Minuet's Muse

Scrapp'n Savvy Blog Hop!

2012-02-03T08:26:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone!
Welcome to the first ever Scrappn' Savvy blog hop! During this blog hop, you will visit each instructors' website and see some wonderful projects featuring the We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" collection. Please leave a comment at each blog, and then return back to the Scrappn' Savvy blog and leave a comment that you have finished the hop. There will be some small prizes given away for a random commenter from each blog, and there will be one grand prize given away from all those comments left on the Scrappn' Savvy blog after you have finished the hop. Karrie, our store owner, will list the winners on the Scrapp'n Savvy blog after the hop. Winners must be local so they can pick up their prize at the store.

Now on to the fun stuff....Here are the cards that I created with the We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck" collection:

I made three cards with this fun paper line and I could have kept on going... the patterns coordinate so well and the colors are so vibrant. The first card is a birthday card I made for my daughter. The cupcake is an Elizabeth Crafts Design outline sticker with highlight Glitter Ritz and colored with Copics. This fun technique was featured in my Copic class last month. The banner was free hand cut and the "Happy" was stamped and punched out and popped up on pop dots.

The second card is one that features a beautiful digi image from Mabelle Ro colored with Copics. Again the Love Struck paper adds an element of fun to the card. The flowers are part of the stickers that come with the line.

Close up of crepe paper flower

In my last card I really wanted to showcase the paper. I cut 1 inch strips, inked them with Vintage Photo distress ink and rounded the bottoms. I adhered them to the card base. I made a cute little flower out of rolled crepe paper. I simply twisted the paper and then coiled and glued it to a base circle of cardstock. I added a punched flower behind it and cut some leaves out to finish it off. The pearl in the middle was a final touch ( it's really white on the card). The sentiment is from a sheet from the paper line. I really liked how this one turned out.

I hope you have enjoyed my creations! If you love cardmaking join me for a classes at Scrapp'n Savvy!

Now please continue on with the hop and visit the next person in line! Once you have visited everyone's blog and left a comment, be sure to return to the Scrappn' Savvy blog and leave a comment that you have finished the hop!

Also, please be sure that you check out the Scrappn' Savvy store website to see upcoming events and classes: http://www.scrappnsavvy.com/

Scrappn’ Savvy Blog
Karen Burniston
Audrey Yeager
Carol Brown
Debra Hensley - You are here!
Margene Beadroux
Heather Leopard
Terri Burnette
Susan Mckinney
Tove Mayer
Leslie Parlette

Thanks so much for stopping by! I love comments and followers!

no stamping Valentine

2012-02-01T13:55:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone!

Double sided paper is the star of this card... I was asked to create a valentine card the young women of my church could mass produce to deliver to a nursing home in our area. I was given some great double sided paper to work with. This is what I came up with- No stamping ( to messy with 15 teenagers) but some new techniques for them. The heart was free hand cut, distressed on the edges and crinkled before it was adhered. I also taught them how to make a rolled rose. They all turned out really nice and the girls enjoyed learning something new. Working with a coordinating double sided paper makes it fun and easy! Hope you like it...

Glitter Ritz heart

2012-01-30T11:31:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all doing well out there in blogland. Today I have a fun card to share with you. This is one of the projects we did in my Copic card class at Scrapp'n Savvy this month. The focus was on learning to use Elizabeth Crafts outline stickers and Glitter Ritz and then color them with Copics. The process is really easy and turns out looking amazing. The highlight glitter has no color but it does have warm or cool tones. Since it is clear you can color over it with your Copic markers- you do have to be careful not to linger too long in one spot as the alcohol in the markers can dissovle the adhesive holding the glitter. It actually takes very little ink to color. You can even blend.

In this card I wanted to really showcase the heart/glitter so I kept the background simple- white on white with a script embossed on the mat. The scalloped rectangle is a spellbinders die. The red hearts under the ribbon are also from Elizabeth Crafts- they come in silver or gold and you can color right over them as well to customize them.

The outline stickers come in a wide variety. You can find a tutorial on how to use them on the Elizabeth Crafts Design blog. I did another card for my daughter's birthday that I will show you tomorrow...

Thanks for stopping by. I love hearing your comments!

More Valentines

2012-01-17T15:50:00.002-06:00

Hi Everybody!

Here are two more cards we made in my Stamped with Love class last week. Both use the same We R Memorykeepers "Love Struck" line- so cute!

The first one is a wiper card- you can see from the top picture that when you pull it open a cupid pops out the top. The cupid and embellishments are from the coordinating sticker sheet. One helpful tip- dust the back of any sticker with talc to nutralize the sticky. In this card the cupid would get stuck inside if he was still sticky.

The second card is a 3 x 3 mini- the idea was to use up scraps. The twine is from doodlebug. A little stickles adds just the right amount of bling. The love stamp is from a TAC set called tag tidbits. The small hearts are a punch and the big heart is from the sticker sheet.

Last... We made a candy box out of one of the small clamshells that TAC used. Mailing address labels are the perfect sized to fit around a Hershey's nuggets and four will fit in the clamshell. I stamped the labels with Valentiny stamps then put them in the box. I made a belly band for the box with an embossed heart, ribbon, love you tag and lots of stickles, To finish it off I added ribbons to the top. I'm going to make more of these for some of my friends at church... too cute and so easy!!

Love Bunnies

2012-01-12T21:00:00.001-06:00

Hi Everyone!
I'm finally back from the abyss that is the holidays...I had a wonderful Chrismas spent with family and friends and a great New Year's Eve. I'm excited because I am back teaching at Scrapp'n Savvy again. I had to take a few months off for health reasons but I am doing much better and ready to get back into life and for me that means teaching and creating. I had my first class last week and we made some adorable cards and projects. I'll show you all of them but I still have to take pictures of the rest, however, I do have one ready to show you. The adorable bunny stamp is from a stamp company out of England called Lily of the Valley. I absolutely love their images and ordered their A5 sheets which have a selection of some of their more popular stamps. I had no problems ordering from them and will be purchasing more soon.

The card is made from piecing together pattern paper from We R Memory Keepers "Love Struck Line." I used the telescoping technique for the image...stamping it three times and punching out a spotlight area in two different sizes of squares to stack on eachother. The ladies in class really enjoyed learning thi technique. The image is colored with Copics and a little bling is added with a Stardust Gelly Pen. A few pink pearls and some ribbon and you've one cute card! I made a second version of the card for my daughter who serving a mission for my church in Los Angeles. I added the sentiment we love you to her card.

I'll be posting the other projects soon so hang in there with me. I hope you have a great weekend!

Christmas Joy

2011-12-15T12:26:00.002-06:00

Christmas is fast approaching and I finally got some time to work on a few Christmas cards. I love the non-traditional colors based on some BoBunny paper I had left over from last year. Purples, teals and greens- so fun! The background is embossed with snowflakes. The sentiment is from a TAC set called Joyful Ornaments.

The other card I did was from the same stamp set- this time I used an ornament for the focal point. I added stickles to the ornament for some sparkle. The cardstock is embossed and the sentiment is stamped in white. I thought they both turned out nice. I hope you are enjoying your own holiday crafting! Thanks for stopping by!

Cowboy Celebrate

2011-12-04T15:22:00.001-06:00

Being a Texan, one of my favorite stamp sets TAC had was called Cowboy Boots. I hadn't used the image of the boot for a while so I got it out and mae this card. I used the masking technique to make a pair of boots as the stamp is of only one boot. The paper is from some scraps of an Adornit print I had. The boots are colored with Copics of course and there is a bit of stickles on the blue stars. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!!

Pink Peony

2011-11-28T15:54:00.001-06:00

Hi everyone! I hope your Thanksgiving celebrations were wonderful!! I've got a few cards to share with you- these were designed for my card kits. Hope you enjoy!

This card was made using Nina B's dotted peony stamp set from The Angel Company. I think Nina has released a similar set- you can get info from her website :
Crafting in Croatia

For the card I stamped the lead onto green strip of paper to give some texture to the background. I colored the peony with Copics- unfortunatly I didn't write down which ones when I did it- I'll so better in the future! The background has half a paper lace doily and an edge of punching. The outer corners are rounded to tie into the rounded theme.... hope you like it!

Coming Soon!

2011-11-21T17:28:00.001-06:00

Me!

Sorry I've been gone so long- a combination of TAC closing, health issues and life happenings has kept me from creating and blogging... things are on the upswing now so hopefully I will have some new cards and creations to show you soon. At this time I decided not to sign on with another stamp company- I really loved TAC and am not ready to invest in another endeavor. I am still teaching at Scrapp'n Saavy and will resume classes in January. I'll post info and projects here as well as my cards. I plan to keep using my TAC images even though they are no longer available for purchase.. take them as inspirtion for your own creations. I also plan to revamp the blog so stay tuned and THANK YOU to everyone who has hung in there with me and written with concerns as to where I am.. I feel blessed to be part of such a generous and loving community....

Be back soon..
Debra

TAC closes it's doors

2011-08-25T13:38:00.000-05:00

I've got some sad news to share with you:

TAC is hanging up their Wings

Copied and pasted from www.theangelcompany.net

"It is with great sadness that I must announce we are hanging up our wings. These past several years our industry has faced enormous challenges and as a result, we have seen many companies close their doors. We continued to hope we could see The Angel Company through this recession and back into prosperous days and we held onto this hope as long as we could.

One of the largest challenges affecting each of us is our industry not being able to support all of the direct sales companies in our field. Even in a healthy economy, we are a niche market trying to compete for a very limited number of distributors. As a small company, this has been a grueling challenge for us. Times are tough for everyone ~ in direct sales and retail environments.

I would like to thank each of you for being a customer and Angel these past 14 years. Indeed, it has been a pleasure to serve you.

The Angel Company"

On a personal note- Thank you for your love and support over the years in sharing the wonderful products The Angel Company had to offer. I’ve been blessed to make lifelong friends and I have enjoyed every moment. At present I have no plans to move to a different stamp company. I will continue to teach at Scrappin Savvy ( in the Spring area). Hope to continue to share the world of paper crafting with you. My blog will also stay active( I realize "active" is used loosley here on my blog but that has been due to illness and three surgeries on my arm. I am on the mend now and ready to get back to posting...)but will be revamped to be not specifically TAC. Please continue to stop by!

Your former Angel,

Debra Hensley

Cherish canvas

2011-07-08T10:17:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends,
Here's another little project I created for Scrapp'n Savvy. We did these wonderful canvases at our last Sampler ( where you can come and do a project and meet the various teachers and get a discount for signing up for classes). The canvas is 8 x 8. We embossed a swirl design on the canvas and then painted over it making the embossing very subtle. I then inked my edges and stamped the swirl image again over the paint to bring it out a bit more. We used 2 x 2 chipboard squares decorated with various papers to surround the 4 x 4 image in the center. The word Cherish was cut on the Cricut- I added glossy accents and glitter to mine. The bird and eggs are from a newly retired TAC stamp set called All things of Nature- one I love and will keep using for sure! The images are colored with Copic markers and glittered as well. The branches are real and the flowers are made from paper I colored with the matching Copics and punched out. The flower at the top is punched from an old book, inked and has a cute little button in the middle. I added some more glitter over the swirls on the canvas for an extra punch. What do you think? It was so fun to make - I think it would be perfect for gifts...

I'm working on cards and awaiting my order of new stamps from TAC's new catalog. If you are interested in getting one let me know!

Happy Friday!
Debra

Father's day layout

2011-06-28T11:11:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it has been so long since I posted- Life has been crazy busy. my youngest son graduated high school and my daughter is home from college for the summer. I've been teaching a lot and trying to learn some new paper crafts ( more on that later :-)). I wanted to share a layout I did for the scrapbook store I teach at- Scrapp'n Savvy. Each of the teachers rotates turns creating a two page layout to be sold in the store. It's a challenge for me because I am primarily a card maker and working on such a "large" area is intimidating. Thankfully my wonderful and talented boss, Karrie Allen, helps me through the creative slumps. This is a layout I made for Father's Day. Yep that's me and my Daddy. It was fun working with the 2 x 2 squares and really made the pattern paper stretch. I used buttons and made rolled roses for the accents. The number plate is Tim Holtz.What do you think???

Thanks for stopping by-I'd love to hear from you!

Sunflowers

2011-05-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

Here is another card we did in the Copic Card class. This image is from the current Stamp of the Month- Sunflowers T-3292. I absolutely LOVE this set. I have used it several times here on the blog. It seems to be my "go to" set when I need something perfect for a birthday, a thank you or a thinking of you. The sunflowers are fun to color and great for practicing your Copics! I've also had fun playing with the pitcher giving it different finishes and effects. For this one I tried to mimic the blue tin cookware you see in the camping stores. After applying the color I went back and added "mottling" with my Colorless blender and then added white dots with a white gel pen. It looks really authentic in person. Sorry the lighting was a bit bright when I took the picture but I thought I would share it anyway. I took inspiration from the Card on the TAC home site and crumpled the blue part of the background. Then I rubbed versamark over it to bring out the wrinkles. Love the look! If you don't have this set I encourage you to get it while it is on sale. You will use it over and over!

One of my favorite Images

2011-05-17T15:21:00.001-05:00

I love this wagon filled with flowers. It's from a retired TAC set called Ecclectic Wagon. I used to use it all the time- there is something so charming about it- at least for me anyway. I'm teaching a Copic Card class at Scrapp'n Savvy and thought that wagon would be perfect to practice coloring on- especially the wood grain. I try to keep the cards simple in design to showcase the coloring. My students seem to really be enjoying the practice and the outcome. I'll share more with you as we go.

Hope you are getting a chance to enjoy some sunshine- it's beautiful here in Texas today. Thanks for stopping by!

A mcard a day in the Month of May- Guest designer!

2011-05-11T07:12:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!
I'm so excited to share with you that I am the guest desinger today on the Angel Company's blog- Savvy projects blog- as a guest designer for the A Card a day in the Month of May special feature. You can see the post of my card here: Savvy Projects Blog
Here is a sneak peak at my card- the details are in the blog post.

It was so fun to create a card using one of Heather Scott's fabulous schetch. Come play along and post your take on the sketches at the Savvy Projects blog and join the fun!

Thanks for stopping by- I';ll more fun cards and projects to share with you soon!

Have a wonderful week!

Angel hugs

Debra

Class cards

2011-03-24T17:39:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!
Sorry for the lack of posting- I've been super busy teaching and getting ready for the Scrapp'n sampler this weekend at Scrapp'n Savvy. You should see my scrap room- it is totally upsidedown.. a creative whirlwind went through..but that is good- means my mojo is working :-)

I wanted to share a ccouple of the cards I designed for my Stamped with Love card class from the beginning of the month. The theme was Birthday cards -None of the supplies are from TAC but I still thought you would enjoy seeing them. I'll be posting more goodies soon! Thanks for hanging in with me!

Happy Spring!

Vintage Rose

2011-02-22T21:59:00.000-06:00

I've been practicing with my Copics getting ready to teach a Copic concepts class this week. I decided to dig through my old stamps to see if I could find any images that would be fun to color. I came across the one used in this card. I know it is a retired TAC stamp- very similar to some of the flower art images at the Digi Design House, but I have no idea what it is called. I had fun coloring it though- and I promise- in real life the reds match :-)

Springy birthday

2011-02-18T15:13:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone,

The weather is so beautiful here in Texas it sure feels like spring outside. It made me want to create a springy card. I immediately went to one of my favorite sets- All Things of Nature- with it's beautiful bird images. I stamped the image in Rich Cocoa memento Ink. I used the palette method ( scribbling a little Copic on an acrylic block and then picking it up with the Colorless Blender to "paint" with) for a suble watercolor look for the image. I also used one of my other all time favorite sets - Running Sttitches- around the edges of the bird image and the pattern paper. I rarely have time to actually sew on my cards and the different stitch patterns in Running Stitches is the perfect solution. I can add stitching any time with out the effort of actually sewing. A few mini flower punches, some ribbon and the card is all done. What do you think??

Sunflowers

2011-02-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

I get to play along again today with the Savvy Projects Guest Designer day featuring Sunflowers- one of my favorite sets! I love the images in this set- they are perfect for coloring with Copics or just about any other medium. I kept my card simple to showcase the image. Again I used Rustic Chic paper- this time the red and brown patterns. I colord the image with Copics, added some white dotting for highlights with my white gel pen and traced the petals of the flowers with my Stardust Gelly pen- It adds so much sparkle- I can't hardly stamp with out it! The Birthday sentiment is from Ordinary Greetings - another "go to" set when I need the perfect sentiment.

Hope you like it! Don't forget to pop back over to Savvy projects to check out the amazing cards from today's guest designer and see all the other fun creations.

Have a great day!

Be Lifted

2011-02-15T15:11:00.000-06:00

I'm so excited to be able to join in TAC's You Make Life Fabulous event. Different guest designers have been invited to showcase a variety of stamp sets- all which are on sale for 25% through the end of the month. The set featured today is called Be Lifted. I have had this set for a while but hadn't had a chance to play with it yet. I love kites and I especially love the "uplifting" sentiments that come along with the images. If you want to see more wonderful ideas head over to the Savvy Projects Blog and follow the links.

For my card I used Bazzill paper from a mono pack I had. The pattern paper is from one of my favorites- Rustic Chic. I love the colors and the patterns in this pack! I stamped the kite on some of the paper and cut it out, popped it up and added it off the oval a bit. The tail and sentiment are stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink. I add a bit of stickles to the edge of the kite and the tail for some sparkle. I colored the bows with Copics and dotted the background very lightly with Copics as well. I was going to add some ribbon but I ended up liking it just the way it was. What do you think??

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T16:03:00.000-06:00

Happy valentines day everyone! I hope your day is filled with happiness and chocolate!

I've had a super busy month that has kept me from posting but hopefully now that things are settling down I will have lots to share with you. In honor of Valentine's day I wanted to share with you three cards that I taught in my last card class at Scrapp'n Savvy. The stamps are all from TAC- the paper's are one's we had at the store.

The first card was a Case of a card I saw somewhere.. sorry I can't find the orginal card but it looked a lot like this one ( haha) I embossed the base with a cuttlebug embossing folder. Stamped and embossed the image from Cheery Thoughts. I colored the heart with Copics and added stickles. The Love U sentiment is from a Gift with Purchase stamp. I thought it turned out sweet.

The next card is a pop- up card. The cover is stamped with Damask Backgrounder ( I love this set!) with stazon Ink on acetate. The inside is stamped with Decorative Corners and the birdcage diecut (Tim Holtz) is on the pop-up element. The sentiment is one I came up with on the computer. It was fun teaching my wonderful ladies how to make the pop up element!

The last card has an accordian fold message in the center. The word LOVE is stamped with letters from Flower Bet in L'Amor Red Pallette Ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. It's a fun "surprise" element. You still can write a message inside the card as well.

That's it for my cards. Hope you like them! Have a great week!

p.s.- On a personal note I want to wish my dear sweet wonderful husband a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It turns the big 50 today.... I love ya, Sweetie!

A Special Thank You

2011-01-16T10:56:00.000-06:00

I've been having trouble with my arm lately ( it has a graph in it that was used for dialysis in the past but not any more thank goodness!) and I had to have a second procedure this week to fix the problem. A dear friend from church brought my family a wonderful meal the night of my procedure. It was such a kind act of service and so much appreciated- she is a busy lady and it touched my heart that she took the time to care for us. I made her a sweet little thank you card and will give it to her today. I love Mabelle ro's images - they are so sweet... this one is from Cheery Thoughts. a favorite set. She is colored with Copics using a feather blending technique on her dress. I outlined the heart and added little dots to the bottom of her dress with the stardust gelly glaze pen...can't live with out that one! It's simple but heartfelt... hope she likes it!

Have a great day everyone!

Friends

2011-01-11T16:42:00.000-06:00

I made this card for a dear friend...the Lucy image is sooo sweet.... I colored her with Copics and added a little Stardust gelly pen-my fav!- to the heart, flower and trim of her dress. Cardstock is Bazzill and the paper is From Brighten my day. Hope it makes you smile! have a great day!

TAC's from the Heart bloghop

2011-01-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

Happy 2011 everyone! I hope you had wonderful holidays! I'm excited to be participating in the Angel Company's From the heart bloghop. I wanted to do something a little different so I used an image from Flourish trees of hope. I've had this set a while and not used it but I thought this time it would work perfect for a love sentiment. I stamped it and embossed it and added the little hearts. The paper is More Mimi. What do you think? have a great weekend everyone!

cuddly Penguin

2010-12-17T12:52:00.000-06:00

This card was made using one of our free gift with purchase stamps. Right now all our hostess and customer benefits are TRIPLED!! You can get three GWP stamps for every 30.00 you spend.. what a deal! This little penguin goes with the images in Cuddly Christmas. He's so cute! Colored with copics and embellished with stickles and liquid pearls... hope he brings a smile to your day!

Damask Christmas

2010-11-22T11:29:00.000-06:00

Hi Everyone,
I've been so busy the past few weeks! I was able to get Copic Certified earlier this month in San Antonio. Jenn Balcer was my instructor and it was her first time teaching. She was so fun and full of great info. I had a wonderful time and can't wait to start passing on all the wonderful knowledge I got to my students!

I've also been busy celebrating my 25th anniversary ( which was yesterday) with my dear sweet husband Curtis. I couldn't ask for a more supportive encouraging partner in life. He's the best part of my life and I look forward to the next 25 together..

And.. I've been crazy busy getting ready for the holidays trying to make card kits to sell and get my class samples ready for my Dec card class at Scrapp'n Savvy. We are going to have a blast next month!

Above is one of the cards I worked up for a card kit. I love the new Damask backgrounder set- the stamps are so big and so versatile. I keep seeing Christmas so this is what I came up with- simple but nice, I think. What do you think??

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Heartsings!

2010-11-04T14:59:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!
Today I have a sweet card I made using a retired set from TAC called Heartsings. I love this set- hadn't had it out in ages and decided to play with it today. The papers are some I had around- non-TAC. Stickles sure makes a difference, doesn't it? The image is colored with Copics... hope you enjoy!

TAC's fall blog hop

2010-10-29T11:22:00.000-05:00

The Angel Company is hosting a Fall themed bloghop orginating on the Savvy Projects blog. I created this card for the bloghop. I just got this MabelleRO set- Lucy- and absolultely love it! She's so sweet in her Thanksgiving outfit. I colored her with copic markers and poped up the pumpkin in her hands. I used Reece papers for the card and Reece ribbon as an accent. A little piercing and you are all set. I can't wait to see all the other wonderful creations in the blog hop- please stop by and check them out too! I'd love to hear from you so please leave a comment! Have a great weekend!

Everyday Cuties

2010-10-27T12:10:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!
I've been busy working on card kits to sell at Scrapp'n Savvy. I think I have mentioned them before- I make one full card as your example and then include all the pieces to make 5 additional identical cards with envelopes. They have been selling like crazy so I am trying to replenish the supply. I made this cute card with one of the bunny images from Everyday Cutites ( English-you can also get it with Spanish sentiments). She is colored with copics. The pattern paper is some I had left over in my stash. The card base is also embossed with a cuttlebug folder. What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Happily Grateful

2010-10-21T11:48:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I know it's been ages since my last post- so much has been going on in my life! I was out of town for two weeks on a little island in the middle of lake Michigan with some girlfriends and then when I got back I had one week to get my house ready for a guest from out of the country that was with us for 2 weeks... mix in getting ready for my card class and doing a weekly layout for Scrappn Savvy ( where I teach) and my poor blog has been sorely neglected. Hopefully now that life is settling back down I will do much better at posting!

Today I have a card for you that was inspired by this card I saw on Heather Scott's blog. I loved it so much I wanted to do one similar so of course mine is a total case, with a few changes. The stamp set used is Happily Grateful- I love this set! The butterfly was colored with copics, covered with glossy accents and sprinkled with Prisma glitter. The result looks fabulous in real life. The background is stamped with the leaves from the set and overlayed with script background done in Sunflower palette ink. A few crystals are sprinkled over the leaves. The pattern paper is some I had on hand ( non tac) and the punch is Martha Stewart. Hope you like it!

More Wonder and Joy

2010-08-13T14:51:00.000-05:00

I just can't get enough of these images.... she's so sweet. I love how changing the colors completely changes the tone of the card.. The flower was punched from an old paperback book and inked with red ink, layered and crumpled. The coloring was done with my Copics....what do you think?

Stamps used: Wonder and Joy, Ordinary Greetings

Sunflowers

2010-07-27T16:48:00.000-05:00

With all the tropical storm activity, it has been raining for days here in Texas. I miss the sunshine so I decided to create a little of my own using one of TAC's new stamp sets T3292 Sunflowers. I absolutely love the images in this set and couldn't wait to get my hands on them and color. For this card I stamped the image with Tuxedo black Memento ink and colored with copics. I used my extreme white gel pen to add dotted highlights to the pitcher and the sunflowers. The paper is from one of my favorite sets- V928 Rustic Chic. The sentiment is from another new set ( for me anyway) T3128 Thinking of you. Love the versatility of the sayings in this set! Hope you like my creation and hope it brings a little sunshine into your day!

A Happy Hello

2010-06-30T11:35:00.001-05:00

Hi Everyone! It's another hot humid day here in Texas- perfect weather to stay in and make cards! I'm enjoying getting to know my Copic markers better and better. They are so much fun. The image on this sweet card is from the wonder and joy set. We have several new images with the same characters in our brand new 2010-2011 Inspiration book and catalog. Give me a hollar if you would like one! The pattern paper is from Kaleidascope boyz. The white background is embossed with a cuttle bug folder and the blue flowers with the gems were some from my stash. The sentiment is from one of last years hostess sets. I really like the way this card turned out.. what do you think?

The New Inspiration book is here!!

2010-06-25T11:31:00.000-05:00

Seminar is in full swing and the cover for our new catalog has just been released. It's absolultely gorgeous. I can't wait to get my copy and see all the beautiful new stamp sets, accessories and products. If you would like a catalog please contact me-ordering begins Monday! Woohoo!!

Found Joy

2010-06-24T14:11:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I've had some time to create with some brand new stamp sets I got from TAC- these will be in the new catty which is set to start shipping today! Hurray!! We were able to buy a few sets at a reduced rate through the May and June Jubilation special- you can check out the details on the right side of my blog... The set I used today is called Found Joy. I love this set! You can really do a lot with the separate floral elements. For this card I samped the grass a few times with out reinking to get the variable look in the color of the ink. I did the same with the flower but also used the rock and roll technique to add some dark to the edges. I stamped some extra flowers and cut them out and mounted them with foam tape to the image. I outlined them with the stardust gelly pen for some sparkle and added a gem to the middles for some bling. A beautiful bow and a bit of edge punching and voila- a very nice birthday card. The sentiment is from another new set-Birthday Word Search. What do you think??

Squat!

2010-06-18T10:10:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love the Cowboy boots set from TAC. Living in Texas makes it even more fun- everyone has boots around here! I was inspired by a card by Barb Foster found here and cased it a bit... The background is done with DCWV paper and a cuttle bug embossing folder- paisley. I sanded the white core paper to really make the paisleys pop. The paper is retired from TAC. I colored the image with copics. Hope you like it! Have a great weekend!!

Featured designer!

2010-06-01T16:47:00.000-05:00

It feels so good to be able to say I am starting to teach again! I'll be teaching stamping and cardmaking at Scrapping Saavy- a local scrapbook store run by a dear friend. All the teachers take turns designing a weekly 2 page layout that goes on sale in the store. My first layout came out yesterday. You can read about it and my new class here . It was fun to get back to scrapbooking- I'm always focused on cards.
If you are in the Spring/Houston area and love to stamp come give my class- Stamped with Love- a try. We will have a blast and learn a lot in the process!

Boots!

2010-05-26T09:32:00.002-05:00

Living in Texas, I knew I had to have the adorable new stamp set Cowboy Boots ! I love this set! The sentiments are so fun and the boots are a blast to color. For this card I embossed the red base with the paisley cuttle bug folder. I added a strip of paper from Rustic Chic -one of my all time favorite paper pads from TAC. I used a dark brown matt for the Rustic chic strip that I roughed up with an edge distresser. I did ther same to the brown matt for the boots image. I used the masking method to stamp two boots and colored them with my copics. I added the sentiment, a bit of ribbon and a blingy brad to finish thngs off. What do you think??

Have a great week!

Cherry day

2010-05-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

I've been busy working on card kits to sell at a local scrapbook store. The kits will have one card completed as the example and then the supplies to make 5 identical cards. I'm really excited and have been enjoying the creating process. It's a wonderful way to showcase TAC products too! I've had trouble with my camera, which is why I haven't posted for a few weeks. I think I finally got it working again. Here is one of the cards for a kit. The set used is a level B hostess set from the base catalog called floral fruits. I love this cute set! It has so many possibilities!! For the card I used Tombow markers to ink the image in two colors- gave it a good huff and stamped. I accented with the Stardust gelly pen. A little piercing, some bling, ribbon and corner rounding and you've got a cute card! What do you think? I'll be posting some of the others I have ready as soon as I can. Hope you have a great week!!

Bandaid Bear

2010-04-28T11:17:00.000-05:00

I've seen bandaid cards around the web lately and decided to try my hand at one. I used swiss dots embossing folder and inked the debossed side to get the bandaid look. I think it turned out rather well!

The bandaid background matches perfectly with the cute boo boo bear image from the new set Everyday Cuties ( English- we have a Spanish version too). The sentiment is from Ordinary Greetings. I tied a bit of tulle to the bottom and added the little white flowers for some interest. What do you think?

Butterfly Happiness

2010-04-21T09:39:00.000-05:00

Hi Everyone!
Are you enjoying the beautiful spring weather? It's been really nice here in Texas- the wildflowers are blooming and there are birds and butterflies everywhere. I was inspired to make this card wanting to use the fun butterfly and dragonfly images from the Wishing Happiness set. These bold detailed images are perfect for embossing as I have done on this card. I started with Kraft Cardstock- ran it through my cuttlebug with the swiss dots embossing folder. Lightely inked it with L'amour red Palette ink. I also stamped my image and sentiment with the same ink. I embossed and cut out the butterfly. Added some foam mounting tape to pop it up on the center piece. I couldn't find the right shade of red ribbon so I used some of the red cardstock I used for the mat on the center piece as a 'ribbon' accent adding a some red and tan scrappers floss and a small punched flower as an accent. I love the tone on tone with the bold color- what do you think? I did similar cards in blue and green also using the other images. It's really a fun set!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!
Debra

Hummingbird fun

2010-04-16T17:44:00.000-05:00

Hi All! Sorry it has been so long since I posted- Life has been really busy and I had computer issues.. ugh! Everything is back in working order so hopefully I'll have lots of fun things to share with you. Today I wanted to share this fun card. I was inspired by a copic tutorial video from this site- scroll down to her April 7th post and you will find two fantastic vidoes on copic coloring- one on doing darker skin tones and one on the dotted background. I had fun with it! The stamp set used is a hostess set from the new Serendipity Street called Swirled Spring Life TA-3239. I love the whimsical fun of this set! For the card I stamped and colored the hummingbird image with copic markers. Jazzed her up a bit with stickles. I stamped the flower image multiple times along the bottom. Colored them also with copics and made an extra flower head to pop up to emphasize one flower. Added a little stickles for that one too. The background is done similar to the tutorial- starting with the darkest colors add dots of different sizes until the background is full to your liking. The sentiment is from another hostesss set- Unexpected Joys. TB-3149. Hope you like it!!

Flower collage trio

2010-02-22T09:56:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite classic stamps sets from TAC is Flower Collage Trio. These images are so beautiful and versatile. For this card I colored the violets and other flowers with my copics. Outlined the petals with the stardust jelly pen and added a little bling in the centers with yellow stickles. I also pierced along the edges and went back with a micron marker to add faux stitiching. The final touch was to distress the edges to make it look like fabric. I went over the whole thing with a bit of cognac palette in to add to the aged look. I embossed the background cardstock with a quickcutz folder I had on hand. The sentiment is from an old gift with purchase stamp I think... The paper flower is one I made from an old book. I talked aboout it a couple of posts below. It's hard to tell by the picture but the cardstock is purple and everything matches color. I don't know why some cameras distort the color even when you use natural light..ugh! So what do you think? Have a great week!

wonder girl

2010-02-10T12:29:00.000-06:00

Here is another image I colored from the Wonder and Joy stamp set. She just makes me smile! I colored her with Copics. I drew in some cloud shapes behind her with my Stardust Clear Gelly pen. I love this pen! You can add glitter accents in fine detail with it. I'm finding myself using it more and more.... The sentiment is from Tag Tidbits. What do you think?

Wonder Boy!

2010-02-09T15:07:00.001-06:00

Isn't he adorable?! This precious little guy is one of the images from a new stamp set called Wonder and Joy from the new Serendipity Street. I colored him with Copic markers. I've been watching a lot of tutorials online and I think I am getting much better...what do you think? The pattern paper is from Kaleidoscope Boyz and the cardstocks are Bazzill. The buttons are from an embellisment jar( don't remember which one-sorry) with a few tied with white scrappers floss. The sentiment is from one of our purchase with purchase sets- Sincere Sentiments. I've got some of the other images colored as well and will get them on cards to share with you soon. Don't forget you can order from Serendipity Street any time and if you put an order in of 100.00 or more you can get a set of 36 Copic markers for half price- the best deal anywhere!! Also right now we have double hostess benefits so it is a great time to put a workshop together or just order for yourself! Hope you like the card! Have a great day!!

Brighten Your Day

2010-01-26T12:32:00.000-06:00

I've been having fun coloring the girl image from TAC's new stamp set Brighten Your Day. It's part of the Stamp Spree promotion. You can find all the details here At first, I wasn't sure about this set but after playing with it I love it. The images are so fun to color with copics ( as I did in these cards) or any other medium. For my card I added the heart ballon from the Artsy owls set and a sentiment from one of our purchase with purchase stamps sets. There is also lots of stickles!! What do you think?

Masculine birthday -Ship collage

2010-01-24T12:47:00.000-06:00

My Dad celebrated his birthday this month and I wanted to create a special card for him. I love the ship collage stamp from TAC and wanted to use it. I stamped it with Prussian Blue palette ink embossed with clear embossing powder. I "aged" the image by distressing the edges and sponging a light brown.blue and green ink over the front very lightly, blending as I went.

I had some funky green ribbon that I used as an embellisment. The ship is on pop dots and the jute cording was added for a more masculine touch. The sentiment is from a retired TAC set stamped with white stazon.

Thanks for stopping by!

I love snowmen!

2010-01-22T13:16:00.000-06:00

One of my absolute favorite stamp set in Inspiration Avenue is Merriest Wishes. I just love these snow people! They are so much fun to color. I stamped out several with tuxedo black memento ink and colored them in with my new set of Copic Markers. I love how the colors blend so nicely with the Copics. I've scoured the internet for coloring tutorials and have learned a lot. If they intimidate you just jump in and play with them- it's only paper and a bit of ink....I promise the more you play the better you will get. My first attemps were terrible but after a little rearch with the online tutorials I improved a lot. I hope to get certified at some point when my health is better. I'm excited to let you know that TAC will continue to carry the Ciao Copic sets in our new catalog so stay tuned for ordering info.

These two cards were made for a couple of dear friends. Do you like them??

Paperback flowers

2010-01-20T15:07:00.005-06:00

I came across this tutorial ( thanks for sharing Dawn!) on making flowers out of old paperback books a while ago. I've seen version of these flowers on several blogs. I decided to give them a try and just couldn't stop playing. Our super jumbo and extra jumbo flower punches work perfectly with this technique. I colored the various flowers with different palette inks. They all are held together with brads-some also have an added button in the middle. I've got one drying now that I added stickles to- turned out so pretty. I plan on using it on a card I have in the works and will share it with you soon.

Peace

2010-01-20T14:56:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone,

I'm finally able to post again- I had scanner/camera trouble and couldn't get pictures to post of my creations. My health is still on the mend too so that has me a bit slowed down but getting better every day! I've got a few cards to share with you that I will space out over the next days. The first is one of the cards I made for Christmas- it uses the Peace stamp set which I really love. I stamped gold snowflakes on a retired color of cardstock TAC used to carry with gold specs in it. The bird is stamped in Burnt Umber Pallette ink. I stamped it twice so I could cut out the wings and pop it out on the image. I added some bling with gold Stickles on the feathers as an accent. I really like the way it turned out. I did another version in teal which was nice too. Hope you enjoy!

Thank You Cards!

2009-12-03T19:38:00.016-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm finally back to my blog! Yeah!! I'm still recovering from my health issues but feeling better and able to spend some time in my stamp room. I have been very blessed to have had so many people helping my family out during my illmess- bringing meals, giving me rides to appointments, cleaning my house, folding my laundry- it's been truly inspirational! My first task back and stamping was to make thank you cards for everyone. I used the sweet girls from Cheery Thoughts R-2043 and the thank you sentiment from Ordinary Greetings T-2881. I colored the girls with Prisma Colored Pencils and blended with Goo Gone. I added stickles and used the stardust gel pen for a bit of bling. On 2 of the teal cards the background was stamped with hostess set Floral Labels TB-2980. The pattern papers used were non- TAC scraps I had around. I think they turned out nice. What do you think??

i'm home

2009-11-18T18:56:00.001-06:00

Hi Everyone,
Just a qick hello.. I'm home from the hospital and recovering slowly. Thanks for all your prayers, good wishes and cards. Your support mean a lot. I still have a long road ahead but every day is a little better... hope to be able to stamp soon. I sure miss my creative side!!
Hugs to all
Debra

fyi

2009-11-12T21:08:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note to let you know Debra has been in the hospital for the last two weeks. She is facing some major health issues. She hasn't had the energy to post for a while and now is unable to. She remains positive and hopeful and can't wait to get healthy and back to stamping. She will post as soon as she can. She will be back so stay tuned and please keep her in your prayers. Thanks Curtis( her husband)

Boo!!

2009-10-13T11:06:00.003-05:00

HI Everyone,

Sorry I have been MIA the last month. I have had some serious health issues decend upon me that pretty much have me at a stand still... I'll be ok but it will take time- as a result my energy and creativity have taken a hit. Every day I think about my poor little neglected blog. Today is a better day so I sat down and created a cute little Halloween card. I've had new stamps for 3 weeks but no energy to cut them out until now...tragedy I know!! LOL Anyway.. my mojo isn't all there but I think it turned out ok. What do you think?

Supplies: Spookalicious stamp set- love it!DCWV neutral stack, matchbox kit- I used some left over peices I had when I made the kit. Love how the little label looks like a tombstone!) white gel pen, versamagic black chalk ink, blingy crystals, ribbon, flowers and buttons. If you are interested in ordering something specific just shoot me an email and I will get you the details... thanks for your patience!

Hello Robot

2009-09-03T10:11:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post today to share my robot card with you. It's not my favorite but I thought I should share it anyway. I embossed the cute robot in silver embossing powder- really adds a lot in read life. Colored him with Tombow markers and a blending pen. The pattern paper is from the Mimi collection- the cardstock is Bazzill. I added a little paper piercing for detail. Hope you like it! This new set is so adorable. I can't wait to play with it more!

Anniversary Cards

2009-08-28T12:07:00.010-05:00

A friend asked me to help her make an anniversary card for her sweet hubby. She is a fantastic scrapper but struggles with cardmaking. I showed her the card designs in Inspiration Avenue and she picked one she liked. She then picked out the materials and I made the card for her. The cards shown her are what I made with the scraps. They are almost the same as the orginal( she has that one!). The black pattern is printed acetate. The black and red are Bazzill Bling paper. The metal embellishment and ribbon were from a Making Memories wedding set. I used a little scrappers floss to tie the ribbons. What do you think?

Happy Thoughts

2009-08-19T09:30:00.002-05:00

The computer is still not 100% but I was able to get this card uploaded to share with you. Its the first time I have used this new set- Happy Thoughts. This set caught my eye the first time I saw it and I have been wanting to create with it for a while. I finally had a moment last night and came up with this card. The cardstock is from Bazzill monochromatics ( yellow greens). The pattern paper is from Pop Rockz. I used an eraser and versarmark to make the dots on the background( my new favorite technique! LOL) and inked the edges with Noir palette ink and a sponge. The stamped image is embossed with Transcendence. The flower is a Bazzill bitty blossom and the ribbon is some I had on hand. What do you think??

A Thank You

2009-08-04T15:40:00.004-05:00

Thanks to everyone for your love and support during this difficult time... your thoughts and prayers have truly been appreciated!

I finally found a moment to make some thank you cards for everyone who brought food over during the week we had family over. The paper is from scraps I had around.. not sure who the manufacturer is. The flower is from Bazzill and the stamp is one of our new purchase with purchase stamps from TAC. Love this one- I embossed it on kraft cardstock to make it more elegant. What do you think?? ( Sorry the pic is a bit blurry...)

A quick note

2009-07-31T11:23:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to give you a quick note to explain why I haven't posted in a while. My husband's father passed away a week and a half ago and we have been dealing with that.. Things are settling back down and hopefully I can get back to creating and posting soon.. thanks for your patience...

Debra

Toodles 2

2009-07-14T10:14:00.003-05:00

While I had everything out for my card yesterday I decided to make another using one of the other images- the cute little boy bear. I used similar products except the paper is from Brighten my Day. The button and ribbon are ones I had in my stash. What do you think? I'm having fun with this set!!

Toodles

2009-07-13T11:35:00.003-05:00

I am meeting a new customer in a little while to give a catalog to and wanted to make a quick little card to include with the catty... I decided to use the set used on the covers- Toodles... love this set!! The card is simple- kraft cardstock, Kaleidascope girlz pattern paper and the stamps... I paper pieced the dress to match the background pattern paper. I colored this cutie with Tombow markers using a blender pen( you just color some ink onto an acrylic block and then go back and pick it up with the blender pen for a softer water color look). I used stickles for the skated and necklace and colored the flower with gelly glaze pens... simple but cute!!! Hope she likes it.......

You make my heart sing!

2009-07-02T19:16:00.003-05:00

Just a quick post today to share another card with you. I really love the way this one turned out-it is so colorful and happy! Once again I am using Mabelle Ro's stamp set Dear Friend from Serendipity. I colored this sweet girl with Tombow markers. The flowers and buttons are from the Ava embellisment jar and the fun pattern paper is from Brighten My Day. Hope you like it!!
Happy Fourth to everyone!

Fish Collage

2009-06-30T20:54:00.005-05:00

Life has temporarily settled down long enough for me to spend some time in my stamping room-yeah!! I created this card to share with you thinking of summer and the beach. I love this set-Sea Stamps featured in Serendipity. The collage images are perfect for layering, distressing and aging. I had so much fun coloring too- I used my prisma colored pencils straight up- no blending solutions. To bring out the highlights I used our Xtreme white gel pen- just love it! Really made the image pop! I used an edge distresser on each of the layers of the main image and really roughed it up. I love the texture such a simple technque adds! To fill in the background I used Decorative Corners with Landscape palette ink on the Kraft cardstock base. The sentiment is from Ordinary Greetings. As an accent I put a loopy brad through a large button and tied coordinating ribbons through it. I wanted something nice but not too feminine. This would make a great guy card- what do you think?

Buzzing right along....

2009-06-23T19:21:00.002-05:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted- I apologize but life has been crazy busy as usual and it has just been in the last few days that I have had time to create. I wanted to do something cheerful and summery using a stamp set I had not used yet. I decided to use a Level A hostess set from Serendipity- Cute as a Bug, hip hop paper and DCWV bright stack for the card stock. I added the stitching with our Xtreme white gel pen ,added some flowers punched with our two sizes of punches, tied with ribbon and scrappers floss. A final touch of stickles make the wings sparkle.. what do you think?

I hope everyone heading out to seminar has a fantastic time. I sure wish I could have been there too!

Reverse Punch Applique- cased

2009-06-05T19:33:00.004-05:00

I came across this card at Pine is Here and absolutely loved the technique of Reverse Punch Applique. Heather Nichols has a fantastic tutorial on how she created the technique and once I saw it I knew I had to try it. I loved her card so created my own version. For my card I used Kraft cardstock, punched out the flowers with our extra jumbo and super jumbo flower punches and also used a tiny one I had on hand. I used the white gel pen Xtreme to do the stitching around the flowers and the card front- Heather actually stitched hers on the sewing machine. The flowers are "appliqued" with papers from the Juliette collection. The ribbon is also Juliette. The buttons are from an embellishment jar. The stamp set- You Are is rapidly becoming a favorite! What do you think?

Check out my Stamp of the Month samples!

2009-06-03T10:54:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone,
Life is busy busy for me right now -I'm sure it is with you as well. I haven't had much time to create but I am working on it! One of the things that kept me busy was that I was asked to make samples for this months Stamp of the Month- Sea Critters. What a fun creative challenge it was! You can check out my samples and the other wonderful creations here Let me know what you think!!

Have a great week!

I heart you

2009-05-22T11:01:00.002-05:00

Happy Friday Everyone!
I was able to spend a little time creating yesterday and came up with this cute card. I just got the new Maybelle Ro "Dear Friend" stamp set featured in Serendipity and couldn't wait to play with the adorable images. For this card I used a white card base. I've been drawn lately to the vibrant colors of Miss Moxie paper so I used the green from that collection for the background on my base. I also used the red pattern paper to paper piece the heart ballons on the image. I colored this darling sweetie with prisma colored pencils blended with goo gone( yes I know.. there she goes again with the goo gone- I just love the affect!) I did a little paper piercing around the colored image and used my edge distresser to rough up the edges. I placed my colored image on two scallopped squares that I punched out and stack to make a rectangle. I punched holes in the scallops for more punch. I stamped my sentiment on a small oval and added ribbons and buttons. For the final touch I cut two small ovals in half, punched a hole in the end and attached them to the front. I thought the card needed a little more red. What do you think?

Reece Scrapbook page

2009-05-17T22:24:00.002-05:00

For national scrapbook day I was asked to post a project over at paperwings. I shared this layout which was one I did for the monthly contest for TAC ( didn't win though). I had fun with the flower punches and the stamping. The Reece paper was perfect- not to girly-just right to allow the photo to shine. ( That's my beautiful baby girl!) I'll add the specifics another day- just wanted to share since I haven't posted in so long! Hope you like it and it inspires you to use your stamps in your scrapbook layouts!!

quick Birthday card

2009-05-17T21:28:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone,
Thank you for your good wishes and kind thoughts during our car crisis. We are doing better- just about have the flooded car dried out and back together and still driving the totalled van until we get a replacement.. life sure throws you curveballs from time to time but we get through! I was asked by a friend to head up a project to make birthday cards for a hospice down in Houston that likes to give home made cards to their dying patients. I've been busily working on cards ever since. I have 70 cards put together- raided my stash and revamped several older creations to give them the birthday spirit. I wanted to share a quick one I put together this evening. It is simpler than I usually do but I like the outcome- the staples add great texture to it and go along with the ribbon which is a silvery metallic ( that didn't quite show up well in the scan). A little paper peicing, a kalediacolor pad and your all set. I hope to share more with you as I can-life is crazy busy right now! Thanks for your patience and again thanks for all the good wishes...

I'll be back

2009-05-03T18:23:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone,
Just a quick note- life has been super busy. My daughter is home for the summer from college and I am starting to work part time at the scrapbook store I teach at. We had our car flooded in a flash flood and the very next day I was rear ended in our other car- jeepers!! LOL Needless to say I haven't had much time to create but I am hoping to get back in my scraproom soon. Please stay tuned.. I hope to have some new creations ready for you this week. All my best to each of you!

Butterflies

2009-04-15T13:45:00.003-05:00

With Spring in the air the flowers are blooming and the beautiful butterflies are in the air... I was inspired to create this card wanting to use a butterfly in a simple way. I stamped the butterflies from the Want to Fly serendipity set onto pattern paper from Kaleidascope Boyz paper pack. I embossed them with Trancendence embossing powder which works perfectly with Palette inks. I cut out the butterfly images and curled their wings. I added a tiny bit of black scrappers floss for the antenna on the bigger butterfly. I used white ribbon from the lily anna collection. I pleated it loosely adhering it with adhesive along the way. I used the scor-pal to do a lattice pattern on the darker blue part of the base and dotted stickles where the lines intersect for a touch of sparkle. The sentiment is from a level A hostess set called Just for You- also stamped and embossed. For the final touch I sprinkled flower sequins from sassy sequins embellishments. What do you think? Have a great day!

April Stamp of the Month

2009-04-04T06:30:00.004-05:00

I finally got a chance to play last night and the first set I wanted to use was the new April Stamp of the Month - Floral Vines I love this set! It's so fun and versatile! For my card I stamped the image on glossy cardstock, embossed it with white embossing powder and then sponged two different Versamagic chalk inks over the embossed design. I wasn't sure what I would end up with but I knew I wanted to use colors that tied into the Rustic Chic pattern paper I had decided to use on the card as well. I absolutely love the result! I buffed the embossed design a bit to remove excess ink which scratched the ink here and there in the background which I totally loved! It gave it a fantastic distressed look that matches the paper perfectly! I love how the image turned out so much I really didn't feel it needed much embellishments so I added a couple of copper eyelets and stamped the word "faith" right on the image. I didn't want the sentiment to take away from the overal design. I also added a few lines of stitching in White stazon to cut the contrast of the background color and add texture. What do you think? It would be a great "guy" card as well.... Hope you have a terrific weekend!!

March Stamp of the Month

2009-03-26T14:01:00.007-05:00

There are only a few more days to get the March Stamp of the Month- Spring Boxes- for the discounted price. I just got my set and I absolutely love these images! The bold designs are perfect use with all types of inks. They just make me smile when I see them! Here's a card I created with the set. I wanted to keep it simple. I used colors from the Versamagic Flowerpot dewdrop set. The chalk finish is perfect! The pattern paper is from Hip Hop Fly with it collection and the scallopped edge is from the white Just the edges from Bazzill. The sentiment is from Squiggle Ladybugs and the little purple flower is Lilac paper posies. I tied a tiny bow out of Lime scrappers floss on the flower to simulate leaves. I liked the effect of the white on white with the scallopped edge - what do you think?

Happy Spring!!

March Angel Art- Think Spring!

2009-03-23T12:40:00.010-05:00

Spring is in the air and on many Angel blogs today thanks to Stacy's Angel Art challenge at Paper Wings. I created this colorful card to echo the colors I see emerging from the ravages of winter. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing and life is renewing. I used the Gebera Daisy stamp and colored it with Prisma colored pencils blended with Googone( yes I love this technique!! LOL). The papers are from the DCWV brights paper pack. I chose those because of their white core which made my criss cross scoring and paper peircing really stand out when I sanded it a little. I did the scoring with my beloved scor-pal- turning out to be a real must have!! The little bit of pattern paper is from Brighten My Day Designer paper pack. I added the sentiment stamped on the mini round tab punch with a button and some scrappers floss. I also added a metal spiral with a bit of airy tulle as an accent on the stamped image. It was fun to create- hope you like it!! Don't forget to visit the other Angel's blogs who are participating in this month's challenge.. they all have beautiful creations sure to inspire!

Stacy

Carol
Jen
Angela
Maria
Melisa
Ellie
Rita
Laurie W
Suzanne
Trudy
Laurie U
Bridget
Chelsea

Fun Flowers

2009-03-16T14:47:00.007-05:00

Happy Monday everyone!
I wanted to share this quick and fun card which is a total case from this card posted at Kristina Werners blog. I loved the simplicity and fun of her card and decided to make one using scraps for my upcoming card class at the scrapbook store. None of the supplies for this card are from TAC accept the Cognac Palette Ink but it could easily be made from TAC scraps as well. Kristina has all the directions on her blog so check it out! She always has been a great inspiration to me and I love her cards! I did change one thing- she used a white gel pen to add the stitching for the stems and I actually stitched on the card with white thread. I liked the added texture. Hope you like it!

Celebrate!

2009-03-10T10:19:00.007-05:00

I celebrated my birthday Sunday so I thought I would share this cheery birthday card I made- I told my husband he could sign it and give it to me..LOL The cupcake image comes from one of my favorite new sets from the Serendipity Magalogue- Little Cupcake This entire set is so fun! I was excited when I first saw it thinking of all the possible ways to color the images. For this card I colored the cupcake with Tombow markers- using the copic techniques I have read about here and there of laying down the lightest color, adding the darker ones and then blending again with the lightest color. I purposely left the darker color less blended to add shadows and depth to the frosting. I added stickles to the wrapper and a small dot on the cherry. I colored the cherry with a red gelly glaze pen for an embossed look. The flowers and button are from the Hillary embellishemnt jar. The paper is from kaleidascope girlz. I enhanced the design by adding the little dotted circles and dot borders from another new Serendipity set Creative Inspiration- this is another set that I am finding will be very versatile and fun to use! Let me know if you like it! have a great week!

Some bunny....

2009-02-28T20:34:00.002-06:00

I'm so excited! I finally got my Serendipity order with some new stamps. It seems like I have been waiting forever! This is the first card I created using the Some Bunny stamp set. I fell in love with these little bunnies- perfect for so many occasions and absolutely wonderful for a variety of coloring techniques. For this card I used my prisma colored pencils and blended with goo gone. The cardstock is all Bazzill and the pattern paper is from the Kaleidoscope Girlz pad. These papers are so much fun- bright and cheery! I added some ribbon and a little flower from the Bumble bee paper posies that we carry. I love the tiny flowers- so versatile and just the right size when you need a special little accent. They are so affordable and really go a long way- I have almost all the colors! Life has been crazy so it has been wonderful to get to let the creative juices flow a bit.. hope you enjoy!

February Angel Art Challenge

2009-02-15T14:10:00.005-06:00

This is my first time participating in an art challenge from the Stacy at Paperwings- an all TAC demos website- a fabulous resource! You can visit the gallery even if you aren't a demo so stop by and see all the beautiful angel art there!

This month's art challenge was to make something featuring the theme of Friendship- it has to use current TAC products. This the card I came up with. I stamped the gebera daisy on watercolor paper and used my Lyra water color crayons to paint the image- I just colored in the image and went back with a water brush to blend- I am so loving this!! The pattern paper is from the Winterberry designer collection and the cardstock is DCWV and Bazzill. I added a button from the Hillary embellisment jar with some Lime scrappers floss through the middle. The Friendship stamp is from a Level A hostess set in our current catalog. Hope you like it!

Check out the other participants and see their amazing creations here:
Stacy
Jen
Seleise
Bridget
Christina
Gloria
Melisa
Laurie
Diana
Laurie U

Have a great week everyone!

Violets and cracked glass

2009-02-11T09:53:00.005-06:00

Hi Everyone,
I've been busy in my craft room designing for an upcoming card class that I teach monthly at a local scrapbook store. I usually can't use my TAC stamps because I have to use products that the store has for resale, however this month I wanted to teach the cracked glass technique since they started carrying UTEE. I didn't have an image that worked well for this technique from the store so for demo purposes I am using an image from Flower Collage Trio- one of my favorite classic sets from TAC. The cardstock is all Bazzill. I sponged Cognac Palette Ink on all pieces to give it a more vintage look. For the image I colored it in with Prisma Colored Pencils- love the way they blend- and then sponged the Cognac all over it again to age it. I then added the UTEE using Versamark Ink in layers until it got thick enough to "crack" After it cooled completely I manipulated the paper until the UTEE started to crack. Some people put it in the freezer to get the cracks but it worked just fine with me bending the paper. I love the result! I added a Bazzill flower cut in half as "photo corners" and accented the top one with a double spiral. What do you think? If you are local and want to learn this technique come to class at Lonestar Scrapbook Company next Tuesday and you will make this very card! Any questions- just email me...

Serendipity!

2009-02-06T11:08:00.003-06:00

Serenditpity has finally arrived! This is The Angel Company's brand new spring/summer magalogue-a cross between a magazine and a mini catalog! Serenditpity is beautiful and full of incredible stamp sets and ideas. I absolutely love it! At Escape we were fortunate to be given one level A and one level B hostess set. I made a quick card with the level B set Flower Labels. I LOVE this set! The card was made by stamping the floral image on a sheet of Uptown Girl paper with Noir Palette Ink. I then added the ribbon. Tied a bow with another piece of ribbon. Added a flower and a button from the Audrey Embellisment Jar with a piece of pink scrappers floss through the button holes. I stamped the Thank You sentiment directly on the ribbon with Noir. That's it- simple, smart, sophisticated! Hope you have a great Friday!

Stay tuned!

2009-02-04T11:16:00.001-06:00

Hi Everyone!
Just a quick note to let you know I have been out of town visiting my daughter at her university for her 19th birthday. I get home this evening and hopefully get some new posts up in the next few days. I've missed stamping! I can't wait to get back to my stamp room and let my creativity flow.
Have a great day!

Me and Mischelle Smith!

2009-01-27T20:17:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share a picture of me with Mischelle Smith- the founder of The Angel Company. We took this together on the last day of Escape. Mischelle is so sweet and personable. She is a pleasure to know, funny,creative and very "real" I'm so glad I got to meet her again. I really feel a part of the Angel Company family! After all... being an Angel is just more fun!! It's so true!!

I'm back!

2009-01-26T22:30:00.003-06:00

I had a fantastic time in San Antonio at Escape! What a creative high! Everything was wonderful- seeing my angel friends and mentors, making new friends, creating amazing projects, getting and learning about our incredible new magalogue- Serendipity, trading and doing shoebox swaps, the river walk, hostess stamps sets, Michelle's favorites, innovative business tips and ideas and the jingling bells.. What fun! I didn't have my camera all weekend but my roomies did and when we share pictures I'll be sure to post some highlights here.. in the mean while... here is a card I made to trade. It uses Reece papers, red cardstock which I embossed with the scor-pal in a criss cross pattern and then rubbed with Burnt Umber palette ink to bring out the pattern. The heart is from Linear Sentiments and is embossed and raised on a pop dot and the sentiment is from the winter wonderful wishes promotion sets- Soul Kisses ( only available through Feb 1). Hope you like it!

Off to Escape!

2009-01-22T10:42:00.003-06:00

Just a quick note to let you know I am heading out to San Antonio for The Angel Company's winter retreat called Escape. I'll be gathering with many of my fellow angels, Michelle- the head of TAC and the fantabulous TAC staff to learn new things, get the magalogue! and have a blast. I a so excited! I'll be back late Saturday so I won't be posting again until after that. Be safe everyone and have a great weekend!

Floral Thank You

2009-01-16T10:29:00.004-06:00

Happy Friday everyone! I've been busy designing and making my trades for Escape. I can't wait- less than a week away! Yeah!! This is one I came up with last night- I have several others done but i'll wait until after I get back to share them with you.. it's been great to have time to create! On this card I used Pattern paper from the Uptown Girl Wing it collection. I love these papers! Pinks, black and red- how can you go wrong?? Even though the colors are "grily" I find I use it a lot for a variety of projects. The floral image and sentiment are from Thank U set in the fall supplement- also on sale for half off at 8.98!! This is a great set for thank you notes- something I always need.
I hope you have a great weekend!

p.s the pink in the floral image really does coordinate with the card- somehow the scan changed it up a bit.. looks great in reality!

Hello Snow!

2009-01-14T14:54:00.004-06:00

In just a little over a week I'll be on my way to San Antonio to attend Escape- The Angel Company's winter retreat. I'm so excited to see my fellow angels and learn new projects to share with all my stamping friends! I'll also get to see our brand new first edition magalog up close and personal- yeah! I've been working on cards to trade at Escape and wanted to share one with you.. I used the adorable new set Hello Snow which is on sale right now during our half off promotion for only 4.48!! What a deal! I love these little snowmen.. so cute and adorable. It's a little hard to tell in the scan but I used the swiss dots embossing folder on the white cardbase to add texture. The paper is from Kaleidoscope Boys Wing it paper pad- so fun too! I colored him with Tombow markers and a blending pen to get the water colored look. I distressed the edges of the blue cardstock with my edge distresser- a tool I totally love and added a button from the Hillary embellishment jar for a final touch.

Heather's Oz-some Sketch 55

2009-01-05T10:48:00.003-06:00

Happy new year Everyone!! 2009 has been hopping already! Today is the first day I have had to sit and stamp a bit and get caught up on the computer. I decided to try Heather's Monday sketch this week and loved the way it turned out! I used Bazzill papers for the solid colors, one of my favorite Wing it paper collections from TAC- Rustic Chic, Brilliance Dew drops ink, Scripty background, Running Stitches and Fresh Air Favoirtes stamps sets and the buttons from the Audry embellishment jar. Thanks for inspiring me Heather!

Have a wonderful week everyone!!

Card Organizer Tin

2008-12-19T11:43:00.007-06:00

I think I have mentioned that I teach at a local scrapbook store. My project for my December class was a card organizer tin. It turned out so cute that I had to share it with you. The papers are from Basic Gray. I used our large and small flower punches extensively to decorate as well as our round tab punch for the inserts. I can't tell you how often I use those flower punches! I love them. They always fill in when I need a flower and don't have the right one. I used Bazzill's In Stitch'z templates for the stitching on the front and inside dividers. I made the dividers out of chipboard so they fit perfectly. The stamp set I used for the divider titles is a retired TAC set call circle-bet. They just fit exactly right! I plan to do another one using some of the exclusive TAC papers.. not sure which one yet but when I get it done I'll post piccys too!
Hope you like it!

Christmas Angel

2008-12-14T20:48:00.003-06:00

I saw this card on Angela K's blog and loved it right away. I knew I wanted to case it at some point. I love how the Angel is holding up the Merry Christmas. I actually made several of these cards to send out this year with different background papers. This one is a retired TAC paper I am trying to finish up. The image is from one of my favorite stamps sets called Just Dream. The images are perfect for coloring and I have used them in a variety of ways. If you love Angels this set is for you! On this card I colored the Angel with prisma colored pencils, blended with googone and added stickles to the wings. I hope she brings some holiday cheer your way!

Merry Card

2008-12-06T22:33:00.003-06:00

I'm on a roll making Christmas cards! Here is another one.. made from retired TAC papers- Merry Wishes. I loved these papers..but all the new designer papers are just as fabulous! As a matter of fact right now The Angel Company has a promotion going on where if you purchase one of a variety of papers you TAC will send you a second free! You can check it out here. I'm definitely stocking up! Back to the card.. simple but nice. I've had the poinsettias for awhile. The letter are stickers that came with the Merry Wishes paper. I covered them with Crystal Laquer
which makes them look like apoxy stickers. Very cool! I've got more cards to share so stay tuned!
Have a beautiful weekend everyone!!

same sketch...different look

2008-12-05T12:06:00.003-06:00

I loved the way the cards turned out for my daughter so I decided to try the same design with a different stamp set and color scheme. I used the fabulous Joy of Christmas set for my card. Again you can't see the stickles that are on the tree but trust me it looks great in real life! Hope you like it.. Have a great day!!

Hearfelt Snowman

2008-12-03T12:12:00.004-06:00

My daughter is away at college and called the other day to ask if I could make her up some Christmas cards she could give her friends before she came back home for the holidays. Of course I said yes and I am so glad I did because it got my mojo flowing in the holiday direction. I made her a set of 12 cards..

The stamp set is a retired TAC set called Heartsings. I used a cuttle bug embossing folder with our fantastic DCWV white core paper and sanded the image to make it pop. I used the coluzzle to cut the oval frame and oval the snowman is stamped on. You can't tell from the picture but I embellished with stickles around the snowman and the words. It's looks really nice in real life.
I'll be mailing them out today.. I hope she likes them!
Happy Holidays to all!

A Blog Award!

2008-11-23T14:51:00.009-06:00

I have to admit I was totally shocked to recieve this award from a fellow angel-Barb Foster. This is my first Blog award ever! I'm still amazed anyone reads my blog! LOL Thank you Barb- I love your work and visit your blog often! You can check out Barb's wonderful creations at her blog FosterDesignHouse

This is all new to me but I think this is how it goes... according to the post on her website the rules to this blog award are as follows: list 6 things you value, 6 things you don't, and 6 receivers.

So, here we go:

6 Things I value

1. My husband of 23 years and our wonderful marriange

2. My two beautiful children

3.My treasured friends- they know who they are

4. A foundation in faith and my religious beliefs

5.Kindness and integrity, trustworthiness and honor

6. A sense of humor. creativity and laughter

6 Things I don't value

1. Politics today

2. greed

3.selfishness

4.pollution

5.criticism

6 borrowing from Barb- house work!

6 Amazing Blogs

This was fun! Have a great weekend everyone!

Heather's Oz-some Sketch 49

2008-11-21T11:14:00.003-06:00

For a while now I've been wanting to participate in Heather's sketch challenges but time never seems to let me do it fast enough... I finally got one done though and I love the way it turned out.. simple but beautiful! Thanks for always inspiring me Heather!

I used Bazzill Bling paper that I had on hand for the cardbase. Embossed it with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. Used papers from Catelynne Fly with It Paper collection from TAC. I also used the Thank U stamp set from the Fall Supplement for the sentiment. I inked all the edges with Burnt Umber Palette ink and added a little brown polka dot ribbon I also had on hand... Hope you like it!

Have a great weekend!
Debra

Wee ones baby cards

2008-11-15T08:47:00.002-06:00

I hope you are enjoying the crisp fall weather. Here in Texas it is just barely getting cool at night and it is a wonderful break for the usual heat of the day! I've been busy making thank you cards for my cousin, who is having a baby boy very soon. I used the wee one set and a sentiment from one of last years gift with purchase stamps. I also used some retired and current pages from the designer paper collections from TAC. We have four other collections that are just like this but in different colors. You can check them out here if you like the patterns! They are very versatile and I seem to be using them a lot lately. I made 10 cards for her using different colors- blue as shown here, green, yellow and one brown to round it out. I added a little stickles, flower and ribbon to embellish. I think they are adorable! You can find the tutorial for the onsie card here. It's super easy to make and as you can see really adorable!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Fall Harvest

2008-10-22T09:44:00.003-05:00

I stayed up late last night working on this sweet card. I absolutely LOVE the new stamp sets in the Fall Supplement- especially this one called Fall Harvest
Isn't she adorable! This is a new set by Mabelle Ro- we have another in the Fall supplement also and it is just as sweet. I this image was perfect for paper piecing so I pieced her dress and the sunflower. Added a button with some scrappers floss through it and used a part of a white Just the Edges from Bazzill. Love the results! The background paper is from the Brighten My Day designer paper collection. Hope you like it! Have a terrific day!!

Halloween RAK

2008-10-21T22:21:00.003-05:00

I'm finally back online and recovered from IKE- we went 14 days with out power! It was quite a learning experience -one I hope not to have to repeat any time soon! I've been swamped catching up with life's demands and unexpectedly I received this adorable Halloween RAK ( random act if kindness) from a fellow angel Stacy. I love her cards! Check out her blog here for lots of great ideas!
Isn't the paper fun!! Those fun faces really brightened my day! I hope to have some new cards and projects up soon- I've been busy with classes at the scrapbook store where I teach... stay tuned!

Thanks for hanging in there with me!

IKE Update

2008-09-23T12:31:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone,
I'm finally able to check in from a friends computer. Ike hit us hard. We are on day 11 with no power. Thankfully we had minimal damage to our home and property and everyone is safe.
Our neighborhood was one of the hardest hit so it is taking longer to get the power restored. I am praying hard that we will get it back soon. A special thanks to all those keeping us in your prayers. It means a lot. I can't wait to get back to normal and start stamping again.. Hopefully the next time I get to post it will be from home with power and a new creation to share..

Take care!

IKE

2008-09-11T11:58:00.002-05:00

I live just north of Houston so due to IKE I won't be able to post for a while. I anticipate loosing power at some point so as soon as the storm passes and we are back up and running I'll share some great cards!

Sending out prayers to all in the path of the storm.

Thanks!
Debra

Funky Felines

2008-09-08T09:57:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone!
Sorry it has been a while since I posted. I have had a busy week! Today's card is one I did for a TAC contest. It didn't win but I had a lot of fun creating it. One of the main elements on the card is the stitching which is done with one of my favorite stamp sets- Running Stitches
I seem to use this set over and over. I love the look of stitching but don't have the time to actually sew on my cards so this set provides a fantastic alternative. The stamps are about 8 inches long so you can easily stamp an entire card front at one time. No worries about lining things up! Works great on scrapbook pages as well!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock, Designer paper collection Metropolis( retired) Funky Felines,
Running Stitches, Noir Palette Ink, Stickles ( on eyes) Misc flowers and ribbon.