Sassy Girl ~

Hi all!  First off, I just have to say how excited I am today!  I was pushed, prodded and poked by my good friend, Annie, to submit some cards to Paper Crafts for publication.  She, of course, reminded me the Sunday before the deadline, so I quickly made a couple of cards - really just the same card in a couple different color schemes, sentiments and backgrounds.  I never in a million years thought anything would be picked up!  I'd never submitted to Paper Crafts before but had to other publications and haven't been published, so I figured, "No way, Jose!"  You can only imagine my elation upon getting an email that they wanted one of my cards!!  Then a couple weeks later, I got another email saying I was going to be on the cover!  Holy cannolis! The best part is that I get to share this with Annie - she got two cards published in this beauty. You can see my card (well, Annie's cards too) in the Paper Crafts magazine's Card Creations: Favorite Occasions, Vol. 2, as well as on the Paper Crafts Connection blog today.  Susan is featuring all the newbies on this post!  Yay!  So fun :o)  Now for a card...

It's the last challenge for the Lil Lolita Boutique Challenge blog, so I just had to play along.  I love this line of stamps!  So quirky and cute with their big, beautiful eyes!  I hadn't yet inked up Evie, so I decided she should be the star of this challenge.  This last challenge is a sketch with a square as the focal point.  All the Lolitas are tall and thin, so I decided to die cut and emboss a square before stamping.  This kind of messed up her legs and boots (the way they're supposed to be kicking up), so I just drew some legs without boots into my image with a multiliner.

She's colored with Copics (of course!) and matted on black.  The felt flower is made with the Beautiful Blooms II #3 dies and some craptacular felt from a big box store.  It's not the best cutting felt, especially with these smaller, more intricate (than a square or circle) dies.  It's attached lightly to the corner so I can remove it and add it to a barrette clip (I have to go to the store or find some on line cheap).  I'll then just write a note on the inside stating that the recipient can remove the flower for their hair, purse or whatever!  The Paper Sundaes #46  challenge is to adorn the corners, so I added a vintage cut from Cuttlebug to the focal panel and some rhinestones on the vertical panel.  I'm also adding this card to the following challenges:
A Crafty Little Place #66: Anything Goes! (gotta love those challenges)  :o)
Moxie Fab World: Card Creations Week - All Occasion Challenge
Tuesday Throwdown #27: Embellish It
Thanks so much for stopping by!  And, as always, thanks so much for leaving comments!  They really make my day  :o) lyss
SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Lil Lolita Evie; Kraftin Kimmie Sassy Sentiments
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI Pure Poppy
PAPER: PTI pp Beautiful Blooms, SS White & True Black
OTHER: Copics {B000, BG15, BG23, BG49, C1, C3, E00, E11, E31, E25, E27, R20, R24, R29, R59, W3, W5, W7, Y21, Y32}; red felt (hobby lobby); black brad; PTI Beautiful Blooms II #3 dies & Pure Poppy saddle stitch ribbon; dimensionals; Spellbinders Labels 2 dies; Kaisercraft black rhinestones; Cuttlebug vintage die; multiliner

Perfect Presentation Holiday Gift Ideas ~

Hey all! Can you believe that it's almost December??  With that comes the fact that Christmas is sneaking up on us!  The Perfect Presentation Design Team is here to the rescue - we have a whole slew of great holiday gift ideas that will be easy due to the templates and {hopefully} the gifts too!  And guess what?  Leigh Ann has added another fabulous designer to the team.  Please stop by and give Susan a warm welcome to the Perfect Presentation crew! 

I have 3 gifts for you today with quite a few pics so I'll keep the commentary to a minimum.  If you have a question about supplies or where to get them, just leave a comment and I'll reply!

First, I have the new Tag Pouch.  What a fabulous idea for a way to give a little something away that may need a recipe/how-to or a few suggestions!  These would be fabulous with those cookie ingredient jars without making an additional card.  Oh!  I just thought of another idea - how fun to slip a gift card in here and hang it on your tree or on a friend's door!

I chose to make some rosemary infused olive oil.  Infused oil is easy - just add herbs, peppercorns, etc to a bottle and follow with slightly warmed olive oil.  Because of the fresh herbs, you'll have to use this oil within a couple of months though. 

I found a nice bottle at Ross for about $2, the Tag Pouch template $1, the rosemary was grown in my mom's garden, the raffia is from my stash, and the tag and insert took about 1/2 sheet of cardstock.  The most expensive thing here was about 1 liter of olive oil.  A nice gift for less than $10 with that personal touch we all like to do! 

The pouch is stamped with a sprig from PTI Life.  I was going to add it up the sides to mimic the rosemary.  As I inked it up, I had it turned upside down and realized it looks a bit like mistletoe.  It's stamped in Ranger Distress Pine Needles with some white Liquid Pearls added for the white berries.  The sentiment is from PTI's Big & Bold Holiday Wishes and is stamped in Pure Poppy and Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  {Is it just me or is that ink scented?} 

 The outside is sponged in Ranger Distress Vintage Photo ink with the blending tool - can't get enough of that thing!!

 The insert is stamped with another cleaver-like sprig from Life and sponged with both Antique Linen and Vintage Photo inks.  I wrote a few suggestions for use of the oil as well as the date it was made.  Easy - peasy!  So the breakdown of this is about $10 and maybe 30 minutes including time to make the oil!  Super easy and perfect for the foodies on your list!

Now we have something for the naughty side of your list!  lol  The Winter Sleigh is adorable!  It's perfect to use as a centerpiece for your table or mantle, as a decoration, as a way to gift something small or even modified a bit to be a place card for your holiday meal!  That's the fun of these digital files - you can change the size to whatever you need or your printer/cutter can accommodate. 

I chose to add some *coal* to my Winter Sleigh.  lol  It's stamped with the PTI Background Basics: Woodgrain set and sponged with Vintage photo ink.  The front is decorated with a garland of the Martha Stewart twig punch, some berries from the stash and a Pure Poppy baker's twine bow.  The back {that I forgot to photograph} has a 'Merry Christmas' *license plate* using a resized label from Label Frames 2.   Breakdown: Winter Sleigh template $3.95; cardstock $0.15; embellies and ribbons from stash $0.15; coal candy $1.  Total gift price for a *naughty lister*:  $5.25  Of course, the template can be used time and time again, so the cost is really less than that!  Fabulous!!

Last, but most definitely not least, is an oldie but a goodie!  Squared is a fun little cube that includes two sizes - a roomy 3 1/4 inch version and a one sheet wonder 2 1/4 inch that I used to make this little gift box.

This fun little box is holding another home-made goodie!  I used some of my copious amounts of PTI vintage buttons to make a snowman ornament!  I found the directions on the Martha Stewart website.  The sides of this are so easy to decorate because it's a cube...every side is the same!  lol  Just had to see if you were paying attention.  The decorative layer uses a couple of old Stampin' Up sets - Fantastic Foliage and The Snowflake Spot.  The edges of each panel are sponged with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo {yes! again :o) }  The matting is PTI Pinefeather and the base is Dark Chocolate.  I wrapped Rustic Twine around the box twice, tied it in a bow and topped it with a rustic jingle bell and pinefeather button.

A cute little card accompanies this.  I wanted to keep it really simple.  The snowman (from Holiday Button Bits) is stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink, colored in with a few Copics, an orange Spica pen for some sparkle on his carrot nose and a nice button for his body. 
This pic is before I decided to add another wrapping of twine and the jingle bells to the box.  I had the photos saved on two different computers and it's all over at my mom's, so I'm too lazy to take another pic.  LOL

Lastly, the inside of the card is decorated like the outside of the Squared box.   I used another label from the Label Frames 2 set for the sentiment.  Here's another look at the cute little ornament too! 
Breakdown: Squared template $3; Label Frames 2 $2; cardstock $0.30; buttons & embellishments $1.  Total gift price is about $5 including the template prices.  Since that's kind of like charging for every stamp set used and ink pad, etc, we can just take that charge out and figure that you're spending about $1.50 for a super cute, hand crafted ornament gift!

Thanks so much for bopping by my little world in cyberspace!  Please visit the other Perfect Presentation designer's blogs.  These ladies are full of talent, inspiration and fabulous craftsmanship!!
*Annie
*Kerri
*Julie
*Chris
*Terri
*Bethie
*Susan (our newbie!)
Hope you all are having a fabulous start to your week and are finding some great gift ideas!  Thanks for sticking around for this long post!  :o) lyss

Fourth Friday Challenge with Paper Garden Projects for November ~

Its another 4th Friday... you know what that means... So - if you are not out there shopping... come join the fun!  This month our challenge is "Tag - you're it". Create a project that is a tag, contains a tag, or could be used as a tag... we want to see them all!  Your prize? This month it's a fabulous Kraftin Kimmie stamp - Clara and the bird.
The rules are pretty simple. Please include only newly created projects (although feel free to combine this challenge with others out there in blogland). For this month - feel free to enter as many projects as you'd like. Please link back to this challenge. You have until midnight (EST) on Monday, Dec. 6 to enter.  Enter your tag projects on this post.

It's surprising to me to say that I have only made one tag in my stamping career before {snort, career!}.  However, after spending the afternoon making tags the other day, I think I may just have to do it more often!  It's so fun!  You can use so many little scraps of paper and ribbon and ric rac and whatever you have lying around!  Love it!  I made like 10 tags the other day and realized as I was typing this up that I sent the whole lot off with my brother's girlfriend last night without getting photos of most of them or even a group photo.  Sorry...
Here are the ones I did get to photograph:

I started by cutting a bunch of tags with my Cricut using the new Perfect Presentation Tag Set 1 file.  I cut them from Prism cardstocks in various colors.  Sifting through the PP scraps strewn across my desk, I found some Imaginisce Cottage Christmas small scraps and paired them with the red tag.  I embossed a sentiment from the Cute Companions Christmas Delight set using Versafine Onyx Black ink and clear superfine embossing powder.  It's matted on a small strip of white cardstock and then I drew in some faux stitching using a multiliner pen.  I have a problem with it becuase it's not perfect!  But then I figure, I'm not perfect so it's ok...shhh!  Please don't tell my husband!  lol  I added a punched border, some punched snowflakes, a matte button, bakers twine and black sheer swiss dot ribbon.  Super fun and super easy!  

Next came a more rustic looking tag.  I used a red tag and a Kraft tag for this, a little punched icicle border, some ribbons from Paper Garden Projects and another sentiment from the Christmas Delight set. 

These two used the star image from the Christmas Delight set stamped in VersaMark randomly.  The fun snowflakes were created with some glittered foam paper from my stash and Spellbinders snowflake dies.  Lots of fun ribbon, ric rac and buttons on these!



I'm mad at myself for not getting a pic of the rest, but they're so easy that I'm sure I'll be making more!  Just think of cute little kraft tags with a sweet Christmas image stamped on them in black or VersaMark and a few fun embellishments.  I'm so thinking of making some tins full of these for my SIL's as Christmas gifts - tags for all occasions.  A great way to use up my scraps and give a great gift that will be used!  Hope you enjoyed my tags today!  Please bop around to the other Gardener's and see what inspiration and eye candy they have for you!
* Cathy
* Amber
* Tangii
* Linda
* Andrea
* Clare
Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope you all are having a wonderful start to your weekend!  :o) lyss

Christmas Foliage ~

Good morning!  Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American friends!  I know most of us are trying to cook the turkey, mash some potatoes, make the gravy just right...I'm lucky.  My mom is making the whole kit and caboodle.  All I have to make this morning are the desserts.  I'm going to make this short and sweet, so I can go peel, slice and dice some apples for an apple cranberry pie and make a couple of loaves of pumpkin bread.  I know, not your traditional Thanksgiving desserts, but my family loves them!  Anyway, on to the cards...

This first one uses the poinsettia image from the Paper Garden Projects Christmas Foliage digi stamp pack.  I actually printed off all 3 of the foliage images and a sentiment to use on all of these cards.  I colored this up with Copics and added a bit of Lemon Spica pen to the flower center.  I found a gorgeous and fun sketch to use it with - the Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge #94.  I had to flip it on it's side and mirror image it, but I swear it's the same sketch! lol  The color combo of white, red, black and yellow is the current Just Us Girls Challenge #60.  The black panel is embossed with the Holly Cuttlebug folder from Christmas last year with a strip of red ribbon running up the center because the card needed just a bit more red.  Lastly, I added a little trio of self adhesive pearls by Kaisercraft up in the corner for some more bling!

Next is the holly image with this fun sentiment.  I wanted the sentiment to be the star of the show.  It's cut out with a Spellbinders Labels 4 die and sponged with Ranger Distress Antique Linen ink.  I cut the image out right up to the line and then use a black Copic to trace around the edges - cover up that stark whiteness!  All of the berries are covered with Glossy Accents - so hard to capture in a photo.  The card base is the new PTI color Pinefeather - I love it!  It's just so pretty!  That little trio of red pearls makes its appearance again over in the bottom left corner for a bit more on this card.  A nice, simple card that is super easy to mail!!  Gotta love those!  Both the Holly and Poinsettia card qualify for the Crazy 4 Challenges #64 to use or have circles somewhere on your creation!

I saved my favorite for last.  I love pine cone images!  I grew up in the San Juan mountains of Colorado where Ponderosa pines predominate.  So beautiful!  I love this image too because it's super easy to color!  Two shades of brown for the cone and two shades of green for the needles and you don't even have to stay in the lines! lol  The edges were sponged with the Antique Linen ink again - I have to tell you that I finally broke down and bought the Ranger sponging tool and I love it!  I can't seem to stop sponging everything!  It makes the whole sponging thing a lot easier!!  Anywho...the sponging helps to tie the paper into the DP - Basic Grey Jovial (on all of the cards) - and makes the glittery snow pop more.  The sketch is from the Paper Sundaes challenge #45.  All of the cards qualify for the Papertake Weekly Challenge to Cut it Out.
Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you all have a very fun and fulfilling Thanksgiving holiday!  :o) lyss

SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Paper Garden Projects Christmas Foliage digi stamps; PTI Signature Christmas
INK: HP Printer ink; Versafine Onyx Black; Ranger Distress Antique Linen
PAPER: PTI Pinefeather, Pure Poppy, SS White & True Black; SU So Saffron; PP Basic Grey Jovial
OTHER: Poinsettia Copics {C1, R24, R27, R29, Y26, Y35}; Holly Copics {G24, G28, R24, R27, R29}; Pine cone Copics {C1, E08, E25, E27, G24, G28}; Copic Lemon Spica pen; Glossy Accents; dimensionals; red ribbon; clear embossing powder; glue pen; ultrafine white glitter; Kaisercraft Red pearls; Spellbinders Classic & Scallop petite oval, large & small classic circle & Labels 4 nestabilities

Thankful Piper ~

Hi all!  Just bopping in with a quick post here.  My husband is home this winter on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays so I have to make this quick!  Pretty much all my supplies are from Paper Garden Projects where everything is 23% off right now!!

Piper's here today to give her thanks!  I wanted this to be a quicker card and wanted to follow with the Copic Creations challenge #39: Shading and Paper Piecing.  Ha!  Quicker, my bootie!  All that fussy cutting and whatnot took forever!  I think I stamped Piper on the different Basic Grey Oliver papers about 7 or 8 times till I got all the pieces just right!  lol  Her hands and cup looked kind of strange once the outfit was pieced around her, so I cut out another set of hands and cup to piece over her outfit.  Maybe the time was really wasted in the trial and error process! lol 
I shaded a little on her outfit with BV00 and C3.  Her hat has a bit of white flock on the pom pom.  The circles on the background paper qualify this cutie for the Crazy 4 Challenges #64: Circles.  The sketch is from Cute Card Thursday challenge #139.  I'm seriously challenged.  It would be better for me if sketches came with measurements!  lol  I waste so much paper trying to get everything just so!  The little tag says thanks with a little birdie stamped on it to play along with the Basic Grey Challenge #33 of having wings on the card somewhere and the 7 Kids College Fund challenge #8 of giving thanks.   The card base is Kraft to play along with the Kraftin' Kimmie challenge #55.    Thanks so much for stopping by!  This is a busy week for us all, but please be sure to stop by on Friday for a tagfull post!  :o) lyss
SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Kraftin Kimmie Stamps Piper; PTI Through the Trees; Stampin Up ???
INK: Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black; Ranger Distress Antique Linen; PTI Scarlet Jewel
PAPER: Kraft; PTI Rustic White & Dark Chocolate; PP Basic Grey Oliver
OTHER: Copics {BV00, C1, C3, E000, E00, E11, E29, E33, E37, E44, E55, E57, E59, R20, R39, R89}; Spellbinders tag trio dies; Sakura black glaze pen; glue pen; PTI Rustic twine & dark chocolate button; white flock; tan woven twill

Winter Wonderland Garden Walk ~

Hi all!  Welcome to another monthly blog hop - this time we are taking you on a winter wonderland tour. Don't worry - its a short tour so you won't get frostbite!

While you visit, take note of each designer's name and their special holiday treat in their blog post. Once you finish your garden tour, send an E-mail to custserv@papergardenprojects.com with the list of designers and their holiday treat.
Everyone who sends the correct list of designers and decorations will be entered in a random drawing to win a prize. You need to send an e-mail to the address above; please don't leave your list as a comment. You have until midnight (EST) on Wednesday, November 24 to send your list.
For the prize? Any 4 digital stamp sets of your choice, including the new Christmas Foliage set.

Feel free to bring some Snowman Soup as you stroll along on the Winter Wonderland Garden Walk!

What's Snowman Soup?  It's really just a fun and inexpensive way to package up some goodies for a friend during the holiday season.  I used the pillow treat boxes, some fun patterned ribbon and papers and the Eat Cake Graphics red rubber cling set, Snow Much Fun to make a couple of these fun little gifts.

All you do is add a package or baggie of hot chocolate mix, a candy cane, a few mini marshmallows and some Hershey's kisses to your treat box.  The poem was a free download I found on line.  It reads,

"When the weather outside is frightful,

Snowman Soup can be delightful. 

May it warm your spirit and your soul. 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! 

 When you feel a chill or brrr,

Use the peppermint stick to stir. 

Add hot water and sip it slow,

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

I printed it off in both blue and red and cut it out with a circle nestabilitie.  The fronts of the boxes have either the boy or girl image from the set stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics. 

For a little extra fun, I added some Stickles to the snow and white flock to the boy's hat and the girl's scarf.

I'm the last stop on the hop.  If you happen to have started here, bop back to Cathy's blog and start from the beginning!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  :o) lyss

•Cathy

•Amber

•Tangii

•Linda

•Andrea

•Alyssa (hot chocolate)
Oh yeah!  Cathy started the Black Friday madness a bit early.  Everything in the Paper Garden Projects store is 23% off!  Time to get some shopping done...

SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Eat Cake Graphics Snow Much Fun; computer generated poem
INK: HP printer ink; Memento Tuxedo Black; SU Night of Navy, Bashful Blue & Buckaroo Blue
PAPER: PTI SS White; Prism Cardstock; vellum;  dp Imaginisce Cottage Christmas

OTHER: Stickles; Copics; Spellbinders classic circles & inverted scallop circle dies; Diamond Weave blue ribbon; Saddle stitch red ribbon; pillow treat boxes

Merry Moosemas ~

Morning!  Just bopping in with a fun little, well actually a pretty large, card for Mercy's 100th Tuesday Sketch challenge.  I've been waiting to ink up this adorable stamp since sometime summer of 2009.  Sometimes you just have to have the right inspiration, know what I mean?  Well, while perusing the holiday specialty section of Hobby Lobby the other day looking for rustic jingle bells for another project, I found these cute little Christmas lights and just knew they would be perfect for this image!

This cute little moose has sure gotten himself in a pickle!  I used a tutorial on the Motivet blog to help with the highlighting of my coloring - I honestly never would have paired the colors she had for the reindeer she was coloring (E31, E35 and E51).  I did one with those colors and then added a few more on this one for some deeper, richer browns.  I got the hubby's approval though.  lol  I colored up all of the lights like the little charms, added a white gel pen flick and globbed on some Glossy Accents.  His hat brim and pom have some white flock for added texture.  I added the little color pencil 'ground' beneath him and then got a light bulb moment {snort} and added a little light reflection from the bulbs that are closest.
The rest is pretty self explanatory - some Basic Grey Jovial papers, the embroidery floss bow with lights (that had to be threaded with a needle!) {there's an exclamation point there b/c if you knew me, you'd know I don't touch sewing supplies of any kind! lol} and a stamped background paper.   I'm also entering this for the Crazy 4 Challenges #63: anything Christmas. 
Thanks for stopping by!  Hope you have a good weekend!  Be sure to stop by here tomorrow to check out our Paper Garden Projects Winter Wonderland Garden Walk blog hop.  Oh and in case you want to start your Christmas shopping a little early, Cathy has everything in the Paper Garden Projects store at 23% off!!  Have fun shopping! :o) lyss

SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Rubbernecker Moose with Lights in Antlers; PaperTrey Ink Background Basics: Christmas
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI Scarlet Jewel; Ranger Distress Antique Linen
PAPER: PTI Rustic Cream, Scarlet Jewel & True Black; PP Basic Grey Jovial
OTHER: Copics {B29, C1, C5, C7, C9, E25, E27, E31, E33, E37, E51, G07, R22, R27, R29, R39, V17, Y15}; multiliner, Sakura white gel & black glaze pens; Ranger Glossy Accents; glue pen; white flock; Lyra color pencils; Spellbinders Small & Large Petite ovals; sponging tool; black brads; black embroidery floss; Christmas light accents (hobby lobby); dimensionals

Lil Lylah Xmas ~

Hi all!  Just bopping in with another challenge card today!  I'm a challenge junkie...they really help motivate me to use my stuff.  When I saw on i{heart}2stamp on Saturday that the new sketch is a prize sketch and the prize is a rubber stamp from Sparkle Creations, well, I just had to play along!  I love Sparkle's cute and whimsical stamps but spend too much money on PTI and Copics! LOL

This little sweetie is Lylah from the Lil Lolita's line.  I love this line - so cute!  She's stamped in Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics.  She has some lovely black glittered shoes (Spica pen).  She's all in pink to follow with the Lil Lolita Boutique Challenge #23: Pink Christmas.  The sketch is from this weeks Sketch for You to Try.  I had fun making the little embellishment up in the corner.  I used the Spellbinders Snowflake dies from a couple of years ago on some glitter paper from a mat stack along with a berry sorbet button and a little snowflake charm from Hobby Lobby.  I had to tie a tag behind it stating Merry Christmas because it's a little hard to tell that it's a Christmas card otherwise! LOL  The sentiment is embossed to go along with the current Paper Sundaes challenge #44 to pick your sundae toppings (pick at least 2): Punches, Ribbon, Embossing and/or the color blue.  I got the ribbon and embossing and punches if you count that dies as punches!  A bit of a stretch, but I like to try to stretch things out! ;o) This also goes along with Crazy 4 Challenges #63: Christmas and Cute Card Thursday #138: Anything Goes. 
Hope you're all having a great start to your week!  :o) lyss
SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Lil Lolita: Lylah; PTI Mixed Messages
INK: Versafine Onyx Black; Memento Tuxedo Black
PAPER: PTI SS White & Berry Sorbet; glitter paper; Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly maybe...I don't remember, sorry!
OTHER: Copics {B000, C1, C3, C5, E000, E00, E02, E15, E31, E33, E37, E41, E43, E49, R20, R30, R32, R35, RV17, RV19, YG63, YG67, blender, 100 Black}; Copic black Spica; glue dots; dimensionals; Spellbinders classic & scallop long rectangles, Snowflake & tag trio dies; embroidery floss; PTI berry sorbet button & white satin ribbon; clear embossing powder; little snowflake charm (hobby lobby)

Snowman Thank You ~

Hello!  Hope you all are doing great!  The whole Scritchfield clan has been down with a nasty cold this week.  Ugh...I don't like germs!  Anyway, I finally felt good enough today to play.  Yay!  Course I spent half of my crafty time organizing and cleaning up, but that's all part of the process.  lol

This is a cute little snowman you've seen from me before.  He's from the Cute Companions Christmas Delight set.  I inked him up in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored him with Copics {currently 20% off at Paper Garden Projects!}.  His coal pieces are colored with a black glaze pen - gives such a fun shine and just a touch of dimension.  I cut him out with the largest of the classic small rectangle nestabilities and sponged a little blue chalk around the edges while he was still in the die. 

The sketch is from the Basic Grey challenge blog.  All of the papers are from the new Christmas paper, Jovial.  I punched some snowflakes from the snowflake paper and white paper and then layered them with a bit of dimensional foam tape.  The top one has a fun red button in the center.  The sentiment is stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed with detail clear embossing powder.  I made this into a 'Thank You' card to get a head start on those.  Looks like I might actually get my Xmas thank you's out before Valentine's Day this year!!  lol  Thank you for stopping by!  Hope you have a healthy and fun weekend :o) lyss

7 Kids College Fund Challenge #8: Give Thanks

A Crafty Little Place #64: Red, White & Green

Basic Grey Challenge #32: sketch

Christmas Card Challenge #49: inspiration photo with Red, White & Green

Crazy 4 Challenges #62: Square Card

Cute Card Thursday #138: Anything Goes

Paper Sundaes #43: Let it Snow!

SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Cute Companions Christmas Delight; PTI Signature Christmas
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine Onyx Black
PAPER: PTI SS White & True Black; Basic Grey Jovial 
OTHER: Copics {Colorless Blender, BG10, C1, C3, E57, G24, G28, R24, R27}; Sakura white gel pen & black glaze pen; Martha Stewart Icicle border, 2008 collectible snowflake & Glacial snowflake punches; dimensionals; glue dots; red matte button; black floss; Spellbinders classic circle and classic rectangle nestabilities; clear detail embossing powder

Some Xmas Mojo ~

The Mojo Monday Sketch challenge for this week {#163} has been super inspiring for me!  I was able to complete 2 more Xmas cards and 2 Xmas Thank Yous!  I realized that it's been almost 6 weeks since my and my son's birthdays and I have yet to send my thank you cards.  {hanging head in shame}  So I decided to get ahead of the game this year and make a few Xmas thank yous so I'll be ready! lol  Here's the last card I made that also happens to be my favorite!

I wanted to create a background paper that coordinated with the ornament from Verve's Holly Jolly set, so I pulled out the PTI set Distressed Stripes and made a candy cane striped paper.  The sentiment label is cut with Labels 4 nestabilities and clear embossed with a Signature Christmas sentiment.  The ornament was stamped in VersaMark and Pure Poppy and then clear embossed as well. 

The bow is my favorite part though!  A couple of jingle bells and a sparkly rimmed button tied in a bow with some bakers twine around the satin bow.  The next thank you card needs a bit more something, but I can't place my finger on it.  Maybe you all can help?

Same card essentially, just with a different ribbon treatment.  Perhaps that's the problem?  I'd already adhered the background paper when I decided I wanted to do something different.  Plus I've used the last of my Pure Poppy satin ribbon.  Oh, what's a girl to do?  It does look like this one qualifies for the 2010 Christmas Card Challenge #49 with the inspiration photo though.  :o)

Next is a Christmas card that was inspired by a couple of other challenges - Flourishes {Warm Winter Wishes color challenge} and Cute Card Thursday #137 {Gently does it - use vellum}. 

The background paper on this and the next was created by stamping the snowflakes from Snowflake Serenade in VersaMark on shimmery white paper and brushing some Perfect Pearls in the blue/green duo over them with a blush brush {it was the only thing I had!}.  It doesn't photograph all that well, but it's gorgeous in person.  The card base and frame are made with Night Sky shimmer cardstock - oh.so.pretty!!  The ornament is embossed in white and silver on vellum and placed on super thin dimensionals behind the dark blue frame.  The floss is a white with a bit of silvery cord wrapped around it.  I didn't like the way it tied, so I changed it to white satin on this one.

This ornament was stamped in VersaMark and Enchanted Evening and clear embossed.  Turns out that these two cards qualify for the new Paper Sundaes challenge #43 {Let it Snow!}. 

Well, if you're still with me, thanks for hanging around!  I hope to have another craft filled day tomorrow finally finishing some cards I've been working on with some fabulous Paper Garden Projects digi images.  Hope you all are having a fantabulous Sunday!  :o) lyss

A Roarin' Day ~

Hey there!  I'm typing this up real quick while I'm trying to get the bathroom painted.  The paint's got to dry so I get a spare second.  Here's a little card I made because I just couldn't help myself. 

I bought this adorable stamp forever ago b/c I just had to have it (I'm quite the impulse buyer!) and finally stamped him out.  Oliver is stamped in Tuxedo Black and colored with Copics.  I added a little highlight to his cheeks with a white gel pen.  His hair was colored using the video from my friend over at deconstructing Jen.  The sketch is from the challenge on A Crafty Little Place this week.  The twine that I used is actually from a pair of pants.  They had this twine in them so you could tie them up into a pair of capris.  I never wore them that way, so I cut it off.  I just had to stash it to use for a boy/guy card!  I don't know if it really qualifies for the Greeting Farm challenge, which is to use something other than ribbon, but I'm going for it anyway!

The inside is finished off with a leftover strip of the dp, which is the Oliver line from Basic Grey.  How perfect are they for each other? lol  I had to have this border punch too once I had purchased the stamp.  The little blue dinosaur didn't fit on the front of the card, so I stamped Oliver inside again and glued the blue dude down.  The sentiment says, "Hope your day is ROARIN' with fun" 
Thanks for stopping by again!  I have a post tomorrow with 4 Xmas cards.  Shocker, I know!  I'm just happy to have this many done already!  Have a fantabulous day!  :o) lyss

Here's the list of the other challenges this card qualifies for:
7Kids College Fund Challenge #7: Birthdays
A Crafty Little Place Challenge #63: Sketch for the Guys
Copic Creations #38: Browns
Paper Sundaes #42: For the Boys
Papertake Weekly: Penny for the Guy
Splendid Stamping with the Greeting Farm: All Tied Up
SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: The Greeting Farm Oliver & Amelia: Happy Days; CC Designs Go Prehistoric (retired?)

INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; PTI Smokey Shadow; Ranger Distress Fired Brick
PAPER: PTI SS White; SU Going Gray; DP Basic Grey Oliver
OTHER: Copics {B24, B34, B95, B97, BG10, C1, C3, C5, E00, E11, E15, E31, E33, E37, E49, R02, R39, R59, W5, W7, Y21, Y26, YG91, YG93, YG95, Colorless Blender}; dimensionals; metal flack backed self adhesive brads; twill from pants; EK Success dinosaur border punch; Sakura white gel pen

Shake Your Tail Feathers ~

Hey all!  I've been working my fingers to the bone today stamping up a mess of cards!  I love when the mojo is flowing!  Today I have a new {to me} Kraftin' Kimmie stamp for you - Ms. Vivienne.

She's a saucy little thing, isn't she?  I colored her up with Copics and her feathers with color pencils.  Her beads, shoes, belt and parts of the feathers have some of the Spica pens added for a little glitter and fun!  She has some nice purple eyeshadow and I drew in an iris and eyelashes for her.  I have a confession...I actually had her all colored up, went to add eyelashes and totally jacked up her face!  I had to color another head and cut it out to paste on top of this one!  lol 

I couldn't get a bow to lay the way I wanted it to, so I just tied a knot with another piece of ribbon in there for a bit more flair.  The sentiment was created from a long PTI sentiment and the flourish is just part of another stamp from Simply Stationery {I had to have that set and have never really used it!}. 

The inside is finished off with more of the Kaisercraft paper and one of the sentiments that come with her - Shake Your Tailfeathers!  I'm keeping this short and sweet so that I can get it in for a couple of challenge deadlines.  Here are the challenges that she qualifies for:

Crazy 4 Challenges #61: sketch

Color Me Copic: Coloring make up

Copic Creations #38: browns

Kraftin' Kimmie Challenges #52: Primarily Purple

7 Kids College Fund Challenge #7: Birthdays 

I went a little nuts today on challenge cards, so I'll have posts on Saturday and Sunday!  Hope you're all having a great start to your weekend!  Thanks for stopping by   :o) lyss

SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Vivienne; PaperTrey Ink Big & Bold Wishes & Simply Stationery
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Distress Broken China
PAPER: Prism purple; PTI True Black & SS White; DP Kaisercraft {sorry, I can't remember the name!}
OTHER: Copics {B21, B24, BG13, BG15, BG23, E00, E11, E29, E33, E37, RV91, RV93, RV95, R20}; Copic Spica pens; Spellbinders large & small petite ovals; Spellbinders tag trio dies; black brads; dimensionals; multiliner pen

Mojolicious Lil Lolita ~

Hey all!  I'm just bopping in to show a card I made for the Lil Lolita Boutique Challenge #21 {birthdays} & Mojo Monday #163. 

I paper pieced this little lady with a small polka dot print from the Kaisercraft Peachy Keen line and white paper and then added some shading to her dress and hat.  The rest of her is colored in with Copics and a little shine was added to the rose on her belt and the buckles of her shoes with a Sakura clearstar pen.  To add a little more interest to the card I put a little border under the ribbon with the new PTI Victorian Lace border die.  It still felt a little top heavy, so I added some pearls to the bottom right corner.

The inside is finished off with another piece from the Peachy Keen line.  The sentiments are from Verve's sets Feel the Sun and Fancy Florals - and I swear that they aren't this crooked in real life!  I just couldn't get a good picture!  lol
That's all I've got for you!  Hope you're having a great day!  Thanks for stopping by!  :o) lyss

SUPPLIES ~
STAMPS: Lil Lolita 20's Edie; Verve Fancy Florals & Feel the Sun
INK: Memento Tuxedo Black; Colorbox Chalk Dark Brown
PAPER: PTI Dark Chocolate & Vintage Cream; Georgia Pacific white; Prism; DP Kaisercraft Peachy Keen
OTHER: Copics {B21, B24, C1, C3, C5, E00, E11, E29, E37, E55, E59, R20, R27, YR12, Y28, Y32}; Recollections pearls; 1/4" double sided satin ivory ribbon; PTI Victorian Lace border die; Spellbinders Long Scallop Rectangle nestabilities; Sakura clearstar gel pen