My Christmas presents

Here are a couple of crafty Christmas presents I got!
My mom gave me these two stamps. I was ESPECIALLY excited about getting the gingerbread girl, since I have the SU! gingerbread wheel, but until now, I had no gingerbread type stamps to go with it. I'm very picky sometimes about the style of stamps that I buy, and I couldn't find a gingerbread stamp that I liked. I LOVE this gingerbread girl, however, so I was very thankful that my mom found it and bought it for me! I like the morning glory stamp as well, and it will be nice to have another large flower for some variety in my collection.
I also was VERY excited to get this wooden wall hanging cut-out. I am planning to put a family photo collection on the wall behind it (like a photo gallery), and LOVED this cut-out from the moment I saw it! My hubby bought this for me! I am also getting money from 2 of my sisters-in-law in order to buy frames for the photo wall. I have come to the conclusion that I will have to use collage frames, since buying over 20 frames at once (even if they are $5 each) is out of the question financially! Besides, I'm not sure that I want that many holes in the wall - though it would look cool! So - now the dilemma is just how exactly I'm going to get them all done and hanging up.... I promise to post pics when I get it done! :-)

Oh, yes, I also received the new SU! catalogue for Christmas! I LOVE our SU! demonstrator... she's a good and very generous friend! :-)

More Christmas Cards

Yes, it's after Christmas and I'm STILL making Christmas cards! Soon you will know the REASON why I'm so far behind, but for now, you'll just have to put up with Christmas cards for a litte while longer. I LOVE Christmas, so it doesn't bother me ONE bit! :-)

I got the shimmery red and green paper from Staples... the green is pearlescent Gamma Green, and the red is pearlescent Re-entry Red. :-) Love those names! White cardstock is Walmart, and black is Basic Black from SU. I got the little green tree punch-out from a friend, so no idea what that is made from! Sentiment is Papertrey Ink Holiday Wishes, (I LOVE this company, and look forward to MAYBE just getting my hands on more of their sets in the future) stamped in Color Box fluid chalk ink in Warm Red. The little tiny gingerbread man is another stamp I have no idea where it came from, the gingerbread background on the red is SU! wheel with ink from Michael's, and the tiny tree bkgrnd is TAC, stamped in Garden Green from SU!

The paper on this card is the same as above. Green vine bkgrnd is from SU! retired set Holiday Hedgehogs, as is the Hedgehog stocking, both stamped in Garden Green. Red bkgrnd ornament stamp is also SU! retired Little Layers II. Sentiment is again Papertrey Ink Holiday Wishes. Ribbon is from Walmart. I colored the hedgehog with colored pencils, gel pens, and a blender pen dipped in the Color Box Fluid Chalk Warm Red ink that I also used for the sentiment and red background. The silver faux stitches on the black were done freehand with a silver paint pen, and the tiny black doodling on the top and bottom of the white was also done freehand with a black pen. I also used glitter to make the ornament sparkle!

I made a few varieties of this Hedgehog card... here are some pics of the subtle variations:

Instead of ribbon, I used the silver paint pen to attemp to make faux brads, then outlined them in black pen. It looked OK, but I STILL wasn't happy!
FINALLY, I remembered my little star punch (I think it's Fiskars) and thought it tied in well with the stars on the stocking. No more faux stitching on the rest of the 20 that I made... too time consuming, and I liked the star punch so much, I left well enough alone! :-)

Here is yet ANOTHER card... same paper, same ink (SU! Garden Green, Color Box Fluid Chalk in Warm Red), black ribbon from Walmart, TAC tree on green bkgrnd, SU! Riveting on red bkgrnd, and the tree is from SU!'s Holiday mini collection catalogue, Season of Joy. I just cut out the tree, and in doing so cut off the star on the top.

I still have about 40 more cards to make, so I'll be busy still! More Christmas cards to come...

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Thanks be unto God for His
UNSPEAKABLE GIFT!

(II Corinthians 9:15)

Don't forget the GREATEST GIFT we've ever received this Christmas... that Jesus Christ left Heaven to be born in a manger, to die on a cross, to rise from the dead, to live in Heaven forever giving us the gift of ETERNAL LIFE if we choose to accept His gift! I pray that you have accepted God's gift.
John 3:16 For GOD so LOVED the world, that he GAVE his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Merry CHRISTmas from Chris and Heather Mitchell! :-)

Football Birthday

I made this card for my little brother (who is turning 22 tomorrow!) He loves football. I used Garden Green (SU!) and Moonlight White ink. I love the look of the little play diagram stamped in white on black. It reminded me of a lockerroom chalkboard. Cardstock is Basic Black (SU!), Walmart White, and Gamma Ray Green (Staples). Brads are Spare Parts.

Thanks for stopping by... Have a great weekend!

Raindrops

Monday I went outside to get the mail, and it had been raining. I saw all these water droplets hanging on the branches of the trees, so I snapped a few pictures. They reminded me of the ice storms that we have up in MN, but here they weren't frozen. My camera has auto focus, so sometimes doesn't like to focus on the thing I want it to focus on! Anyhow, I thought these pics turned out nice, so I thought I'd share! :-)

Red Lighthouse Birthday

This is my dad's birthday card... He loves lighthouses. I wanted to use this shimmery red paper, so I made the lighthouse red, too.

Stamps TAC, Stampendous, PSX. Brads - Making Memories, Paper - ReEntry Red (I got it at Staples on clearance last year), Ink - Fluid Chalk Warm Red, SU! Sahara Sand.

Have a wonderful day! :-)

Gerbera Daisy Birthday

Sorry, the quality of my pics is a little off lately, since I don't have a editing program on my desktop anymore. This is a card I made for another SIL's birthday (I have 3 SIL on my side, and 6 on Chris' side!) She married my brother this summer, and their bouquets were made with Gerbera Daisies (as well as the centerpieces, cake decor, etc.!) I thought she would enjoy this card.

Stamp - Gerbera Daisy from TAC, SU! Riveting. Paper - the dollar store, eyelets-Making Memories, Colors - Green Galore and Regal Rose (I colored the stamp with the markers.) Enjoy your day (Here's a few pics from the wedding)

Bridesmaid's bouquet

Centerpiece at Reception

The Cake... even the napkins had Gerbera daisies on them! :-)

Sending Warm Thoughts Birthday

This card I made for my SIL. All of the stamps are from SU!'s set Like it a Latte. The oval and tag punch are both Marvy, and the little strip of ribbon is white satin ribbon that I just colored with my creamy caramel marker. Cardstock&ink colors are Close to Cocoa, Creamy Caramel, and Purely Pomegranate.

Finally... my Christmas cards!

Well, finally, here are my Christmas cards for this year... well, about half of them anyway. I made 5 of the one above at a stamping party.

This year, I was trying to do Christian/spiritual/religious cards, rather than just winter cards. I know that I very often forget that there's a reason we call it CHRISTmas! So - I borrowed my SU! demonstraters "religious" stamp sets, and created these two cards:
Merry Christmas - Journey to Bethlehem
Journey to Bethlehem card open
I love this set... I think it is so cute that Mary is pregnant! I actually cut out paper to make the hills in the forefront of the city of Bethlehem. I used Purely Pomegranate, Always Artichoke, and Mellow Moss for the colors of ink, markers and cardstock. The silver is a Silver Paint Pen... it made a better finish than my gel pen. The snowflake background is Snowflake Sky by Brother Sister Design Studio. The little Merry Christmas is from Fancy Flexible Phrases (SU!), and the other stamps are from a retired SU! set that I don't know the name of. I used a Marvy Jumbo Scalloped square punch, and the rest of the pieces I cut with my cutter from Staples (it includes a deckle edge blade.)

Nativity Christmas Blessings
These stamps are from various SU! sets, but I couldn't tell you the name of any of them! The Nativity scene and inside sentiments are retired. The other stamps are bits and pieces of various sets I liked and pulled together. The colors are the same as listed above. The ribbon is SU!'s satin Purely Pomegranate. The color is so rich it almost makes my mouth water! The corner punch is SU! as well, and the brads are Memory Makers.

Chris gave out these cards to his co-workers (most of whom are unsaved!) today... and called me this afternoon to let me know that they LOVED them. Even one of the grouchy old men taped his to the front of his desk! Chris said that one of the office ladies was walking around to see which of the 3 cards everyone else got! That makes me feel good... and maybe, just maybe, they'll look past the beauty and see the CHRIST of CHRISTmas! :-)

Blog candy

Erika, over at Erika Designs is giving out blog candy! Go over there and check out her blog, and you could win some free stamps! I'm all about free stuff, so go check her out!

Baby Shower card and gift box

I'm going to a friend's baby shower in a few minutes, but I thought I'd post these pics really quickly before I go. I was busy most of the morning with this project... the card more so than the box. I just took an old Christmas gift box, and cut a piece of white cardstock to size to fit over the top image. I then just stamped a bunch of baby images on the cardstock. I used double sided tape to secure it to the box top, then colored the outside edges with matching markers. The colors are Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink.

The original gift box

Baby gift box

A little closer... sorry, the colors are light, so I had a hard time with the photos.


The card was certainly another matter. I have seen a couple of cards like this on other stamping blogs, and didn't have a pattern to work with, so I ended up making my own (which was a little time consuming!) Again, the colors are Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink. The striped paper is actually tissue paper that I just glued on to white cardstock to give it some substance. The ribbon is some that was given to me by a friend, but I'm thinking it may be Barely Banana organza(?). The punches I used are all Marvy Uchida. I colored in the Baby Gift stamp with some watercolor markers, but didn't want to make the ink I stamped the image with run, so I just left it "as is."

All closed up...

Open...

Stamps I used:

Baby Firsts; A Little Love; Welcome, Little One; Very Punny; Fancy Flexible Phrases; Riveting; Swell News

Another sneak peek...

I had to borrow some stamps from my friend for Christmas cards this year, since I don't have any "religious" Christmas stamps. I've been very convicted about this the past couple of years... after all, CHRISTmas should be about CHRIST, not snowmen or presents, etc. (Not that I'm against all the other stuff, I just feel like I have lost focus on the REAL meaning of Christmas at times.) Anyway, my friend has all kinds of stamps, so I chose two sets of hers to use. Now, she won't actually let me BORROW them (as in take them to my own house to use them) as she is using them frequently right now, but she has graciously allowed me to come over to her house about once a week to stamp with her stamps and enjoy some fellowship with her. I've done a lot of cutting and layering at my own house, but still have much to do to finish these cards.

I decided to give you a sneak peek... Both of these sets are retired, and I don't know the names of either of them. The colors I used are Purely Pomegranate, Always Artichoke, Sahara Sand, and some Mellow Moss. I can't wait to see it all together! I'll show them to you as soon as I'm finished... but until then... here's the sneak peek!

Stamping party goodies

My friend hosted another stamping party on the 1st (yes, we get together at least once a month!) Here is the card we made:
I love that the colors are not traditional Christmas colors or the winter blue and white. Frosty is popped up on dimensionals. The designer paper is not SU!, but the colors coordinate exactly with SU! cardstock. The paper punch is not SU! either. The SU! colors are Groovy Guava and Always Artichoke. The ribbon also is Always Artichoke. We used markers to color Frosty's hat, scarf, buttons and nose. We actually used Groovy Guava reinker with a blender pen to color with that color (since they don't make markers in that color!)

This is the other project that we did, but it didn't require stamping. This is just designer paper folded into "barn" stars. Sorry the pictures aren't the best, but you get the idea!

Jacquline's x-stitch FRAMED

About a month &1/2 ago I posted a pic of my niece, Jacquline's cross-stitch. I finally got it back from getting it framed, and it looks awesome (at least I think so!) It's amazing how much a nice frame and matting add to the art/picture/whatever is being framed. So, without further ado, here it is!

Sneak Peek

Here's a sneak peak of the calendar pages I've been working on for the past 2 weeks (not continuously!) If you click on the pictures, you can see them bigger in more detail.

January - Chromy calendar

All of the Chromy calendar pages in order from Jan - Dec.

January - Mitchell Calendar (very similar to the Chromy page, but not exactly the same)

Mitchell calendar pages from Jan-Dec. Again, very similar to the Chromy pages, but not exactly. I did a little more switching around.

Now all I have to do is find stamps to match, get the pictures I need from family members, print off the pictures, print off the actual calendar pages, assemble the calendars, get copies made... :-) Hopefully I can get them done before March this year! :-)

Nativity Christmas Blessings

Last, but NOT least... This pic doesn't do this card justice, either. I am having a little difficulty with my picture taking today, it seems.

Stamps: Holy Triptych
Ink: Versamark
Cardstock: Blue Bayou, Sahara Sand, Designer paper from our local stamping store
Other: Gold Embossing Powder, Gold brads, Ticket Corner punch, Dimensionals

We stamped all of the images in Versamark, then embossed them with Gold EP. We then cut out the frame, and mounted the nativity image inside it. We mounted that on Blue Bayou CS, then placed gold brads in the corners of the frame. We popped that part up on dimensionals. We then punched all of the corners of the remaining CS with the ticket corner punch and adhered them together.

I independently added the verse Luke 2:12 inside to the lower left flap in Purely Pomegranate. I then stamped the nativity image in versamark on the top right hand side, along with the sentiment "Wishing you all the blessings of Christmas" in Blue Bayou.

Snowman Merry Christmas

I love snowmen... and this little guy is no exception! BTW - he looks much more shimmery IRL!



Stamps: Tags On Board, Snow Burst, Jolliest Time of the Year

Ink: Real Red craft ink, White craft ink, Black Staz-On, Versamark

Cardstock: Basic Black, Real Red, Shimmery White

Other: Markers~Brilliant Blue, Ballet Blue, Basic Black, Real Red, Glorious Green, Close to Cocoa

Blender pen, Red gingham ribbon, snowflake brads (non-SU!), Large Oval punch, Tag Corner punch, Crystal Clear embossing powder, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Dimensionals

First, we stamped the background red cardstock with White craft ink (Snow Burst). Then we stamped the snowman on Shimmery White cs with Black Staz-On. We colored him in using a blender pen touched to the color of marker we wanted. We then used Q-tips dipped in Versamark ink and dabbed it over the snowman. We applied Iridescent Ice EP over the Versamark, then heated it. We punched out the corners of the CS with the Tag Corner punch. We then punched a hole in the corner of the CS, as well as the ribbon, and inserted the silver snowflake brad. We stamped the sentiment in Real Red craft ink, and embossed it with Crystal Clear EP. We cut around the sentiment with a pair of scissors. We punched out the black mat for the sentiment with the Large Oval punch. We punched holes through the CS & ribbon again, and placed the silver snowflake brad on the sentiment as well. We then popped the whole sentiment up on dimensionals.

Winter Wishes

Thursday I went to my friend Brenda's house for a Christmas card workshop. Brenda is our SU! demonstrator, and she also goes to our church. The next couple posts are all cards we did at the workshop.
This is a very simple looking card, but not so simple to do. The most difficult part was lining up the outline of the snowflake with the solid fill-in.

All of the products used here are SU!
Stamps: Supersize Snowflake
Cardstock: Winter White, Bashful Blue
Ink: Versamark, Brocade Blue (stamped off)
Other: Iridescent Ice embossing powder, silver elastic cord
I first inked the outline of the snowflake in Brocade Blue, then stamped it on a scratch piece of paper ("stamping off") and then on my cardstock. Then, I inked the solid snowflake in Versamark, and tried to line it up inside the outline (very difficult to do!) I applied Iridescent Ice embossing powder over the Versamark (I had to fill in some of the outline with a Versamark marker - the ink just didn't cover very well) and then heated it. I then inked the sentiment in Brocade Blue, stamped it off, and then stamped it on my cardstock. I then tied the silver cord in place, affixed it to the Bashful Blue cardstock, and wa-la! Here it is. (In the second picture you can see the shimmer of the Iridescent Ice a little better. Sorry, the picture quality isn't all that great!)

I'm so GLAD we're friends!

This card uses one of my favorite stamps of all time, I think! The Gerbera Daisy is my favorite flower.
Inks: Pixie Pink, Pretty in Pink, Sage Shadow, Close to Cocoa, Versamark
Cardstock: Walmart White, Close to Cocoa, Pixie Pink, Sage Shadow
Stamps: Gerbera Daisy, I'm so GLAD we're friends! both from TAC
I colored the stamp with markers to make the stem a different color than the flower. On the Close to Cocoa cardstock, I stamped the daisy with both Versamark ink and Close to Cocoa. It leaves a slightly different coloring. Istamped the sentiment in Cocoa, then cut out the sentiment with a wavy scissors. I then outlined the word "glad" with a Pretty in Pink marker. The colors kind of remind me of Neopolitan ice cream, with mint instead of vanilla. This card could have used a little embellishment, I think, but I couldn't find anything in my stash that I really liked with it.
Oh, yes... I WON BLOG CANDY!!! I read other stampers blogs all the time, and often they give out blog candy. They have the computer randomly choose one person from the comments that you leave. Well, I never win anything, but I always try to leave comments, just in case one day they actually PICK me! Well, this week, I finally WON! I am so excited to get some new goodies... esp. when they are free! :-)

Charlie Brown Birthday

I finally figured out how to download pics off my camera without using Kodak Easyshare software (since it won't install correctly on my computer right now!) So, here are the cards I PROMISED I was making! I don't have many stamps for little boy cards, but I thought this was cute.
I stamped the Charlie Brown stamp ("The Peanut Gang" by Stampabilities), then colored it in with my SU! markers. I stamped the background with misc. birthday stamps I have, most of them non-SU! (The small party hat and confetti are from SU!'s Button Bear~retired~, the cake is from The Dollar Tree, the balloons are Hero Arts, and the big birthday hat is also a dollar stamp.) The "Enjoy Your Day" sentiment is from SU!'s Riveting set, and I popped it up from the card with a dimensional. I used Real Red, Brilliant Blue, Summer Sun, Glorious Green, Tempting Turquoise and Only Orange for the colors. I think I also used Basic Black and Going Gray for the coloring. I tore the edges of the Charlie Brown image, then ran a marker over the edges. Thanks for being patient with me! :-)

I want you to know...

That I HAVE been stamping some. The problem is that my Kodak Easyshare software told me to upgrade it about a week ago now, and being the obedient woman that I am, I did. Unfortunately, there is some kind of problem in the software that won't let me open it! GRRRRR! I tried removing it and downloading it, repairing it, modifying it, and IT JUST WON'T WORK! So I have pictures of my cards on my camera, just waiting until I can figure out what to do about Easyshare. I really liked the program and how it worked... now, if only I could get it to work in the new upgraded state! Keep checking back... I'll get them up here eventually!

I got new stamps!!!!

I'm so excited... I got some new stamps yesterday. I haven't been able to use them yet due to some other things going on in my life, but I can't wait to try them out! This is my first set of acrylic stamps, so it should be interesting. You can check them out here: Papertrey Ink I love the font on these stamps! Stay tuned for this year's Christmas cards soon!

Creative Home Arts Club

I am so excited!!! First of all, I get some new stamping stuff soon (which I posted on here.) I also received an invitation in the mail to join the Creative Home Arts Club. They are a club that gets products from manufacturers and sends them out to their members, and the members get to try the products for FREE and keep them! It only costs $1 per month for the membership. I won 3 free gifts just for accepting the offer... how cool is that?!?! I'm excited to see what kind of toys I will be able to play with in the future! I mean, how much better can it get? Free toys to play with?!?!? YEAH!

Thanks... you BRIGHTENED my day!

This is a thank you/friend card I made for my dear friend Josie. She loves daisies. The focal image is daisies from a TAC set I got from a friend, as well as the sentiment. The "Thanks" is from SU! Year Round Cheer. The background flowers are from Hero Arts. They all came together on one stamp, but I didn't like them that way. I cut all the pieces apart and mounted them on cling foam so that I could use them separately. I used So Saffron (a first for me), Brocade Blue, and Mellow Moss. The image and sentiment are matted in Brocade Blue, and the ribbon is white ribbon that I got at Walmart. I just colored it with my Mellow Moss marker, and it worked very nicely (much to my surprise!)

The center of the flowers is cork circles that are self adhesive. My grandma sent them to me. At the senior center where she works, they were doing some kind of project that had them punching out these circles from cork board. She thought I could use them for a stamping project, so she saved a bunch for me. They work GREAT for flower centers.

The inside of the card used the stamp my friend sent me for my birthday... it says "What if the HOKEY POKEY really IS what it's all about?" I'm not sure I'll use that stamp often, but it makes me smile every time I look at it!

Thanks for looking!