch for the leaves.

On the inside I again used the same DP and punches. I don't think I have ever used so many dies on one card. It sure took a long time getting them all cut out.

I hope you like my little creation and I thank you all for dropping by.

Stempelglede Birthday Card

2011-01-17T17:05:00.000-08:00

I have seen such beautiful creations this year and as always I have been so behind. Maybe if I would not spend as much time checking out everybodies blog I may be creating more.
There were at least 2 weeks that I wasn't able to craft. On the eve of Christmas Day my right hand swelled up and the pain was unbearable. Sunday I went to a clinic and the next day to my GP. On the 24th I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. At this time I don't have a diagnoses but I hope after he runs his tests I'll find out what is wrong. My middle finger is still numb but I at least can use my hand.

I finally finished my first birthday card for this year. I used a stamp from the Stempelglede set that I received from my good friend Christina for Christmas. Love those Stempelglede flourishes but I forgot to add them to this card...grrr.
The image is colored with distress inks. I added a lot of glitter to the image. I took a picture where the glitter shows up but the colors of the DP are totally off. The papers are all digital papers from "Pink Petticoat". The range of colors is amazing. The Fleur de Lis border stamp is from Fiskars. The large flower is from Magnolia but I can't remember if the 2 small ones are from Magnolia or Prima.

On the inside I used the same DP and on one side added a little heart with a ribbon from my stash. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy stamped on PTI Mat Stack 1 die and the flourish is from the PTI Mat Stack 1 stamp collection. The bottom 2 layers are Nestibilities Labels Four.

Thank you everybody for still checking my blog, even though it has been very quiet. I hope to get back into crafting on a more regular basis. All your lovely comments are so much appreciated.

Frohe Weihnachten, Merry Christmas, God Jul, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale

2010-12-24T08:56:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas all around the world.

Another Christmas card to show you. It has been so much fun seeing everybodies beautiful creations.

I am off to do the last of the preparations. Thanks for dropping by at this busy time and I thank you all for your sweet comments.

Oh Tannenbaum

2010-12-23T08:55:00.000-08:00

Before I rush out of the house to do last minute shopping, I thought I show you another quick Christmas card I made yesterday and will deliver today.
I stamped and embossed the tree on cream CS and colored some of the ornaments with MS glue pens. I matted it on gold SU and a wine colored CS. The ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment again from PTI.

On the inside I also used gold and wine CS. The sentiment is also from PTI embossed in gold on a scalloped Nestie. The ornaments are from the PTI set "Christmas Friends".

I hope everybody is further along in their preparations than myself.
Thank you for stopping by and have a great day.

Christmas stair step card

2010-12-22T09:06:00.000-08:00

Today is my first day off from work until Monday. I still have to do a lot to get done for Christmas. Have to go into town and get the last of the presents, start baking, cleaning and also have to mail some more Christmas cards.

I like to show you my first attempt to make a stair step card. I really like it because red is my favorite color and the CS is also my favorite red of all times. It is by SU. I colored all the images with Copics and prima pencils and added some stickles.

This was the first Christmas card I had mailed out this year and it has found a good home.

Hope you are all having a great day and not getting too stressed out with the last minute preparations.

Thanks for stopping by.....

Vierter Advent

2010-12-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

Today I would like to show you another little card I made and I just remembered a little poem from my childhood. If I would translate it it will not rhyme. In Germany St. Nikolaus comes on December 6th and the Christ Child brings the presents on the eve of December 24th. The poem counts down the 4 lights being lit on the Advent wreath and after the 4th one is lit it is time for the Christ Child to be appear.

Advent, Advent ein Lichtlein brennt.
Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann vier
Dann steht das Christkind vor der Tuer.

I can't remember who's DP's these are. I have had so many different ones that I have been playing with that I lost track. I cut the card out of Kraft cardstock. The door is from a PTI set and I stamped it with PTI ink. For the garland above the door I used two MS punches and added some tiny red jewels to look like berries. The sentiment is also from PTI. I added some gold stickles to the banner, plus here and there for a bit of glitz.

On the inside I used some Just Rite stamps embossed in gold cut out with nestibilities and added some metallic ribbon from my stash.

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday. Thanks for dropping by on this last weekend before the big holiday. I know we are all very busy and I like to thank you for taking the time to leave such sweet comments. They are so very much appreciated.

Non-traditional colors for Christmas

2010-12-17T20:34:00.000-08:00

Another Christmas card finished. This time I used non traditional colors since this card is going to a tropical island and I thought I would try to step out of my comfort zone.
The DP is by Heidi Grace Design and the CS is from SU. The ribbons are from my stash and the flower is from Magnolia. I colored this gorgeous LOTV girl with distress inks, added some flower soft to the trim of her cap and some stickles and flower soft to the ground. The sentiment is from a PTI set that I especially bought to be able to use this sentiment for two beautiful ladies from Hawaii.

The inside is pretty simple, just some DP and card stock. Snowflakes and tree are from my stash and the sentiment is from PTI.

We have a winter wonderland here in Northern Nevada but by tomorrow it suppose to be all gone again. The forecast is for 50 degrees and rain.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and thank you so much for stopping by.

Whiff of Joy Penguins

2010-12-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

Happy 3rd of Advent to one and all.

I like to show you another card I finished yesterday. Aren't these two the cutest?

I colored them with distress inks on watercolor paper. The cardstock is from SU and the DP's are Webster's Pages and a bit of Melissa Frances "Home for the Holidays". I used a MS punch for the snowflakes and added Star Dust Stickles. The cream ribbon is from my stash and the sentiment is from PTI.

On the inside I added more punched snowflakes and a Christmas Tree cut with a PTI die. The labels are Nestabilities and the sentiment is from PTI. I distressed all the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink. The little snowflake is a stamp from Martha Stewart. It is a set of 14 delicate snowflakes, which lends itself to making your own background paper.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like my little creation.

Papilio Christmas

2010-12-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today, I finished a little card using one of the older Papilio stamps. I couldn't find it on the website and I don't remember the name. The image is colored with Copics. The DP is called "Mistletoe" from Memory Box. The snowflake and gold metal ribbon are from my stash.

The inside is also pretty simple. Again I used the same DP and punched out some snowflakes with a MS punch and the border punches are also from Martha Stewart. The sentiment is from a PTI set "Inside & Out: Holiday".

I have been so busy trying to check everybodies blog and I am enjoying all the wonderful creations.

Thanks for stopping by....

Vindaag is Sinterklaas

2010-12-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

.... To see my post from earlier today, please scroll down....

....................

Hello Again,
I just remembered that Santa Claus is coming tonight in Holland and some other countries and tomorrow Sankt Nikolaus is coming in my home country.

So I decided to whip up a quick topper for my friends and bloggers in the Netherlands.

I used Kraft CS, DP from Basic Grey and Melissa Francis. The old-fashioned Santa's are also part of the MF "Home for the Holidays" line. I generated the sentiment on the computer and I hope it is correct.

EDIT: Sorry, I goofed. The DP is from Pink Paisley "Father Christmas" not Melissa Francis

Thanks for all your sweet comments and I hope you enjoy my little quick card.

LOTV Girl with Candle

2010-12-05T10:12:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody and a Happy 2. Advent
First I like to apologize for not leaving comments like I usually do. It seems there is so little time these days. I do check out all the beautiful creations that you have been making. It is amazing how talented everybody is and how all of you find the time to do your non-stop creating. If I ever get to retire, maybe I will be able to be this productive but I bet they find me slumped over at my desk first....lololol.

It has been over one month that I posted a card and I guess it is high time. This card will be going to Germany to a wonderful friend of mine and I better get it in the mail.
The image is from LOTV and I colored it with distress inkers and added Polar White Flower Soft to the trim of her cap. The CS is SU Blush Blossom and I stamped it with MS snowflakes in PTI Fresh Snow. The DP is from Cosmo Cricket, Jolly by Golly from last years line. Love that paper. I cut out some snowflakes with a MS punch and the large snowflake is a cuttlebug die, which I received from my dear friend Christina several years ago. Thanks so much, hon. Love it!!! I also added a Webster's jewel on top of it. The snowflakes are glittered with Ranger's Stickles Diamond. The sentiment is from PTI stamped on a PTI tag.

On the inside more of the same snowflakes and I cut labels with a PTI die and a Spellbinders label for the left side and distressed a bit with Vintage Photo. On the right side I made a little envelope with another PTI die, used another PTI label and stamped the German sentiment from Whiff of Joy.

Hope you like it. It looks a lot prettier in real life. As always, I can not take a good picture.

I wish you all a wonderful week, without too much stress and thanks so much for dropping by.

A little box

2010-10-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

It is almost November and I am heavy into working on my Christmas cards and behind on making two birthday cards.
Stempeleinmaleins is having their first birthday and they are having a blog hop. After you have checked all the fabulous works the ladies have showcased, you can pick one of their designs and submit it. Tanja, known as Stampin' Piper had shown how to make a little Adventbox as one of her tutorials. I always wanted to try it and one of these days I will also make "the big one", with all the 24 drawers.

I don't have the matchboxes that they sell for crafting and I used regular ones. I found them at Wal-Mart, after a lot of searching....hehehe. I painted the boxes with Distress Crackle Paint Picket Fence and distressed them with Distress Ink Antique Linen. All the papers I used are last years Webster's Pages from the Holiday Collection, cut out with the Spellbinders Label's 8. I made a little 3D Christmas tree, attached a piece of the Webster's Tinsel and a Webster's jewel. The little Christmas sentiment with the wreath is also from one of the pages. I punched it out and matted it to a little scalloped circle. To add another bit of sparkle I attached some little clear jewels from my stash. The little parade of reindeer is one of my stamps, not part of the DP.

I lined the boxes with some more Websters and attached little pearls for handles. After I had taking the pictures I realized that the handles are coming loose...... grrrrrr. Some adjustments are in order. I also attached pearls to the bottom for feet.

Well, that's all for today. Now I have to figure out how to link my post to the Stempeleinmaleins blog.

Thank you all for stopping by to check out my amateurish creations. I am so grateful to be inspired by all of you wonderful ladies.

Happy Halloween to everybody and stay safe.

Tilda all in Pink

2010-10-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a pink card for all those wonderful ladies that are fighting this awful disease called breast cancer. Last week it hit home again. Last Wednesday I found out that a business acquaintance has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

I like to enter this card in two challenges. At "Just Magnolia" the theme is "Think Pink" and the oh so talented and fantastic lady "Miss Jacque" has chosen a terrific sketch for "Friday Sketchers". I very seldom follow a sketch and I hope this will pass.

The base is made with Bazzill cardstock and the pink papers are digital from MTME. The flowered DP is from last years Basic Grey Wassail. I tried to use different flowers from Magnolia and Prima but nothing seemed to my liking. I checked what else I could use and found these flowers and the little butterfly from Jolee that I have had forever. Voila!!!

I hope you like my little semi-pink card. Thanks you for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Thanksgiving

2010-10-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hello, it's me again. I was actually able to start and finish a card yesterday and also work on two more cards but who knows when they will be finished. I have had this gorgeous PTI set called 'Fall Elegance' since last year and I finally got a chance to ink it up. I have more stamps and stamp sets that never have seen ink than the ones I actually have used.
Recently I received a fabulous present from my friend Gloria. She had purchased the Spellbinders "Nested Maple Leaves" twice and I was lucky enough to get the extra set. Thanks so much Gloria, I love them. I had an idea of what I was going to make and I think the sponging with the distress inks turned out pretty good. I added a little bit of Webster's lacy ribbon and the front was done.

On the inside I also used images from the "Fall Elegance" set and stamped everything with PTI ink Summer Sunrise and Ripe Avocado. Since it was overcast yesterday I thought I would take the pictures outside but the cream CS looked so white and I took a picture of the outside of the card again inside, which shows the colors better.

I hope you like my little creation. Thanks for dropping by and thanks so much for your lovely comments.

Halloween Easel Card

2010-10-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody and I hope you are having a wonderful Saturday. It is overcast here in Northern Nevada and we suppose to get rain and real cool temperatures this coming week. It is almost Halloween and it seems that this is the time when the it is really getting to be Autumn.

I tried my hand for the first time on an easel card and on top of that I didn't even have instructions. My non-technical mind figured something out which created more work for me. Well, I did finish it last night. The light is horrible today and the battery on the camera was going dead. I wish I had the patience to learn about Photoshop so that I could show you better pictures.

I also decided to enter a challenge again, not that I think it is such a great card but oh well.... I will post the card on the Lovely hAnglar Only challenge blog. The current challenge is to make a non square easel card.

The base is cut from Bazzill cardstock and the DP is from K@ Co. I colored the little hAnglar witch with Copics and attached her with pop dots. I stamped a few little stars and colored them in with some green and orange Stickles. On the inside I used some flowers that I received from my dear friend Gloria. Thank you so much Gloria, they work perfect for this card. The sentiment and frame are from the PTI set called 'Just the Ticket' and cut with the PTI ticket die.
Thanks for dropping by and I hope you all have a terrific weekend.

White Christmas

2010-10-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday to Everybody!!!
Well it is not a totally white Christmas card but I would love to have a white Christmas and I think my white tree warrants the title. I love last years Anna Griffin's Christmas papers and I wish I had stacks of it. The papers are so elegant. The one with the snowflakes is flocked and others are glittered.
I cut the tree with a new die from PTI out of white PTI felt and adhered white buttons also from PTI with a dot of gold stickles. The sentiment is again from PTI cut with another PTI die. Do you think I love their products...hehehe. The ribbon is from my stash.

On the inside I used Spellbinders Label (can't remember the number, because I never labeled the case) and the sentiment is again from PTI. The little felt snowflake is also a Spellbinders die.

Since I really loved how the card turned out. I made three because most of the people that receive Christmas cards from me are not Magnolia or hAnglar lovers like us. I am also working on 5 or 6 other Christmas cards and 2 birthday cards. Boy do I wish I didn't have to work for a living. I hope I get more cards done for Christmas this year than last year.
I hope you like my little card and I thank you all for your wonderful comments. It is so much appreciated.

Hubby's Birthday Card

2010-10-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday afternoon. It is raining here in Northern Nevada and it has been since yesterday late afternoon. What a welcome site. We get so little rain that I truly enjoy it. Last week we still had 94 degrees = 35 Celsius but the coming week will be cold and autumn will begin.

Yesterday was my DH's birthday and I made him a little card. This is as manly as it will get for me. I left off the lace, the bows and other frilly things. He liked it and I think he even would take a Magnolia card from me, because it is handmade.

It is another PTI card and all the papers are from PTI, except the solid orange is Bazzil. The stamp is from the PTI set called "Vintage Picnic". The buttons are also PTI.

On the inside I used the same papers and cut the label with the Mat Stack 4 die. I had punched out leave shapes but they would not show up on the busy papers. So as not to waste them I clued them to the back.

That's all for today. I have to get back to working on my Christmas cards. I hope I'll get one finished today. There are only two months left before my overseas one have to be mailed out.

I like to thank each of you for visiting my little blog and leaving such sweet comments. I appreciate it so very much.... Thank you all.

Birthday Wreath

2010-09-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one week??? Now that is unusual for me. I am tired because I still have a cold but I decided to though it out.

I made a birthday card for one of my sisters and I hope I get it in the mail soon. She would be so surprised to receive it before her birthday. I am always late.

My sisters are not scrappers or cardmakers and definitely are not into Magnolias or hAnglars. I decided to make a simple card and I still goofed it up...grrr.

The papers are digital from 'My Time Made Easy'. I stamped the PTI wreath with some little flowers and dots from the set called "Wreath for all Seasons". The text that I stamped on some of the papers is from another PTI set called "Background Basics - Text Style" and the little flourish is from Pink Paisley, sponged with Ripe Avocado. The edges of the papers are 'dirtied' with some PTI Chamomille ink.

For the outside and inside label I again used my new favorite die, the Mat Stack 4. The German sentiment is from WOJ and so are the little heart flourishes.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a great Wednesday. ... only a few more days until another weekend...yeah!!!!

Whiff of Joy Christmas Gnome

2010-09-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday to you. I have had a cold for 8 days now and haven't done much crafting. I currently have 4 christmas cards in different stages of completion. One "major" birthday card in the works and several to go. October is a busy month for birthday cards for me.

I managed to finish this little card with 'Wee and Drum' from Whiff of Joy today. I colored the gnome with Copics on the new Copic paper and cut it with an oval SB nestability.The DP is digital paper from Lili of the Valley. I didn't remember which one of my stamp sets had holly leaves, so I drew them myself and added some jewels from my stash. The ribbon and christmas tree charm is also from my stash. The sentiment is from PTI.

On the inside I used the same DP from LOTV and the sentiment is from a new PTI set called Inside & Out: Holiday. I made the label with the PTI Mat Stack 4. I love all those gentle curves. The sentiment set has some beautiful holiday quotes and I just had to have it.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Lili of the Valley Angel Christmas

2010-09-11T16:17:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody!!! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.

I finally got away from doing my genealogy research and made a Christmas card today. I love this little image from LOTV and couldn't wait to finally ink it up. The designer paper is also from LOTV and it is from their line of digital Christmas paper. I colored the image with Copics and used Diamond Stickles for the wings and the stars. I used the 2 largest ovals from Spellbinders Classic Ovals to cut out the image and the matting. The ribbon and jewels are from my stash and the little star embellishment is from a friend in Germany. Vielen Dank an eine wunderbare Kuenstlerin in Hessen....***smile***. I bet she is at Stempelmekka in Hagen today.

I kept the inside quite simple, just used the same DP and cut the label with a PTI die and the saying is from a PTI set called Silent Night. The snowflake is from my stash.

I also took a close up of the image. It looks like I used watercolors but when you look at the card it isn't as "blotchy". Before I got into card making I dabbled in water colors and I still like that unstructered look.

Thank you all for stopping by and leaving such sweet comments. I appreciate it so very much.....

Halloween Tilda

2010-08-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

I hope everybody had a nice weekend. It has been coooold here in Northern Nevada. We even turned on the heat for awhile and on Friday we still had the air conditioner going. It is unusual to have such cold weather in August but then we are used to sudden changes in the weather.

Since it feels like fall, I thought I would make a Halloween card. I don't do many Halloween cards but I have a few stamped images that I received from overseas. I like this cute image of Tilda dressed as a witch, so I colored her with Copics. The DP is from a K & Co. Halloween Pack I bought last year. I sponged around the image with T.H. distress ink, Dusty Concord and also edged the papers with Black Soot and cut two flourishes with a die from Bosskut. The witch on her broom is a MS punch.

On the inside I again used the same DP. For the label I used a paper from PTI and cut a border using the Fleur de Lis punch from Fiskars.

As I was about done I saw that I smeared Spiced Marmelade distress ink on the back of the card. I took my YR15 and added a few more lines and clued the MS witch stirring her cauldron over it. One way to cover up my mistake.... (smile).

That is all for today.... Too bad the weekend is over because I have another card almost done. But since I have to go to work tomorrow, I don't think I will get it done during the week.

Thank you to all of you that leave such sweet comments. I very much appreciate it.

Beautiful Blog Award

2010-08-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

I was so overwhelmed and surprised when I received Cami's email. I am still speakless, because I never expected anything like this. My postings are so infrequent that it never even occurred to me that somebody would want to give me an award. Thank you so much Cami, it is so much appreciated.
Please go and check out Cami's beautiful creations.

There are 5 "requirements" (hahaha) to receive this award.

1. First I am to thank the person that send it to me.Thanks again so much dear Cami....(hugs, hugs, hugs)

2. Show my award ... see above....(smile)

3. I am suppose to tell you three things that I like about myself. How about what people say about me.... I am very caring, always cheerful and always ready to help.

4. I am suppose to post a favorite picture. Well I have two, that I just took last week. They are pictures of the joy of my life, my two beautiful granddaughters, Dominique and Madison. Dominique is the skinny rail that eats anything and will try any food. Maddy, my little rascal, that doesn't want to eat anything that is good for her.

5. Here is the hardest part. I am asked to pass on the award to 5 deserving women ... and here in no particular order....

Christina C. - http://christinascardconnection.blogspot.com/
Jacque B. - http://jacquesmagnolias.blogspot.com/
Kim P. - http://kimpiggott.blogspot.com/
Danni B. - http://dannisdreamscrafts.blogspot.com/
Debbie Y. - http://debby4000.blogspot.com/

It is so hard for me to only pick 5 ladies, because there are so many deserving crafters out there. I wish I could have picked many more. The ladies that I chose have influenced me in many ways and have been most gracious in helping me when I have questions. You are all amazing ARTISTS and I enjoy visiting your blogs, learning from you and be amazed by your beautiful creations.

I can't imagine that anybody does not know these wonderful ladies but just in case, you don't want to miss admiring their beautiful art....so please hurry and check out their latest creations.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend.

Just Rite Tulips

2010-08-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday Morning, at least here in Nevada it is still morning. It is still cool but pretty soon it will be up into the 90's again. I am no longer complaining because Fall is just around the corner and then I will complain about how cold it is....lololol.

My first full week of vacation in 9 long years is coming to an end. I was hoping to get a lot of cards done or at least started. Neither happened. I was going to do some major cleaning, get some doctor appt's taken care of and have our two girls stay with us for 2 days. I did all that but not one card started. I picked up our girls on Wednesday morning and they are still here with Oma and Opa. We sure have had a lot of fun. Dominique and Madison helped me get rid of some of my stash.....hehehe... Boy, did they do some crafting and coloring. They have colored more of my Magnolia's then I have. Yesterday we went to a small waterpark and enjoyed ourselves.

Now here is a card that I started weeks ago and I wanted to finish it at the beginning of the week. Something happened again and I finally got it done this morning.

The stamp is from Just Rite - Breath of Spring Borders & Centers and I colored it with Copic's. The cardstock is SU Lavender Lace. The scalloped border is Nellie Snellen, that I received from my good friend Christina C. Thanks so much Christina.... I love them. I embossed part of the CS with the CB Dots and on the upper part made the lines with my MS scoreboard. I love all the small increments on that board, with I don't have on my Scor-Pal. The ribbon is from my stash and the bottons are PTI Plum Pudding.

The inside is very simple. I punched the top with the beautiful MS tulip punch that was part of the blog candy I won from the talented Jacque B. Thanks so much Jacque. I noticed one of the flowerheads is missing and I'll just have to punch another border and glue the little head on. The frames are from a PTI set called Vintage Labels and the saying is from PTI Mega Mixed Messages.

Here is a picture of Dominique and Madison at the Lazy 5 Waterpark in Sparks, Nevada.

Sorry, that I haven't been able to visit all of your blogs and I promise I will try to catch up. I only have taken a quick look at all your beautiful creations that are so inspirational.

Thanks so much for dropping by and I appreciate all your sweet comments. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Come Into My Parlor and Stay A While

2010-08-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Now doesn't this sound old-fashioned?
I first saw a card similar to the one I made, done by Lisa Johnson. She is the designer at Papertrey Ink that created the 3 PTI sets that I used. I have several of her sets and I love them all. The sets are called ON MY COUCH, ON MY COUCH ADDITIONS and CHAIR-ISHED. I used almost all of the images in these sets.
This was quite a job. Even though there was no real coloring involved it was very labor intensive. I first stamped the images that I thought I wanted to use on regular CS, cut them out and then arranged them. I already knew which DP I would choose. It is called LUSH from My Minds Eye. On the inside I used a white ribbon as a chair rail, I thought it would add some extra chic...lololol. I stamped the images on different designs of the DP and added some intensity using Copic markers B0000 and BG0000. Some of the images are popped up with dimensionals.

I only wanted to show the card with the bow tied but that covered up the images.

Boy, do I love that DP. I wish my living room would have such pretty wallpaper.

And for good measure..... another picture. A close up of the left inside. I hope I have not bored you all too much. I just wish I could take better pictures.... Whatelse is new, I keep saying this every time.....grrrrrrr.

I wish you all a good week and thanks for taking a peek

Mystery Tilda

2010-08-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

Who knows this Tilda???? I have never seen her before. It is a stamped image I received from my dear friend Christina a long time ago. I have to say that she is my favorite Tilda, because she is so unique.

I wanted Tilda's outfit to have the Loden look. For the non-german speaking bloggers, Loden is a wool fabric that is usually olive green, brown, black or rust colored. I colored her with Prisma Pencils. The cardstock is from PTI and the matting is Basic Grey Archaic. On the right panel I stamped a border with Distress Ink using a Stempelglede flourish. The ribbon and lace is from my stash and I added a Prima flower.

And here is the inside.... I again used Basic Grey Archaic and white card stock for the matting. The middle panel is again stamped with Distress Ink, using the Stempelglede flourish stamps. The saying is from PTI Inside & Out: Thank you and stamped on a PTI die cut label. The peach ribbon and the heart embellishment are from my stash.

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Thanks for stopping by and thank you for leaving such sweet comments.

hAnglar Rag Doll Cutie

2010-08-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

I have made another card using the little hAnglar rag doll. I will be entering the card at Lovely Hanglar Only Challenge blog. The theme is lace and I used a pretty one from my stash. All the matting is from a 6X6 pad from Making Memories called Chloe's Closet. I must have had it for two years now and I think I only used it ones. The image is colored with Distress Inks. The jewels are from Martha Stewart and I used a Fiskar's punch for the three small flowers. The inside is not yet finished so nothing more to show.

Happy Friday everybody and hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Robinhood Edwin

2010-08-01T11:01:00.000-07:00

Today I made a card for Just Magnolia and Magnolia Down Under. I have had this Cosmo Cricket Paper forever and I really love it. If I could take some good pictures I think it would show how pretty the paper really is.

I colored Edwin with Distress Inks and popped him up on 3 layers of circles cut with round Nestabilities. As I was looking for some flowers to add, these daisies from Martha Stewart seemed to be just perfect. The little ticket tag is a new die and stamp set from PTI and I used PTI's Smokey Shadow ink for the saying.

What do you think? I appreciate you dropping by....

hAnglar Rag Doll for Friday Sketchers

2010-07-31T07:51:00.000-07:00

It's the weekend....yeah.... and I get to craft a little.
When I saw yesterdays sketch for Friday Sketchers, I was surprised that I had unknowingly started a card that had a lot of the elements already cut and ready to go. All I needed to do was cut an oval and do some embellishment.

Vielen Dank Tanja, jetzt konnte ich schnell eine Karte fertigen.

The matting is from PTI and the DP is Pink Paisley. I colored this cute image with Distress Inks and made some flowers with the single layered ones from Prima and sewed on PTI bottons. That's the only "sewing" I have done so far on my cards. I used my ice white Viva Pearl Pen on the Nestability Die Label Ten. The ribbon/garn is from my stash and the bronze label is from SU.

Wow, I am not rambling today.....

I hope you will give this sketch a try because I really enjoyed using it.

Santa's List

2010-07-25T10:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know. Something is up, I just don't know what it is......lololol. I don't craft for months and all the sudden I am going crazy. I never stopped but so far it has only been in my head.
I started last night on this Christmas card and I had almost all the papers placed and cut the way I wanted them, except for the brown horizontal one. Then as I was checking Jeannette's blog this morning I saw that she was the hostess for this weeks Friday Sketchers. You all know that she is an extremely talented lady. I never have followed anybodies sketch or entered a challenge blog. So now I am trying for the second one..... Is this crazy, or what !?!?!

I hope I can keep the rest short and sweet, since I have been rambling. Okay, I used SU caramel for the base of the card and the matting is Basic Grey Wassail, last years Christmas paper. The green one is PTI from the Green Tea Leaves collection. The image is a digital one from Sassy Cheryl. Since it is digital, I had to print it out on the watercolor paper that I got at the local CS. It is thinner but you can't color as well but I "had to" use distress inks...lololol. It is cut with the Spellbinders Label 1 and the green paper with Label 8. I cut the brown DP with a large rectangle. The ribbon is from my stash and the die cuts are from Fiskars. Some Dew Drops and a X-mas tree charm from my stash. Sorry, I can't get a better picture today but if you enlarge it I think you can get a better idea of the colors. One minute the sun is shining and the next minute the clouds are back.

Voila!!! My first Christmas card for 2010. I hope you like it. Thanks for dropping by and enjoy your Sunday ....

Vintage Tilda Princess

2010-07-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

I decided for the first time ever to enter a card challenge. The Just Magnolia challenge this week is VINTAGE. I love Vintage but I don't think I quite hit the mark.
I finally colored a Tilda again using Copics. Christina sent me this cutie...thanks my friend. The die cuts are also a gift from Christina and it is the first time I used them. I can't believe I waited so long, they are great to work with and I really love the results.
The CS is from PTI and the matting is Websters Pages. I distressed the papers with the Tim Holtz Distresser and also aged the papers with Antique Linen Distress Ink. The flowers are from Prima and I punched out a flower with a Retro Flower Punch for the Mini Rose. I almost forgot to mention that the wine colored rose is from the Blog Candy I received from Jacque. Thanks so much !!! The leaves are made with an MS punch. I used my Viva Pearl Pen Cream to add the pearls to the ovals. The flowers and Tilda are covered in mega Diamond Stickles but I don't think it really shows. The brown lace is from my stash and I topped it with a Webster Ribbon..

I guess that's all for today. Thanks so much for taking a look at my creation.

Fairy Tabia

2010-07-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have finished another card that will finally make it's way to San Francisco. I hope the little girl will like it.

I so love the Mo's images. They are so cute and I have a small collection of Mo's digital images that have never seen any ink. Well, one of these days they all will show up on one of my cards.

I used SU Lavender Lace and Kaisercraft DP for the matting. Tabia is colored with Copics and I added some Diamond Glaze to the bubbles. Several Prima flowers were layered for a more dimensional look and I added some Dew Drops and a paper clip from my stash.

For the inside I also chose the Kaisercraft DP, ribbon from my stash and Mini Prima Roses. I cut the clouds with a PTI die and the saying is also from PTI from the Mega Mixed Messages set.

I am scheduling this card and I hope it works. This is the second time I have done it, so wish me luck.

I hope you like Tabia as much as I do. I think she is the cutiest fairy around.
Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for dropping by....

Lockhart Orchid

2010-07-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Today I like to show you a little, simple card I finished a few weeks ago. I really like this little stamp from Karen Lockhart. Orchids are such delicate flowers that lend themselves for simple cards. I colored the flowers with Prisma pencils and the cardstock and matting is from my stash. Instead of using a ribbon I chose the material they used to use to support the orchid stems with. For the life of me, I can't remember what it is called. Maybe somebody with a green thumb can help me out. Both the sayings on the outside and inside are from PTI.

On the inside I stamped an image from PTI Background Basics, Spots and Dots with PTI Pure Poppy. The red label was cut with the Mat Stack #1 die cut and the white label with a die cut from the Tea for Two collection from Papertrey Ink.

Well, that is it for today. Have a great Thursday and thanks for stopping by.

hAnglar Boy Sitting On The Moon

2010-07-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody,
I was real busy yesterday creating several cards. There must have been something different in my coffee...hehehe.

I received this stamped image a long time ago from my dear friend Christina and I had colored it some time last year. It is another baby card but this time there is no expected baby boy.

I loosely followed the challenge on 'Lovely hAnglar Only' challenge blog. For my base I used SU YoYo Yellow and the matting is PTI, except for the yellow, which is the same SU paper. I distressed the matting papers with the Tim Holtz distresser and I think this is actually the first time I did this. I colored the image with Prisma pencils and added some yellow stickles to the star he is holding. The moon for the left top corner is from the PTI 'Night, Night Moon' set, stamped with a bit of PTI Enchanted Evening and the little stars are created from a MS punch. Don't you like those itty bitty clouds? They are punched out with one of those small punches, can't recall the maker. All the large stars for this card are punched out with a Fiskars punch. The little tag is from the hAnglar baby set and the ribbon is from my stash.

Well, not much more to say...... :). I added a baby rattle charm to one of the stars on the inside and a blue Prima flower to the other one.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you all have a nice rest of the weekend.

Baby Oh Baby

2010-07-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, it is unbelievable that I have finished another card.

In a few weeks my friends son and her daughter-in-law will welcome a baby girl to the family. I can't believe that I finished it ahead of time. I still have to make tags for the presents and I will try to make a little box for the baby shoes I bought. Hopefully I will get that done soon.

The image is from my dear friend Christina C. She probably doesn't even remember that she had stamped it for me. I have had it for such a long time. Thank you so very much Christina, I always loved this sweet image of the sleeping baby.

The cardstock is from my stash and I colored the image with Prisma Pencils. The sheer ribbon is from May Arts and the pink rickrack is from 'My Minds Eye' the Lush Collection. The Prima roses were off white and I spritzed them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist 'Cherry Blossom'. They look peachy in the picture but they did turn out pink. What do you think about the embossed borders and images? I just love them. It is from a brandnew PTI set called 'Night Night Moon' by Heather Nichols. I stamped them with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.

On the inside I stamped another one of the borders and randomly stamped some of the single stamps and again embossing them. I computer generated the saying and cut the two layers with Nestabilities Labels #10. The pearls and the shoes are from my stash.

When I showed the card to my husband, he said he loved it but when he saw the inside he said, "Why didn't you write it in German?"....Daaaaaaahhhh, I guess I have become too americanized....lolololol

Thanks for dropping by and leaving such nice comments. I am off to hopefully work some more on one of my many unfinished cards.

Teacher's Apple

2010-06-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I started and finished a card in just one day. Actually it took me exactly 3 hours. I don't know how you ladies can get all these cards made and be full time employed like I am. My unfinished cards are stacking up and I hope that one of these days I will get them done.

I made this card for Dominique's teacher. She is one of those teacher's that still inspires her student's. The graduation for her Kindergarten class was held in the classroom and all of us were able to attend the last day of school. At one point all the students were asked to either share some news or just a thought. When Dominique's term came she said, " I will miss you Mrs. Carsten, when I go to first grade". She is such a loving and caring child. Everybody went "Aaaaahhhh".

Now to the items I used to make this card. The base of the card is a large and long purchased card and the matting is Bazzill. The DP is from the Cosmo Cricket Mini Deck "The Boyfriend". I stamped the image of the apple and the saying on white cardstock and cut it with a PTI Die called Mat Stack 1. I colored the apple with Prisma Pencils. I believe the word Teacher's was stamped with PTI ink Aqua Mist. The punches I used are from Fiskars and MS. I wrapped twine around the DP and attached a PTI button in Pure Poppy. The matting for the inside is also Bazzill and I stamped apples on Inchies and again colored them with Prisma Pencils and inked the edges with Ranger Distress Ink. I also distressed all the papers with the distress ink, which took a lot of time. The label on the inside was also cut with the PTI Mat Stack 1.

I hope you all like my little creation. Thank you for still dropping by once in a while, it is very much appreciated

Graduation

2010-05-28T14:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a very long time since I last posted. I think it is close to 6 months. As usual I have been buying stamps, paper, tools and embellishments and I also have been receiving wonderful gifts from my friends. I hope everybody knows that I appreciate it so much, even though I haven't created anything. I am a horder, like so many of us. I never stop creating in my head but actually sitting down and putting my ideas on paper is another story.

My oldest granddaughter, Dominique, is graduating from Kindergarten next month and I made her and her two best friends each a card for graduation. I think because I chose the school colors they turned out quite masculine. Maybe I will make another card with girly papers and flowers and bows for my sweet girl.
For the base of the card I chose PTI's Enchanted Evening and the images are also from a new PTI set called FOR THE GRADUATE. I stamped the image, using Enchanted Evening PTI ink onto yellow cardstock from my stash and cut it out with a PTI die called Mat Stack 1. I mounted it with pop ups onto a scalloped oval, which was cut with Nestabilities from Spellbinders. The star was cut with a Fiskars punch and I added some dots with yellow stickles. Woohoo... a little sparkle. I also stamped the cap a second time, added some extra blue with a Copic marker, B29, and popped it on top of the label. I used a Martha Stewart border punch for the bottom of blue mat and added some yellow ribbon from my stash.

On the inside of the card I used the negative images that were created when I punched out the stars to use for the front of the card. I thought it would work as a quick and simple layout. For the inside bottom I stamped the saying on the yellow cardstock on top of a blue mat and off set it with the yellow squares. Like I mentioned before this layout is quite masculine and I didn't think girley swirls and "stuff" would work.

This is my second attempt to writing the post and placing the pictures. I hope it works this time. The first time both pictures showed up on the top. I have no real clue why or how I ended up with the picture of the inside of the card on the bottom of the post, which is actually closer to where I had intended it to be.

I really appreciate it, if you would come by and visit me again.

Thanks for dropping by

Pretty Pressings Blog Candy

2010-04-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Claudia from Pretty Pressings has some beautiful blog candy that she is giving away. It is the newest WOJ release called Scheherazade 1001 Nights. I have forgotten how to do anything on my blog. How to add gadgets etc. I have don't know how to add my friend Christinas new blog. I hope this is showing up alright. If anybody can help me, would you please leave a comment or email me. P L E A S E !!!!!

I hope everybody has a wonderful EASTER HOLIDAY

Angie's Blog Candy

2010-04-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody, no card, no creation...SORRY. I just don't seem to get any time to craft. I have too many other committements. I do check so many blogs but haven't left many messages. I do enjoy seeing everybody's creations and just wish I would do some myself. I just discovered Angie's blog today. I can't believe that I haven't followed her. She does do some awesome coloring and her creations are absolutely fantastic. She is offering a neat organizer for all your embellishments as her latest blog candy. I was trying to add her blog as a gadget but blogger tells me that the addy is corrupt. I hope when you paste it, it will work. If you put SCRAPGIRL-ANGIE into your search engine, you should find her too. Check out her fantastic blog.

http://scrapgirl-angie.blogspot.com/2010/03/ahoy-matey.html

Thanks for stopping by

Bramble Wreath Card

2009-12-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

I have made quite a few different Christmas cards but haven't had the time to post. Today I like to show you a card that is very simple but I think, oh so elegant. But it took forever to decide what papers to use and after many tries it was only one DP. It is from last years Martha Stewart christmas papers. The Bramble Wreath is from Memory Box stamped with PTI Dark Chocolate on PTI cream cardstock and layered on brown PTI CS and adhered with pop dots. The beautiful lace is from Websters Pages and the ribbon is from my stash. The rhinestones are from Kaiser Crafts and stash. I forgot to take pictures of the inside but I did pretty much the same layering as on the outside and stamped the sentiment in the middle of the wreath.

I couldn't decide which picture of the front of the card was better. The lighter picture shows the sparkle of the rhinestones better. I think the close-up of the wreath makes the rhinestones look weird, like I glued them with the backside up.
I made several of these and 2 of them went across 2 different oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic. I hope they get to their destinations soon.

Thanks for stopping by and thank you for all your sweet comments.

Lockhart Angel Card

2009-12-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

I am trying for the first time to schedule a post and I hope it works. After spending a lot of time reading on blogger I updated the editor and I hope I can now put the pictures where I want them. Wish me luck.

I love the Lockhart images and like so many of my stamps only a few have ever seen any ink. I buy my Lockhart images from Ellen Hutson. Have you checked out her store? I think it is a great company and I needed to call a few times and each time got to talk to Kathy. What a neat, friendly and helpful lady.

I colored two of these images in the heat of summer and I finally used them to make two cards. I colored the angel with Copics and cut them out with the circle classic and scalloped nestabilities. The scalloped circle and the little tag are gold CS from PTI. The DP is from last years Making Memories and the solid DP is Spiceberry from Memory Box. The ribbon is from Martha Stewart. Guess what, I made my own "Bow Easy" and saved a few bucks. It works perfect. The tag was cut with an SU punch which I attached to the ribbon with MS twine. The stars and sentiment I stamped with PTI Scarlet Jewel and they are from the Sign Language set. The inside sentiment I embossed in gold on Scarlet Jewel PTI card stock and cut it with SB Label Four.

What do you think? A bit of an old-fashioned card

Home Made Template House and Gingerbread Man Card

2009-12-12T08:44:00.000-08:00

It has been almost 3 weeks again since I last posted. Besides being extremely busy at the office, doing Christmas preparations and trying to make Christmas cards I haven't had time to post what I have made.
First I like to show you a little gift box I made from the Home Made template from PTI. It is a little house that I had intended to decorate with gingerbread men and other various items you find on a gingerbread house. Well, it didn't look right so I left it as is.
I used SU Kraft for the house and brown PTI cardstock for the roof of the house and the dormers. I stamped the window and doors on PTI cream CS using SU Chocolate chip for the window frames and for the front door and curtains used SU Pumpkin Pie. On the sides of the house I added a little fence stamped with the MS punch. The roof is removable so you can add some goodies.
This was quite a project for me. All this cutting and glueing and checking again to make sure I had aligned everything. I know I will make another one in some bright in cheery colors. Now if only I could take nice pictures.

Now for my second post. I sure wish I knew what I was doing..... grrr. I am not a blogger.

I also made a card using the Gingerbread Man Image from PTI's Holiday Button Bits. I used SU Kraft for the base of the card and SU real red for the layers. This is the best red CS I have found. It is such a true deep red. I stamped the dotted border with PTI Pure Poppy. The stamp is from the PTI Polka Dot Basic set. I stamped the gingerbread man with SU chocolate chip and PTI dark chocolate on PTI cream CS. I used PTI Pure Poppy buttons on his belly, voila. I cut the image and the matting with Spellbinders Nestabilities Squares. The red velvet ribbon is from my stash. The sentiment is also from the PTI Holiday Button Bits. I had also added 3 Dew Drop jewels to the bottom of the card but had taken the pictures before that. I made 6 of these cards and they all have been sent. The only picture with the jewels came out blurry. On the left inside of the card I stamped the Gingerbread Man again and used a red and green jewel for the buttons. I believe the sentiment is from SU and I used Spellbinders Labels Four.

I have several more cards finished. All of them were suppose to be fast and easy but since I made them in sets of 5 and 6 it still took forever. I did a lot of embossing which also is quite time consuming. So much for quick mass production. I have so many ideas in my head for Christmas cards but so far none of them are coming together. I am spending so much time on trying to put them together and then give up. For weeks now I have been slaving over a card for a dear, dear friend and nothing seems to work. Last night I tried some other papers and it will have to do. I am so disappointed because it was suppose to be such a pretty card.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Now I am realizing that all the pictures probably will show up on top of the posting. I have no idea how I can get the Gingerbread Man Card to post on the bottom. Is anybody out there that would help me? Pleeeeaaase !!!

2009-11-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

Today I like to show you the little box I made for my sister for her birthday. I don't know if the box with this lid has a name. I just know that the box itself is a origami box.

I used Anna Griffin Christmas paper. Oh how devine! I stamped the lid with PTI's Fancy Flourishes with SU Chocolate Chip and added some rhinestones from my stach. I found the musical note stamp at Michael's and embossed it with gold embossing powder. The leave punches are from MS and the flowers are Prima. The beautiful locket (it actually opens) is by Jolee with a Swarovski rhinestone....oh la la. Love that lacy ribbon from Webster's Pages.

My sister is actually a "Gustav Stickley kinda girl", so I hope a little bit of frill will be okay.... lololol. So, what do you think????

Penguin Christmas Card

2009-11-21T16:16:00.000-08:00

Surprise, surprise, I have been thinking about ideas for Christmas cards for quite a while now and I actually started in October but haven't finished those. I decided this year I will go back to my "old style" and make cards that are not as involved as the Magnolia cards I did last year. I wasn't able to make as many handmade cards as I would have wanted. I still will make a few Magnolia's and some with Papilio images. Today I made a card for one of the ladies at work who likes Penguins. I found a cute one at Michael's. I knew which DP I would use and decided to make some "mountains" using various MS glitter. The largest glitter is MS crystal coarse glitter, then crystal fine and the "mogul" in the front is carrara marble. I also added a little bit of blue topaz glitter. I colored the Penguin with Copic's and added glitter to the bow on his trunks and his popsicle. I think somebody was messing with my MS glue pen(it must have been the little critters Dominique and Madison...hehehe). It comes out pink, that's why he has a pink popsicle. I added a clear snowflake sticker from Deja Views, popped a white snowflake from my stach on top and added a clear jewel. I punched out another snowflake from the DP, which is Li'l Davis Designs, left over from last year and the sentiment is from the PTI set Sign Language.
I hope Suzanne will like her Penguin Christmas card.

Thank you all for stopping by and I promise I will have more Christmas cards to show you.

Fleur De Lis Birthday Card

2009-11-07T16:23:00.000-08:00

It has been many months since I posted and now a second post on the same day. I finally finished 4 cards today. Hopefully I will assemble several Christmas cards this evening. This will help me to be able to blog for a while.

This card I started early in October but for whatever reason never finished it until today. It is a very, very large card. It was meant for my sisters birthday, which was 3 weeks ago and I hope that I finally will mail her card and another birthday card that was due on October 30th. I just wish I could take better pictures and could arrange the pictures better.

I used quite a few Spellbinder die cuts on this one. As all of you know the big medallion was made with the Borderabilities Fleur De Lis die cut and put it on top of a Nestibilities Classic Scalloped Square - Large. I had to case Becca Fekken's creation. I just love her elegant designs. Well, her cards are perfect, mine are not. Why do I see all the imperfections after the card is done and the pictures are taken. All the DP is from Cosmo Cricket-Everafter. I really love their papers. It is really hard for me to start cutting them up. The sentiment is from Whiff of Joy from the german set and I stamped it on a shape from the Ribbon Tag Trio 2. The inside labels are cut with the Nestabilies Labels 5.

I hope my sister will like the card and you do too.

Thank you all for stopping by.

Witchy Woman

2009-11-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Everybody!!!!!!
It has been a long time and I am finally putting up a new post. It is a Halloween card I made. I know, I know. I am really late and everybody has been showing Autumn and Christmas cards. I actually made three and only have sent out 1, which made it to it's destination on November 1st.

It is a real simple card but not for me. It takes me forever to decide which papers to use, even if they are from the same series. The DP is from K&Company. The stamp is a Karen Lockhart stamp called Witches Legs, which I purchased earlier this year from Ellen Hutson. I used Copic's and colored the skirt and boots twice and then popped them up.

Now a close up of the image and and the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

2009-10-22T20:57:00.000-07:00

I have been absent for many months. A lot has changed since the begining of April and I really haven't had much time to make cards or update the blog. I believe I forgot all the things that Danni so graciously has showed me. I don't even have the time to figure out how to do the links.
I just checked Nixe Moni's blog and found out that there will be a new online magazine with tips etc. It is a german blog but with english translations. The start will be this coming Saturday, October 31. It is called "Stempeleinmaleins". I can't wait to check it out, come Saturday. Moni is one of the designers.

Ich freue mich schon riesig darauf.

Here is the addy for the new online magazine. I hope you can check it out.

http://stempeleinmaleins.blogspot.com/

Moni's Blog Candy

2009-08-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

Check out the wonderful blog candy that Moni is giving away and while you are there, check out all her wonderful cards.

http://nixe-moni.blogspot.com/

New Challenge Blog

2009-05-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

I just found a new challenge blog. I have put a link on the left side of my blog. Dawn and Ann have offered some terrific blog candy. The start date will be June 1st. Both Dawn and Ann create some beautiful cards. Klick on the link and I am sure you will enjoy it.

Thanks again Danni, for showing me how to add gadgets. I am so dumb when it comes to the computer stuff.

Shimmerz Blog Candy

2009-05-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry, still no new card. First I didn't have time and then my left arm and shoulder started hurting. Even though I am right-handed I have problems doing a lot of moving. Well, tomorrow I have an appointment with the chiropractor.

I found something exciting on Claudia's blog today. Shimmerz is re-introducing a product called Shimmerz Spritz. You can win 3 bottles of the Shimmerz Spritz. I sure will try it. Can't wait to see all the samples that the DT will show.

Good luck everybody

Blog Candy

2009-05-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, what gorgeous blog candy. Look at all the great things Debbie is giving away. Do check out her creations, too, they are awesome

Mother's Day Cards

2009-05-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday!!!

Yesterday I made 3 Mother's Day cards. One each for our granddaughters to give to their Mom and one to give to their grandma Carol. Since they will be handcarried, they will make it on time.

I used PTI papers for all three and the yellow ribbon is also from PTI. The flowers are "Sweet Pea" from Karen Lockhart which you can buy at Ellen Hutson. She has a wonderful selection. I colored the flowers with Copic's and added Shimmerz to some of the flowers. I covered the vase in Diamond Glaze. Boy, do I love that stuff. The sentiments are also from PTI. Celebrate today is from "Mega Mixed Messages" and the Happy Mother's Day circle is from the "Tags for Spring" set . I also added diamond glaze to the Celebrate today label. My cuttlebug got quite a workout yesterday. I used the Spellbinders circles and ovals. On two of the cards I used a MS border punch. Does anybody know why some of the MS punches are cream colored and others green? Are the green ones a special addition? Anyway, I used a lot of pop ups again and it is time to stock up on those little suckers.

I hope I get to line up the cards right. Instead of putting one above the other. I am such a novice with this blogging stuff. I know nothing. I emailed Danni again, to ask for her help. She is such a wonderful lady and always so helpful. Stop by Danni's blog and check out her beautiful cards. I hope I don't make a mess out of this posting.

Thank you all for leaving such beautiful comments.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you

I knew it wasn't going to work. I had hoped that I could put the outside and inside of each card side by side, instead of one on top of the other....grrrr

Birthday Card

2009-05-08T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hello Everybody,

today I like to show you a birthday card I made for my aunt. She is celebrating her 81. birthday and Mother's Day this Sunday. I think it turned out pretty. I love Lemon Tart from PTI but then I had a heck of a time trying to decide what other color of paper to use. I like the chocolate and yellow combination but thought it might be too dark. I wanted it to look elegant, not sweet. The sweet pea image from Karen Lockhart added enough "sweet"...hehehe. The chocolate CS, the Lemon Tart Bitty Dot Basics and the Lemon Tart ribbon are all from PTI. I used copics to color the flowers and added Periwinkle and Sunflower Shimmerz to the flowers. The vase I covered with Diamond Glaze. I used a SU punch for the little brown flowers and for the centers I used pearl Dew Drops. The sentiment is from WOJ. Finally my relatives will receive cards with German greetings. The greeting and the scalloped ovals were cut with my oval Nesties. On the inside I used the circle Nesties for the birthday wish and the flowers are again cut with the SU punch and again added Pearl Dew Drops.

So, how do you like the pleated border. I love it. It is the second time I used it. Becky Oehlers, one of the PTI designers showed it a while back and I just fell in love with it.

I hope you like the card.

Magnolia May Sketch

2009-05-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it. I started and finished a card tonight. Today I should have worked on the birthday cards for my lovely GD and my aunt. But no, I decide to make the May sketch for Magnolia-licious instead.
I used Tilda with tulips, which is another one of my new favorites and colored her with Distress inks. Only the third stamp I have colored using Distress inks. I need a lot of practice and I can't wait for Suzanne Dean to show us her tutorial. The DP is from K&Company and I have had it for a long time. I sponged the papers with Tea Dye Distress ink. The ribbon was a little extra that came with my Ellen Hutson order. That was a nice surprise. I didn't think that I would use it so soon. The button came from my stash. Actually, it used to be a button from an old sweater of mine. The sentiment is from PTI's Mega Mixed Messages, stamped with PTI Dark Chocolate.
Again, I wish the colors would look better on the photo.
Thanks to everybody for leaving such nice comments, it is very much appreciated.

Lavender sprigs

2009-05-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

And now to my second card for today. I love the Life set, created by Lisa Johnson, one of the talented designers with PTI. I think it is simple but elegant.
I stamped the image on watercolor paper and the lavender CS is Almost Amethyst by SU. I used my Scor Pal for the lines on the CS to add some depth. To stamp the image I colored directly onto the stamp with SU markers Lovely Lilac and Mellow Moss. I couldn't always get a good print on the heavy paper, so I added some Twinkling H2O's for a little stronger effect. Unfortunately you can't see it on the photograph. It has just a little bit of sheen. I used Buttercup for the yellow, Sage and Fern for the green and Sweet Lavender for the violet. The pearls are Robin's Nest Dew Drops and the ribbon is from my stash. For the inside I cut out 2 labels with my Nesties.
I got the idea for this card from another fabulous PTI designer - Debbie Olsen.
The card has already found a place in the office of a wonderful lady and I get to see it every day....hehehe

Magnolia April Challenge

2009-05-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it is the weekend again and time for me to upload two cards that I finished. Having to work for a living, sure cuts into my crafting time...hehehe.
This is the card that was suppose to look totally different. I had created this cute scene and wanted to use Tilda with Chicks and it just would not work. With hubbies help I made another card using the scene, which I posted last Sunday.
Now this is a very serene card, compared to the other one and this one I entered for the April challenge on Magnolia-licious. You can buy Tilda with chicks here. I love Tilda with her chicks in her lap. I think it is a cute image.
I never have listed which white CS I use and never have heard of anybody else using it on the blogs I visit. I got the idea from Sue at Heart Prints. Another exceptionally gifted card maker. The white CS is 80#Beckett Expression - Radiance, which I order from Marco Papers. Very nice people. The orange and green CS is DCWV. The DP is from a 6X6 MM pad called Chloe's Closet. My cards look a lot better than my photographs, really. The buttons are also from the same line and I connected them with baker's twine from MS. For the flower on the front I punched out the same DP and put them together with a gem brad. For the edges I used a MS and a Fiskars punch. The label for the sentiment is from SU and the sentiment is in German from WOJ. When I saw that Katharina had 2 sets of German sentiments, I had to have them. Now I am finally able to send my cards to family and friends in Germany using "our" language....hehehe. On the inside I used again DP from Chloe's Closet and the flowers and the button from the same line. The label is a Nestie, unfortunately, the embossing doesn't show up well on the DS. I almost forgot. I colored the image with Copics and added Diamond Glaze to the little chicks.
So what do you think?

Birthday Card

2009-04-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Today, I like to show a little card that I made for a co-worker. Vivian has two kitties of her own, so I thought I would add this sweet little image. I think I had bought it at Michael's. The DP is from the 2008 SU designer series called Ginger Blossom. The fibers are from my stash.

I have 3 more cards that are all just partially completed. It seems every evening I have to do something else and by the time I get to crafting it is dark and the colors look different. I have put combinations together that in the daylight seemed like I was colorblind. I like to color with the Ott light but I don't seem to use it when I chose papers etc. Well, enough rambling.....

Thanks for stopping by

Willow with Lantern

2009-04-26T10:14:00.000-07:00

I seem to be on a roll. Since I have not posted for so long and I haven't put Willow on my blog, I thought it was high time to do so. I made this card at least one month ago. I don't know why I always have this need to cut out my images. On the picture her face looks awful but it doesn't look like this on the card. I do own the stamp now but this image I received from my wonderful friend Christina Carstensen. Christina doesn't have her own blog but you can see all her beautiful cards in her own album at Magnolia-licious. The brown CS is from PTI but the CS I am not sure, I just know I have had it for a long time. The script is from a single page I bought years ago at a local craft store. The prima flowers were too bright and I used some Ranger Distress Ink to "antique" them.
Thanks for stopping by !!!!!

Happy May

2009-04-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

I know it isn't May yet but only a few more days. I am looking for some May weather, because it hasn't been springlike at all. A few days of nice weather and then it is cold again. If you read Sharon's blog, she'll update you about our weather. Hi neighbor!!!!
I made this card last weekend and I started out trying to make a card for the Magnolia-licious April challenge. I had picked my papers and embellishments and wanted to make a little scene. I have all these scene stamps but haven't really used them. I colored the images and it was quite a job masking everything. I originally used 4 stamps, not counting Tilda. Everything looked nice but somehow it just didn't look right. I kept trying different things to no avail. DH came and asked how it was coming along and I told him that I was stuck. By that time I had given up on the April Challenge and just by chance the scene was laying close to this bright blue CS from DCWV. It really popped and I thought I would use that. The Tilda holding the chicks no longer seemed right. I remembered, that when I got my first 3 Magnolia's last June from Diana I colored all three but never used the one from the Shabby Chic collection. The colors fit perfect and I thought now it will be easy. Noooot!!!! So DH said add a sunflower on the left. I said, "there are no baby chicks in late Summer". He said, "Nobody will notice", but I knew you Ladies would know (lololo). He then said to make a cloud and it definitely needed a dandelion. I used a cloud from WOJ, added Liquid Applique, cut it in three pieces and used 3D-Dots to make it dimensional. I don't have a dandelion stamp and they probably don't even exist. I doodled a dandelion and cut it out. I think it looks nice for being my own "creation". The bench and the chicks are from Magnolia and the flowers are also a WOJ stamp that I used pieces of, to be able to stamp on each side of the bench and below. I filled in the ground with Copic's and I used a color wash with a few drops of SU Baja Breeze reinker for the sky. I believe the greeting is from PTI Mega Messages. I won't tell, how long it took me to make this wild and crazy card. Hope you all have a great Sunday...

Dominique's first blog card

2009-04-25T15:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody!!! I know it has been a long time since I last posted. I have been working on cards today and Opa and Oma are also babysitting. This morning I was working on a birthday card and I used the Foxglove image from Karen Lockhart. This afternoon Maddy and Dominique asked if they could color the image. I let them even use my Copic's under close observation. They both did well, after Oma told them that they had to color gentle. They both made beautiful cards but Maddy didn't like hers so she hid the card. Dominique remembered how I colored the frame around the image and did it on her card too. I think it really looks very nice. She wanted to add a ribbon and chose the color. I hope you all like it. She'll be so surprised when she sees herself on the computer.....

Magnolia-licious April Color Challenge

2009-04-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, I am posting two days in a row. I actually started and finished this card in only a few hours. Janet at Magnolia-licious gave us this challenge and I wasn't sure about the colors. After I looked at my SU stamping pads and saw how pretty Tempting Turquoise and Green Galore looked together, I gave it a try. I decided to make my own green and turquoise paper sponging the white CS with the SU colors. After I embossed with a cuttlebug folder, I cut and embossed with a Nestabilities square. I also embossed more white CS with another cuttlebug folder to layer my image. The beautiful cake is from the Magnolia Love Collection and you can buy it here from Diana Crick. None of my Copic's matched the blue and green, but I found that I had matching Prisma pencils. Well, again I am not happy with the pictures I took, so I will post two. One was taken outside and one inside. I can't decide which one looks better. What do you think???

Penny Black Image

2009-04-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

I guess it is time again to show another card I made. I had colored the Penny Black image of the cute hedgehog several months ago. I started making the card but nothing I tried I liked. As usual I put it aside and last weekend I finally finished it. I think the front turned out okay. I don't really like the inside and I just gave up.

I am watching the granddaughters today and I won't be able to work on making a card. They like to use the same things that Oma is using and pretty soon a whole sheet of bling and a whole roll of ribbon is gone. Last night the two made beautiful pictures with all the MS glitter. Boy did I have a mess. I wish I could find cheap glitter that came in shaker dispensers like the MS ones.

I have to tell you another little story that happened today. Dominique begged me to let her have 3 of the flowers from my birthday bouquet. She said she wanted to plant them in the garden. I gave her this look like "you gotta be kiddin' " and she kept saying, "Please Oma, please, pretty please, I'll get you a dollar from my mommie." I was ready to bust out laughing. She will be 5 next month and the things that come out of her mouth, are just hilarious.

PTI Life set

2009-03-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

Good Morning Everybody,
I like to show you the first card I made using the Life set from PTI. I took the picture at night under the OTT light. It is not as bright as if I would have taken it in daylight. I will not point out all the things that I dislike and will change it the next time. You advanced stampers will notice it right away....hehehe. I am in a hurry because it is almost time to leave for work.

Hope you all have a great productive day, creating fun cards.
Thanks for dropping by....

2009-03-29T14:07:00.000-07:00

I have another card to show you. I finally finished the card for the March Challenge at Magnolia-licious. I added Diamond Glaze to the butterflies and put them on pop up dots. Tilda is also raised, sitting on the tree stump from Whiff of Joy.

A few weeks ago I started making my first card using Willow from WOJ. My good friend Christina C. had sent me several images. I still have to take pictures and I will post it soon.

I also made my first card using the PTI set LIFE. I really like this set. So watch out for some more postings coming up.

Violets

2009-03-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Boy, am I nervous. As everybody knows, I don't know anything about adding my posts and they always look awful. I asked Danni, "how do I link to somebodies blog" and she told me how. As I am typing this I haven't yet figured it out but I will give it a try. I found it, I found it. Now let's hope it worked.

Danni posted one of her cards the other day showing the beautiful bowl with violets. I love that image. It's from SU and I had bought the set, because of the violets. Violets are another one of my favorite flowers. Last year I made a birthday card using this image. The only markers I had at the time were from SU but I think it turned out really nice.

Tilda with purple tulips

2009-03-29T10:53:00.001-07:00

I finally started and finished a card yesterday. Don't ask how long it took me. I think Tilda holding the tulips is just darling. I decided on using lavender and mainly yellow. I think it turned out pretty good. It sure was a lot of work. I didn't have the right color of flowers, so I used my Copic's to color white Prisma flowers. The button's are from MM's Chloe's Closet set. Boy did I drag out a lot of stuff to make this card and now I have put it all away again...grrrr.

Yesterday, I spent the day with my friend Gloria at a Stampin' Up party. It was great seeing Gloria again, since she doesn't live in the same town as I do. Thank goodness for email. I think making some easy cards put me in the mood to ink up my new Tilda.

I hope you like her.

Blog Candy

2009-03-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I still haven't finished some of the cards that I started. I took Monday and Tuesday off from work, because DH is on vacation all week. Our granddaughters spend both days with us and both love to paint and do Arts and Crafts, as Dominique calls it. Dominique even made a necklace with Oma's "jewels", pearls and Prima flowers.

You probably have already seen that Suzanne and Claudia have some beautiful blog candy up for grabs. These are some extremely talented ladies. Since I don't yet know how to link you to their blogs by clicking on their names I will have to copy the addy's below.
http://scrapbitz.blogspot.com/
http://rosaswelt.blogspot.com/

I also have a bit of exciting news to tell you. I won the beautiful set of angels from WOJ. Can't wait for them to arrive. I never thought I would win anything like it. Especially since over 300 people left comments on Katharina's blog. Boy, am I lucky.

Thank you all for stopping by and leaving such nice comments.

Bright Alva

2009-03-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

I finally finished another Magnolia Card. I love the Alf and Alva image. I think we would call them "Wichtel" in German. If I remember correctly, the first group in Girl Scouts in Germany is called Wichtel. I lost many little blue and yellow Wichtel emblems. Anyway, this is a really bright card. Lately I am drawn to bright colors because I am wishing for spring to come along. I hope you like her.
I colored Alva with Copics and the bright DS is from K&Co., called Berry Sweet. The border punch is a new punch from Fiskars. The die cut is from BossKuts and the Dew Drops are Pointsettia.

2009-03-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I last posted. I guess I got cold feet about adding anything. I finally started to make some cards on Saturday but I did not finish them all. When I feel that I am at a dead end and nothing I try is working, I finally stop and work on another card. As most of you know I have a heck of a time making a decision how to finish any card.

Today I want to show you a card I made with the PTI stamp set REMEMBER. It is a Lisa Johnson design and I really love her images. I also love poppies and especially the blood red ones. I colored them with copics and I think the DP is from Making Memories. The red paper is Real Red from SU. If I want to use red I always come back to Real Red. For me this is the only true red. The punch is one of the new ones from Fiskars. This card came together really quick. For once, what I invisioned worked without me agonizing over my decisions.

I hope you like it

2009-02-28T20:24:00.001-08:00

Oh no, I had changed a setting because I thought it would create the little box where people could pick the language of their choosing. Well that is not what it did. I started typing and it was in Hindi. I didn't even know that I could write Hindi......hehehe. Well, I have a lot to learn.

I promise this will be my last posting for today. I know I have gone crazy. You are correct Sharon, I am catching up... lol.

I made this card for my sister Christiane last year, but did not sent it until last week. Tonight she emailed me and told me that she had received it. Another image colored with Prisma pencils and Gamsol.

Thanks for stopping by

Pride and Joy

2009-02-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

Here are our beautiful girls. This is my favorite Christmas picture, when Dominique was 2 and Madison was 1. It was not fun that day. They did not want to cooperate and the photographer only got one picture. We were really lucky that it turned out this well. How things have changed in just a few years. These pictures I took last weekend. The weather was beautiful. I think it was 65 degrees. Dominique is wearing one of her dress up outfits and Madison is wearing the Dirndl that Edith and Christiane had sent from Germany when Dominique was a baby. And another picture later in the day doing some serious artwork with Oma.

Christiane, Christine, Christina

2009-02-28T13:47:00.000-08:00

First there is my little sis Christiane. Then there is my best friend from school Christine, then came my dear friend Christine from Chemnitz and now my wonderful friend Christina. Besides these four great ladies I know a few more.

Now to my friend Christine in Chemnitz. We met on line doing genealogy. Her great grandfather comes from the area close to where my Mom's family is from. She has been a very dear, dear friend and she is so giving. She does so much for me. She and her husband Gert have been to the Czech Republic several times now and always have suprised me with the most beautiful pictures of the villages where Mom is from. If it wasn't for her I would not know how Litschnitz, Zierde and all the other villages look like. I can't forget to mention the care packages she sends. The Marshall Plan is working in revers. Thanks so much Christine, for all you do for me.

This card I made for Christine because among other things she sends me "real" coffee and real Dresdner Stollen.

2009-02-28T13:25:00.000-08:00

This post is about one of my newest friends. Her name is Christina. I met her on Magnolia-licious and she is just the most wonderful and giving person. She doesn't yet have a blog but I hope that since I did it, she will follow. Christina makes beautiful cards using the Magnolia stamps. Besides that, I told you she is giving...... she provides me with the most beautiful stamped images and bling. For christmas she sent a biiiig tin full of homemade cookies. Yummmmyyyy !!!!
Here's to you Christina !!!!!!!

2009-02-28T13:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more Christmas cards. One went to Lee, hi Lee, I haven't heard from you today. I think the blue one I gave to Claudia. Claudia makes fun of the Magnolia's. She thinks they should have a mouth and nose. Well, hopefully soon I will post a card with "your" colors.

Weihnachtskaetzchen

2009-02-28T13:13:00.000-08:00

This cute cat I colored for Christiane, Vivian and my wonderful friend Christine in Chemnitz

Birthday Card

2009-02-28T12:59:00.001-08:00

Last year my sister Christiane received this birthday card. She loves kitties. I colored the image with Prisma Pencils and Gamsol.

My First Magnolia Card

2009-02-28T12:45:00.000-08:00

This is the first card I ever made using a Magnolia stamp and the first time I used Copic Markers. I am not good at taking pictures. I sent it to my sister Edith for her birthday last year.

I did it

2009-02-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know what has come over me but I finally made the big jump. I don't know how often I will post but at least now I have a spot for my cards. I hope you all will like it.

Thanks for stoping by.