Another Shadowbox Layout

Heritage Layout using multiple tools and layered paper elements

Heritage Layout designed with a Shadowbox frame in mind

Heritage Layout now in the Shadowbox

Hello Blogging Friends...

As promised on the last post, I said I would post this Shadowbox layout next to show you all the sample we will use, as well as a couple of other layouts, when a group of us get together to design a layout this weekend at the Fall Flurry Crop in Walford with OC Scrapbookers.  The activity is call Bring It-Make It-Take It and it will be set up cover part of the day so that participants can work with several tools and techniques to explore how to design and layer up paper and embellishments to complete a dimensional layout ideal for framing with a Shadowbox.  These types of layouts are excellent for gift giving.  As the holiday season rolls around, think of all the themes one can choose from to make a dimensional layout for a Shadowbox featuring one or two pictures.  Of course, the sky is the limit!  The activity that I have planned for Saturday at the workshop will focus on 6 participants so that we keep it intimate enough to be able to focus on questions and be comfortable enough to work with the Cricuts and die cutting machines. 
I plan to spend time, answering questions and providing my experience in various methods and techniques.  We will be playing with various tools, experimenting with different techniques and methods that participants may have always wondered about and have wanted to try.  Anyone who is attending the weekend in Walford and want to join us, you must register with Deb at OC Scrapbookers to get a seat. The first 6 to register will get a spot as space is limited to 6 participants.
This picture has my Grandfather and Grandmother in it with my Great Grandmother and two of my Aunts when they were children.  This picture was taken in 1938.  I am looking at a few heritage pictures  from both my side of the family and my husband's side.  They are fun layouts to design and I'm looking forward to this weekend's group as we put our head's together and design an awesome layout.

A ShadowBox Layout for Maddy!

A Shadowbox Layout for Madison Lynn
Our new and very first Great Niece!

Hello Blogging Friends

I have missed being able to post to my blog.  Phew! .. I've been so busy the whole month of September, all while starting back to work.  Things have slowed up a bit here now and I have time to post some exciting projects that I have been working on over the last month and a half.  This delicate, oh so girly layout was designed lovingly for my great niece who was on her way as I was working on it.  I planned to celebrate with family at the baby shower and was thinking what could I pour my loving energy into that would be more of a keepsake than just a card and that would have much more exposure?  I immediately thought of a layout that could be placed in a collectable case that could be hung on a wall and be seen by one and all.   So I began thinking about the elements that I thought would go oh so nicely on this wee little girly's layout-- the elements that are so Madison Lynn.  As I said, she wasn't even here yet... but into my head popped visions of fairies and flowers and butterflies!!  I saw the delicate doilies cut and lots of pearls and in shades of cream and the palest of pinks.  Yes, I was tapping into the essence of that new little girl!  She has now arrived and I am excited to say that she is early and very small but is okay and gaining strength last I heard.  She arrived earlier than expected and tired but all there!!  Bravo Madison, Auntie looks forward to seeing you soon....

Just a word to let my friends know who'll be attending the Fall Flurry crop with Deb at OC Scrapbookers in Walford next weekend.. I'll be working on a Bring It- MakeIt- Take It activity on Saturday at the crop.  I'll be working with a group of participants on a Heritage Shadowbox layout.  For more information, email Deb @ OC Scrapbookers to see how to sign up for the event.  She will have a flyer to share with you that has more details on this shadowbox layout opportunity...
I will be back with more projects very soon, likely tomorrow...k

A True Friendship Card

Front:  A real collection of dies used here in layers to illustrate a detailed look
Pattern Paper: KaiserCraft Peachy Keen
Flower Stamp JustRite 31/4" round colored with Copics

Inside Card:   Lined with coordinating Peachy Keen paper
Carnivale Border die from Cheery Lynn and
Spellbinders Lacy Squares

Hello Friends

This week is warm and sunny but the mornings are now beginning to be a bit cooler and it reminds me that fall is just around the corner.  I have been a busy bee the last couple of weeks as I've been canning, pickling and making jams and jellies.  I used to do this every summer when the kids were growing up but the last 5 to 6 years, when my health began to deteriorate I didn't do alot of it..I didn't have the stamina. Since I've been on the road to better health and a whole lot lighter, I have more energy and I just find I want to do so much more of the things I used to enjoy...  So, I've been crafting in between batches of jam, jelly and pickles.  This card reminds me of late summer blossoms and sunny days that are stretching into the harvest time.  The time when the trees begin to change their dresses from cool greens to bright oranges, yellows and reds in celebration and gratitude for all the bounty and beauty we have in our natural world.

I designed this card with multiple dies from various manufacturers.  I enjoy mixing products and technique tools to get various effects like I did with this card using Cheery Lynn with Marianne Designs and then adding a Spellbinders die or two to the mix.  The first layer on top of the pattern paper is part of the Marianne Creatable's Scallop Circles.  I used the largest of the three circles that make up this intricate die. On top of that diecut I placed a doily from Cheery Lynn called the Kiwi Doily and on top of the Kiwi doily I added a JustRite image from the 31/4" round My Garden set colored with Copic Markers in orange, yellow and turquoise.  The swirls and the flower on the card are cut from the dies that are part of the Marianne Creatable's Frame, Flourish and Flowers.   The sentiment tag was cut using a tag from Spellbinders Fancy Tags Three and I added corner diecuts from the Floral Doily Accents set onto the ends of the tag.  On the tag I stamped "True Friends" from JustRite's Friendship, Nested Sentiments and Verse.  Inside the card I used the Cheery Lynn Carnivale Border die and a Spellbinder's Lacey Squares diecut to be used as the mat for the verse that will be placed there.
I'm feeling the strong pull now to create some seasonal projects very soon.  I love creating for OC Scrapbookers!  Click on the link at the top of my blog here as I urge you to go take a look at what they have to offer over at the webstore.  Stay tuned for the newsletter coming very soon to announce the fall crop lineup and some other very fun stuff lined up for the fall.  Back again very soon!!!

Sending on Smiles with Pizzazz!



Front of Card:  Marianne Design Scallop Circles cut out using 3 separate dies.   Black
velvet mini flowers from the smallest die from Spellbinders Rose Creations.  The sentiment
is from JustRite's Smile set, one of their 31/4" round sets   Pearls ; KaiserCraft




Inside card:  Lined with red cardstock, I used  a Cheery Lynn Border die
Carnavale as a decorative edge and the Marianne Rectangle frame
LR 0116  as a mat for the verse

 

Hello Blogging Friends...

I'm back with a great card that features some of my wonderful new dies.  I'm using a favourite of mine, shiny gold foil Bazzill that I love using on my fancy card designs.  This card is fashioned to achieve a fancy finish in black, cream and red with gold highlights.  The center medallion is cut out using the Marianne Designs Scallop Circles LR 0180  which you can find under the Cheery Lynn preorder section of OC Scrapbooker's online store.  This is where the new dies on preorder are listed and you will find the Cheery Lynn Border, Carnivale  and the Marianne Design Rectangle Frame here also.
The Scallop Circle die comes in a separate trio of circular dies that fit together which graduate in size making a beautiful medallion when stacked.  On this card I used all three beginning with the largest scallop shaped circle on the bottom, cutting it in black velvet. Then to offset the black velvet bottom layer, I used gold foil bazzil cardstock on the next diecut to contrast with the bottom layer.  The cutout feature on this die supports the black velvet as it peeks through the gold, highlighting how beautiful the embossing detail is on this layer. Then, on top of the middle diecut glimmering in gold, I stacked the third and smallest circle, again cut in black velvet showing the contrast again and an added texture and elegance.  Of course the sentiment was then stacked on this layer, stamped in black Momento ink on cream petallic cardstock. The effect is especially beautiful when you're able to see it and touch it. The decorative lacey scroll-like edge around the the outside of the largest Scallop Circle adds intricate dimension and is one of the main features that attracted me to this die.
I lined the inside of this card with an embossed red cardstock and added more gold elements in keeping with the fancy and old hollywood style of this card.  A verse to an special friend or relative to send warm wishes is all that is needed to finish this card off.  Remember, One Smile can Warm the World!

All these products and so much more are available at OC Scrapbookers 'n More.  Be sure to visit the store to view all the exciting preorders available now and stay tuned for the ones being announced very shortly.  More again very soon.. stay tuned!!

A Friendship Card with handmade roses!!

Front of Card: This stamp is JustRite's My Garden Borders and Centers
JB-09705;  which is a 31/4" round ribbed stamp set.  The stamp is cut with
Spellbinders Standard  Circle Scallop dies and placed on a doily die.  I'm introducing
two new Cheery Lynn doily dies and the one I'm using today is called Canadian
Kaleidoscope.  I layered that one on top of Cheery Lynn's Celtic Fire Frame, also
a new one for me and both which will be listed on the new Cheery Lynn and
Maryann Design preorder  specials this week...



Inside the card: I used the other side of the pattern paper to line the card
and placed another Canadian Kaleidoscope Doily in a matching color
 cardstock.  The border was in the same pattern paper used on the
front with Cheery Lynn's Carnivale die - click on picture for a
closer look at the intricate and small cuts and piercings. 
These dies are amazing and a nice addition to any
die collection.


Hello my Crafting Friends...

Its great to be back and I'm so excited to show you this project --- do you see the flowers???  Again, I'm so excited because I made those flowers.  I've had the Spellbinders Donna Salazar Rose and Carnation Creations sets for a while, well.. since Spring and I've not tried them out until now!  With my Grand Calibur and lots of matching pattern paper, I had a blast cutting out various sizes of petals and it didn't take long either.  I used the Rose Creations die set today on these flowers and I made three different sizes to show you the versatility of the die set.  The Donna Salazar Carnation Creations is a set that I will be using in the near future and both of these sets are equally fabulous. Each set has a distinctly differing look to the petals and the leaves providing the whole flower with a unique flair, Wow! 

This week OC Scrapbookers is doing another Cheery Lynn and Maryann design Creatables preorder.!!  Whooeeee!  I've just recieved some new dies to feature this week and today I'm showing three Cheery Lynn Design dies on this card and this combination of dies gives this card an intricate, detailed and very layered look.  The Doily Die I'm featuring on this card today is the Canadian Kaleidoscope doily.  You can only see the tips of the doily on the front of the card with all the layering but inside you can see the whole effect.  It's such an elegant doily shape and puts you in mind of a snowflake which is very Canadian and you can be sure that I'll be having some fun with this doily die during the Winter time on cards and layouts and for the coming Christmas season with all the Christmas cards coming up ~~ well, I can't wait to begin!! 

So my friends... go on over to our fabulous OC Scrapbookers online store and see what is available on all the preorders and what is up and coming for the fall cropping season.  You may want to focus your attentions right now on the JustRite preorder and the CheeryLynn and Maryanne preorders as we move into September.  Deb is gearing up for a fantastic season with lots of announcements coming very soon...   So much to do ~~ so little time!

Front of Card: Spellbinders Beaded Ovals and JustRite's Oval Hugs To You JB-09850
Embossed in Gold.  The sentiment - JustRite's Baroque Nested Frames and Occasions
Martha Stewart Doily Trim Large Punch Around the Page set (Border Punch) and
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch with Martha Stewart Bridal Flowers



Inside of Card - Lined in Swirl Pattern Pearl finish paper with a Cheery Lynn
French Pastry Doily diecut as a mat for the Sentiment - a JustRite Oval 21/4"x  31/16"
My Rainbow Set - JB-09860 stamped in Graphite Black Versafine ink



Hello My Blogging Friends...

I am back to post a card that I helped my friend make last night as she took some time with me to learn some  techniques and methods on how I put together cards.  We have been wanting to get together and do some stuff together and we had fun talking about all kinds of things as we worked on this card.  When I asked her to think of a type of card she wanted to create, she chose to make a card for special friends of hers who are celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary today!!  Imagjne 50 years together with your spouse...Wow!  Now we all know that that is a special milestone for some couples and many couples never make it that far.  I know them too and can attest that they are a special couple who have contributed so much towards our community throughout their lives.  Happy Anniversary Nick and Nadia!

On this card we decided on a few basic techniques and methods, using many of my favourite tools.  Of the JustRite Stamps, we chose two Oval sets and we stamped the inside sentiment with black ink but on the outside element, we heat embossed the stamp image in gold embossing powder in keeping with the cream and gold color scheme.  This couple are so NOT showy or blingy types of people so we kept the gold of the golden anniversary colors down to a matt gold and not the shiny foil gold that I love.
I love the monochromatic feel to this card and I love that we used two awesome Oval JustRite Stamp Sets that are amazing for this application.  The Justrite Stamp sets take embossing with colored embossing powders and the heat gun so nicely, they turn out so crisp and clear if done with care and attention and the finished product is so elegant and dimensional.  I love it!
For the wonderful products used on my designs, visit OC Scrapbookers online webstore to see what is available on current preorders.  Keep your head up for more preorders to be announced this weekend - watch for Debs Newsletters and if you want to sign up for the newsletters go to Scrapaholics.ca  to email them and ask to be put on with your email address.  Watch my blog as I have much more to share in the next little while.  Leave a comment for me so I know who is visiting and what you think of my work.  Thank You in advance for your kind remarks. 

Whimsical Cherish the Memories Card

Pattern Paper:  Pink Paislee Botanical Garden
Cherish The Memories Just Rite Stamp Sentiment
Spellbinders Bird Sanctuary

Spellbinders Labels Twenty
Spellbinders Fancy Tags
Prima Flowers and Tea Stain Lace



Inside of Card : Spellbinders Bird Sanctuary
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
Top inside: Martha Stewart Large Punch Around the Page set - Wildflowers
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder 5"x7"



Hello  All my Blogging Friends....

I'm back after a bit of a break spending time with my husband and children, spoiling the youngest of our 3 boys who came home on leave from the Air Force and choosing to spend some down time with his parents.  Being stationed in another province, we only get to see him about every 6 months for a brief week and a half or so -- but we're always happy to take whatever time we can get.  I did a last card up before taking my break and just didn't really have lots of time on my hands to post until now.  I plan on doing lots more creating in the next couple of weeks as well as mix in some time for a training course for work.  I am pumped as I have some great new Cheery Lynn Dies to try out and show off!  Some are doily dies -- some are border dies -- and I have some other fantastic product to play with and then post here to show all of you .... I am getting ramped up here just talking about it!  There is a whole lot of planning going on for the fall cropping season for all of the demos and technique workshops I will be putting out on my travels with Deb and OC Scrapbookers Gang!! Can't give too much away right now but Wow  -- we're pumped! 

I urge you to go on over to OC Scrapbookers and see the great preorder sales on JustRite Stamps that is on right now.  Deb has put a discount on all JustRite stamps that she's loaded on the website so that there is a preorder special on some of last season's JustRite sets and on the newest JustRite sets too -- all told there is 10 pages of different stamp sets to choose from.  I have my order in for some of the new sets that I plan to do some seasonal projects with in the next couple of months.  Oh Boy~~  Stay tuned for more projects coming up featuring some of the past season's greatest Just Rite stamps currently listed on the preorder sale!

Using Butterflies, Doilies, Spellbinders and Punch Around the Page Large Punch Set

Hello All My Blogging Friends... I'm back today with another seasonal card as the days continue to be warm, humid and sultry and we continue to find ourselves in the throes of summer.  Summer flowers are out in full bloom and everything is growing beautifully working towards harvest.  I just love the availability of fresh fruit, berries and vegetables that this time of year presents to us!  Early corn is coming into the stores, strawberries are finished now and we're in the middle of raspberry picking season.  I've been canning some peach preserves and making some raspberry jam and the jars are so colorful sitting happily on my counter.  Oh so yummy!!  I just love puttering around with the berries and fruit right now I'm looking forward to doing some relishes and pickles with my husband at the end of August.  That is something that he enjoys as well and he looks forward to working with me on that. Fall is my favourite season of the year but summer is a very close second with all there is to do, see and be a part of.  I never want to forget however, any one of our distinct seasons as I'm grateful for the four separate and breathtaking color palettes that we use to paint our memories alive each season and how we take up our looms of life and weave our rich and intriguing stories.  Loving the summer and being in the moment!  I love the delicate look to this card. Again, I layered diecuts and added detail and dimension through the use of rhinestones, small butterflies, one small flower and  two pearl ended stickpins.  The birdhouses denote the rythms of nature as our summer winged friends fly in, build their nests and have their babies and then raise them before flying off again for another cycle.  Each living creature and all of life must Honor the Seasons of Nature and the Rythms of Life.  I just love this sentiment. Click on the pictures for a closer look at the details...




Summer Theme card using Prima Marketing Botanical 6x6 paper pad.  Spellbinders Labels 20
 and Spellbinders Standard Circles Large and Petite Scalloped Circles Large.  JustRite
Stamps -- Birdhouses Interlocking, 31/4" round colored with Copic markers.



Lovely sentiment stamp from Rednecker Stamps - Honor the Seasons, stamped in Cocoa
Momento ink.  Maya Road Stickpins and Prima tea stain rosettes along with
Zva Creative rhinestone bling flourishes.

Gotta love those Butterflies! Another Martha Stewart punch and available
at OC Scrapbookers, my favourite online Canadian source for all
your scrapbooking and cardmaking products. The Punch Around the Page
Punch set is one of the large ones called "Wildflowers", perfect for this card.

All of these products and more can be found at OC Scrapbookers.  Go on over to check what is there and if you have questions, email Deb for more info or to order something specific.    Thank You and I'll be back again very soon...

A Birthday Card for either Gender!

Hello My Friends

Welcome back to the blog to view this card that I put together very quickly for a friend.  I love the colors of it and that it can be for either gender quite easily.  The Pattern Paper collection is Basic Grey Capella.  I 've cut one of the patterns from the collection using a Martha Stewart's punch around the page punch set and then the cut a Marianne Creatable Round Doily using a coordinating color of cardstock to go with the patterns I chose to work with.  I used a Spellbinders Tags Three tag and topped it with one of Spellbinders Ribbon Banners dies.  I stamped the Celebrate Your Day with Justrite's Mini Everyday sentiments on the ribbon banner cutout.  The inside of the Card features a coordination paper from the Basic Grey collection in two of the pattern paper selections and stamped up a Red Neck sentiment stamp that talks about seasons.  Hope you like this card and I would like to hear from you all.  My blog members and visitors are the best and most gracious people.  I always get a few comments to say what you like on my work.  Love the feedback. 
I hope you click on the link above to my favourite online scrapbook store for these products and much, much, more...

The Front of the Card - Brown embossed cardstock for the card base.
Basic Grey Capella Collection, Basic Grey matching covered brads,
Marianne Creatable doily diecut, Tags three and Ribbon Banners
from Spellbinders and JustRite's Mini Everyday Sentiments.

The inside of the card.  See more of the Capella Collection,
matching cardstock colors and RedNeck stamp
Sentiment, "Honor the Rythms of Your Life"

http://www.scrapaholics.ca/

Close To My Heart Debuts Cricut Cartridge "Art Philosophy"

Hello My Blogging Friends...

I have some great news from Close to my Heart!! The New Catalogues are out - I have them now and some new exciting products have been released.  Check out the cattie here and if you see something you like just drop me a line and I can add it to my order.

Today is the debut of Close to my Heart's new Cricut cartridge "Art Philosophy".  Find the Art Philosophy bundle on page 12/13 in the catalogue and you can get there quickly by clicking the link above and going to the Canadian edition. This exclusive cartridge comes with THREE exclusive, coordinating CTMH My Acrlyix stamp sets and three Dimensional Elements pages! (White chipboard elements and stamps that coordinate with the shapes in the Cricut Cartridge) What a Bundle my Friends; its going for an amazing price and this month you can get the stamp of the month with your purchase for only $5.00 and recieve a bonus FREE stamp set as well! What a deal!

As your friendly CTMH consultant, you can order online at my website  or call me with your order by August 8th as I am submitting my first order of the season on this date.

The new catalogues have arrived -- I have them here!!  I am ready to get them delivered into your hands as soon as possible. Let me know by email if you want a catalogue and I can either drop it in the mail or deliver one or more to you... I will be putting in an order on August 8th so remember this first order date if you want to place an order with me.

The new bi-annual catalogue has some great new products and brings some excellent improvements. See six new paper collections that feel different as well as look different. One excellent change is in the pattern paper as it now has a thicker cardstock feel to it. The stamps cost considerably less than they use to and all the new ones are simply amazing!! Check it out and get the products you want now before the new cropping season is upon us.

In Appreciation for the Very Good Friends in our Lives!! BFF

Hello Blogging Buddies

Glad that you joined me today for this warm and cheery best friend card.  You know, when we want to express to our best friends how much they mean to us?  On this card I used paper from Pink Paislee"s Butterfly Garden Collection, the 6x6 paper pad.  This collection is exquisite, soft and ethereal-like with wonderful soft and rich colors in varying botanical themes throughout the collection.  I used the English Tea Party doilies both on the front and inside.  I stamped one of the Birdhouses from Justrite's 31/4" Birdhouse set and the Sentiment is from Just Rite's Friendship Nested Sentiments and Verse set stamped up on a Spellbinders Tags Two.  The leaves and vines cut in gold foil bazill cardstock is from Spellbinder's On the Vine Grand Borderability.  See the inside of the card pictured on the last picture below where I used another sentiment from the JustRite Friendship collection.  Again, I already had this stamp colored and then I selected the appropriate doily color to match the pattern paper I chose. With the tag already stamped ahead of time as well, this card came together very quickly.  I'm beginning to use up some of the tags and embellishments that I already had cut and stamped up ahead of time as I always make more of what I am doing while I have the stamps and dies out...  Its great to have various stuff on hand so that cards can be created quickly when necessary...  Voila!  There you have it, I did have lots of fun putting all my elements together to create this card.  Go on over to my favourite online scrapping source to find these product and much, much more.  Huge preorder specials on right now!

Wow!!  The light is so much better outside in natural sunlight.  Picture taken
on our weathered porch railing with our front yard in the background.

 Here is a little closer view.  See the details of the doily quite well here
Also see the Copic colors I chose to color this stamp with and the
tag that I ink distressed using Ranger Distress ink in Tea Dye 

Finishing the inside of the card with another stamp from the Friendship Nested Sentiments
using Labels Eighteen to stamp on, I ink distressed with Ranger Distress inks in Tea
Dye using the technique where you leave your dye on the diecut after its cut and
embossed and distressed around the edges with the die on so that when
you lift it, the edge remains white to bring contrast and dimension.

I Decorated a Chocolate Box! Check it out....



Hello Blog Hoppers

I'm back with the project of the day!!  Wow, I just love these Cheery Lynn and Marianne Design dies and the Spellbinder Dies too  oh yes! (both sets shown here are available through preorder)..yes, and all my embellies, ... oh and my stamps, um.... yeaaaah!  Life is just wonderful!  The day is beautiful but its painfully warm outside.  I'm comfortable tho, sitting with my air conditioning on and working on more projects.  This time, I'm showing off an altered art project featuring one of my favourite products out on the market today.  This is last season's Prima Marketing Reflections Collection pattern paper which I chose from my stash to cover over a chocolate box.   I just wanted to provide you with options on what to do with all those old boxes you keep throwing under your bed! teeheehee.. Well, they can be used for gifts to keep sentimental items or trinkets.  Just cover them up and go hog wild with your diecuts, flowers and embellies -- Voila!! Orrrrrrrr ... you could fill it back up with your favourite chocolates and eat bon bons dans le sac! That roughly translates.. eating candies in bed!  LOL  Anyways, they are great for gift giving with a set of hand made cards inside for that special person in your life who appreciates the work you put into your projects and gifts.  Again, this project is chock full of "stuff".  I used the Italian Flourish Doily from Cheery Lynn Designs to begin my layers.  I didn't really want to cover it up but it is big and I LOVE the layered look.  The Italian Flourish is the one that resembles a snowflake when it stands alone but paired with other dies, it take on very different look.  I layered a Marianne Design Creatables Doily Round 3.75" size doily on top of the Italian Flourish.  This die is another stunner, the cutouts are elegant and the embossed finish is crisp.  In the top right hand corner I've placed two of the same of another die from Marianne Designs called the Butterfly Creatable and I layered them up for an exquisite filigree look.  Aren't these dies amazing??  You are going to see more and more of my design work being created using both these brands of dies in the future!  Click on any of the links that are highighted and underlined and you will be brought directly to where you can find the products at great preorder prices. 

The Spellbinder sets I used on this decorated box is Bird Sanctuary and Nested Butterflies Two, both of these are available on the preorder list at OC Scrapbookers.  I glammed the box up with Zva Creative Rhinestone Flourishes in champagne and copper to compliment the colors in the paper, as well as the copper foil I used on the Italian Flourish doily and one of the Marianne Design Butterflies. I used a Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly to punch some in glitter paper to dimension and texture to the result.  I finished it off with some brown kaisercraft pearls and some tea-stained lace.  Oh, and last but now least, the sentiment is a stamp from guess... yes, you're right -- the Just Rite Birdhouses set in 31/4" round interlocking.  There you have it... an altered project and a bit of a rest from the cards.  Let me know what you think!!





10"x 7.5" box covered with Prima's Reflections Collection pattern paper



See the Italian Flourish Doily from Cheery Lynn Designs
On top of the flourish die I put a Marianne Design Creatables Doily Round, 3.75" round

Get a closer look by clicking on the picture, click again to zoom in more. 
See the layered filigree butterflies?  They are Marianne Design's Butterfly Creatable, LR0114

Flutterby Wednesday!!

Stopping by to quickly post this card in order to enter it in the Flutterby Wednesday Challenge Blog #164 just for fun.  I came by the blog when I went surfing for fine challenges to enter some of my work into.  When I read all about this Challenge, this card quickly came to mind. I knew it needed its own post to enter the challenge and because it fit the criteria so exactly.  The main criteria is that it must use "stripes and a butterfly, angel or fairy".  Well this card fits the criteria exactly!  I instantly fell in love with the Butterfly Wednesday Challenge Blog  because of my love for Butterflies, Angels, and Fairies!  I may well become a consistent follower to this Blog and enter challenges again and again!  I encourage you to visit this challenge blog and enter some of your grand designs...



This Card used Bo Bunny Gabrielle paper and the butterfly is from the collection as well
Gabrielle Trinkets.  Lots of other Prima flowers, Zva Creative pearl
flourish and Cheery Lynn Design Doilies
Click onto the picture for a closer view



Posting to enter Design Team Call for Cheery Lynn Designs

Hello My Friends

I'm posting some design work pics here featuring Cheery Lynn Design Doily Dies...  This post serves to enter an example of my work for the Cheery Lynn Design Team call.  I took pictures of the sister card I was talking about on an earlier post, sister cards as you can see on the pics below.  Looking at the middle picture, I do want to point out that I always complete my card designs by finishing the inside the card to compliment the decor on the outside of the card.  Often I compliment my cards further by making matching envelopes of specific sized cards that I'm fond of making.  See the earlier posts on my blog here to find out how I'm talking up the wonders of Cheery Lynn Design products and how I fell in love with them when I found them earlier this Spring.  This design call comes at the most opportune time as I am featuring the dies I recently recieved and talking about the so many more types of dies that are available with so many more in the planning stages.  Wow!  So my friends... I would love to hear from you -- let me know if you think I would be a good design team player on the Cheery Lynn Design team for the coming Fall/Winter!!

Sister Cards using English Tea Party Doily Die
Bo Bunny Gabrielle Collection and a wealth of other products.
Products also include various Spellbinders Dies, various JustRite stamps,
Zva Creative Crystal and Pearl flourishes and assorted Prima flowers, and borders
with ribbon and crystals.  Click on the picture once for a close-up and again to get even closer. 

This picture shows the inside of the card.  Here I used both the English Tea Party
doily and then the French Pastry Doily, finishing it off with a Spellbinders Beaded circles diecut
stamped with a JustRite Butterfly Garden selection.

Showing both cards nicely here.  The card behind the front one here was posted
earlier today and you can see it better by clicking on the heading of my blog at the top
this page to refresh and bring you to past posts where you may see more on the
card in behind and more on the doily dies that I discovered and LOVE so much! 

I'm Back to Post More on these Great Dies!

Hello My Blog Friends

Its a beautiful sunny morning, cooler and the birds are singing loud and proud outside my window.  I'm back with a coffee this morning to work on loading pics of the work I did yesterday and the card I put together using these intricate diecuts. 

So,  I want to talk a little about the way that I worked with the dies yesterday. -- I used the Grand Calibur so that I could get more on the large base plate and I loaded them up with the Metal Shims that I purchased along with the first dies I ordered.  Each time I loaded the machine, I cut cardstock or paper to fit the dies and taped them down using Scotch Magic Removeable Tape.  I then cut them the same way I cut all my cherished dies.  Now as I mentioned previously, a couple of times I had to put a die through the second time, I think mainly because I had too much on the base plate (always try to get the best bang for my buck) LOL.  I was working on a couple of Marianne Creatable dies as well that I ordered in the same order for the Cheery Lynn dies.  I wanted to try them out too and I'm here to tell you they are of equally excellent quality and easy to work with.  Once I ran them through the die cutting maching, I picked up each one up in turn and over a garbage bag I tapped lightly on the backs of the dies and loosened the diecut while tapping off most of the loose paper that was cut.  The die comes off with the tapping and most of the paper comes right off the die!  I love that there is very little time spent picking paper out of these dies as we find ourselves doing with some of our other cherished name brand dies.

There is always some cuts where the paper doesn't come out with the tapping technique, but with cutting as many as I did yesterday, I'll just put them away and check them well before I use them on any projects to make sure all the pieces that are supposed to be out are punched out.  Here are pictures of some of the work I did with the dies:



English Tea Party



 I cut this one in Brown Charlie petallic cardstock and tapped most of the pieces out in the garbage bag.  This one cut exceptionally well and did not require alot of tapping or piercing.  Click on the picture for a closer view.

French Pastry Doily



This die is a bit smaller than the English Tea Party but no less dynamic.  With the smaller size it is great for layering as you will see on pictures further down and on the first project I'm posting further on.

Italian Flourish Doily Die

This is the one that resembles a snowflake when it is by itself.  The cuts are amazing and the embossed edges that are left are stunning when you see it and can touch it.  I just love the filigree look to it and I had lots of fun cutting these and experimenting with various cardstocks, foils and textured paper.



 





Layered English Tea with French Pastry
Ha, thats making me hungry!!



English Tea Party with Italian Flouish
Cut the larger one in blue foil and the Italian
Flourish in a winter pattern paper


Now, I want to put up the pictures of the first card I did yesterday.  And while I'm posting this morning I'm putting together a sister card something like this one and its coming along nicely.  I will post it a little later on... The first card here is a little busier than I usually do but I do like busy as all my followers know.  I like an explosion of color and texture on the palette, a plethora of wonders to see and if you look closer there may be more to discover... I really like that and, its my style I guess you could call it, my signature.  So here goes ...

Using Bo Bunny's Gabrielle Collection

Inside: English Tea Pary Doily and
Sentiment from Justrite's Butterfly Garden
31/4" round Ribbed Stamp set

 
Click on the pictures themselves to see a closer view of the images, and click again for an even closer view.  On this card I used a Zva Creative Pearl Flourish (most of the time the flourish doesn't fit the way it is presented in the package but you can cut these flourishes up and use pieces on your card front to suit your creativity) That is way I did here.  As for the doilies, I layered up first an English Tea Party doily and then on top of that I put a French pastry doily cut in the Gabrielle paper -- do you see why these dies are essential to your crafting and scrapbooking needs?  You can simply cut doilies to your heart's content in the matching pattern paper collections that you are working with at the time.  The sky is the limit with these babies as it is with our other name brand dies.  On top of the layered doilies I put a Prima Poetic Whispers Creme flower as the center piece.  Wow, these flowers are amazing!!  Intricate, elegant and exquisite -- feminine and well..Old World!  What can I say, its why I was so attracted to them.  Around the bottom left hand side I laid out a flourish of 3D mini rosebuds from Prima, called Fairytale in Teal and then I placed some tea stain rosebuds to round it off.  On the top right side, I put a metal butterfly embellishment from the Gabrielle Collection - Trinkets.  My sentiment is from Just Rite's Everyday Tiny Sentiments set stamped on a Spellbinders Ribbon Banners S4-324 - with my essential collections that I have going on, I can create anything!!  .. and I have so much fun trying. 

So, to celebrate the intro of these new dies, OC Scrapbookers has an awesome pre-order event going on!  Hop on over and take a look!  There's a whole lot going on over at OC Scrappers this whole next week with much more to come...  Don't forget the preorder special on Copic Markers going on today too - not much time left on that preorder special.
So my friends... let me know what you think.. I do want to do some altered art and a layout here too..  Stay tuned for the sister card and much, much more!!

Drum Roll Please!!! Say Hello to the Doily Die!

They are absolutely to DIE for!! These awesome dies are simply amazing and let me try to do them justice as I describe them and show them to you here on this post and consecutive posts to come all this week... Pls. watch the videos that I have loaded up for you below to see how they are cut and so that you can begin to become comfortable with them.

You know, I wasn't completely sure that I liked doilies when they began to appear on cards and layouts last Christmas. I liked them on some of the work I saw but didn't care for them on other projects. I think it was that they were for the most part first, manufactered using flimsy/thin paper, and second there seemed an absence of vibrancy in color and texture for me coming mostly in white with some silver ones (didn't wow me). Then I discovered the Doily Dies made by Cheery Lynn and ordered a few to try --- Well... you can bet that I am now a collector of Cheery Lynn Dies in all of their formats. Over time I will collect them and Deb, over at OC Scrapbookers  is going to carry the designs beginning with an AWESOME preorder starting today. Okay... where do I begin?? I'm so excited to show you these dies. Lets try to get this video loaded so you can view them and see how to cut them as he demonstates.

Keep in mind, and let me clarify that some of the videos talk about fussing with cutting the dies by running them through your die cutting machine over and over, turning them around. This is an older video and well, if you are knowledgable and used to the die cutting machine that you use, you know that you only need to play with the shims enough to get a clean run through the first time. A little playing at the beginning to get the right fit of shim(s) may be needed but then you will get the hang of it for the particular die cutting machine you are currenty using. I've had a Cuttlebug for diecutting and embossing for years now but recently I acquired first a Vagabond (electric) diecutting machine for major projects (that means manufacturing for me) such as when I have orders for multiple cards like christmas cards or invitations for events. Then, I discovered the beauty of the Grand Calibur with its 81/2"x11" base plate size and how I can cut multiple dies in one run through which of course is perfect for my fondness of layering diecuts on projects.  So now, I use (almost exclusively) the Grand Calibur for many of my diecutting needs. I still love my Cuttlebug and will not part with it as I use it for workshops, (if interested, OC Scrapbookers has the best price on the Grand Calibur in Canada, check it out)  but I just love being able to do several diecuts at once on the Grand Calibur. The GC totally sold me on these doily dies because with only one run through, for cutting and embossing with the recommended metal shim, these exquisitely intricate dies cut like butter and every piercing and raised embossed image comes out crisp showing the deep complexity of each die. The thicker the paper you use, the more stunning and deeply etched is the finished result!! I am going to show you the diecuts by themselves to illustrate their beauty and then I'll show you them on a finished project.


French Pastry Doily Die

 



Here are the three Cheery Lynn Dies that I ordered to try out.  You will find my projects this week feature these 3 doily dies in my art in various ways.  I had fun today just cutting and cutting and getting used to them.  From time to time I put a die through more than once and mostly because I was loading too much on at once.




Italian Flourish Doily Die



English Tea Party Die





I had fun too cutting them out with various cardstock including glitter cardstock and various colors of foil cardstock, seeking that dimension and texture that I was looking for.  See how this one looks somewhat like a snowflake..  Well, you can imagine what I will want to do with that one come Winter...  I will post my own pictures of the various cuts I made today and then I'll top it off by posting a project to show another wonderful group of products!!

Stay tuned for the next post featuring my own pics and a project I did today with the doilies.  I'll be adding more on what I am doing with these beauties so that you can take advantage of my learning.  Feel free to email me and ask any questions  or comment on what you think so far.  I am interested in what you think...  So, go on over to OC Scrapbookers to see the preorder special price that Deb has put on in to celebrate the Cheery Lynn products.  Look for more very soon, maybe even later on tonight or early tomorrow morning...  later friends! 

Some of the Pre-order Spellbinder Nesties I got my little hands on....

Wow!  This project shows you several products and tools on one project that came together in a about an hour's time.  The design popped into my head after I had looked at a previously stamped the image colored up with Copics in which I added a previously cut Spellbinder's Butterfly Circle diecut.  When I noticed the matching colors to the the pattern paper I had in my stash I concluded that this was an excellent match.  The pattern paper is from My Mind's Eye called the Bohemia Collection which features colors of purple, lilac, teal, and purplish/browns.  The colors are amazing and compliment the stamp I colored with Copic Alchohol markers.  I like busy projects sometimes and this one is full of details and layers.  For this post, I am very excited to bring you some of my new Spellbinders that are part of the pre-orders you can see up on Debs webstore home page.  Butterfly Circles and Nested Butterflies Two are two of the Spellbinder Sets featured on this card as well as Monarch Butterflies punched from the Martha Stewart punch line.  Behind the Spellbinders Butterfly Circles I cut a 5"x5" square with another selection from the Martha Stewart line - Butterfly Punch Around the Page punches.  I cut some Spellbinders Butterfly Nested Two dies and layered them up on an embossed image from the set.  I just embossed the same die in purple cardstock that I used to cut the butterfly in cream velvet paper -- once embossed I fussy cut it out and layered it up under the cream velvet so you can see the hint of purple under the cutout.   This technique just embosses and shows the all the lines as embossed but now cut out!  Amazing effect on some intricate dies and works well for layering under the cutout diecut.  I cut the smallest of the three dies in cream velvet and layered it on top for dimension, adding some bling for texture and sparkle.  In the center, I stamped one of the four stamp selections from the Just Rite's 31/4" round Butterfly Garden ribbed set.  This is a birthday card for some lucky recipient and will be a delight to give away.  Inside the card you will notice the beautiful embossed cardstock liner.  I embossed the Teal cardstock inside the card with one of the new    Cuttlebug 5"x7" folders called Kassie's Brocade. Layered on the card too are some Prima flowers that are simply devine!! Stay tuned to see some of the flowers that I will be making myself very shortly... and come on back tomorow to get in on the best product ever!!  Hope you like this card and I hope you let me know your thoughts.  I love to hear what you think and maybe what you want to see me do in future..   as I say, more very soon - stay tuned for a very awesome preorder coming up....................  Click on the link above to visit the best webstore with the best customer service in Ontario Canada!!!