My Other Pages

To make it easier to read about our trip to Ireland, I have made a page that is just for that. There is a tab above for Ireland Trip 2014 or click on the Home tab to read my other posts. I have also created a new page for My Weight Loss Journey if you are interested in that, click on the tab above.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Animal Balloons

Do you love animals? 
 I hope so, because today I have a birthday card I made with some of the animal balloons from Eureka! Stamps
On this card I used:
"Monkey Balloon" (#24101)
"Zebra Balloon" (#8001)
"Parrot Balloon" (#23906)
"Elephant Balloon" (#5205)
and
"Happy Birthday" (22803) from

For the inked circles, I punched a circle from some scrap cardstock, I used the hole in the cardstock by placing it down and inking the circles onto the piece for the card.  I then stamped the animals in  Color Box Fluid Chalk Ink in brown.

I was inspired by a card I saw in a book, I loved the look of the card and came up with this interpretation of it.
The funny thing is that it doesn't even come close to looking like the original card and that's fine.  I just used it as an inspiration and never intended it to look like that card.  So I guess my point is that I hope you will get some inspiration from the cards and projects I post here.

Maybe you like the color combination, or the inked circles, or the animal balloons.  Whatever it is that you find inspires you, go with it and have some fun creating your own projects!

The animal balloons can be purchased through either
just put the # into the search box on either site and you can go from there. They are available in red rubber or digital format.

Thanks for stopping by today and I do hope you are inspired in some way to create something of your own.
Leave a comment it you wish and come back and visit again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Rose on book print

Hi stampers and crafters!
One of my recent favorite techniques is to stamp on pages from old books.  I have a couple books that I keep just for this purpose.
I just love the look of the print with the colored image.

Today I'm showing you a small card I made with
"Rose" (#17505) from QKR Stampede
I stamped the image onto the page from my old book and colored it with watercolor crayons.  You have to be careful with this as you don't want to have too much water on this paper or it will warp the paper or even cause a hole to form.  Just need to be careful.
I trimmed the image down and used an EK Success border punch on it and also on the kraft cardstock.

Thanks for stopping in today.  Leave a comment if you would like and then why not head over to the QKR Stampede store and see what you might find that would look great using this technique.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Thank you Veterans!

Hello Everybody!
I hope you are having a wonderful weekend.
Today I have a card to honor all those who have served our country.
Many have given of themselves so we can have the freedom that we cherish.
Giving a huge THANK YOU! to all who have served our country and remembering those who have passed before us.
For this card I used 2 stamps from Biblical Impressions
"Flag Girl" (#32513)
and
"God Bless" (#32916)
I stamped each of them onto white cardstock and colored them with FlexMarkers, fussy cut them and adhered them to my card base along with red and blue cardstock.
For the 'star panel' I used a piece of acetate packaging and ran it through my Cuttlebug with a star embossing folder then adhered it with a bit of Glossy Accents.

I'm entering this card into the
"Simon Says Stamps Presents A Star Challenge"
Why not pop on over and see all they have to offer there.

Thanks for stopping by today.  Leave a comment if you will.
And remember to thank a Veteran!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Life is Good

Hello blog friends!
Today I'm showing you a card that I made with 2 stamps from
"Flowering Vine" (#19704)
and
"Life is Good" (#16307)
I stamped the Flowering Vine onto white cardstock and colored it with FlexMarkers, layered it onto some blue polka dotted cardstock and adhered it to my card base.
This is when I ran into the question of the sentiment.
I wanted the vine to run up the card, because these are Morning Glories and the ones that we had in my yard when I was a kid, grew up the fence.
But once I added the sentiment I started to think the card looked better as a horizontal card.  I guess it could be used as either.

What do you think?  Leave me a comment and let me know which way you would use this card.  Vertical or horizontal?

Thanks for stopping by today, come again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Blessings

Hi!  I hope you are having a lovely day!

Today I'm showing you a card I made with 2 images from
I used "Heart Bouquet" (#18302)
and "Blessings" (#33902)
I used FlexMarkers to color the Heart Bouquet and printed Blessings from my computer, as it is a digital image which also comes in red rubber.

I love the digital images for sentiments.  You can size them to whatever size and color you want.  I thought about matching up the pink to print the Blessings, but the color just didn't show well.

You can also get "Heart Bouquet" in digital form.
I like to use the rubber stamps for my images, especially if I will be using alcohol ink markers to color them.

Stop in to Eureka! Stamps and check out the images, there are sure to be some that you will love.  Whether it is red rubber or digital, there will be something for you!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Leave a comment if you wish.  Come back soon!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!


Thursday, May 17, 2012

QKR Stampede May Blog Hop

Good day and welcome to my post for the
QKR Stampede May Blog Hop.

If you have happened upon the hop, you will want to start at the
beginning so you don't miss a single thing!
If you have come from Ceal's blog, you are on the right track.
I'm sure she had a wonderful project to show you.

If you should get 'lost' or find a broken link along the way, just hop on back to the QKR Stampede Blog where you will find a complete list of the links for this hop.

The theme this month is floral images and I have to say that the floral images from QKR Stampede are some of my favorites!

For my card I chose to use "Rose" (#17505) and "Life is Good" (#16307)
One of my favorite techniques is stamping onto pages from old books.
I have a couple books that I keep just to rip the pages out of and stamp on them.
I used brown Color Box Fluid Chalk Ink for both stamps.
I colored the Rose with water color crayons with very little water. 
Since the paper is very old and not made for painting on, I had to be very careful how much water I used.  This kind of paper will warp and tear very easily if it is gotten too wet.

I was thrilled with how this turned out. The book page has a natural vintage look to it, so no need to ink it.
The faux brads in the lower corner are holes punched from an inked piece of kraft card stock.

I hope you have enjoyed my card.
Now head over to
where I'm sure you will find something beautiful, she is so talented!

Also be sure to stop in to the QKR Stampede Shop and check out all the beautiful floral images they offer.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Children in the sand

Hi all!
I bought these 2 stamps years ago, just because I loved them.  And I've never used them.  But now that I have my FlexMarkers and am loving using them, I decided it was time to pull them out and color them up.
I had a lot of fun with them, are they just the cutest thing ever?!?!
Once they were colored I layered them onto colored cardstock and a white cardstock base.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I'd love it if you'd leave me a comment.
Come again soon!

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

May Eureka! Stamps Blog Hop

Hello Hoppers!
If you have come here for the Eureka! Stamps Blog Hop, you should have arrived from 
I'm sure she had a wonderful project to show you!
If you just happened upon the hop, you will probably want to go to the beginning at the company blog.
I'm sure there is a lot of wonderful inspiration on the hop and you won't want to miss anything.
If a link isn't working along the way, just hop on back there and get back on track, there will be a full line up there.
This month our theme is Weddings and Graduations.
Eureka! Stamps has many images that can be used for both of these occasions!

 I chose to make a graduation card using 
"Large Cap" (#18901) and "Congratulations" (#5507)
 I stamped the "Large Cap" onto green and white card stock.  I then cut them out, colored the diploma with water color crayons and pieced them together.
I made the tassel with gold thread and attached it to the cap with a brad and adhered it all to the card front with foam tape.
Inside the card I made a pocket to put a gift into.
The "Congratulations" is stamped onto green card stock, trimmed and adhered.
This is a fairly quick and easy card to make.  I hope you like it!
Now hop on over to 
and see what wonderful project she has to show you!
Thanks for hopping with us today. 
 Leave a comment if you like and once you have finished the hop, why not stop in to the 
and check out the wonderful images offered in red rubber and digital format. 
Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Believe in Yourself


I have to say that I have been very lucky. 
My friends think I win everything there is to win, but honestly, I don't. 
But I do win some wonderful prizes.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to win a prize pack from the May Arts Blog when they teamed up with Creative Imaginations.  If you click on the Creative Imaginatons link you will see the collection I won.
And believe me the pictures don't even do it justice. 
Everything in the line is just beautiful!
Thank you May Arts and Creative Imaginations!!!

I made this card with one of the papers and a sticker from the sticker sheet.  I added some foam tape to the sticker to give a little demention.
This was a very quick and easy card that I think turned out beautifully!

For some wonderful ideas and tutorials stop in at the May Arts Blog.  They team up with some other wonderful companies and the "ribbonistas" have some fabulous ideas.  Who knows, maybe you'll be lucky and win something too.
This is one of my favorite blog.  Over the last couple years I have found a lot of blogs and have had to narrow it down to the ones I really love to follow and May Arts is one of them.  I check them most every day to see what lovely things they have to show us.  So go check them out!

Maybe the next project I make with this line of paper, I'll use some lovely May Arts ribbon. Just didn't have space for it on this one.

Thanks for stopping by today, leave a comment if you wish, then pop on over and see what's going on at the May Arts Blog.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Mother's Day Rose

Hi everybody!
I have another Mother's Day card to show you.
I think this one will go to Aunt Bea, my hubby's aunt. 
She just moved into an assisted living center and I think a pretty card along with some flowers for Mother's Day will be just right for her.
I stamped this image onto white cardstock and colored it with FlexMarkers.
I fussy cut it and adhered it with foam tape to a card base covered with some patterned paper from my scrap stash.
Sorry, I don't know who made the stamp and I've had it for years.
The "Happy Mother's Day" sentiment is from the
"Happy Birthday" set (#22803) from QKR Stampede.

Thanks for stopping by today, leave a comment if you will.
I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Mother's Day Card

Happy Mother's Day!
I know Mother's Day isn't until Sunday,
 but I thought I'd be the first to say it.
I made this card using 2 stamps from QKR Stampede.
"Bouquet" (#16220)
and Happy Mother's Day from the
"Happy Birthday" set (#22803)
I stamped the Bouquet image onto white card stock and colored it with FlexMarkers and inked the edges.
The sentiment was stamped with the same color ink as I used to ink the edges and that I used to create the base paper.
To create the base I:
1. Ran a piece of waxed paper through the Cuttlebug in an embossing folder.
2.  Put a piece of white card stock on either side of the waxed paper and ironed over it. (Place a piece of scrap paper over it before ironing so you don't get wax on the iron.)  This transfers the wax to the card stock.
3. Inked the card stock with direct to paper technique. This means you put the ink right from the pad onto the paper.  You could use a blending tool if you wish.  The wax acts as a resist.
4. Use a paper towel to buff over the entire piece, this will remove any excess ink that is on the waxed areas.
5.  Use the newly created patterned card stock.
It's as easy as that!

Make a stop into the QKR Stampede shop and see what images you can find that will be great to use with paper you create with this technique!

Thanks for stopping by today!
I hope you enjoy my card as much as I enjoyed making it.
Leave a comment if you wish and come again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Out of the box Butterfly and Sunflower

Hello stamping friends!
Today I'm showing you a card I made with
"Butterfly and Sunflower" (#20801) from Eureka! Stamps
I used water color crayons to color this lovely image.
I then used the "out of the box" method to cut it to size. I love the look of those bits that are fussy cut on the outside of the image.

My design team friend, Roxie, has a couple wonderful tutorials that explain how to do this technique.  If you follow the link to her blog and scroll down the right side to her Tutorials, there are 2 different methods for
"out of the box" cutting.

If you like this image, you should go check out all the wonderful images they have in the Eureka! Stamps Shop.  Every time I look I find something that I missed last time I was there.  There are so many wonderful stamps, rubber and digital!

Thanks for stopping by today.  Come again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Jen's flowers

Hello!  I hope you are having a beautiful day!

Here are some beautiful flowers that would brighten any day.
This stamp is from Inkadinkadoo and is colored with
My friend Jen was kind enough to let me use her stamp.
Thanks Jen!

Thanks for stopping by today. Leave a commnt if you will.
Come again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Balloon girl

Hello!
QKR Stampede and Eureka! Stamps are sister companies and although they have totally different images, there is a line of stamps that they share.
The balloons and balloon holders can be found in both stores.
Today I have used
"Girl Balloon Holder (#13803)
"Flower Balloon" (#13903)
"Daisy Balloon" (#13901)
I stamped them all with Memento black ink and colored them with
FlexMarkers. Then fussy cut them.
For the card base I used a blue background with just a bit of inking around the edges.
The 'grass' was made by inking direct to paper with a few different green Whisper inks and tearing the top edge.
The girl and balloons were adhered with foam tape.

I had fun making this card and I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by today. 
Leave a comment if you will and please do come again soon.

Until next time, Happy Crafting!