Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!

Today, my mom and Dad celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.  I am super lucky to have had parents who showered us, and each other with love growing up.  Love them both so much!
I have two anniversary cards to share with you today using stamps from The Stamps Of Life set anniversary2celebrate set.  The card above is whimsical and simple.  I used the heart images from crayons2stamp, and added some gems in the center of the three larger hearts.

The next card, I stamped the sentiment in brown onto a journal box from echo park's This & That collection and adhered to a cardstock base. Super easy to make and mail!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Vintage Postcard...

Hi, there! I wanted to share this card I made using stamps from Sweet N Sassy's Vintage Postcard set and also an image from Stampin' Up's Garden Silhouette set.  I had fun layering all of the different images to create my "vintage postcard".
I am heading back up North with my boys, sister and niece.  It should be an interesting 9 hour drive (could be longer with that many in the van), but my sister has not been up to the cottage in almost 8 years, so I am so happy she is coming with us!  I am sad that my hubby has to stay at home and miss out on the fun.  It will certainly be one quiet house without Will, Max and Luke!  LOL! He may enjoy his own little vacation of silence. :)

I will have cards scheduled to post while I am gone, and will catch up on your blogs when I get back (no internet on the island...YIPES).

Have a great weekend!

Emily

Heartfelt Creations: Raspberries and Pumpkins!

Hello!  I have a couple of Heartfelt Creations cards to share today. The first features beautiful raspberries on the vine. I love picking fresh raspberries in Michigan each summer. There is nothing better!  I love the deep reds with just a hint of pink.  Delicious!

This next card features a pumpkin on the vine.  I recently harvested a bunch of pumpkins from our garden.  I did not plant them, but they came up from last year.  I boiled them and canned them to use in my fall recipes.  I added a touch of glitter to the pumpkin and flower on this card.
You can find the instructions and supply lists for both of these cards below. Make sure to check out what the rest of the design team has been up to on the Heartfelt Creations blog.

Berry Special
HCPC 3354-Classic Message PreCut Set
HCPC 3485-Ornamental Raspberries PreCut Set
HCD 724-Classic Editions die set
other supplies: Antique Linen distress ink, Black Staz-on ink, Versamark ink, Purely Pomegranate CS (SU), Georgia Pacific white cardstock, Prisma Pencils, Clearsnap Glue gloss, Stampendous Snow Glitter, Foam dots
Fold Purely Pomegranate cardstock so base measures 4.25" x 5.5" when folded. Using Versamark, stamp the vine image in both the top left and lower right corners of card base.  Stamp Ornamental Raspberry image in Black Staz-on ink onto white cardstock panel and color with Prisma pencils.  Stamp sentiment of choice in black ink onto lower right corner of white panel.  Stamp two of the single raspberries onto white cardstock, and use coordinating die to cut. Color with Prisma pencils.  Adhere single berries over two of the berries on the larger image with foam dots for dimension. Cover the popped berries with glue gloss, and sprinkle with glitter. Let dry.  When dry, ink edges of white panel with Antique Linen distress ink. Adhere the white finished panel onto center of card.

Just For You

HCPC 3354-Classic Message PreCut Set
HCPC 3484-Pumpkin Harvest PreCut Set
HCDP1 224-Classic Editions Paper Collection
Spellbinder's Scallop Rectangle nestabilities
other supplies: Memento Rich Cocoa ink, Walnut Stain distress ink by Ranger, Versamark, copic markers, stickles, May Arts brown satin ribbon, May Arts ivory burlap twine, kraft cardstock, Soft Suede cardstock.
Fold kraft cardstock to create cardbase that measures 4.25" x 5.5". Ink edges of kraft base with Walnut Stain ink.  Stamp larger harvest swirl image in versamark over kraft card base.  Cut out one of the journal boxes from the Classic Editions paper collection. Use the ivory or lighter print side and stamp the pumpkin swirl image in Rich Cocoa ink in center. color with copic markers.  Adhere brown satin ribbon and ivory twine around journal box and mat with scallop rectangle using nestabilities.  Cut the scallops off of the right side and adhere to right side of card base, lining up the straight edge of the journal box with the edge of cardbase. Stamp sentiment in lower, left corner of card base in Rich Cocoa ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Flying High...

Hello! Today I wanted to share a card I made with the newly release dies from The Stamps Of Life.  The dies match the kites2fly set, and make paper piecing fast and easy! I pieced the kite with My Mind's Eye DP scraps.  I stamped  the clouds and then added the sentiment inside.  The bird silhouettes are also images from this set.  I created my kite string from baker's twine from The Twinery.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Hubby and I had a date night on Friday night, and we also helped my baby sis and BIL move into their new house.  Yesterday we took the boys to The Cincinnati Zoo in the morning before it got crazy hot.  They recently re-structured their tiger exhibit, and it was awesome!  Beautifully landscaped like the rest of the zoo, and my boys were thrilled to be able to see the tigers "up close".  Previously, you had to view them from a far, but now you can literally walk right up to the glass where they are laying.  Max LOVES tigers so he was thrilled to be able to put his hand against the glass and "pet" the tiger!  It was a busy, but very fun filled weekend.

Emily

You Warm My Heart...

Hi, there! I wanted to share a card I made with The Stamps Of Life set, tea4two.  I sponged white acrylic paint on the edges of my kraft card base. I also stamped the heart garland with the white acrylic paint across the top. I then went back, and outlined the hearts with a prisma pencil.  I stamped the sentiment and the hearts onto an echo park journal box from the This & That collection.  I ruffled some old text from a book, and added a rolled rose to the center and some banners to create my rosette.  I love the shabby look and feel of this card.
Someone recently emailed me to ask if I was leaning towards "layered cards" and if I was going to stop making CAS cards.  While I know that I lean towards a CAS style, I certainly do not want that to define my whole realm of stamping.  I adore antiquing and anything vintage, so I have found great joy in creating vintage cards with all of the wonderful products available.  I will absolutely still make CAS cards too, as they make me happy!  So all I can say is you will be seeing both from me.  I also have vowed to get back into scrapbooking and complete some books for my boys, so you may even have to look at some of those on occasion! LOL!

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Emily

FWF-Santa Has The Right Idea...

Hi there and happy Friday!  I used this week's sketch challenge over on SCS for my card today.  I pulled out my fab Authentique Wonder DP and my matching Unity stamps(itty bitty Wonder of It) to make this one.  I inked all of the edges of the paper with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain distress ink.  I used the Fancy Label die from Sizzix for the panel centered in the holy circle and then stamped the images on top.  I tied some May Arts green burlap twine and added a vintage button from my stash.

I LOVE the quote on the postage stamp from this Authentique collection-"Santa Claus has the right idea. Visit people once a year."  This makes me giggle every time I read it!  I am sure we all know someone who visiting once a year is MORE than enough! LOL!

I hope you all have a great weekend.  It has been horribly hot, and humid here.  We have been waiting until after 7pm to let the twins go out and play, and it is still nasty!  Will had football camp this week, and they let out early every day because of the heat.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Heartfelt Creations: Classic Editions debut!

Hello!  It is time for a new release at Heartfelt Creations!  The Classic Edition Collection stamp sets and die release is gearing towards the fall season and colder days. A rustic truck, wooden wagon, playful dog, berries, apples, and pumpkins will keep you busy creating as the sun begins disappearing earlier in the evenings.  This month, Heartfelt Creations is also debuting their very first line of designer paper! The patterns are super gorgeous and lend themselves to both scrapbookers and cardmakers, alike. 

Below you will find the supply list and instructions for my card above.  Make sure you stop by the Heartfelt Creations blog to see what the other designers have been up to!

HCPC 3482-Antique Truck
HCD 724-Classic Editions dies
Classic Editions patterned paper

other products: white cardstock, paper doily, pages from old book, photo corner punch (SU), Prisma Pencils, May Arts ivory twine, vintage button, Ranger distress ink in Tea Stain, Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Fold white cardstock to create base that measures 4.25" x 5.5". Ink edges with distress ink.  Cut wood grain patterned paper to measure 4" x 5.25" and distress edges. Adhere to card base.  Cut dark brown patterned paper strip to measure 4" x 1.25". Distress edges. tear strips of text from old book and fold it accordion style. Ink edges with distress ink and adhere under dark brown panel. Next, adhere the entire panel on the lower third of card.  Adhere half of a paper doily centered over dark brown panel. Stamp truck image in black ink and use coordinating die to cut. Color with Prisma pencils.  Stamp harvest bouquet in black ink and color.  Adhere bouquet in back of truck and then adhere entire truck with bouquet to center of card over doily and brown panel.  Next tie ivory burlap twine around lower portion of brown panel. Create a loopy bow and add button to center.  Using photo corner punch, punch two corners in dark brown patterned paper and adhere in upper corners of card.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Chintz China....

Hello! Today I have a card to share with you using stamps from The Stamps Of Life.  I used the sets tea4two and moretea4us for this card.  I paper pieced the cups with paper from echo park's Sweet Day collection. I added some cantaloupe baker's twine from The Twinery to the top. Easy Peasy!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Monday.

Emily

Go Fish Challenge 21: Christmas in July!

Hello! It is time for another Go Fish Challenge and this week's theme is Christmas in July!  I created this card with some Heartfelt Creations stamps and some boxwood clippings from my yard.  Make sure you let those clippings dry for several days before adhering them to your craft projects. If you don't, they can get moldy...Ewwwww!

On a side note, this will be my last Go Fish challenge as a designer. I have decided to step down and work on some other things for the time being.  I have certainly enjoyed every minute being on this team.  I want to say a great big thank you to C and Kate!  You have both  been fabulous and so easy to work for! HUGS!

Here are the instructions for my card:

HCPC 3449-Door To My Heart PreCut Set
HCPC 3440-Vintage Door PreCut Set
other supplies: white and kraft cardstock, Chocolate ink by Clearsnap, copic markers (E35, E43), Gold metallic marker from Creative Memories, dried clippings from boxwoods in my yard, baker's twine from The Twinery, Tombow multi glue, 1.25" and 3/4" circle punches.
Fold white cardstock to create a base that measures 4.25" x 5.5".  Stamp door in chocolate ink onto kraft cardstock and cut out.  Use copic markers to shade door.  Color door handle with metallic marker.  Next, use circle punches and a scrap of green paper to create a wreath shape.  This will be your template when gluing down your wreath.  I used Tombow multi adhesive I cover my entire template with glue and let it dry to the point of being slightly tacky.  I then add my boxwood clippings to cover.  I created a baker's twine blow and adhered to the bottom of my wreath. Adhere cut out door to center of white base. Stamp sentiment in chocolate ink centered under bottom of door.  Adhere wreath to center of door when completely dry.

I hope you have time to play along with us!

Emily

SRM sticker Thank You giftie!

Hi, there! One of my sweet blogging friends, Virginia, recently sent me some goodies in the mail (Thank you again, Virginia).  She reminded me how much fun SRM stickers are to play with!  I made this quick card for our neighbors, along with some chocolate chip brownines, and peanut butter chocolate s'more bars.  They are always so nice and keep an eye on our house, and water my garden and flowers while we are away.

I wrapped the plates of cookies up with some baker's twine and added a matching sticker adhered to a white cardstock circle on top.  Easy, yummy gift in no time at all. Bonus...there were leftover brownies and s'more bars for us to eat, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

FWF-Good Friends Are Like Stars...

Hello! Happy Friday.  I have an easy peasy CAS card for today.  I have always adored this sentiment from Unity's January 2011 KOTM.  I decided this little, felt star was the perfect embellishment for it.  As simple as it is, I love the way it turned out.  Sometimes the simple things can make me the happiest!
The package of felt stars is from KI Memories and is several years old. I have been working hard to use things in my stash.  I have passed on oodles of paper to my boys.  I have been going through my stash and weeding out the things that are just not "me" anymore.  I think some elements you can use in different ways that will never go "out of style" such as stars.  They are rather timeless, right?
Several times a year I attempt to reorganize my studio.  The next day, my desk area is a mess, and there are stacks of paper, stamps and inks. However, I always know where everything is.  I have come to the conclusion that it is organized chaos. It is what it is, and that is how I roll!  I am not one of those people that everything is in perfect order all the time, and frankly, I don't think I ever will be!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

You Color My World!

Hi! Today I am sharing a card I made for yesterday's sketch challenge over on SCS.  I thought that big pennant was too fun, so I wanted to make a FUN card. I pulled out my The Stamps Of Life crayons2stamp and words4crayons sets for this one. I stamped the crayons, sentiment, and flowers in Licorice, Blueberry and Strawberry.  These inks are by Stephanie Barnard for Clearsnap, and they work beautifully for clear stamps.  They give you a nice, vibrant image every time.  They work wonderfully on solid images because the ink is uniform.  The notepad and polka DP is by Me & My Big ideas.  I have had it for a lot of years and it went with my FUN theme! I tied my crayons up with some black baker's twine from The Twinery, and added a scallop border to the top of my pennant. 

Thanks so much for taking a peek!

Emily

Heartfelt Creations: Wedding Day

Hi, there!  Today I have a wedding card to share with you using some of my Heartfelt Creations stamps.  I actually have not been to a wedding in quite sometime, but it is always nice to have a card ready when the occasion arises, isn't it?  I love this rose trellis image, and wanted to use one of the Garden Romance gate dies with it.  I think it is cute to tuck the sentiment inside of the gate.  You can find the supply list and instructions for this card below.

HCPC 3481-Add-On Sentiment PreCut Set
HCPC 3478-Twining Roses
HCD 723-Garden Romance Die set
other products: white cardstock, chocolate cardstock, Distress ink by Ranger in Walnut Stain and Antique Linen, Licorice ink by Clearsnap, Copic markers, seam binding, chipboard shape by K&Company, white acrylic paint, antique brads (SU)
Fold white cardstock to create base that measures 4.25" x 5.5". Ink edges with Walnut Stain distress ink.  Paint chipboard frame with white acrylic paint to get a chippy, aged effect. Let dry.  Cut white cardstock to measure 3" x 2.75". Ink edges with distress ink.  Stamp rose trellis in black and sentiment under trellis in black.  Color trellis with copic markers.  Die cut round gate from brown cardstock and attach to trellis with brads.  Adhere rose trellis panel to center of chipboard frame.  Tie seam binding ribbon to top of chipboard frame tag and then adhere to card base.

Make sure you stop by the Heartfelt Creations blog to see what the other design team members have created for you!

Emily

You Are The Sharpest Crayon In The Box!

Hello! Today I wanted to share another "crayon" card using new release stamps from The Stamps Of Life.  I used both the crayons2stamp and words4crayons sets for this card. I also used the square flip-it die from Sizzix and available at TSOL store.  One thing that is fun about the crayon sets, are the color words.  Along with blue, red, green, etc....you also get Stephanie's exclusive ink color words, like blueberry and tangerine.  Those are the ink colors I used on my card.  These flip-it dies are so much fun to use!  I think this would be a cute card to give to a graduate-both young or old!

The crayon is fun and easy to stamp.  First I stamped my crayons in the blueberry and tangerine ink.  I then stamped the black outline of the crayon over and added the appropriate color word to the crayon.  The flowers are part of the crayons2stamp set.  I love that they look chunky, as if one of my six year olds really drew them with a crayon!

On a personal note, I just got back from a wonderful vacation to Northern Michigan with my family.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous and we enjoyed every single minute.  My parents have a cottage on an island in the UP.  This was a very special year, as it was the 20th anniversary of the cottage.  My dad actually designed and built the house.  So many wonderful memories that can now be shared and passed on to my boys.  When we are on "island time" we are also "unplugged"!  It gets harder every year to not have internet, but in a way, it is kind of nice too.  I can not wait to catch up on all of your blogs.  I got a start last night, after unpacking and doing some laundry, but today I plan to spend the whole day in front of the screen! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by,

Emily

Heartfelt Creations: Your Special Day...

I wanted share one more Heartfelt Creations card with you using this month's Garden Romance release.  I had fun masking to create the sky background for that beautiful, butterfly flourish. Supplies and instructions for recreating this card are below!

HCPC 3479-Wings Of Hope PreCut Set
HCPC 3481-Add-on Sentiments
other products:  white cardstock, post it notes for masking, Licorice ink by Clearsnap, Soft Sky, Baja Breez, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron  ink by SU, Glue Gloss by Clearsnap, Fairy Dust Glitter Donna Salazar for Clearsnap
Fold white card base to measure 4.25" x 5.5". Use post it notes to create a mask for your "sky". My masked area measures 3" x 4.5".  Sponge blue inks inside masked area to create sky effect.  Remove post it notes and stamp butterfly swirl image in black onto left side of card.  Sponge or color the butterflies with yellow and orange ink.  Add glue gloss to butterflies and sprinkle with fairy dust glitter.  Stamp sentiment in lower right corner of masked area in black ink.

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Heartfelt Creations: Mini Accordion Album

Hello! Today I have a mini accordion album to share with you. I used a bunch of different stamps from Heartfelt Creations Garden Romance collection for this project.  I have a lot of favorite quotes and poems that include butterflies and birds, so I thought it would be perfect to include those in my album along with the fab images from these sets.  You will find my instructions and product list below.

HCPC 3478-Twining Roses PreCut Set
HCPC 3477-Bird Haven PreCut Set
HCPC 3480- Brookside Manor PreCut Set
HCPC 3479-Wings Of Hope PreCut Set
HCPC 3468-Tattered Blossoms PreCut Set
HCD 723-Garden Romance Dies
HCD 722-Tattered Blossom Dies
Brown Gala Glitz (for flower center)
other products:  white cardstock, My Little Shoebox designer paper-Heartfelt collection, watercolor paper, Ranger distress inks in Antique Linen and Walnut stain, Stickles, Tombow Multi adhesive glue, brown satin ribbon by Offray, computer and printer to create quotes, poem from an old book, scoring tool, K&Company alphabet stickers (for HOPE)
First cut two strips of white cardstock measuring 3.5" x 10.5".  Score each piece at 3.5" and 7".  Ink all of the paper edges with distress inks, front and back.  Adhere the ends of both to create your accordion album so that it folds and you have five pages on each side.  Next, cut your designer papers into 3" squares. Distress the edges and ink with distress inks.  For my cover, I stamped and added my birdhouse and bird dies first.  I then punched a hole in the blue designer paper where I wanted my ribbon to poke through.  Make sure you use a generous amount of ribbon.  You can always cut it shorter, if need be.  This allows for how thick or chunky your album may get, and will ensure that you can tie the bow now matter how much you put in your album.
Thread your ribbon through the whole and then adhere the blue designer paper onto the front of the album.  You will have a long tail of ribbon to use to tie it together after you are done filling the pages.  I glued several different patterns of paper to all of the nine remaining sides.  I embellished with both stamps, dies and computer generated quotes.  My quotes match the nature, birds and butterflies throughout my album.  The possibilities are endless using all of the images from this collection!

Make sure you stop by the Heartfelt Creations blog and check out even more inspiration from the rest of the design team!

Emily

The Stamps Of Life: Hello Hexagons!

Hello!  In preparation for The Fourth of July, I thought it would be fun to share this patriotic, hexagon card I created using hexagons2love from The Stamps Of Life.  I also used TSOL chevron dies to created the border.  It has been fun creating different patterns with this hexagon stamp set.  I can not hardly put it down!  With clear stamps, it is so easy to line them up and get the pattern you want. LOVE that.

I hope you all have a happy, safe holiday tomorrow.  I will be spending the day with my four favorite guys at one of my most favorite places in the world!!!  What could be better than that? More deets on that soon.....

Hugs!

Emily

The Stamps Of Life: Tickled Pink!

Hello! I am so excited to share cards made with this month's The Stamps Of Life club release .  I love that you can make a crayon in any color, and of course, all of the fun sentiments to go along with them.  The crayon was stamped first in Licorice, then the solid part in Guava ink (Stephanie's inks for Clearsnap).  I then stamped the "crayon" label over the pink solid crayon.  The crayon mark and sentiment are separate, so you can change your crayon line to go with the different "color" sentiments! How cool is that?  You will be seeing more cute crayon cards from me this month!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Go Fish Challenge #20-Thank You card

Hi there! Time for another Go Fish Challenge!  We are challenging you to make a thank you card using your favorite color.  You will rarely see me wearing the color pink, but I LOVE pink when it comes to cardmaking! Maybe it is because I live in a house with 4 boys?
For this card I used two The Stamps Of Life sets-chevron2stamp and phrases to say.  The zig-zags are actually one large stamp.  To get the shade variation, I stamped the entire thing in Stephanie's Guava ink (clearsnap). I then took a piece of scrap paper (you know the kind kids use in school to practice their writing? It is very thin and absorbs ink well.) I layed it over just the top zig-zag and let it absorb the ink and then carefully removed it.  I love the kind of distressed look I got.  I promptly went into my little guys craft area and took some more of their paper (they have oodles) to stash in my desk.  I will definitely use this technique again!
I hope you get a chance to play along with us at Go Fish Challenge!

Emily