Prayer Journal

Quite a while ago I bought this notebook at Target but never did anything with it, but now was the time. I am using it for my prayer journal. I love butterflies and because they remind me of the renewal we get from our connection with Christ I decided to use butterflies as the theme.

This is the front. I painted it with forest moss distress paint first, then dabbed it with wild honey distress paint then dabbed it with Inca gold metallic acrylic paint. After it dried I stamped the images with memento black ink. I had to dry the ink with the heat gun otherwise the ink would smear over the pain. I colored the images with prisma colored pencils. Next I put star dust stickles on the swirls. The butterfly images is from Red Rubber Designs.

Here is a picture with the cover open.

The words are from a stamp set by the Craft's Meow which recently went our of business. :(

Here is a picture of the back.

The gerbera daisy is from Red Rubber Designs. The border is from the angel company, I think. (another out of business stamp company)

And lastly a picture of the notebook open.

The cover wraps all around the notebook.

I am entering this the sparkle challenge at Red Rubber Inspirations.

In the Snow

Hope you are staying warm in all this cold. Fortunately it is warming - at least here. 

Here is a card to keep you warm in the snow.

The image is from Red Rubber Designs here. It was colored with copics and has star dust stickles on the stars and around the image. Frosted lace stickles was used for the snow. The snowflakes are wooden ornaments that I got a Target this year - ok I guess it was really last year, 2013. Maybe your Target might have some in clearance. The red dotted strip is washi tape with a silk ribbon bow glued on. The dp is from bo bunny, I think. The edges were roughed up with a distressing tool. I am entering this in the winter challenge at Red Rubber Inspirations.

Keep warm.

Strawberry Thank You

I guess maybe I really am back to designing. I have another card ready.

This one uses a stamp from the old the angel company. Red Rubber Designs took them over but I couldn't find this stamp on their website.

This is colored with copics. The strawberry has diamond glaze and a touch of crystal stickles on it. The shapes are done with shapeabilities. Thank you was stamped on organza ribbon. Some baker's twine was glued on each side of the ribbon. There are nailhead stickers on each side of thank you. I used a white pen and doodled the border. 

Here is the inside.

The dp is from memory box.

Hope you enjoyed.

Polar Bear Hugs

It is a new year and I hope to get back into creating. I have been knitting dishcloths but those are hardly newsworthy. I made this card for my son whose birthday is tomorrow. He is going to be 23.Where did the time go? He has always loved polar bears so this card suits him.

The stamp is from Wild Rose Studio and is colored with copics. There is some fun flock on the bears and some star dust stickles on the stars. The dp is from memory box (I think). The big snowflake is one I received in a swap quite sometime ago. I think it was from Australia. A sequin snowflake is in the center and some fun flock is also added. 

Here are a couple of close-ups.

It is a gate fold card and here is the inside.

Have a great day and keep warm!

Key to my heart

I had a key hanger that had a cross stitch "Home is where the Army sends you" in a frame. Well it has been a long time since the Army sent me anywhere so I thought it time to update it. (I wasn't in the army; my husband was). Here is a picture of the frame/hanger - a bit blurry but you get the idea.

My heart is in need of some new keys so I made this picture. If I ever get time to cross stitching I may make something more permanent but I like the results for this. Here is a close up of Tilda and her keys.

All is colored with copics. The lace at the bottom of the dress has frosted lace stickles. Added dome flowers and sparkly candy dots in each corner. The keys a die cut from poppy stamps. The bow is some fiber from a basic grey collection. 

Hope you enjoy.

Cards, Cards, Cards

That title is for 3 cards. I actually made three cards. I haven't sold the house but I have moved to a small 2 bedroom apartment that I love. It was a difficult move but I'm glad I did it. Maybe later I will share some photos of the new place but for now I have cards to share and that is what this blog is about. The first two cards are for a couple of special ladies who helped me with the move. Both are Tilda's colored with copics.

 The flags on this one were made with washi tape.

 This is a Christmas card I made. The angel was embossed. Embossing is what got me into stamping but I rarely do it now because I am like a little kid - I love to color. The red dots are nailhead stickers.

Hope you enjoyed my creations as much as I did making them. It is so good to start creating again. There is still a bit to do in the apartment but it is definitely liveable.

Grape Tilda

I have been missing in action as I am going through my house trying to get it ready to sell and to move or move and then sell or something like that. It is so much work as I have been here for 20 years. Besides my four kids, a husband, my mother and mother-in-law have lived with us so there is much to clean out and there is only me. Someone want to help? Help! LOL My kids have helped some but they aren't here all the time. (thought I had better give create where it is due.)

Anyways I took time to create this evening.

I made Tilda with grapes. I think she is supposed to be holding a basket of cherries or maybe blueberries but I had that bunch of grapes sitting on my table and the stamp and thought why not grapes. The grapes were part of a set of pins to wear on clothes but I haven't used it so I took it for a card. Recycle - Upcycle - Reuse. Tilda is colored with copics. My youngest has hair just about this color. The die behind Tilda is from Sizzix. I took one of the smaller ones and cut two turning them on their sides and tried to make it look like one. :) Did a little bit of stitching around the edges. Added some flowers and the bunch of grapes. I tried to use scraps as I have so many and I don't want to move or pack anymore than I have to. Hope you enjoy. Maybe in a month or so I can get back to regular crafting. I know I have one card I have to do for September 4th. A birthday blog hop so hope you can come back then.

House Mouse Puzzle

My oldest daughter turns 30 on Wednesday. I don't know how that could be as I am only 25. But there it is. She has always loved house mouse stamps and puzzles. I never got any house mouse stamps but have recently started collecting them. I just got a bunch on ebay. This is one of them.

The puzzle is paper pieced. Lots of fun cutting out all the little pieces. The dp is from a 6 x 6 pad from Basic Grey. The mice are colored with prisma color pencils. The rest is colored with copic markers. There are touches of stardust glitter on the puzzle and on the box top. In the upper left hand corner are gold nailhead stickers. In the upper right hand corner is a puzzle piece tied with ribbon and a flower on top with another nailhead sticker in the center. In the lower left hand corner is a flower with a puzzle piece in the center, 

Here is a picture of the inside.

This is a picture of Emily and her then fiance now husband.

Christening Gown

This post is definitely not about stamping but I had to share the christening gown I made for my granddaughter. I saw this pattern in Sew Beautiful just at the time when it was time or maybe past time to start to make it. I knew it was just right. Not as frilly and long as some so it was more in my price range and time range. As it is it won't take long til she outgrows it. 

The fabric is Victorian batiste. I did all the lace insertions by machine but had to sew the laces together at the top by hand as I couldn't keep them from separating when trying to sew them together by machine. Here is a close up of the top.

 I haven't put the buttons and buttonholes is yet as when I got it done I thought the neck looked a little small so I will have to check it out and maybe take the binding and lace off and lower the neckline and then put it all back on. Sure hope not.

Here is a picture of the bottom with the embroidery I did. I almost didn't put it on but am glad I did. I think it adds a lot. 

Wish I would have kept track of the hours I spent on it just for fun but I didn't. It took me a month or more to do it but that wasn't steady work.

Here is a picture of Avani and her mother, my daughter. The picture is a few months old. 

Found a more recent one - most of my pictures are on my phone so had to figure out how to get it here.

Hope you enjoyed. And maybe inspired you.

Wonder and Joy Flags

I promised a second post for tonight so here it is.

I used Wonder and Joy from Red Rubber Designs for this card.

The girl is colored with copic markers and once again all the patterns use washi tape. The flags are made by folding the tape over the twine or the tooth pick and then cutting notches so they look like flags. It is really easy but adds so much fun. Notice that there are two different widths of washi tape used.