Bella Friday Post (on Monday)

Hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving. Ours was wonderful, with time spent with family and friends. Also had a little r&r up at the cabin for the weekend. Did a bit of Black Friday shopping but not much to speak of.

Here is my card from the Bellariffic Friday post. It was a sketch challenge and here is my interpretation of it. I used Snowbunny Bella for the main image colored with prismas and gamsol. I also used some sparkle fluff for the white furry parts of her coat. The background paper was made from Snowflake Serenade (one of my all time favorites) by Papertrey ink. The paper and ink are also from Papertrey Ink. The swirl stamp is from an old Technique Tuesday set. Thanks for taking a peek today.

Treat Box

First and foremost I want to wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving day. Hope it is filled with family, friends, fun and of course, good food. I would like to thank all of you for your good thoughts and well wishes from my previous post. It appears my job is stable for the time being and I am very thankful for that.

Now, on to my project. This project used the Timeless Template called "Time for Take Out". All of the papers, inks and stamps used on this project are from Papertrey Ink. I'm thinking of making several of these to hang on my Christmas tree to hold little treats for my Grandson. He is 3 1/2 and is really getting into the Santa thing this year. I thought I might hide a few little treat boxes for him to find every few days or so, leading up to Christmas. Sort of an alternative to an advent calendar. Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek. Let me know what you think. Edited to add: The red and white twine that I used to thread through the button is from Martha Stewart crafts that I bought at Michaels. It is also available at Two Peas in a Bucket. http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/martha-stewart/87438-bakers-twine-multi-color/?filters=_martha_stewart+bakers+twine_

Another GSS Entry

Here is another card I entered in the Guest Star Stamper contest at Papertrey Ink earlier this month. The requirement was for a simple card. This one took about 5 minutes to make and I like the way it came out. It is a small 3x3 gift card. First I made a small embossed square with my nestabilities in the center of the card. I then used the Giga Guidelines set from Papertrey Ink and masked off the very center of the stamp to make the wreath. Stamped the word "Joy" in the center from Holiday Tree set. Added a tiny red bow and a bit of red glitter gel pen and it was done. Thanks for taking a peek today.

On a personal note, I'm having a very hard time right now as I don't know if I will have a job or not as budgets are being prepared for next year. As most of you know I work in Automotive Engineering and live in the Detroit suburbs. The economy here is very bad and there are basically no jobs out there. It's very scary knowing that everything you've worked for, for the last 25 years could be gone. If you have it in your heart to say a prayer or think some positive thoughts for me, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Bella-riffic Friday

So this weeks challenge over at Stamping Bella was to make a card using one of the original Bella stamps. These are pretty fun to do. I decided since it is so close to Thanksgiving I would do up Chef-a-Bella holding her yummy roast turkey and home baked pie. I can taste them already.

I colored her up with Prismacolors and Gamsol. The patterned paper is Nutmeg from Cosmo Cricket. I just love all their paper. Thanks for taking a peek today.

3 Gift Card Holders for you today.

I have recently become addicted to Lauren Meader's My Timeless Templates from Papertrey Ink. They are so much fun to create and decorate. One of the selection's last month was a set of gift card holders. Since my most of my gift giving consists of gift cards and cash. (My kids are adults) this is the perfect way to me to feel like I'm still wrapping a gift and they still have something to open.

You will also see that I used the same background stamp on all three holders. This is a background stamp from Hero Arts called Dots and Flowers. https://shop.heroarts.com/products/productdetail/part_number=S5213/1571.0 I just love vintage look and it is also versatile as well.

The first card holder uses the 2009 Holiday Tag set from Papertrey Ink. The ink and blue paper Enchanted Evening by Papertrey Ink. I also added a bit of red bling and some glitter on the tag. The patterned paper is from my stash and is by Daisy D's.

This second card holder uses the 2009 Holiday Tag set as well from Papertrey Ink. The ink colors are Pure Poppy and New Leaf. The gingham ribbon is from my stash. I also added a bit of bling and glitter to this tag.

I kept this 3rd tag pretty simple. The Papetrey Ink items are Chocolate Brown ink and paper. I also used their Kraft paper for the main part of the gift card holder. The Gingerbread man stamp is one of the $1 stamps from Snag 'm Stamps. I used my white gel pen to make the faux stitching and to highlight the Gingerbread man. The sentiment is from the Holiday Tree set. The mini red buttons and ribbon is from my stash.

I hope you enjoyed these projects today and will leave me a comment to let me know what you think. Thanks for taking a peek.

GSS Entry

Well, I didn't win anything again. Here is one of my entries in the Guest Star Stamper contest over at Papertrey Ink. I made this recipe book for my step-daughter as she and her boyfriend just got an apartment. She has always liked several of my recipes growing up and has recently asked me for some. I thought for Christmas I'd put together this little gift set which includes the recipe book (with some of my recipes written in) and the matching tote. The tote holds a wire wisk, a spatula, some measuring spoons and some wooden spoons. The stamp set used is called Fruitful. I really like how you can build different fruits to use. I also used my Bind It All machine to create the book. Hope she likes it. Thanks for taking a peek.

Bellariffic Friday card

This week's challenge at Stamping Bella was "Anything Goes" for Beffariffic Friday. I've had this cute VW bus stamp for a bit and thought it would be the perfect time to color it up. I used Prismacolors and gamsol to color it up. The patterned paper is my most favorite ever, Early Bird by Cosmo Cricket in the 6x6 paper pack. I really wish you could see this one in person as the colors came out so much better than the camera can pick up. The polka dots are all glittery and the headlights are covered with Crystal Effects Hope you like it.

Another Holiday Card

Well, I liked yesterday's color combo so much, I decided to do another card with the same colors. This time I used all Papertrey Ink products (except for the ribbon). The stamp set is called Holiday Tree and it really is great little set. You'll be seeing more of this set. I also used that old standard Polka Dot Basics for the background. It's a bit hard to see but the silver snowflakes have glitter on them and the stars and red branches are touched up with my Spica Pens for a bit of shine. The design is the same as yesterday. Hope you like it.

A Holiday Card.

I've had this old Hero Arts snowman stamp for years and it's always been one of my favorite images. Thought I would dust him off and do a holiday card with him. I had also purchased some Glimmer Mist the day I made this card and wanted to play with it. All of the paper and ink are from Papertrey Ink. The ribbon and button are from my stash. For the back base of the card, I ran some Spring Rain cardstock through my cuttlebug with the snowflake embossing folder. Then I sprayed it with the Glimmer Mist - Marshmallow, which is a limited time color. Love the look it gives the paper as it adds a shimmer to it. I also used Papertrey Ink, Background Basics - Text stamp, to stamp the poppy red on white for a matching background paper. The snowman was colored with Copic Markers and was cut out with Nestabilities. I really liked how this one came out and will be using this color combination again very soon ;) Thanks for taking a peek.

Invitation to Thanksgiving Dinner

Here is the invitation that I had just completed to invite my family to Thanksgiving dinner when the phone rang. It was my son saying that he and my daughter-in-law had decided they wanted to host Thanksgiving dinner this year. They moved into their new house in March and haven't been though any of the holidays there yet. So with some reservation, I agreed. Luckily I hadn't printed the inside yet, so I will just save them for another occasion. Or, maybe next year. The invitation uses all Papertrey Ink supplies except the wooden button. Stamps used are: 2009 Autumn Tags set and the Sentiment is from the Warm Hospitality set. Thanks for taking a peek.

Storage Idea

Edited to add the link to the clips only by request: http://www.amazon.com/Clip-Additional-Clips-Pkg-25-Pkg/dp/B001CRIZN4/ref=pd_sim_k_1

No card today as I've been working on a project for the Guest Star Stamper and Papertrey Ink and can't quite post it yet. My Scramp room looked like a cyclone went through when I was finished. Finally got the room cleaned up a bit and hope to have some time in there tonight.

Anyway, I was explaining to some friends how I store some of my stamp sets. I really like the idea of the Clip It Up http://www.amazon.com/Simply-Renee-01-001-Rotating-Craft-Storage/dp/B00164SAT2 but it's really large, takes up quite a bit of valuable desk space and it's a bit pricey. My alternative to this was to just buy the clips only. Got them on amazon. 50 of them for $16. Then went to Home Depot and got a towel bar for a bit over $3. The towel bar is about 13 inches long and will hold 50 clips. I have 30 stamp sets clipped up in the picture with room for the other 20. This takes up very little space on the wall, doesn't take up any valuable work surface, looks fairly neat and I can see everything right in front of me. Hope you like my storage solution for under $20.