Manly Mondays

There is no fear of not having a White Christmas around here.  It's been snowing everyday for almost a week.  Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot.  It the gift that keeps on giving. 

I recently saw a reindeer card made with punches and decided to put my own spin on it.  I kept the layout exactly the same except for the colors. The original was done with brown and red.  Should you recognize this card as yours please let me know. I would like to pass on credit to your creation.

The antlers are actual branches from one of our many trees.  The oval punch is popped up on dimensionals and so is the Merry Christmas.  This one will certainly be hand delivered.  My husband has many "hunter" friends that will get a big chuckle out it.  Betty and I certainly did when we made this at our monthly get together.

Frankii had a real busy day yesterday as we played in the snow and trying to catch that ever elusive squirrel.  Is it just me or is that squirrel getting louder and louder with his cries of "catch me if you can haha" tauntings??  When we were out doing the last of the Christmas shopping my husband spotted a "non-stuffed" squirrel and insisted we get it for Frankii. Considering that it was not filled and that once Frankii broke through it, as he always does, we would not be faced with the stuffing all over the house I thought Why Not although the cost was double the usual toy.  Go figure, less material, double the cost.  He has not let go of it even when he took his evening nap.

If only this could have lasted.  A door bell rang just like ours on TV and all hell broke loose LOL.

A La Prochaine!

Feminine Fridays

This will be this year's last Feminine Fridays post.  We'll be back on January 7th with a new mission and a few surprises. Regina and I would like to extend to you and yours the Happiest and Safest of Holidays.

This is my first MDS card. I tried a few different elements and colors before I decided that this would be the end result.  Not bad for a few minutes of adding and deleting this and that. Not a WOW Regina style but considering that the install of the program is barely "dry" and I've spent less than an hour experimenting and exploring, not bad.

I've received two Christmas cards this week with the same poem and I thought I would share it with you.

Every time a hand reaches out to

help another

That is Christmas...

Every time someone puts anger aside

and strives for understanding

That is Christmas...

Every time people forget their

differences and realize their love

for each other

That is Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!

Manly Mondays

It's Garry's Birthday today! That's Betty's Garry.  Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! Garry is a super nice man. Super nice as in it's a very hot summer day and I'm over for a visit.  Garry says "would you like me to detail your truck?"  Say what!!!  It's 30c (86f) out here, there's 20 pounds of dog hair in there and Frankii is chasing your cat up a tree.  Uh, No Garry, thanks very much though. You're way to kind.

This card will be waiting for him this morning when he gets up - by way of special delivery by Betty.

I did the layout first with Wild Wasabi, Marina Mist, Charbon DSP and Whisper White.  I used Dimensionals for the sentiment to give it some "pop".  As I was looking and thinking of what image to use I can upon a clear mount stamp set by Penny Black called "12 Days of Christmas".   This is the one for the 12th day, 12 drummers drumming.  What I like about this set is that the words are mounted separately and you can use the images all year round.  When I showed it to Betty she exclaimed "How did you know?"  How did I know what....  Turns out Garry is a drummer.  Talk about hitting the nail on the head!  I've always known Garry to be multi-talented - he can sing, write lyrics - which reminds me I must get the words to the song he sang to me over the phone awhile back - Hey Betty can you hook me up? You really can't tell from the picture, the image and sentiment are embossed in black using Basic Black Craft Ink and Clear Embossing Powder.

On the inside I used an image from Party Hearty stamped with Marina Mist Classic Ink.

Have a  Super Duper Birthday Garry!  Even though Betty is taking me out for lunch today for my birthday tomorrow, I still wish you an awesome day LOL.

A La Prochaine!

Feminine Fridays - Regina's Mission

Well bloggers the multi-talented and awe inspiring Regina has done it again.  Her mission was to cover something in designer paper.  Here is a sneak peak.

To get a full view and the story behind this little gem please hop over to Regina's Blog Holiday preparations took hold of her time this week.  She entitled her post "My Feminine Fridays Quickie".  Wouldn't you love to see what she could create with just a smidge of more time?  When you're there please take a moment to leave her a comment won't you. 

See Ya Next Week!

Feminine Fridays

Here are a few more notebooks that I made for this year's Christmas Craft Fair that was held on November 20th.  I apologize for not taking pictures of the inside.

The flower on this one and the one below were sprayed with Glimmer Mist to give them a little shine.

It was this one that Betty and I suggested to the Australian Lady to purchase for her "honey" female co-worker  as opposed to the Honey Do one from Monday's post.

For the butterflies, I wrapped 10 gauge wire around the middle to give them antennas.  Some of these had pockets on the inside cover, some did not.  To make the pocket, I measured a piece of designer paper on the reverse side a half inch less than the width, put sticky strip on the sides and bottom.  Before adhering I punched a half circle in the middle. 

I know, I know, I've used retired designer paper again. I have so much of it I must put it to good use before purchasing the current ones.

The actual notebooks are the junior legal pads purchased at Office Depot. I found out yesterday that Office Depot will be no more in Edmonton.  WHAT!!! Say it isn't so!!!  There is only one store left in the West End and it will be closing on January 14th.  I am crushed as this is my favorite office supply store. I feel awful for the staff as most of them have been there since the store opened well over 10 years ago.

*** REGINA'S MISSION ***

Hey girl, got those closets sorted out yet?? :):)

Regina your mission is to take something such as  a notebook, a package of tissue, post-its, a CD, etc... and cover it with designer paper.  I bet you've got something brewing in your ever so creative mind already.

******

If you haven't been to Regina's blog yet make sure you click here to have a look.  You won't be disappointed.

See Ya Next Week! 

Manly Mondays Week #29

26 Shopping days left before Christmas!  Are you ready?  If you are anything like me, your immediate answer is NOT.  Here's a little treat you may want to add to your man's gift this year.

This is a Hershey's Almond bar wrapped in Chocolate Chip cardstock.  I am not the originator of this project. I saw it on a blog post a few years back and have been making them ever since.  I do not have specifics on the directions, I just add from my stock of supplies.  I did the bows a little different this year as in the past I would purchase red bows at the $1 store.  This year I could not seem to find any.  I can tell you that before I did wrap the bar I folded the edge of the wrapper and held it down with a piece of tape to give the top and bottom a cleaner edge so that it would not poke out when I added the scallop circle punch in Creamy Caramel Cardstock.  Except for the nose that was made with Creamy Caramel and Real Red, and a white Crayola Pencil, it was all adhered with a glue gun.  Quite a bit of glue is required on these to make sure they don't pop open and I found a glue gun to do the trick.

These would work well as a stocking stuffer or an attachment to a gift.

Frankii's in big trouble :)  He was caught on the guest bed.  With this look who can be mad at him....

I guess he figured if he "posed" I wouldn't be so mad.  He was right :)  I said to him "You have three beds in this house, why do you need a fourth?"  He didn't even flinch.  He just stayed there perhaps thinking if he didn't move he would be invisible. What a dog!! Does he seem to be smiling to you....

A La Prochaine!

Feminine Fridays

Regina has completed her mission and what a triumphant success it is!  Her talent always catches my breath.  Here's a sneak:

For a full view and details be sure to hop over to her blog.  You won't be disappointed. And while you're there please take a moment to leave her comment. 

Thank you all for your fabulous comments on last week's Friday post.  Agent Frankii and I are working on our video skills and hope to bring you another one soon.

See Ya Next Week!

Manly Mondays Week #28

It was a creative busy weekend! The Christmas Craft Sale was a success. It's going to take me a couple of days to clean up the craft room. Next big project is make table and hall decorations for the Lions Seniors Single Christmas Dinner on December 8.  I've got plenty of ideas and plans for this year's event. Hopefully they will come out as I envision them. 

At the Craft Fair I had both of these notebooks available for purchase and can happily say that they both went. 

This one, a fella actually bought it for himself LOL

There is actually a funny little story that goes with this one.  Two ladies were looking at it. One lady with an Australian accent says to the other "I'm going to get this for Sarah".  Betty and I overheard her so we gently explained that it was actually created with a man in mind. She says "But it's so nice and I call her Honey all the time".  We then went on to tell her that "honey do" was to get your man to get chores done. She was not familiar with the expression and thanked us for saving her some embarrassment with a blush.  She did purchase another one that was more feminine that I will save for another day.

A La Prochaine!

Feminine Fridays Week #17

It is time to pull out the mukluks and dust off the ear muffs people. WOWZERS it's a cool morning. Fresh, as Albertans describe it.  At the time of writing it is

-28C (-18.4F). I got the "are you kidding me" look from Frankii this morning when I opened the door for him. I'm positive if he could talk human he would have told me something like "not on your life am I going out there" or "I don't have to P that bad". 

Tomorrow is the Christmas Craft Fair that I signed up for exactly a year ago.  You have to get in early to get a table at this one. For the last month I have had nothing but issues making projects. The glue would ooze out, the paper was cut to short and so on and so on.  When I attempted to make tiles, the craft ink ran of the image under the glassy glaze for some reason.  I told my husband the issues I had and that I had thrown them out.  "Oh no" he says "I can use them for target practice".  So he dug them out of the craft room trash. Good thing it's only paper in there. I do have some that made the cut so it wasn't a total lost.

Today's project is one that I had planned on making 4 of. My friend Penny  (Hi! :-)  hooked me up with some awesome "feet" by Tim Holtz awhile back. Well, this is one of the projects that will go under the "issues" label. Unfortunately, the glue that was used, obviously a little too much, oozed out and does not have a nice finish to it. I'm happy with everything else though but not enough to put it on sale.

The only Stampin' Up supplies used here are the Mellow Moss and Early Espresso Cardstock and a bit of Afternoon Tea Designer Paper. The brown ribbon is also Stampin' Up. The lace ribbon is actually a $1 store find.

Here's a side view

I may add a few more things to it like some words from a Sizzix Die. It is definitely staying home tomorrow.

*** REGINA'S MISSION ***

Trying out a new format.  It's a little rocky and amateurish but fun all the same.

Make sure you go to Regina's blog to see what she's been up to lately.  She's been posting some most amazing projects.

See Ya Next Week!

Feminine Fridays

When I first did a mission for Regina, it was on a whim. Something that came to mind as I was typing my blog post that I thought Regina would enjoy doing once or twice. As faith would have it, she looks forward to it every odd week that I post. And I wait with anticipation to see what marvelous creation she will come up with.  Ladies and Gents, she never disappoints!  Here’s a  sneak peek of the front of the card for this week’s “use a gate fold and a stencil mission”.

You must click here to go to her blog and see what else she crafted. Oh yes! There is more to see and salivate over.  Regina made two cards PLUS, yes, there’s a PLUS, stencilled on a cabinet door that had been patiently waiting for her awesome creativity.

Regina, congrats on accomplishing yet another mission.  You are my queen!

See ya next week!

Manly Mondays

I'm preempting Manly Mondays today for a very special occasion.

It's Regina's Birthday Today!!

A while ago I asked Regina what her favorite colors are. She told me Rich Razzleberry and Pink. As some of you might know she loves square cards.

Regina, there is a Rich Razzleberry Square Card on it's way to you. Once she receives it I'll post the details.

Please drop by Regina's Blog and wish her a Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Regina! Today you are a shining star.

Feminine Fridays Week #15

Now that Halloween is over and we've received a bit of snow I thought I would start on Christmas Cards. This week features a card made with several punches and a gate fold.

I don't have any of the current designer Christmas patterns so I used a piece from a retired collection.  The base is Real Red, the green is Old Olive. Punches used were the Dotted Scallop Ribbon Punch, Two Step Bird Extra Large, just the wings, 2 3/8" Scallop Circle Extra Large, 1 3/4" Scallop Circle Extra Large, and the Circle Punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack.  On that circle I added some jewels from the Basic Jewels Rhinestones.

For the inside:

I mixed some Real Red Ink with White Shimmer Paint, applied with a Sponge Dauber using the leaves from the Vintage Frames Decor Stencil. With the same mixture stamped the sentiment from the Occasional Quotes Hostess Set.

Oh, and to keep the card closed, I used a Velcro dot.

Now Miss Regina, your mission should you choose to accept it :-) is to use a gate fold with a stencil. 

It's going to be awesome, I guarantee it!

See ya next week. 

Challenge Winning Baby Card

In September I made this card for my friend Chantel.  She wouldn't reveal whether she was having a boy or a girl mainly because she did not know herself. So I made a very neutral card.

Mia was born on October 22, 2010, at 8 pds 7 oz. Both are doing extremely well and you can see Mia being strolled by her proud Mama sporting a brand new white and pink Diva blanket.  She is quite the bundle of joy.

On the inside:

I just kept adding a little here and a little there from my supplies. All except the cardstock and one punch are current. I followed a video tutorial by Jackie Topa that you can see HERE  Thank you Jackie for a fun and easy to follow visual tutorial.

I belong to a Yahoo group called ScorPalPals.  In October there was a challenge for a step card. Not sure if it qualified I contacted Robin, the moderator of the group to make sure.  She replied "I'm going to say Yes". So I entered the challenge and I WON!  I was thrilled and this is the gift that I received:

I was surprised at the items in the envelope. Such a generous gift and fun to boot!  Thank you Robin for making Halloween extra special this year.  YOU ROCK!

Manly Mondays Week #27

This week's card features a technique that my best gal pal Betty absolutely loves - Dryer Sheet.  I was going through some cards that I made quite sometime ago and came upon this one that I really don't recall when or where it was done. 

Fortunately, there was some details attached to it.  Carstock used is True Thyme and Marigold Morning.  Stamp set is Serene Sunflower, Classic Ink colors are Marigold Morning, Close to Cocoa, True Thyme, Creamy Caramel and More Mustard.  I made note that the dryer sheet was ironed after it was used which was applied to the cardstock with a glue stick and a pinch of Dazzling Diamonds was sprinkled over top.  Nothing wrong giving this to a guy is there? And since we are in Fall, thought it would be appropriate for a fella with a birthday at this time of year.

Here's little Frankii all happy as can be on Date Day with his Dolly on the Daycare couch.

These two sure play hard and love spending time together.  Dolly is almost as tall as him now.

A La Prochaine!

It's Trick or Treat Time

Halloween is upon us! We used to be really big in decorating our house when we lived in the city. Now that we live in the country we don't decorate at all or hand out candy. I actually gave all our decorations away last year. In the city, we lived on a street with a lot of young families.  Our dog Tex was always a hit with the kids.

I would dress him up (sorry, no pics of that) and he would sit patiently at the top of the stairs waiting for the bell to ring to see what would be next. He never once moved. He would just sit there and his head would move from side to side as if to say "What the heck is that??".  Even when the kids that knew him would call his name, he wouldn't budge. I rather miss those days of passing out candy and dressing up. Wouldn't even think of doing this with Frankii. Although Frankii "allows" me to play Barbie with him, he is not as calm and patient as Tex was so it would be difficult to enjoy the experience.

I haven't made much of anything with a Halloween theme in the last 3 years so this year I thought I would give it a go.  Very much fun creating and handing out. They are all rather self explanatory. The second one is a case of some punch art that I saw recently. There was no instructions, at least I didn't see any, so I just used what I thought was used to create it. 

Enjoy and have a Super Safe Halloween!

I'll be back tomorrow with Manly Mondays and on Tuesday I'll share a challenge that I won. The prize received is part of the first Halloween card.

Feminine Fridays Week #14

It's an even week which means it time to see if Regina fulfilled her mission.  Without a shadow of a doubt, she most certainly did. Here's a little teaser.

Be sure to click here to get to Regina's blog and have a full view of what she created with a retired set, Thankful Thoughts, Rose Red and Old Olive Kiwi Kiss Stampin' Up colors. She has all the details for you.

While I'm challenging Regina with these missions, she makes it seem so effortfless since she always comes up with such "WOW" and "jaw droppin' gorgeous" creations, she's challenging me in coming up with a mission that will inspire her creativity.

See ya next week!

A Little Thank You

I sent two of these little gifts as tokens of my appreciation yesterday. 

One in Canada, the other in the US. Wonder who will get it first. Going to keep the content a surprise. Don't want to ruin the whole thing.

Update on yesterday's card: He loved it!

Update on my favorite light to take pictures: Half of it is fixed!!  Yeah!!  Any wagers on when the other half will get done??

Until next time!

Manly Mondays Week #26

It's my boss's birthday today and this is the card that will  be waiting for him when he arrives.

I am a BIG fan of Sharon Field. I go to her blog on a regular basis for inspiration.  In September she created a step-by-step super easy to follow Splitcoast Tutorial .  The technique is called Faux Barn Board.  It's one those "oh wow, look at that" while making it. In her tutorial Sharon mentions that "school glue will work just fine". I can attest to that since it is what I used. Thank You Sharon! I truly enjoyed this technique and will be using it again.

Other items used were:

Cardstock: Early Espresso, Baja Breeze and Very Vanilla

Big Shot: Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder & the Lots of Tags Sizzlit Die

Stamp Set: Sincere Salutations

MS Photo Corner Punch: before I punched it out I sprayed the Early Espresso cardstock with a Champagne Mist mixed with water

A La Prochaine!

Feminine Fridays Week #13

The weather in Alberta is sure fine these last few days. At least in the area where I live.  The nights are cool but the days are warm.  Keep it up!  We deserve it after the non-existent summer we had.

This week's card is not what was suppose to be.  I was trying to make a fan fold following a video tutorial from www.Splitcoaststampers.com I was having a heck of a time and the hour was getting late.  So the fan fold card turned into this:

The only thing that I kept from my original plan are the colors.  The card measures 5 x 5. The base is Textured Rose Red. On the Whisper White Layer I stamped the retired background stamp, Filigree, in Old Olive.  I absolutely love Rose Red with Old Olive. I use it quite often. I made a mat in Old Olive and to that attached piece of Whisper White which was first stamped in Rose Red with the ballerina from yet another retired stamp set, Dance Sketches.  This is one of the first stamp sets I purchased when I started to make cards, oh, 5-6 years ago.  Still love it to this day.  In the corners I added Jewels from the Basic Rhinestone pack to give it a little bling.

And now on to Regina's mission.

Use a retired stamp set that you treasure (we all have at least one, or maybe two, or three...) using Rose Red and Old Olive, plain or designer paper.

******

Before I leave you for this week  I thought I would share with you what Frankii does when he comes back from spending the day with his girlfriend.

That Dolly sure wears him out. That's what happens when you date a younger chick. He runs in the house, has a drink and straight for the couch.  Could be a really bad cliché.  It's barely 5:00pm! And don't even talk to him..... :):)  How he can sleep comfortably like this is beyond me.  The boy's a hoot.

See ya next week!

Manly Mondays Week #24

I completely forgot to mention that I was going to take last Monday off to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. Sorry for the oversight.  The turkey was excellent, if I do say so myself. So was the company.

When Lynn Pratt posted her sheriff card I saved the link to it wanting to make something similar. This is the first time I've used the Owl Punch and I can see it will be used quite a bit.

I made the owl in Basic Grey and sponged it with a bit of Early Espresso. My favorite light for taking photos under is still not fixed, yup, it's still on the "Honey Do" list.  The mustache is actually a scrap I had on my table. It seemed to fit perfectly.  The star is a rub on from a retired collection so is the designer paper.  The picture of the gun, well, I had originally planned on cutting one out. My fingers just couldn't get the hang of it so I did a Google for revolver. Found this photo of a replica of Wild Bill Hickok revolver. Seemed fitting. 

For the inside: 

I typed up the words on my computer and printed on the same designer paper as the front. Not sure if I will ever give this one away.  If nothing else, hopefully you will find it "a little funny" to start your week off.

An FYI for Betty: The flannel is on the bed! No, I'm not talking code. Alberta nights are getting cold and time for the heavier stuff.

A La Prochaine!

Feminine Fridays - Regina's Mission

Prepare to be WOWED blog fans!  Regina's mission was to use designer paper as a focal point.  Here is a sneak peak.

For a full view and to have your socks completely blown off click here.  Regina has included a "how to" for this pure work of art. 

BRAVO REGINA! on a very successful completed mission.

See ya next week!

Feminine Fridays Week #11

I've always wanted to try the Origami Shadow Box so I created this one for my World Card Making Event last weekend. I was quite happy with the "it's easier than it looks" response. You start with a piece of 4x4 double sided designer paper. Fold in half, open it, fold in half the other way. This will give you a center. Make a cross in the center with a pen. Then take a corner and fold to your marking. Do this to all corners. Once that's done bring the tips to the fold of the outer edge. You have to make sure that your folds are perfectly straight otherwise your folds with not meet evenly.  Don't forget to use your Bone Folder to get crisp clean lines.

The stamp set used is Charming, the sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes. The colors are Perfect Plum and Whisper White. On the Whisper White the image was stamped fully inked then stamped again before adding more ink. The punches used inside the frame are the 1 1/4" in Whisper White  and 1 3/8" in Perfect Plum.  For the sentiment the Modern Label Punch in Perfect Plum and the Word Window in Whisper White. Added a little bling from the Rhinestone Jewels.

On the inside a Whisper White layer was added and stamped in Perfect Plum using the same flower from inside the frame on the front. The corners were rounded with the Small Corner 3/16" Punch.

And now for Regina's Mission: Create using Designer Series Paper, current or otherwise, as the focal point.

In  the meantime make sure you drop by Regina's Blog to see what she has been up to this last week. She made some very thoughtful and caring cards for her parents.

Before I leave you for today, here's a pic of Frankii

He's changed his position from the tailgate to the tree. He's determined to have that squirrel play with him. He spent the afternoon here yesterday and by afternoon I mean ALL afternoon.

See ya next week!

Manly Mondays Week #24

I decided to use a color I have not touched at all this week - Poppy Parade. Then the challenge was on....what to use with it. My color coach sits right on my table thank goodness! The "sweet set" for this color is Poppy Parade - Sahara Sand - Not Quite Navy so I ran with it. The base is Poppy Parade, layered with Sahara Sand ran through the Big Shot using the Perfect Details Texturz Plate and the Decorative Label Punch. The ink is Not Quite Navy. A set that I find is under used is the Define Your Life. Don't know why, there are so many great sentiments. As I was reading them, I thought of a guy I know that really does quality work. With him in mind the card was designed. Once I had it all put together it looked a little flat so I went through my Clear Mount Stamps and came across the star from Itty Bitty Bits. No rhyme or reason to where it was stamped.

The "thanks" is from the Hostess Level 1 set Afterthoughts. Before I inked the stamp in Night of Navy I put a piece of tape over the "i love being spoiled" part and used that for the inside.

Hope my little card gives you some inspiration this week.

A La Prochaine!

Feminine Fridays Week #10

WOW!! is all I can say about Regina's mission this week. You blew me away Regina!! From this one I can see that I am going to have to make the missions a little more challenging perhaps. She nails it every single time. Here's a sneak peek. Click here to see her blog post and get all the details.

It's been a hectic week around here and the weekend will be the same.  Tomorrow is my World Card Making Day Event and all is ready to go. It should be a really good day.  Frankii's been busy too. He's been trying to catch a squirrel in the front yard and stands on guard on the tailgate waiting to catch his prey.  He hasn't yet and I am sure he is finding it quite challenging.

Can't say that I've ever seen him more focused than this. Nothing is going to distract him! He can sit here for an hour and barely twitch. He's probably feeling more like a tracker with his new camo scarf. At least now we know where he is and not running across the road to play with the Alpacas.

See ya next week!

Manly Monday Week #23

The idea for this card came to me in two ways 1- by looking outside the kitchen window, the trees are changing colors which made me decide on Cajun Craze, More Mustard and Very Vanilla; 2- my friend Ian sent me some amazing photos of animals and my favorite was this lion. No pun intended here - Ian is a fellow Lions Club Member. Made me think of Frankii after he comes home from spending the day with his Girlfriend.

I started by printing the photo on Very Vanilla.  The base is More Mustard followed by a layer of Cajun Craze ran through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  I stamped the sentiment from the Level 3 Hostess Set Occasional Quotes on More Mustard with Cajun Craze Classic Ink. And that's it, that's all for the front.

On the inside:

I added a strip of Cajun Craze, once again from the Square Lattice Embossing Folder and hand wrote with the Cajun Craze Stampin' Write Marker. It doesn't really get any easier than that.

I'm holding a World Card Making Day event this Saturday - October 2, 2010. Should you be in the Edmonton, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Devon or Leduc area drop me an email and I'll send you invite. Would love to have you!

A La Prochaine!