It is BLOG HOP time!!!!!

Thank you for joining us at Tiffany Doodles for our first blog hop of 2012! We're so glad you're here! It's ALSO the second anniversary of Tiffany Doodles! 

You're going to find lots of inspiration along the way, from several talented ladies. Be sure to leave each of them a comment by Sunday the 15th for your chance to win something of your choice! That's 19 chances to win! All winners will be announced on the Tiffany Doodles blog Wednesday January 18th.

If you've arrived from Ruby you're in the right place! If this is your first stop, please go back to Jessica's blog so you don't miss anything! 

For my blog hop card, I chose the adorable Ducky image….. isn’t he super cute????  I decided that I would try a new technique (for me) – make a window card and have him “floating” in the window…. I used a Spellbinders Nestabilities Die to cut out the window, attached acetate on the inside and covered with another layer that also had the window cut from it…. that was a little tricky, and next time, I would likely try and run them through the die cut machine at the same time (both layers that is) so that I could ensure the window turns out exactly where I would like it…. I did pretty good, but I would normally have tried to center them both a little better.

So, I started with my base cardstock in Buttercup from Amuse.  With the paper cut in half, the perfect A2 card is created.  You can alter the “opening” of your card by which direction you cut your 8 ½ x 11 paper.  I cut length wise, and scored at 5.5 – creating a top fold card that is portrait. I cut the Amuse Gingham printed paper in Buttercup to make the top layer.  The Ducky image was printed several times on white cardstock from PTI – my go-to white paper these days.  I used copic markers to outline color the duck… I really didn’t want to mess with too much color, so the outlining hints at color – sometimes my favorite way to highlight or hint….. I detail cut the image out twice – allowing for additional paper at the bottom where it would tuck into the backing of the card front.  Pretty much sandwich him in between the paper, acetate and second “backed” image….. is that clear as mud or what????  I stamped the sentiment from Hero Arts on the top and bottom surrounding the window…. Thought it needed an extra touch of some kind…. So out came my buttons and twine….

I hope you're feeling inspired! Before you hop over to JoAnn’s blog, remember to leave a comment for your chance to win! You have 3 days to comment on the postings.  Tiffany is giving away the entire January release and all you have to do is 1) to create a card using a Tiffany Doodles image  2) blog about it and link to our hop  3)  add their link to INLINKZ on the Tiffany Doodles post.  Winner will be posted on Wednesday, January 18^th……

Thanks for hopping along with us; we look forward to seeing your creations!

15 minutes and counting.....

Tiffany Doodles blog hop will be kicking off in 15 minutes at Jessica's blog..... start at the beginning - it always nice that way, huh????

Oh Happy Day!

So, a couple housekeeping things that are making me happy....

Today I did my first day of "couch to 5K" training - that means, my first day of interval running in preparation to run my first 5K scheduled for March 10th (I think).... now, for those of you who know me, running and Dani don't go together.... but, I am on a mission... so today's workout was 30 minutes - a 5 min warm up brisk walk, 60 seconds of running, 90 seconds brisk walking, 60 seconds running, etc followed by a 5 min brisk walk cool down.... and I DID IT!  Although, right now, feel like my knees are going to buckle, still feels like a huge sense of accomplishment!  And, I followed that routine with the stationary bike.... what am I thinking??????  I am a monster!

Next, coming this Friday at 12:01am, we are starting an awesome blog hop at Tiffany Doodles!  I will have all the deets here so be watching.... I have seen some of the other DT inspiration and all I can say is WOW!

Third, my hubby is picking me up and taking me out for date night!  One of the best Italian places that we have found does gnocchi only on Tuesday nights.... YUM.... good thing I just worked out before piling all that potato goodness into my belly.... My stomach is growling just thinking about it!

OK, so now onto the card making already, huh???
Today I thought I would share with you a birthday card I made for the same co-worker who just got married (still need to come up with that card... better late than never).... When I saw the images in the new JustRite Cling stamps I knew just what I was going to do with it.... too bad what I had in mind turned out terrible!  Good thing for the color images that are on the cling sheet.... I have to give credit where credit is due - coloring was totally cased.... Image is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black (my fav go-to ink) and colored with PrismaColor Pencils and blended with GAMSOL odorless mineral spirits.  The image is die cut with a Spellbinder Nestabilities (love those too) and the background layer was cut with scissors - wish they had the dies a bit closer in size so the layers don't have to be so thick....  I absolutely love the ginormous bling that I found to accent the bow - however, did not love adhering it to the card... mishaps galore.... in thinking to myself how to possibly get something that large and heavy attached to the front, the only thing that came to mind was my Glossy Accents from Ranger... LOVE that stuff... put a glob on the card, plopped down the bling, but when I attempted to adjust the placement - it didn't seem to be sitting flush with the card - the glossy accents which I know would hold, ripped that paper!  Wasn't ready for it to dry so quickly!  And what then is a girl to do?????  ADD MORE!  Grabbed that bottle and put a lot more on to make a mound of adhesive!  The other part that made this for me, was the bow tied with the silk ribbon from May Arts - I LOVE IT.... I wish I could use it on every card, but alas, there is no money tree in my yard....  The pattern paper seemed to work perfectly and I cut out the banner for the sentiment and tadaa.... a birthday card!

Closer view

You can see in the second photo that all the layers are popped up with foam squares....I normally love the Stampin Up dimensionals, but for this, I wanted a larger pop, so I used my American Crafts foam adhesive.

Now that I handed it over, there are so many things I would do a little differently, but, hey, that is for another card, right?????

Hope you enjoyed my post today.... remember to check back this Friday for the details on the blog hop a coming!!!!!!

till then, happy stamping!
Dani

Wedding Shower Card

Here is a quick post before the weekend gets going.... Co-worker just got married two weeks ago and we threw her a shower at work. Trying to keep it simple, I went with a black and white card with a splash of her wedding accent color - red.... I wrote their names in the heart to personalize it a bit more... Thanks for looking!

Happy stamping!
Dani

Guest Designer Contest over as SCS!

OMG, just looked over at SCS and noticed that MFT was having a contest for the January Guest Designer... the challenge - Paper Piecing!  Holy buckets, if I don't love that technique the most, I don't know which one would be higher on my favs list... so I had to leave the snoring husband, get out of bed and sneak into my craft room to try and work a little magic before the deadline of noon tomorrow (or actually today since it is well past midnight - oops)..... 

I love the MFT images for this technique as they seem to be made for it... the large spaces and fun designs kind of make me always choose that when using these stamps.....  For this card, I chose one of the oldies, but goodies - Here's the Scoop - I mean, really, who doesn't love to lounge on the couch/chair and eat ice cream out of the container?????

She is done with the Memory Box Gossamer 6x6 paper pack - lots of fun, girly patterns in there... I love the pinks and browns together, so I figured my ice cream would be either chocolate or strawberry... maybe that is where this perfect color combo comes from.... hmmm......

Placed on French Roast cardstock, I cut a pink strip for the center and die cut both sides, cut a smaller piece of the patterned paper and quietly machine stitched it together.... I had to shut the door for fear the snoring hubby would wake up and wonder what the heck I was doing at this hour, when I have to be up at 5am to head to the gym... (again, oops).... once all the pieces were cut, and glued, I die cut the tab and added it to the bottom.... it needed something, so the seam binding came out... one loop not enough, so another added behind (and kind of rigged together with twine and a button hiding the not really tied second loop!).... still something missing.... then came the crystals...  I mean what girl eating ice cream doesn't like a little sparkle, right????? 

When I step back and look, I think it is awesome....  definitely what I had in mind....  Being a guest designer for MFT would be awesome as well.  The new dies they are making are my absolute favorite and am so lucky that my LSS is now carrying them.... The PI images are adorable and can't wait to make another trip to the store to get my hands on some of those precious things to play with..... I hope that this contest entry is only the first in a long line of them.... I am hoping to get more creative with my stuff and get out there.... it is a new year, with new ideas and only time on our hands!  I just hope I feel that way when I am driving in the pitch black to the gym for the first time in probably 3 weeks - love the holidays, but hate having to get back in the swing of things....

Thanks for looking.... until next time (hopefully after some sleep).... happy stamping!
Dani

A day to play!

So, today I had a mission.... clear out my craft room and start playing!  We recently had the carpets cleaned which means everything had to be removed from the floors and put on top of our furniture and then the carpet needed time to dry.... and then the holdays were over, and it was time to put everything back together... since it is not a room we use as a family, it is only my crafting area, it is not always walked into for a week or more at a time - easy to forget to take all the stuff off the tables and place it back on the carpet where it belongs... duh.... well, since the hubby had to work and I did not - the perfect chance to do what I love...  And, did I ever!  I created 5 wonderful cards and I felt fabulous doing them.... so nice to not have a "task" at hand and just play with different things you have been wanted to do.....

Today, I will share the "holiday" card I had hoped to make but didn't get time to....

 

When I saw the sample the company sent to the LSS of these images, I had to try and re-create it.... to much dismay, it was not as easy as it first appeared and I went through several attempts to get it just the way I wanted.... it was not brown ink and brown embossing powder, or brown ink and glitter embossing powder, and it wasn't one brown ink, or another, or yet another.... after multiple failures, I mastered the look I wanted.... Chalk Ink from Colorbox in Dark Brown with Clear Detail Embossing Powder.... just right!  Colored in with my copic markers and covered with Diamond Stickles and wa-la.... love, love, love this.... however, not one to really duplicate hundreds of times... or even 50 really.... added some pleated ribbon from Pink Paislee on top of Grass gingham pattern paper and I think it came out better than I had imagined in the beginning!  Here is a close up of the card - not sure the photo captures the lovely sparkle, which actually looks more bronze against the brown coloring... I think I like it better than the "snow" that was on the sample!

Card Recipe:

Paper:  Stampin Up Chocolate Chip, Ivory cardstock, Amuse Gingham in GrassStamp:  DRS #K505 (pinecone main image), #K467 (background branches)Ink: Colorbox Chalk Ink in Dark Brown with Clear Embossing Powder, Copic Markers – YG61, YG63, E43, E44Embellishments: Pink Paislee Bayberry Cottage ribbon pleats, Diamond Stickles



thanks for looking!  happy stamping....
Dani

Happy New Year!!!

Wanted to wish everyone a very Happy New Year - 2012... here we come!!!!
10 years ago this morning (very... very early) I got engaged to the most wonderful man in the world.... I am reminded of my joy every new year and hope the best for all my friends and family.... looking forward to the new year is so hopeful as it is all brand new and ahead... I hope for a year of joys and laughter, health and happiness, and some time to enjoy life as it should be.... no more worries and pain.... if you believe, it will be true!

So as I start fresh this year, I plan to take every day as it comes and enjoy it for what it is... a fresh, new start.  I am aleady sketching some cards to make and post tomorrow, so check back soon.....

A card that was made this past couple weeks ago came to me out of an idea to see if it was something I could accomplish - you know how sometimes, as a crafter, the thing in your head does not always turn out like you imagine once it is on paper.... this was not that case.... My boss, who is more a friend and mentor, had hip replacement surgery on December 13th.... a week later, I was headed to her home to bring her a surprise from the team.... the card that I imagined was one that would be thoughtful yet also be fun, just as she is..... so I picked the pinwheel image from Tiffany Doodles and went to town.... I printed it on several patterned papers from My Mind's Eye (my fav 6x6 paper pads!) and began to cut them all out.... my idea was taking shape..... I printed it also on PTI white cardstock for the base and die cut the image out with my Spellbinders Nestabilities..... the stick is colored with 2 shades of Copic Markers.... when I started "fluffing" the curls were not so sturdy so I printed more of the white and \glued the patterned paper to the white to give stability.....  when layered together, I used my Crop A Dile to make larger holes in the center and attached them together with an apoxy brad that was in my stash.... gotta love when something you have just "fits" perfectly!  So they actually spin!!!!!  Love the way it turned out!!!!  Layered on the die cut piece and scissor cut the layers behind it..... sentiment is Hero Arts - always a favorite when trying to find the right words - and they are able to be cut apart, although this one didn't need to be here.... finished with some bling!

The inside is the most fun part.... it reads (got from internet so I can't take credit for the words...)

This card has health-giving powers
And we've made it just for you
We certainly feel much better
And hope that you do too!

below this I listed all the team members that were in on the surprise.... she was overwhelmed and the look on her face was well worth the time it took to make this just perfect!

Thanks for taking a look and as always, comments are welcome (and much enjoyed!)
Dani