MDS- Monday

Well, my Mother's genealogy book is finished and sent to the printer. I cannot wait to see it! Here is one of my favorite pages that went together so easily.  My Grandmother had kept newspaper clippings of her grandparent's 50th anniversary and her grandfather's obituary.  They were a great help in putting together that merged family, since his first wife died after 7 children and then he married and had 11 children with my great-great-grandmother. These clippings helped me know who belonged to who.

Looking Up

My favorite, and only, Father-in-Law had knee replacement surgery last month.  He ended up getting a nasty infection and 6 weeks later they still do not know what it is, but he is still fighting it.  He loves getting cards so I had to make him one to remind him that we are praying for a fast recovery.  I bought this set just for the reason of Get Well cards.  I want them happy and cheerful and I thought the kites did just that.

Details:

Stamps: Send Me Soaring

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze, More Mustard, Night of Navy

Ink: Cajun Craze, Night of Navy, More Mustard, Early Espresso

Accessories: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots Impression Folder, Designer Frames Impression Folder, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Early Espresso Bakers' Twine,

Typed Thank You

I try to buy only what I love from the Mini catalogs and try to hold off to see if they make it in to the big catalog.  That way, as a demonstrator, I get more use of of the product.  I only keep current merchandise.  So if you are looking for anything retired please check out my store.  I have many, many things for sale!  This mini (good through April 30th) I was not so good at holding back.  Even though I knew how little stamp time I would get due to my busy schedule with doctor appointments and the children's sports February through June I just had to make sure some of the merchandise was there for me when I did get a short break.  One of the sets I just HAD to have was the Your'e My Type.  It has so many possibilities for designs. It is so easy to cut out and looks great embossed.  I also HAD to have the new Framelits.  I cannot wait to play with them more and show you a great way to store them that makes them easy to use and keep.

Details:

Stamps: You're My Type, En Francais Backround

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler

Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Versamark

Accessories: Big Shot, Black Embossing Powder, Houndstooth Impression Folder, Labels Collection Framelit Die, Brights Designer Buttons, 2-/12" Circle Punch, Cherry Cobbler Baker's Twine

MDS Monday Ellis Island

Since my Mother's heritage book was so full of censuses and immigration information I thought it fitting to include a 2 page spread on Ellis Island, where some of her family came through.  It was very interesting to study and learn about.  It was fun to see the pictures and imagine your ancestors waiting in line to enter their new country.

Uncharted Birthday

I have been a bad blogger.  I thought I had a bunch of things set to post but after things finally slowed down around here I realized I still had them set to draft.  So I will try to catch up now.  I love it when the manly cards come together and even though I have 5 sons I still struggle with putting together a good masculine card.  I colored this card with the Aqua pens and the re-inkers.  I find it easier to color when the image is embossed.  The boat is cut out and adhered with dimensionals to make it stand out.  The sentiment was stamped with regular ink and then stamped again with clear embossing ink. To do the background paper, I just ran it through the crimper a few different directions and then crumpled it up in my hand.  I then ran it under water in my sink, crumpled it again and laid it out to dry.  I did some separating of corners and curling before I let it dry thoroughly.

Details:

Stamps: Uncharted Territory, Curly Cute

Paper: Early Espresso, So Saffron, Soft Suede, Whisper White

Ink: Cajun Craze, Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Old Olive, So Saffron, Versa Mark

Accessories: Black Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Powder, Early Espresso Baker's Twine, Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelit Die

Light House

Sorry I am late my post this week.  We saw 6 doctors in 7 days with 3 sets of Xrays, 2 CT's and an MRI.  So far all is clear on his neck.  They allowed him to remove the hard brace yesterday.  Now to work out the tight muscles and get the concussion cleared up.  He gets light headed very easy...especially when I have a chore for him LOL.  I found plenty of things he can do sitting down. I hate sorting socks and I got the foyer closet cleaned out so he could sort hats, gloves and scarves. ;-)  Enough about my son (thank you to those who added them to your prayers!) on to my project.

I love this set but I am not very good at coloring objects in.  I needed a card for my father's birthday and since I always use the eagle one for him I thought maybe I should go in another direction. I figured lighthouses are always a good choice for a man's card.  I am loving the Framelit Dies!!! They are so easy to use and so many things that you can do with them.  The image was embossed and colored in with re-inkers and aqua painter brush.  I find it so much easier to color an image when it is embossed. To do the light beam I just cut a triangle out of a piece of paper and used it to mask so I could sponge the area I wanted.

Card Details:

Stamps: Uncharted Territory, Bring On the Cake

Paper: Whisper White, Well Worn DSP, Soft Suede, So Saffron, Not Quite Navy

Ink:  Soft Suede, So Saffron, Not Quite Navy, Versa Mark, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Big Shot, Labels Collection Framelit Die, Black Embossing Powder, Extra Large Oval Punch

Basketball

Well, we had a long weekend.  My #3 son had a 2 day out of town basketball tournament to attend and I never miss a game so off I went.  After traveling the 2.5 hrs to the tournament and his team winning first place we then had to travel another almost 4 hours to another game that night.  Unfortunately my son was injured in that game when he took a shoulder to the neck.  He had numbness and tingling in all extremities and blurred vision so we spent the night in 2 hospitals (first one's CT machine was broke and they did not have a neurosurgeon on call that night so we took an ambulance trip to another one near by).  His team is a group of great boys who love the pictures I take at their games so I thought I would put this together for my son in MDS to raise his spirits (it is now the wallpaper on his phone).  He is home with no fractures found. They think it might be swelling and ligament damage that is causing the problems.  He is in a hard neck collar for awhile.  He is the monster tall one in the center of the boys- 16 years 6'3" and growing.  The team is 18 wins and 4 loses and praying my son can continue the rest of the year playing with them.

3 Little Words

This one was taken almost straight from the catalog on page 166. Whenever I get stumped for a color combo or a layout idea I love just flipping open the catalog and doing whatever catching my eye first.  That is how this card came about.  I seemed to have only bought the new Cling mount stamps since for me with limited room they take up less room and are easier to see what is in each set on the binding.  My poor wood mounts ones get forgotten far to easy.  I have had this set for quite a while but forget about it since I have it in Wood mount.  This card was simple to do so I actually made a few to set aside for later use.

Details:

Stamps: Three Little Words

Paper: Lucky Limeade, Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, Whisper White

Ink: Lucky Limeade, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Island Indigo

Accessories: Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Impression Folder, Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border Punch

Wrenches

Today is my #2 son's 21st birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KID!!! He is a mechanic so I though this card would be perfect for him.  I had seen the punch art wrenches before on numerous cards (sorry I do not know where they originated from) So that is where this whole card began.  The background is tin foil adhered to regular printer paper and ran through the Big Shot. I did sponge some Soft Suede on the wrenches to give them the "used" look.  The scoring tool was perfect to make the line down the grip of the wrench.

Details:

Stamps: Perfect Punches

Paper: Peach Parfait, Soft Suede, River Rock

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Extra Large Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Flower from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Big Shot, Square Lattice Impressions Folder, 5/16" Silver Jumbo Brads

Genealogy Page

Yes, I am still working on my Mother's genealogy book.  I did not get it done in time for Christmas as a bunch of other projects came up and I had a big break that added many new pages. At this time the book is about 140 pages. I place all of the objects I want on the page and then I go back and decorate.  I try to keep things in a 2 page spread and I want the pages in the right order before I decorate.  All of the pages with the family trees have the same concept: same background, same size boys and girls and same layout (-design).  I smeared out the names here because they are present day and I do not feel right publishing their information. Once I put the medallion stamp on this page my daughter told me that I should add some bling.  When she came back and saw what I had done she LOVED it so I just had to share it (plus I haven't posted any MDS in quite a while even though I have been getting about 4 pages done a night).  To add the color behind the flower I just added circle punches, colored then in and then moved them back to be behind the stamp.


Details: MDS

Buehner Name Frame

Another last minute Christmas gift.  I can never go wrong with a personalized gift.  I knows that she loves shimmer and bling so I tried to add as much as I could without going overboard.  The top Awning is sprayed with the Shimmer paint/ Rubbing Alcohol Solution. The letters were sponged to add a bit of a vintage touch. 

Details:

Stamps: None

Paper: Mocha Morning DSP, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler. Crumb Cake, Garden Green

Ink: Sponging: Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler

Accessories: Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet Dies, Naturally Serif Alphabet Die, Basic Rhinestones, Flowers  from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Leaves from the Bird Builder Punch, Finial Press Impressions Folder, Tasteful Trim Die, Shimmer Spray, Cherry Cobbler Scallop Dots Ribbon, 1/4" Basic Black Grosgrain Ribbon

Cajun Flowers

A quick thank you card I needed to make up for an order.  The flowers where stamped and then cut out. The edges where curled just a bit.

Details:

Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Perfect Punches

Paper: Calypso Coral, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White. Lucky Limeade

Ink: Crumb Cake, Versa Mark, Early Espresso

Accessories: Leaves from the Bird Builder Punch, Eyelet Border Punch, Scallop Oval Punch, Basic Pearls, 1/2" Circle Punch, Big Shot, Elegant Bouquet Impressions Folder

Logan Name Frame

This one was done a while back for a gift for  a family who had just been blessed with the adoption of a little boy. The circles were done by punching the smaller one first and getting an outline with the punch of a larger one.

Details:

Stamps: None

Paper: Well Worn DSP, Not Quite Navy, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso

Ink: None

Accessories: Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet Dies, Fun Flowers Die, Naturally Serif Alphabet Die, Houndstooth Impressions Folder, Early Espresso Grosgrain Ribbon, 3/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch

Eagle Birthday

This is a go to set for me when it comes to masculine cards, and most of the men in my family loves wildlife so it fits them too. To do the leaves I just stamped them in the lighter colors and used a marker to outline and put a few spots in the center, very simple yet gives a great effect.

Details:

Stamps: In Wilderness, French Foliage, Bring on the Cake

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Cajun Craze

Ink: Cajun Craze, Crumb Cake, Peach Parfait, Early Espresso

Accessories: Extra Wide Oval Punch, Postage Stamp Punch

Kayla Name Frame

I can't believe my daughter had one more friend who had not received one of these name frames as a gift yet (Lol).  When we were still in our gift planning stage my daughter mentioned that Kayla said that she would love one of the frames for Christmas.  Her favorite colors are blue and purple so that is where we started. My daughter pulled out the Color Coach and started matching colors with the DSP that I had on hand. This one is retired (I thought I had used it all up) I had just gotten the Fun Flowers die so I just had to use it.  I always enjoy making these and this one was very fun to do.

Details:

Stamps: None

Paper: Retired DSP, Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz

Ink: None

Accessories: Big Shot, Serif Essentials Alphabet Dies, Fun Flowers Die, Naturally Serif Alphabet Die, Basic Rhinestones, Scallop Trim Border Punch, Scallop Trim Corner Punch, Flowers and Circle from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Leaves from the Bird Builder Punch, Designer Printed Brads, Finial Press Impressions Folder

Fireplace Stockings

This card was CASED from Betty.  I love that so many of SU punches can make other things.

If you love the Stocking Builder Punch as much as I do then you must put it on your next order. Once the current inventory of this punch has been depleted, it will no longer be available for purchase. It WILL NOT be carried over into the next Idea Book & Catalog.

Card Details:

Stamps: Tiny Tags

Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black, Riding Hood Red, Well Worn DSP

Ink: Early Espresso

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice Impression Folder, Word Window Punch, Bird Builder Punch, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Stocking Builder Punch

Stick Horse

One of the reasons I had to have the Stocking Builder Punch was to make this cute stick horse. The banner is sprayed with Shimmer spray.  One of the fun things that will be available in just a few short weeks (January 4th) is the Framelit Dies.  I pre-ordered one of them just to see what they were like and they are great so the other is on my order for when SAB starts. I used a skewer stick for the pole.

If you love the Stocking Builder Punch as much as I do then you must put it on your next order. Once the current inventory of this punch has been depleted, it will no longer be available for purchase. It WILL NOT be carried over into the next Idea Book & Catalog.

Card Details:

Stamps: Curly Cute

Paper: Rose Red, So Saffron, Whisper White, Pear Pizzazz, Pocketful of Posies DSP

Ink: Rose Red

Accessories: Big Shot, Vintage Wallpaper Impression Folder, Perfect Polka Dots Impression Folder, Socking Builder Punch, Labels Collection Framelit Die, Hemp Twine, Circle Fire Rhinestone Brads

Merry Christmas

My Husband asked me this year as I was rushing, once again, to finish my cards and get them in the mail for Christmas why I can't just keep them simple.  My 9 year old daughter turned to him and replied "Dad, for Mom that is simple."  

I guess I always love to make special cards for special people on their birthdays and Christmas is the celebration of the birth of my Saviour, so the Christmas cards I send out are His birthday cards.  He is the most special person in my life so I feel it necessary to make him a special birthday card.

I do have a tutorial somewhere on how to make the perfect circle outline with the Circle Scissors Plus and will try my best to remember to put it up once things slow down after the holidays.

I wish you all a very Merry CHRISTmas and pray that you have all accepted Christ as your Saviour and are enjoying the true meaning of Christmas.

Details:

Stamps: The Sounding of Joy

Paper: Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Mocha Morning DSP, Brushed Gold

Ink: Crumb Cake, Versa Mark, Early Espresso

Accessories: Big Shot, Northern Flurry Impression Folder, Lace Ribbon Border Punch, Circle Scissor Plus, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Gold Embossing Powder, 1/8" Early Espresso Taffeta Ribbon, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint/Rubber Alcohol Spray

Stocking Punch Gift Tags

So do you have all of your gifts wrapped and ready to go?  My kids have been begging every day if they can open just one.  I am holding out (it is a good chore encouraging tool). They have had their hands on all of the gifts that have their names on them and they think they have them all figured out.  I am one of those sneaky moms who hate it when the kids guess the gifts before hand.  Last year I put no names on them at all, just numbers.  When they were handing out the gifts I had a list and told them which person got which numbers. I did mess up and my son ended up with a pink Barbie Volkswagen and my daughter got a CSI kit. I am always good for a laugh. This year I put names on them (but none of them have the right names...shhh!) I made these cute and easy gift tags to put on all of our gifts this year.  I folded my DSP in half and and lined up the punch right below the fold. It worked pretty spiffy.

If you love the Stocking Builder Punch as much as I do then you must put it on your next order. Once the current inventory of this punch has been depleted, it will no longer be available for purchase. It WILL NOT be carried over into the next Idea Book & Catalog.

Family MDS Picture

These are my wonderful children. I am blessed to be their Mother (Mother-in-law and Grandma) I do make my cards (which you will see on Friday) and I try to include a picture that coordinates with the card.  I do my family picture-card in MDS.  Since my cards are A2 size (4.25" x 5.5") and I use an invitation envelope to send them in I have to make sure my pictures are the same size.  I have them printed in a 4" x 6".  As you can see I left the bottom 1/2" blank.  That way I can just cut off the blank part and drop them in the envelope. In MDS I use a square punch and set it to the 4" x 6" size.  I color it so I do not loose it.  I then create another punch and layer it directly over top of it leaving the 1/2" short.  Then I decorate the area I have left.  I connect them and drag the corner out to be as large as it will allow me to work on.  After I have them just how I want them I export them in a jpeg and crop them to the right size in my photo editing program.  They are then all set to be sent to my local photo printing store for printing.

Dragon Punch Art

I found this little guy on Lyssa's blog.  I had him filed away for a special occasion and today was just that day.  He was so fun to make and quick and easy too.

Card Details:

Stamps: Short and Sweet

Paper: More Mustard, Whisper White, Basic Black, Lucky Limeade, Pool Party

Ink: Pool Party, Sponging: More Mustard, Lucky Limeade,

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice Impression Folder, 2-1/2" Circle Punch, Extra-Large Oval Punch, Large Oval Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Circle Punch from Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, 5-Petal Flower Punch, Pennant Builder Punch

Easy Polka Dot Flowers

I know we are in the middle of winter and it is no time for flowers.  I had made this card quite a while back and forgot to post it, so no better time like the present.  I had a request for a simple card from a Sunday School teacher to send to a student who has been absent.  The stamp says "i miss you" but since they wanted it from the class which should be "We" I decided to just have it say "miss you" .  I inked the stamp up with a marker so I only got the words that I wanted to use.  I took this idea from page 98 in the catalog. It was simple a cute, just what I was looking for.  :-)

Card Details:

Stamps: Vintage Vogue, Three Little Words

Paper: Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder

Ink: Calypso Coral, Wisteria Wonder, Lucky Limeade

Accessories: Simply Scored Scoring Tool, Decorative Label Punch, In Color Designer Printed Brads

Fun Flowers

I have had orders coming in left and right and no time to use any of the new products so I got up early this morning and got my chores finished so that I could take a few minutes and make a card that is to go out in today's mail. I made sure to use as much of my new stuff as I could fit in. The Adorning Accents Embossing folders are soo cute. I did not order the matching Edgelits Dies yet but they will be on my first order next month! Another thing that will be on my next order is the rest of the pleated ribbons.  They are so much nicer in real life than the picture could ever show.  They will be just adorable on any baby card! Here I sponged the edged of the flower and spritz the bottom of the card and the flower with Champagne Mist/ Rubbing Alcohol solution spray. I have spent all of my extra time today so back to work I must go (still working on those Christmas cards...)

Card Details:

Stamps: Curly Cute

Paper: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Sahara Sand

Ink: Early Espresso, Blushing Bride-Sponging

Accessories: Big Shot, Adorning Accents Impression Folder, Fun Flowers Die, Bird Builder Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, Circle Punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Basic Pearls, Champagne Mist/ Rubbing Alcohol Solution Spray, 3/8" Blushing Bride Pleated Ribbon

Mocha Morning Butterflies

So being that I have been spending so much time working on my Christmas card and gifts I stock piled some cards to post at a later date.  So even though butterflies are not seen very often in December I do love them in fall colors in which I made this card.  One day when we were on a long road trip I had time to sit and look through the catalog.  I made a long list of cards that I wanted to make that looked quick and easy.  I took this idea from page 152 in current the catalog. The sentiment that I used was just too short for the punch I wanted to use so I decided to fold over an edge.  Simple, easy card to throw together quick!

Card Details:

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Mocha Morning DSP

Ink: Soft Suede

Accessories: Eyelet Border Punch, Modern Label Punch, Big Shot, Finial Press Impression Folder, Beautiful Butterflies Die, Basic Rhinestones