Card Club - Feb - Large Greeting

The starting point for this card was a set of handmade paper flowers.  I had them in several colors.  I have used the aqua and golden yellow ones in these kits.  I've included sympathy greetings as well for the blue card.
There are 3 sizes and patterns on the flowers.  I coordinated the greeting color with the card and the flowers. Once the greeting was adhered to the card front the largest flower is placed in the top left hand corner.  A push pin is used to create a hole in the card front. I placed the white sequin then the smallest flower then the medium then the largest one on the brad.  The prongs of the brad are pushed through the hole and press apart on the inside of the card. The large greeting is my own design.  I can print it any color I need to which works for me.

Card Club - Feb - Photo Frame

We are meeting for card club today. I teach at 2 locations - Senior Centre in the afternoon and the church in the evening.

This card features one of my photos which has been trimmed to 3.75 inches square. The white card stock frame is cut with the Stitched Square Frame die by Die-Namics. The photo is adhered to the frame then that layer is adhered to the card front.  The greeting was trimmed to the banner edge with scissors then adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.






I have a variety of photos and card colors in the kits prepared for this class.  With a collection of photos I can make a card with a gal with flowers and I had airplanes and hoodoos for guy cards.

Mat for Cross Stitch

A friend received this tiny cross stitch art piece representing the colorful historical houses in downtown St. John's, Newfoundland.  The original frame had fallen apart and she wanted to preserve the piece of needlework.  Knowing my paper craft skills she asked if I could make a mat to frame it into this new 2.5" x 3.5" frame.  I selected a black textured card stock.  I cut the piece to the size of the frame then with the motto of "measure twice cut once" I penciled the cut out.  After checking, I placed it on a cutting mat with lines across so I could cut very straight. Once cut, it frame the bit of art nicely.  I taped the fabric to the mat.  I cleaned the glass on both sides, slipped the art, the spacer and the backer back into place.  Voila!!  Restored to bring joy again. 

Friday's Hunt 1.8

I'm submitting this to Friday's Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills. 

The prompts are:
Starts with H
Favorite
Family

H is for honey.  I took a photo of my honey jar with golden yellow sticky stuff.  It's a large, heavy and clear glass jar with a lid with a space for the honey dipper.  Of course the honey dipper needs to be yellow.  This is my second one as I melted the first one when I was melting honey in the microwave.  I've learned my lesson. 

This is my favorite image of the week.  I had to go downtown this week so I took some time to shoot some city images.  I love the reflection of blue sky on the glass windows of this building.  I liked the angles and the square spaces.  The contrast of lights and darks works very well.

This is a shot I have shared before.  My sister and I were out on a photo shoot near a lake where she lives.  It was summer and the sun was shining bright.  I grabbed this shot of our shadows.  I added the Sisters quote.  She is part of my large family and I really enjoy spending time with her.

Share Your Cup #185

I'm sharing my new 6 cup YELLOW tea pot!!  I spent some of my Christmas money and I'm so happy.  Early in January I went shopping and hit 5-7 stores looking for a smallish yellow tea pot to complement my larger navy tea pot.  This tea pot by Maxwell & Williams was being sold in yellow at a large department store in their fall line but by the time I was looking the yellow ones were all gone.  Disappointed.  So I gave up on the idea.  My navy tea pot from IKEA does not have an infuser so I was looking for a tea strainer to put in the cup when pouring.  Again, several tea stores later no luck.  I had purchased a strainer for my sister from a local store but they had moved and finding them took 2 phone calls and 4 visits to the area.  When I got there last week lo and behold there was the same tea pot I had seen earlier for $10 less. It's a small shop so I asked if she would show me how it poured and she was very accommodating.  It poured well so I came home with a tea strainer and a teapot which matches the capacity of my yellow kettle. It has an infuser so I can easily brew loose leaf tea.

This week included a visit to the library.  I had to cut back on my items because for the last 2 visits I have not had time to look at all I brought home.  When I joined the library they gave me a huge bag which is just too big.  I checked my collection of bags and chosen this purple one for the library. It has a little pouch to hold my print outs. I brought home books and DVDs.  I really like the Chicken Soup books for a few minutes of light reading before bed. I selected several books on painting as I would like to paint a Christmas card this year.  The Mountains of Scotland is one of the DVDs which should be good.

This is the best travel mug.  I had been using a red travel mug because vanity had overtaken me and I wanted one to match my car which is red.  Well, during the busy winter craft sale season I ended up spilling a full mug of Earl Grey tea with cream and sugar onto the passenger seat of my car.  I did a quick job of moving it from the seat to the floor mat then I had to head in to set up for the sale. When I got home at the end of the day I cleaned up the seat and thanks to scotch guard protection and my quick action no stains. But vanity went out the window. I recalled my niece had recommended a mug that she was able to just throw in her bag.  A phone call later, I was off the replace the red travel mug which had hit the garbage bin. Unfortunately, no red but liquid tight. I'm a happy camper.

Sharing at Art and Sand hosted by Carol. 

Asian Kimono

I made this card for a challenge to make an Asian card.

I designed this kimono pattern years and years ago. I printed it on the back of the designer paper and cut it out with scissors.  I chose dark burgundy background paper and spattered it with gold acrylic paint.  I mounted the background paper to a warm taupe card.  I placed a piece of gold metallic ribbon across the waist and I taped the ends to the back. I chose the scraps that I trimmed from background paper and placed one across the waist band and then 2 more around the neckline.  Once these were adhered and glued the kimono to the background paper on the card front.


Submitting it to CST Home Page Challenge.

Enjoy - Retirement

I'm attending a retirement celebration for a friend today.  I made a card to let her know she needs to enjoy the next stage of her life.  Time will be available for family, friends and fun.

I started with the hot air balloon which says Let's Fly Away and symbolizes leaving the current behind.  I found here at Altered Artifacts.    I trimmed it and inked the edges with a deep eggplant color.  I chose a page from the spanish dictionary which I trimmed then painted with Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet Distress Stain.  Dried it and then inked the edges with the same ink pad as the balloon.  I adhered the words then the balloon image.  I added a scalloped handmade paper circle in a brown.  I added a circle colored with the same distress stain as before.  Once dry I adhered it to the brown.  The greeting is vellum so I applied snail adhesive to all the back then placed it in the center of the pink circle.  Really happy with this one.

Happy Valentine's Day

Wishing you a very happy Valentine's Day!  Spend time with loved ones.  Do something you love.  Be happy!

Share Your Cup - National Park

I visited the Elk Island National Park today.

There are several Red Chairs around the park and I managed to find 3 sets.
This set is overlooking the large lake at the north end.
I love the tree shadows on the snow.  The black spot in the middle of the lake is a beaver lodge.  I love the tracks leading across the lake.

There are several snow covered roads through the park.  I traveled several and they were mostly snow covered with these great shadows.
I love the Canadian flag. This one was at the visitor center.  As you can see the wind was pretty strong.  At the lake, gloves, a good windbreaker and winter boots were a must.  The bottom photo is an island in the middle of the large lake.  People were walking to it and maybe around it also.  Love the contrast of dark trees against the blue sky.

I was really hoping to see bison but not a one appeared.


I was not able to link to the linky party. You can see the links here.

Friday's Hunt 1.7

I'm submitting this post to Friday's Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.

The prompts are:
Starts with G
Week's Favorite
In my kitchen

This is Gluten-Free Cheese Cake which I served during tea with a friend this week. I was able to buy just 4 pieces and it seems the crust is made with nuts which contributes to it's gluten free status. This is the leftover piece which is New York Style cheese cake.  We ate the chocolate pieces during tea.























I made whole wheat cheddar cheesy tea biscuits today. With Valentine's around the corner I chose to cut a few in heart shapes.  I added one to my chicken noodle soup for supper. I chose this shot as this week's favorite.

Here's a shot of the tea biscuits cooling on a rack on the kitchen counter while the second tray is baking.  I cut a couple with my Steeped Tea teapot cookies cutters.  I cut the hearts with my trusty Tupperware cookie cutters. You can see how small the heart ones, perfect for dipping in soup.

Tea Inspired Cards

I have been talking tea this week and was inspired to make tea related cards. I made two of these for my card exchange this month.

The tea pot was cut with the Cricut and the Folk Art Festival cartridge. I chose a teal card stock.  I designed the lime green greeting layer and color printed it on white card stock.  I then trimmed that layer and adhered it to a coordinating green card.  I'm happy with the way they worked out.

Check here to see previous my tea inspired cards.  These are a bit more elegant.

Stampin Up Sale-a-bration Party

I had scheduled a Sale-a-bration Party for this evening.  Unfortunately, no one decided to attend so I cancelled it on Sunday.  Very disappointing but life is like that at times.

I called my demo, Gail and we agreed that we had this appointment on our calendars and we would honour it.  She came with the Mini Treat Framelits and we made a couple of samples.  She saw that I had ordered the Sunburst Thinlit Die and she had it so she brought it along to surprise me.  That was great!!

Here's the samples we made this afternoon.

This treat bag was made with vellum and we used mini glue dots to hold it together.  She brought the Rose Wonder stamp set and the Rose Garden Framelit set. We replaced one of the cutting plates with the Precision Base Plate in the Big Shot.  With that sandwich we cut the smaller rose from Cherry Cobbler card stock. We used the Big Shot Die Brush to release the die cut from the thinlit.  We got a very good cut.  We created a card to go inside which measures 3.5 x 5 inches folded.  We glued the rose in the bottom left hand corner with Fine Tip Glue Pen.  I stamped the frame and the greeting in Cherry Cobbler on Whisper White.  Then cut it with the corresponding framelit from the set.  It was adhered to the card from with Dimensionals.  I added some some shine to the rose with the Gold Wink of Stella Glitter Brush.  We applied some to the heart which we cut out of the lower treat bag. This photo does not do it justice.  It is very effective and easy to apply evenly. 

We used Real Red Envelope Paper for the bag.  We then used the heart framelit from the set to make a hole in the from of the bag before we assembled it.  We assembled it Multi Purpose Liquid Glue. I used a piece of non SU design paper which did not match the best but it gives me a sample. We created a card to go inside which measures 3.5 x 5 inches folded. Having placed the white card inside I was able to align my patterned paper heart very nicely. It was done with the Sweetheart Punch.  Isn't it nice when products are designed to work with each other.  We cut the bow, the word Enjoy from the same patterned paper and the banner from white with the other framelits in the set.

This is the third card we made with the Sunburst Thinlit.  It cuts all the rays for you.  We used on of the sheets from the Cherry on Top DSP 6" pad. The die is larger than the A2 card so once it is adhered to the card front you just trim off the rays to the card edge.  Quick and easy!!  We adhered the Crushed Curry yellow die cut to a Whisper White A2 card. We selected the greeting from the Sunburst Saying stamp set in Basic Black.  Placing the greeting is very easy.  There are so many possibilities for the greeting on this die.  It can be round, a heart, or a label.  It can be layered or not.  The accent can be adhered with 3D foam tape.

We enjoyed a cup of tea and a good visit following our card making.   Thanks Gail for going the extra mile.  I appreciate it.

Mosaic Monday - This Week

Left: The large rose is a nod to the coming Valentine's Day.  It is placed in a clear glass vase and photographed in front of a neutral background. 
Top Right: A ceramic glazed tile of tulips in blues and yellows - I wonder how it was brought to my house!! The colors were perfect so with a 30% discount at the thrift store it was in my bag. It currently has a brown frame so that will have to be replaced.  I now have a sunflower and tulips.  The sunflower needs finishing but I would not have thought of a wood frame so now I'm on the hunt for square wood frames. 
Top Middle:  A white heart ornament in a bowl of red balls.  Isn't great with stuff can serve for several holidays.  This heart is in a Christmas collection.
Top Bottom: The crepes served at the shower for the new baby girl in our extended family.

Friday's Hunt 1.6

Submitting these to Friday's Hunt hosted by Teresa at Eden Hills.  The prompts are F, Favorite and Negative Space.  Looks like I missed the deadline for the link up. Enjoy the pics.

I chose this photo for Fence.  I like the dark fence in the foreground with the low sun in the sky putting the trees in silhouette.  It's a nice warm toned image.

I loved this image of a chickadee at the bird feeder just ready to alight.  Wings and tail feathers spread wide.  I stood in snow up to my shins in gale force winds for about 15 minutes at least till my hands were so cold I just had to quit.  I had to stand still so the birds would some around to the feeder again after I arrived.  I usually take them from the front room window but with the larger camera I don't have the same distance in the zoom of the lens so I had to get physically closer.  Of course, I didn't know what shots I had before I brought them to the computer.  This is my favorite of those taken on Saturday.

I'm using this one for negative space. This is a cloud which had the sun dog shining in it or through it a few minutes earlier.  I had to stop the car, take out the camera and focus and thus missed the rainbow colors in the cloud. 

Shower - Baby Girl Shadow Box Frame

I attended a baby shower for my nephew's daughter today.
I designed the personalized square in the center with all the pertinent details for placing into a black shadow box frame.  The information was color printed on 8.5 x 8.5 inch piece of Stampin Up Whisper White.  I chose Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, and Rose Red as my colors as well as a bit of Basic Grey.  I added a length of Pretty in Pink 1/4″ Stitched Grosgrain in the space I had allowed on the left and adhered the ends to the back.  I punched 3 Sweetheart hearts in Pretty in Pink textured card stock.  I added 3 large buttons and 3 small buttons in the same color held in place with Zots.  The hearts were adhered with 3 D foam tape.  The 8.5 inch printed square was adhered to a piece of pink paper from the Petals & Paisley double sided designer paper set which was trimmed to 10.5 inches square.  This was then adhered to a piece of 12x12 Pretty in Pink card stock. It was mounted inside the shadow box the the back put in place. I added a length of the same ribbon to the back hangers and knotted it to hang the frame on the wall.

The mother requested books instead of cards so I chose the Velveteen Rabbit with a nice pink cover. This is one of my favorite children's book.

Christmas Squares

It's been months since I worked on challenge cards.  I had a bit of time today so I did it.
I started with a Stampin Up Old Olive card which I put in the landscape orientation.  I have selected Letters to Santa DSP which was trimmed to leave a small border. I wrapped a piece of Whisper White grosgrain ribbon over the join of 2 pieces of DSP. The ends are taped to the back.  I stamped the greeting and distressed the edges with Old Olive on WW. The greeting is from Good Greetings. I adhered it across the bottom third of the card.  I cut a piece of Early Espresso with the QuicKutz Square Window die.  I adhered a piece of WW behind it and stamped a snowflake from the Delightful Decorations stamp set with Old Olive in each square.  It was adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Submitting this card to the following challenges:
Stampin Celebration - Sketch - 121

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - Frame It

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Share Your Cup - Work Out

I've been walking inside for a while because the winter weather just does not make easy to do outside.  It's time well spent to keep me healthy and active.  I find it starts my day on a good note.  I'm looking forward to being outside again.

I have several DVDs I rotate to keep it interesting.  I found this one yesterday and it is completely customizable.  I choose the warm up, how many miles I want to walk from several options and then a cool down.  It offers me the flexibility I've been looking for in an exercise video. 

I start with a large glass of room temperature water which I am fortunate in that I can just guzzle it down.  On with the shoes, set up the work out, add some stretchy band for toning and another big glass of water at the end.  I've had 2 of my 8 glasses of water for the day and I head to the shower.

I'm very happy!!!

Sharing at Sharing Your Cup hosted by Carol at Art & Sand.

Mosaic Monday - Hearts & Green

Valentine's Day is just around the corner so I thought I would include a heart photo. I set up a glass heart dish I received from my parents upon graduation from college.  I placed a couple of paper heart doilies inside and a circle doily on the blue placemat.  The bird is a stuffed wool bird made by my niece as a Christmas Ornament but it adds just the repetition of red I wanted.


Did the ground hog see his shadow?  It's an early spring they say!!! Either way spring is coming.  I decided to add some green living thing to my collage today.  It's a devils ivy that my sister started for me and it's still alive after at least 6 months which is a good record for me.  I placed the yellow pot on a doily, glass plate and one of my large yellow chargers.  The colors coordinate very well.

A collage of stones and shells.  I have a small collection from travels to Florida and Nova Scotia.  Remembrances of warmer weather which will soon return here.

Sharing at Mosaic Monday hosted my Judith at Lavender Cottage.

Blog Give Away Winners

I had a few comments left on my feature post leaving their favorite tea.

Margie - Earl Grey Tea - Ontario

Linda L - Green Tea from China - Alberta

Jyl B - Christmas Cookies Roobois - Ontario

The calendars in magnetic pocket frames are on their way to the above ladies.  Enjoy it throughout the year.  Keep an eye out for the tea photo calendar for 2017.

I included this note card in with the calendars.

Christmas Card Challenge - Feb - Blue / Snow

Here's the card for my blog Christmas Card Challenge.  For February the prompts are Navy Blue and Snow.

I ended up with a warm dark blue so it may be teal instead of navy.  I wanted to create a night sky with snow falling.  I chose the Sizzix Softly Falling embossing folder which I inked up with TH Distress Stain in denim blue but as you can see it's not anymore.  More about that here. I chose a card that coordinated and I adhered it to the card front.  I ripped a snow bank from white card stock. I cut a white triangle tree which I embossed with a Tim Holtz Alterations Star folder then I adhered it to the card front aligning the bottom of the tree to the bottom of the snowbank.  I added a silver star sequin at the top held with a Bling Zot.  I added a few silver rhinestones.  Then 3 small pearly snowflakes held in place with tiny white brads. 

Submitting to Anything Goes Challenge at Weekly Christmas Card Challenges.