Then I duplicated the flower 9 times so I could layer the petals for dimension and printed them out on Georgia Pacific cardstock.  I cut the swirl frame using SCAL and my mom’s baby bug from one of my DCWV glitter mat stacks. Then I trimmed all of the flower layers, and similar to Lindsay’s post on Monday, I used the end of a rounder paintbrush to burnish the backside of the leaves to give them some dimension as I wasn’t going to piece them separately from the base layer.

The card base is from my stash – I ran it through my Big Shot with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and then used my Pebbles Pearlescent chalks to add shimmer to the embossed area. I added the frame and then began layering and adhering the flowers.  I used buttons from my stash (Wal-Mart) as the flower centers and added a glitter butterfly (Wal-Mart) for fun and sparkle.  I drew the butterfly trail with one of my Zig Micron pens. Here’s a close-up of my sparkly butterfly:And my layered flowers – I just love the dimension here: Such a versatile a fun set to create with.  I purposely didn’t add a sentiment as I am thinking of gifting this card and I want the recipient to be able to use it however they’d like.

If you didn’t arrive here from Lindsay’s blog, be sure to stop there.  She’s known to have freebies, as well as fabulous eye-candy and the links to the rest of the DT blogs/projects.  She’s also having a sale in celebration of St. Patty’s day – helping you save a bit of green!

Have a great day – we’re off to gymnastics, and then to shop for a new toaster oven – ours smells like it’s about to combust – you know the not so pleasant burning electronics scent that everyone wants in their kitchen?!?!?!

First up, my good friend and fab-designer, Jodiann Cates is having a TCT (Test/Creative Team) call on her blog – she’s looking for a few talented people to work with her Photoshop styles.  I love them and have had the pleasure of working with several of them.  In fact, I used her Mini Stripe Lite style to create one of my freebies – you can find it here. Check her blog for all of the details and then apply!

Let’s see, what’s next – oh I know, another friend and uber-talented designer, Kristine of Designs by Kristine has just launched her own Newsletter – complete with sales info, coupons, and even exclusive freebies.  You definitely DON’T want to miss out.  You can find all of the deets here or sign up here.

For my crafting friends, as most of you know, I blog-stalk Suzanne Dean – her coloring skills are nothing short of amazing!  When I first heard about Copic markers, I headed to her blog for tutorials and color suggestions since buying all 300+ colors at once just wasn’t and still isn’t going to happen!  Well, now she’s launching Color Me Creative, an online classroom where she’ll teach all things Copic – everything from the basic to advanced mixed-media techniques.  Classes start March 15, but since they are all self-paced, you’ll have an entire year to complete them, plus have PDF and video files that can be downloaded and saved for future reference.  There’s an early-bird discount before March 14 – so be sure to check it out if you’re like me – new to Copics (plus I won’t be attending any of the Copic Certification classes as they are never near here nor are they in my price range) and in love the with the potential these (and all alcohol markers) have!  I can’t wait to get started.  Suzanne is also offering a refer-a-friend discount aka Copic Bucks, so you can earn a little something for spreading the word.

Looking for a challenge to get your creativity off the ground?  Since March as arrived, that means there are new challenges up at the DSO challenge blog – stop by and play awhile!

I guess that’s all from me – oh wait – you wanted a peak at our activities from last month?  Alright – just a peak:

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Nadya enjoying a visit to the park while while in Oklahoma.

Have a great Tuesday!

Since I”m fortunate enough to be on her DT, I was able to play a bit early.  My DH asked me to make a sympathy card for a friend who suddenly lost her husband.   I immediately knew I wanted to use one of the wonderful papers from this kit!   My card base is textured white Bazzill CS (6×6).  I printed the fabulous purple DP from Lindsay’s Beginning – I love the subtle coloration and florals – and embossed it with an SU texture plate and my Big Shot.  I used an EK Success punch to create the scallop edge.  The Iris is from a retires SU set – Still Life Stems.  I colored directly on the stamp with my SU markers and then “huffed” before stamping onto Whisper White CS.  I typically use Georgia Pacific or Staples CS for my digi-images, but I wanted the extra crispness that the vivid white SU CS offered.  The image and glitter CS (DCWV) mat were trimmed with my Long Rectangle and Scallop Nestabilites.  I added a bit of Almost Amethyst and Lovely Lilac inks with a sponge dauber to give subtle color to the glittered CS mat.  The narrow organdy ribbon is from my stash.  After adhering everything together, I stamped the sentiment (SU) twice – first with Silver MetalExtra ink (Clearsnap) and then with Vintage Violet (SU) to give an embossed effect.  I added the adhesive pearls from Michaels for a bit of dimension and elegance. I continued the theme on the inside by reprinting the DP from Lindsay’s Beginning with a verse I found on the internet.  The verse reads:  

Although we know at such a time there’s little we can say. We want to let you know that you are in our thoughts today.

My DH was then able to personalize his message. I found my 6×6 envelopes weren’t large enough, so I used a sheet of 12×12 paper and created an envelope for the card too.

Since I was in a card making mood, and this kit is so stunning, I have a little goodie for.  I have created 2 printable (4.5×5.5) cards for you (with Kristine’s permission).  I didn’t add a sentiment, so you can personalize the cards to suit your needs.  You can print them one a single sheet of 8.5×11 paper using a borderless setting and then stamp your sentiment or open them in your favorite editing software and type your sentiment before printing. I hope you enjoy them! If you like what you see, please send your friends to my blog to download for themselves.  Thanks!

That’s all from me.  Mondays are errand running/grocery days, so we’ll be busy busy today!  Be sure to check out Lindsay’s Beginning and the rest of goodies at Kristine’s store (and her blog – I’ve hears there might be goodies there too) and then head over to the DSO store too – the Designers have a released a new Collab Kit – with a twist! You won’t be disappointed!  

I really really love the richness of the colors in this kit – so, I paired it with a couple of templates from another uber-talented designer – Bunny Cates to create these:

Credits are super simple: Designs by Kristine’s Natalie’s Day and Bunny Cates’ Bracket Album templates.  The background paper in the Imagine layout is one of my all time FAVORITES!

Do you want to know what else we’ve been up to? It’s called reclaim our house – aka the Great Toy Round-Up! We listed Nadya’s crib on Craigslist as she hasn’t ever used it, and although it was a convertible one, we already have a full-size bed in her room, so we didn’t need that option.  After only  a day and a half, we had a buyer. So, after a quick trip to Target (thanks for the gift card Mom and Dad) – her room transformed from this:  To this (and my living room regained some semblance of order): We’re still waiting on a couple of stuffed animal nets, but other than that, we’re pretty well done.  We’re watching craigslist carefully for a twin over full bunk bed or one of those Doll House theme beds that will allow for a twin bed on top and a full underneath.  Too bad my dear husband doesn’t have a table saw or much spare time– I found a fabulous website that has awesome plans and an even better blog full of ideas – I’m thinking a little barn themed bunk/loft bed would be perfect! LOL Plus, I’m certain I could build some of the bookcases/cubes Ana has posted plans for here, here, and here – and be better than the particle board and cardboard that I can buy at WalMart – oh Micki – you’re my inspiration here! Ah, the stuff dreams are made of – and like I really need another craft/project/hobby!

Ok, I’m off to do laundry – such fun! Have a great day!

And available at Cocoa’s Studio store at My Grafico!  I had the privilege of working with this new SVG cutting set – a let me tell you – it was EASY! The files cut beautifully (thanks again Mom for loaning me your baby bug).  Cocoa has included JPG printables and cutting templates for those that don’t have a Cricut or SCAL/Make The Cut.  The printables are full color and adorable – perfect for other cutting systems (think print and cut with your KNK, Wishblade, Gazelle, Silhouette, etc). The JPG templates offer further customization – bring them into your favorite editing software and use them with digital papers to create one of kind items!  FABULOUS!!!  Ok, so you want to see what I did – here ya go: This card was a breeze to assemble! First I cut the adorable bear set from Confetti Vanilla CS using the SVG cutting files in SCAL and my Mom’s baby Bug. I wanted to add some texture, so I coated the bear in Versamark and then applied Heat N Stick Powder.  I melted the powder with my heat gun and applied brown flock (I should have heated the powder a bit longer so that more of the flock adhered) and then reheated to set it.  I used Taffy and Moonlight Smooch (check out Bunny’s Stamping Studio – love the goods and she’ll try to order anything you need – just ask) on the mouth, ears, nose and heart cutouts and then glued them on to my bear body. I colored the eyes and added the smile with my Spica and Sakura glitter pens.  I used my SU Regal Rose marker to color the balloon, then coated it in Versamark and Heat N Stick Powder.  This time I wanted bling instead of fuzz, so I used Doodlebug Design’s Sugar Coating Bubblegum Glitter over the Heat N Stick powder.  I painted the balloon highlight with Moonlight Smooch and glued it in place.  I was going to cut off the “string” that came with the balloon but found I liked the swirl shape, so I wrapped it in white embroidery floss from my stash and viola – a string that has the paper shape but a more realistic appearance! Hooray! Before Christmas I has snagged a couple of packages of DCWV glitter cards from the Hobby Lobby clearance rack, so I used one of those cards with the largest of the Labels 8 nesties to create my shaped card base(which means I can enter TSG’s challenge – woohoo).  For the mat, I found this fabulous swirled and embossed paper in my DCWV The Sweet Stack mat stack, so I used the 2nd largest of the Label 8 nesties to cut the mat – you could do the same thing in Cricut using SCAL if you’d rather or if you don’t have the Labels nesties, etc. I used ultra thin glue dots to adhere the mat and base as my mono adhesive doesn’t always handle glitter well. For the bear and balloon I used Dimensional Dots and Ultra Thin glue Dots.  The mini pearls are from my stash. I think the card is adorable – perfect for Valentine’s Day, or in my case, a little girl’s birthday! 

I’d better run – it’s grocery shopping and errand day. So we’ll be heading to  my “favorite” place – WalMart. Have a good one!

For this week, Lindsay challenged us to recycle – aka repurpose an item or two on our creations – and you can enter too! Today is the last day to enter your “repurposed” project for a chance to win a free stamp set – check Lindsay’s blog for all of the details, links to the other fabulous DT projects, and possibly a FREEBIE! Then head to Lindsay’s store to snag this super cute set and check out her new SVG files – yup Lindsay is now selling cutting files!  And, just for hanging out with me today – I have a goodie for you too – my VERY FIRST cutting files – they’re in SCUT format as I haven’t mastered all the conversions yet – but hey we all to start somewhere.  I’m sharing the scallop heart mats I created to go with my cards and Bunny’s class!

That’s all from me – today  is the last day of swimming lessons – next week we start tumbling again. Plus I REALLY need to join the ranks and tidy my craft space and find homes for all of the new Christmas goodies. Have a fabulous day!

I wish everyone a FABULOUS new year! Thanks again for stopping by…and remember, please don’t share my files – send your friends here to download for themselves.

I’m looking forward to the coming year – at least most of it.  There are some new and exciting events in my future; though I can’t go into all of the details yet, one of them will be focusing on incorporating my paper crafts into my website and offering items for sale – kind of Etsy style.  So, at some point I’ll be joining the ranks of my super-talented friends Bunny (The Lil Stamping Studio) and Suzanne (Crafting Connection) in the realm of ecommerce.  In preparation for that adventure, and to help my friend Suzanne a bit (I’m far from an ecommerce service provider, but I did help her get her website online), I have installed ZenCart as well as a Shopping Cart application from Coffee Cup.  I’m running into an issue with inventory control with the Coffee Cup software in that their software isn’t tied to a database, so it doesn’t offer any sort of automatic control – which means if I have only 1 or 2 of an item, I could end up selling more than I have in stock since the software doesn’t deduct purchases from the inventory count – not a big deal for digital products, but a definite pain for me!  ZenCart isn’t bad as far as cart software goes, but it’s not as easy to use – hence a bit of a learning curve for me. I’m always up for a challenge, but I don’t want to kill my creative spirit as my time, like everyone else’s, is limited and Nadya will remain my top priority!

All of that to say, I’m really excited about 2010 and I hope everyone else has something exciting or rewarding to look forward to as well. May you have a fabulous New Year!

In other news – the fabulously talented Kristine of Designs by Kristine has a fabulous FREE kit on her blog today (and it’s part of a mega collab so you don’t want to miss out). Being on her CT meant I was able to play early, and with her permission, I created a couple of QPs for you:

I hope you enjoy them – please leave a comment if you download and send your friends here and not directly to the download.  Thanks!

That’s all from me – if I don’t make it back on before Christmas – Have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Due to work requirements, my sister-in-law will be unable to join us for the Holidays this year, so I’m sending a few little goodies her way: 

I used the Joy, Ho Ho Ho, and  Merry Christmas to All stamps sized to 1 inch along with some glitter CS from DCWV Holiday Glitter Mat Stack and ribbon from my stash. Here’s a closer peak and a bit more detail:  

This pillow box is from K&Company’s Christmas Cheer Gift Boxes and Tags set – super easy just punch, fold, fill and adhere.  I wrapped it in red organdy ribbon and added the Joy tag matted with glitter CS.  My Nestabilites were a life-saver here!  The outline and edging were created in Photoshop using a SuperBladePro preset from Meadows Studio.  I added color to the text, stars and holly using a glitter style from Bannerwoman – too bad she has retired! For added sparkle, you could go over the image with a Spica clear glitter marker or Sakura Gelly pen. This pillow box, also from the K&Company Christmas Cheer set, is a bit smaller – perfect for a Gift Card (which is what I snuck inside it).  I wrapped this one in narrow gold grosgrain ribbon before adding the Ho Ho Ho stamp and red glitter CS mat.  The outline and edging were created in Photoshop using SuperBladePro presets from Meadows Studio and the Blading Basket.  I colored Santa’s Hat using a glitter style from Bannerwoman and a pink and peach gradient fill for his skin! For extra dimension, you could highlight Santa’s hat with Stickles, Flock, or FlowerSoft and perhaps add some Smooch to his beard (mine’s not here yet, but I’m waiting patiently – my first order from “The Studio” has already shipped – thanks Bunny!).  For this set of yummy hand creams from one of my all-time favorite places (Bath & Body Works), I wrapped wired ribbon around the box and then added the Merry Christmas to All stamp and scallop mat with pop-up glue dots. The outline and text fill were created in Photoshop using SuperBladePro presets from Meadows Studio and the Blading Basket.  I colored the holly berry and leaves using a glitter style from Bannerwoman (are you seeing a trend here?!?). For shimmer and sparkle, you could use Stickles, a Spica marker, or Sakura pen on the berries, leaves, or both.  Since I’m mailing this and needed to get it out first thing, I didn’t want anything that would smear, so I left it as you see on your screen – I LOVE digital glitter – bling with no mess!

If you didn’t arrive here from Lindsay’s blog, be sure to visit her! She has tons of fabulous projects to inspire you and plenty of awesome freebies too! The rest of the DT links will be on her blog too – lots of eye candy just waiting for you!  Lindsay is still having her Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale through the 23rd – so what are YOU waiting for?!? Today is the last day of swimming lessons for the year – so Nadya is pretty excited about that.  She’ll have one more lesson in January and then we’ll move on to Gymnastics/Tumbling.  She really loves her swimming lessons but I think a change of pace will be good for her – and though her skill level is high enough, I don’t think her attention span is where it needs to be for me to allow her in or around the pool without me (despite the best assurances of the swim coaches)!  She loves to climb, so she’ll enjoy tumbling and we’ll revisit swimming a little later.  Have a fabulous Holiday season!  I’ll be back with more fabulous Lindsay goodies after the first of the year – I’m going to be devoting my time to family and celebrating after this weekend.

Merry Christmas!