Rowdy Reindeer Calendar

I'm making calendars for friends this year and had to include this Lil Inker Rowdy Reindeer for a deer-hunting friend of ours. I stamped and die-cut Rowdy and colored him with Copics, then placed him on a Gina Marie Designs die-cut stitched circle. The base is kraft and the dsp is CTMH. I die-cut the "2018" with my Quickutz and added the printed calendar. To add to the fun, here's the back..

Oops! Looks like this one got away! I added some "dust" with a stick stamp by Judith and dotted with a brown marker pen.

I'm sharing this with the Cuttlebug Mania "Masculine" challenge as well as the Snippets Playground challenge weeks #307 and 308 , and..... with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is "furry friends." Deer have fur, right?

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great day!

Carol

2018 Calendar

Splitcoast stampers has a great tutorial for making easel calendars that will fit in an A2 envelope, so I gave it a go and made one from snippets in my stash.

The card base is Melon Mambo and I used a snippet of oyster cardstock to mat the SU! retired dsp. The dragonfly is a recycle from a card that was sent to me. It had been silver embossed, but I added some Copic fluorescent colors to give it some life and added a big gemstone to the body for some sparkle. The "2018" was done with my Quickutz and Olivia numbers. The tutorial includes the file to print the calendars too, so I've already made several of these and hope to make more. They will be a nice addition to a gift basket or a nice surprise in the mail.

Thanks for stopping by and make it a great week ahead.

Carol

One Big Balancing Act and December's Calendar

Here's a House Mouse card with an image that just blew me away! I saw it in the store and had to have it! I just love that little guy balancing all those wrapped gifts, especially the one on the top left that's falling off the pile! LOL It reminds me of the old Rachael Ray shows where she carried all her supplies in one trip to her work table to prepare a meal! LOL I colored this with Copics and added 2 jewel tags with some twine & a mini brad for the sentiment and this card was done!

I'm entering this into the HMFMC#159 to make a card with "anything Christmas." I'm also entering it into the Cards In Envy "Tag! You're It" challenge to use a tag on your card, but make an A2 card suitable for mailing.

And here is the last of Heidi's year of calendars - December. This is just precious with the beautifully decorated ornament and the little hedgie holding his own ornament too I just love the soft color scheme she used here! I'll miss having one of these pages in front of me in the coming year, as this has really been the gift that keeps giving all year long! Thanks and hugs (Heidi!)

That't it for me today, but thanks for stopping by and make it a great day!

Carol

OWH Sketch #197

Here's my take on this week's OWH Sketch #197 found here. I omitted an extra layer here and there to keep this card mailable, but I followed the basic sketch.
This great image was stamped and die cut at a friend's house, so I don't know the manufacturer's name, or the die name, but I think it makes a great masculine card. I used a piece of mesh for the bottom panel, along with DCWV dsp. The anchor was cut from gold mirror cardstock with a Marianne die and I wove a snippet of twine through just for fun.

With the use of a snippet, I'm taking this over to the Snippet Playground #97.

And here is Heidi's November calendar page. (click to enlarge) I just love how she colored those cute mooses (meeces? moosi?) and I love the quilt pattern too! Cute, cute cute!!! Thanks Heidi, I'm just loving that I have a new calendar to enjoy each month of the year!

Thanks for stopping by and I do wish you all a wonderful day!

Carol

Frosty Makes a Rare Appearance

Here's my take on the Sweet Stop sketch #SSS230. I flipped it to accommodate my image and used traditional red & green Christmas colors. The snowman is from an older retired SU! set called Frosty, and it was one of the first sets I ever bought. I colored him with Copics, and paired him with some dsp that I think is from JoAnne's. The seam binding is from SU! as well as the sentiment from their Teeny Tiny Wishes set. The tabs were done with a jewel tag punch, and then I used the hexagon punch to cut the tails, and added tiny red gemstones from Pizzazz Aplenty. I'm happy to add yet another card to my Christmas stash!

I can't believe September is history already, but on this first day of October, I wanted to share Heidi's October calendar page with you. It's all about Halloween and I just love all the fun elements she included on this page! The skull & crossbones, ghosts, candy corn, and that cute little bat just make this one so much fun! Thanks Heidi, I hope you know how much I love this year full of calendar pages you've made for me!!

That's it for me, but thanks for stopping by! Make it a great day everyone!

Carol

OWH Labor Day VCMP (continued)

 Here's my card for the OWH Stars and Stamps Labor Day VCMP challenge #4 where Annette gave us a great sketch challenge to create a love-themed card. I pulled out the Bo Bunny Crush paper pad, along with red, black & pink card stock and put this together. Embossing was done with a Darice folder, and the heart was done with SU! hearts a-flutter dies, matching stamps and punch. The tiny black hearts were negatives from a SNSS hearts border die. The red heart was stamped with "sweet little you" in versamark and embossed with silver ep.

Here is this week's OWH Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #188. All paper and cardstock is by SU! along with their "A Round Array" stamp set (w/coordinating 7/8" scalloped punch) as well as "Label Love" stamp set (w/coodinating Artisan label punch.) The embossing was done with a Cuttlebug Decorative Tile ef which closely matches the pattern in the smallest banner, and I adhered a tiny twine bow with glossy accents. The colors are gumball green, midnight muse, summer starfruit, and very vanilla.

And since it's the first day of September, here's Heidi's calendar page! I just love each month of these beautiful calendars she's made for me, and I'll hate to see the year end after receiving this treasured gift for Christmas last year!

Here's a close-up where you can see the fabulous paper weaving she's done with the background! And that mason jar with the flowers is fabulous too! They look very much like the official flower of September too - the aster! Thanks again Heidi, for the gift that keeps on giving! You're such a sweet and very creative friend - {{hugs}}

And that's all I have for now, but I may be playing along with more challenges as they're revealed today, so stay tuned! I hope you're enjoying your Labor Day weekend!

Carol

A Christmas Snowman

The Christmas card challenge over at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge #135 is snowmen or snow-women. I printed out this pre-colored digi and used scraps of dsp leftover from an older Christmas paper pad. I added some gold embossed mini ornaments done with a SU! punch, and added a sticker sentiment, and matching ornament hanger stickers too! This one was quick and easy and I really like this cute snowman!

And for all you Heidi fans, here's her August calendar. I love this cute little quilt pattern with those adorable birds!

Here's a close-up version that shows the embossing in the quilt design and perfect fussy cutting of the image! These calendar pages just start the month off with a smile for me :)

Thanks for stopping by and have a good one! Keep smiling :)

Carol

OWH Challenges & Heidi's July Calendar Page

Here's Heidi's cute calendar page for July! Don't you just love that cute cow and little boy image that's been fussy cut and popped up on foam tape? This reminds me of a good old country fair in July with the red, white & blue quilt with stars in the background and the cow representing a 4H entry! Great job on this month again Heidi, and thanks for the gift that keeps giving all year long!

Here's this weeks mid-week throwdown card for OWH Stars & Stamps which is a color challenge of kraft, red, white, & blue. The sentiment is from CASual Friday stamps stamped with PTI enchanted evening, and the frame was done with SB square dies. Embossing was done with a Hero Arts/Sizzix ef, the bricked pattern border was done with an EK punch, while the little stars were done with a SU! punch, and the large star was done with punch-bunch.

Here's my card for this week's OWH Stars and Stamps sketch challenge #179.

I used some assorted dsp's from my scrap pile, along with some cream, blue and wine-colored card stock scraps. The sentiment was done with 2 SU! sets - Label Love & a Round Array and 2 SU! punches - the Artisan Label & 7/8" scalloped circle. Ribbon by Pizzazz Aplenty, glittered brads from Glitterazzi.

That's going to be it for me today, but as always, I thank you for stopping by!

Have a super Wednesday!

Carol

What Happened to May?!!

I can't believe the month of May is gone already! WOW! With the new month of June, it's time to share Heidi's latest calendar page. (If you click the photo, it looks a bit clearer and not so out-of-focus) This one makes me feel cooler just to look at it. And that cool water background? It's all punched circles done with coordinating dsp! Can you imagine the time it took to put this together? Here's a close-up...

As always, the details are a treat for the eyes, including the little piece of corrugated cardboard that Mr. Crabby is sitting on. Incidentally, the crab is all hand cut and then popped up on dimensionals with his little sign! I only wish I could fussy cut with such precision!

Thanks Heidi for the gift that gives all year long :)

Here's wishing you a great weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by!

Carol

Using up my Stash

I've been going through my stash of designer papers and scraps, and trying to use up the retired stuff I've been hanging onto for so long! It's overwhelming to have so much unused product, and spring cleaning works for my crafting supplies as well as it does for the home!
I used some retired SU! dsp along with Taken with Teal card stock. I found a long-unloved MS border punch and put that to work for the horizontal teal panel. I thought the 4-petal flowers coordinated perfectly with the 4 petal flowers in the dsp. I stamped the SU! sentiment with an obviously dried-up ink pad that I'm now going to part with. The large button was done with a MS punch with some Rose Red card stock, while the smaller ones were done with a SU! sizzlet. The twine is recycled from an order I received in the mail and perfectly matches the teal color.

I'm entering this card into the OWH stars and stamps midweek throwdown challenge to create thank-you cards for our heroes. I also used the Retro sketch #61 for my card, so I'll be linking up there as well.

Since it's the first day of May, it's time to share Heidi's May calendar page with you and here it is....

I just love the beautiful detail work she puts into every page. The quilt pattern is so warm and inviting, and it will be a pleasure to see this on my desk every day this month! Thanks Heidi, you rock :)

Happy May Day everyone - thanks for stopping by!!

Carol

Mid-week Throwdown and March Calendar

Here's my card for the OWH Stars & Stamps mid-week throwdown. This week the challenge is the following recipe:

1 embossing folder

1 border punch or die

2 patterned papers

1 ribbon or twine

I've really grown fond of the SU! midnight muse color, so that was the beginning point for this card. The 2 dsp's are from the SU! Print Poetry pack, along with some vanilla, gumball green and summer starfruit cardstock. The border die is from SNSS and I wove some vanilla taffeta through the center. The flower was done with SU! blossom, fancy label, owl, and boho blossom punches, along with a SU! fancy fan ef. The sentiment is SU! teen tiny wishes and was done with word window and fancy label punches. I kept this one mail-friendly by punching the flower center from MM cardstock, pressing it down into a mouse pad with a pencil eraser, and popping it up with a very tiny piece of foam. It gave me the look I wanted without the bulk of a brad.

And here is Heidi's March calendar page. I love the kite that always makes me think of March winds and spring; and look at that little bunny reminding us that Easter is fast approaching! I love those tiny kite tails too with ribbon! The paper pieced tile background is really eye catching too! Such detail in all of her work. Thanks for another fun month of calendars Heidi! (hugs)

That's going to do it for me for this Friday, but thanks to all of you who take time to stop by and see what I've been creating :) Make it a fabulous weekend!

Carol

Seize the Birthday #4 and a February Calendar

Here's my card for this week's Seize the Birthday #4 challenge which is to follow the sketch and make a masculine card. I used a Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous stamp set for this, embossing the image on a scrap of retired SU! dsp and embossing it with clear detail ep. The tickets were stamped & embossed on scraps of blue & red, and I added some red, blue and white twine to the top of the vertical panel which was edged with a SU! spiral punch and lined with a strip of red card stock. The sentiment is from SNSS and the embossed background was done with a Hero Arts ef. For the final touch, I added 3 mini brads to the wheels on the antique car.

And this is Heidi's February calendar page. I really like the heart-shaped woven-paper at the top! I'm really loving those squared off heart edges! Thanks for giving me another fun month of your creativity Heidi :)

I hope to be back later with more if I can get enough daylight to get a good picture, so maybe I'll see you later! Make it a great Friday, and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Thank You!

The challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays CFC84 is to make a Thank-you card. I've had quite a few narrow strips of cardstock on my table for some time now, so I decided to put them to use on a card! I used an EK chain zig-zag punch on turquoise, plum, and pale plum cardstocks, and added 3 turquoise pearls from Pizzazz Aplenty just for fun. The sentiment is from the CAS-ual Fridays stamp set "Big Thanks."

Since the first card took practically no time at all to make, I made a 2nd one, this time adding shreds of cardstock curled around a toothpick just to add a festive and fun touch. I staggered the punched strips instead of nesting them for a bit of a different look, and added a sentiment from the same stamp set as above.

And for those who enjoy my friend Heidi's calendars, here's her brand new one for January. I could really use some warm wishes on this cold morning here in PA too! Brrrr!! Thanks Heidi - this is another calendar I'll treasure for years to come. You see, I print new calendar pages and glue them right over last years pages, so I can update and re-use these calendars for several years :) This is the 4th one I've received and I love them all Heidi! Big thank-you {{hugs}} if you're reading this my sweet friend :)

Thanks for dropping by, and now I'm headed to the living room to finish shampooing my carpets *groan*. It's NOT one of my favorite things to do, but somebody's gotta do it! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Carol

It's December Already?!

Here's Heidi's December calendar page and sadly another year is drawing to a close and I'll add this awesome creation to the previous calendars she's made for me through the years. I can't part with any of them because they're all so beautifully crafted! I love the snow on the roof of this one, and that looong list for Santa! Too cute!

Where has this year gone, and why has it gone by so fast I wonder? It seems like just yesterday we were starting off the new year in 2012, and now 2013 is just around the corner! Whew! Slow down world!! I'm not in any hurry!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

Carol

Winter Vibes

Here's my card for Oozak's challenge #8 which is "winter vibes." I stamped the SU! deer image on some glossy metallic paper with Versamark and embossed with gold ep, adding Viva pearl pen accents to his antlers. I cut the image with a SB labels 2 die, and matted with cherry cobbler, adding gold mini brads to the corners. The background was a pre-printed scrapbook punch out by Cosmo Cricket that I've had for years, and the subtle snowflakes and colors worked perfectly with this image. The sentiment was also pre-printed.

Here's Heidi's November calendar page for all of you Heidi fans out there :) That whimsical cow leaping over the autumn leaves just makes me smile every time I look at it! Thanks for another month of enjoying your amazing creations Heidi - I just love this one :)

I rarely get personal here, but today I've just got to say how grateful I am that we only have a few more days to endure this constant flood of annoying political ads on tv that are rapidly making me dislike every candidate that's running for office! I hate to answer my phone anymore because I get a daily diet of political robo-calls that send me into fits of anger! Who's the "genius" that came up with the idea to constantly harass us via telephone too?! The endless flow of glossy printed flyers that fill my mailbox every day and get tossed directly into the trash without reading - can you imagine what it costs to print them? The money spent for this aggravating & annoying nonsense could be well-spent elsewhere to help so many in serious need! Do these candidates really (I mean seriously) think this will encourage anyone to vote for them? They suffocate me with their relentless advertising! Sorry everyone, I just have to vent my frustration because I'm fed up with the ugly tactics used to gain political office. It's just gotten ridiculous!!

(ok, I'm stepping down from my soapbox now before I scare you all away)


Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you can make it a great weekend. Keep the folks on the east coast in your prayers and help wherever you can. They're suffering so much and desperately need our support!

Carol

October Calender Page and a Masculine Birthday

Here's Heidi's October calender page. and it makes me smile every time I look at it! That kitty with the bag on it's head is just too funny, and look at those giant whiskers! I love the googlie eyes on the roof with the felt spider web. Click the photo to enlarge it and you'll see the detail a bit better.

Here's a birthday card I made for a friend of my husband's who loves motorcycles. The "frame" was a leftover piece from die-cutting a top note that I made for another card (which I'll post later.) I used the herringbone technique for that frame using kraft, black & white cardstock and designer papers. The motorcycle is a SU! image, and I added some "dirt" beneath it with a SNSS grunge borders stamp set and some antique linen ink. I "colored" the motorcycle with a black spica pen which looks much better IRL, and finally added some punched stars, mini star brads, and some faux stitching.

Here's wishing you a great Friday - thanks for stopping by :)

Carol

A Calendar Page and Thinking of You

I've been trying to use up those much-loved, hoarded papers I've been holding onto for so long, and this card uses some Groovy Guava, Blue Bayou and Afternoon Tea dsp. I'm not so sure I like these colors together, but it's done and hopefully someone will like it :)
I used the Freshly Made Sketch #51 for the basic design, adding some embossing with a SU! fancy fan ef. The butterfly was done with 2 different dies by Memory Box, and the borders were done with SU! fancy scallop and EK zig-zag punches. Sentiment is by SU! done on a SB ribbon tag, and I tied it together with Blue Bayou and Soft Sky ribbons.

I know I'm posting this a few days late, but here's Heidi's September calendar page. I just love the back-to-school theme with that frazzled looking chicken! Too cute! If you can't tell what's on the awning, those are tiny alphabet stickers! Every one of these pages is a gift that gives all year long, and I just love them all! Thanks and {{hugs}} Heidi for making this calendar for me! You're awesome my sweet friend :)

That's going to do it for me for this Friday, so thanks for stopping by and make it a great day!

Carol

Heidi's August Calendar

Happy Thursday and I know I'm a day late posting this, but here's the August calendar page Heidi made for me! I just love that little hedgie trying to chill underneath the shade of a flower in this super hot weather! I see a lot of animals and birds trying to find relief from the soaring temperatures this summer too! Thanks for another fun page Heidi! 8 down, 4 to go :)
Have a great Thursday everyone and thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Heidi's July Calendar & Shopping our Stash

For those who are enjoying my calendar pages made by my sweet friend Heidi, here's July. I just love how snoopy is lying on his back watching the firework being launched...or is it about to land on him?! LOL And those stars on the awning look so cute! I just love this :)

I made this card yesterday and I'm entering it into the SOS #58 triple threat challenge. Click the link for details of the challenge. This was done with white and blushing bride cardstock and dsp. I used the SB layered poinsettia to create the flower and a SB Fancy Tags Two for the sentiment. I added some Kaiser Blush pearls to the flower center and sentiment panel along with a piece of white satin ribbon. The embossed background was done with a "borrowed" CB ef (thanks M A!). I wondered if the poinsettia would make a pretty flower other than just being traditionally red, and I think it works well in this color!
I hope you're staying cool wherever you are today. Thanks for stopping by!

Carol

Heidi's June Calendar Page

For all of you Heidi fans out there - here is her June calendar page. I had to display this one a day early because I just love that little cow in the bikini!! Every time I see this image I just want to shout "HAY!!" LOL
Heidi, if you're reading this.........thanks again for the gift that keeps giving all year long! I LOVE these calendar pages!!

Carol