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Friday, December 30, 2011

Challenge Calendar

Hi there!  The hustle and bustle of Christmas may be over, but things sure aren't slowing down much around here.  Last Wednesday was the first time I enjoyed a day of working in my studio.  I am busy, busy preparing projects for January.  

To help me keep on track, I decided to decorate a calendar that I had picked up in the office supplies department at Wallyworld.  
 
I started by covering the spine of the calendar with some distressed dot print paper from Memory Box.  I used Tombow's Permanent Stamp Runner to attach all of the cardstocks to the cover of the calendar.  The main background print is from October Afternoon (I think).  The chipboard letters for the word "calendar" were just plain white and I used a Tombow Dual Brush pen in Orange to color the letters to match perfectly.  Love that!  Did you know that you can use the Dual Brush pens to color match many items to coordinate with whatever project you are working on?  Too cool!
I didn't do too much to the inside of the calendar as I need lots of space to keep track of my projects and upcoming classes, but I did add some of the Tombow Permanent Stamp Runner to the back of some rick rack trim and used it to cover the space where the two prints matched on the inside cover.    

I used two coordinating Dual Brush Pens to add the month name and some doodles to the bottom of the page.  Don't mind the teeth marks on the lid of the orange pen, a few years ago my dog thought it might be a fun chew toy.  

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Twisted Thursday-Anything Goes

Whew, what a week!  I have been crazy busy working on tons of stuff for January 2012.  Can you believe it is almost 2012?  I can't, this year really did fly by.  
This week the Outlawz Twisted Thursday challenge is an Anything Goes with a twist.  The twist is to use stripes.

Since I have been so busy, I decided to share one of my favorite cards from January 2011.  


I had created this card for week 1 of the Jan 2011 Viva la Verve challenge. You can check out all of the details here.  Something about this little boat just makes me happy.  Thanks for letting me re-cap today.  I will be back next Thursday for a brand new Outlawz Twisted Thursday project, I hope you will come back and check it out.

Friday, December 23, 2011

teaming up with elizabeth craft designs


Hi there!  This week the Tombow gals and I are using fabulous peel-off stickers from Elizabeth Craft Designs.  Els sent us several sheets to play with and here are two of my favorites. 

Watercolor Technique

I love whimsy and decided to take these elegant gold ornaments and give them a touch of whimsy.  I started by placing the ornament stickers on some 140# cold press watercolor paper and then I colored them with my Dual Brush Pens.  I colored the different areas of the ornament with the following Dual Brush Pens colors: 093, 133 and 847 and then blended the color with a waterbrush. I used Mono Adhesive Dots to attach the layers together and a couple of Foam Tabs to pop up the ornament that is in the front.  To finish off this card I added a wee bit of Mono Glue Pen to a few areas and sprinkled them with Elizabeth Craft Designs Warm Highlights glitter.

Stained Sticker Technique

 For my next card, I used one of the beautiful floral stickers that Els sent.  I had never seen the Dual Brush Pens used to color the solid portions of the sticker, but I wanted to give it a try.  I am happy to say that I really like the way this turned out.  Because the stickers have a slick, shiny surface I knew that the markers were going to resist the ink so as soon as I colored in the flower,  I wiped off the ink with a dry cloth and created a stained effect on the gold portions of the stickers. I had to use darker markers for this technique and apply a few layers of each color.  For the interior of the flower I used #847 and for the leaves I used #249.  I used more of the Mono Adhesive Dots to hold all of the layers together and a few Foam Tabs behind the image panel to pop it up and add some dimension.  I finished off the center of the flower with some Mono Aqua Adhesive and ECD Warm Highlights glitter.


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Twisted Thursday Snowman

It's Twisted Thursday time on the Outlawz Challenge Group and this week the DT was given the challenge to make a card/project with a snowman and the twist is to add glitter.  The challenge was an easy one for me as I love both snowmen and glitter.  


I stamped the snowman from the Our Craft Lounge Tweet Winter Wishes set in black ink onto some white cardstock and colored it with a combination of Tombow Dual Brush pens and Prismacolor pencils.  I added some Stardust Stickles to the ground for that pretty snowy glisten.  On the gloves, hat, scarves and ear muffs I also added some OCL Breezy Blue Sparkly Fluff.  If you could see this in person you would see that the sparkly fluff looks like a pretty yarn with metallic threads running through it.  I would love to have a hat and scarf like that :)

Well, I am off to finish my wrapping and do a little baking.  Wishing you a safe and happy holiday season.



Monday, December 19, 2011

simple snowflake ornaments

Hello!  Well as we come down to the wire on getting all of our Christmas shopping and prep done be sure to take a moment for yourself and enjoy in the wonder of the season.

Today I am sharing some very quick and easy snowflake ornaments that I made one afternoon while I was hanging out in the studio.  

 These started out with some plain wooden snowflake ornaments that I picked up awhile back.  I wish I had taken a picture of the naked ornaments, but I didn't.  Bummeroli!


For the silver ornament I just applied a layer of Tombow Mono Aqua Adhesive and then sprinkled with some White Gala Glitz. I set it aside to dry and then repeated the same process on the reverse side.   For the turquoise snowflake I simply colored the wooden ornament with a Turquoise Tombow Dual Brush Pen and then added the Mono Aqua Adhesive and some Silver Gala Glitz.  If you are unfamiliar with Gala Glitz it is a beautiful mix of vintage glass glitter shards with teeny silver, pearl and clear balls. Need some?  You can get it here.   These ornaments are so sparkly and pretty in person, I can't wait to add them to my tree!





Friday, December 16, 2011

Vintage Gift Card Holder

This week on the Tombow blog we were giving the task of creating something with the theme of "Gifts that keep on Giving"  It took me a bit to think about what I wanted to create, but then it hit me.  I give gift cards to several people in my family and those are definitely gifts that keep on giving so I decided to create a little gift card holder with a vintage feel to it.  


 I used papers from the Melissa Frances Deck the Halls 6 x 6 paper pad and some ivory cardstock to create this quick and easy gift card holder.  I started with a 4" x 6 1/2" piece of ivory cardstock.  With the long side at the top score at 2 3/4" and 5"  Fold on score lines.  Add Tombow MonoAdhesive Dots to the left and right sides on the 1 1/2" flap and fold up to create the pocket for your gift card.  I used more MonoAdhesive Dots to attach the print papers to the outside/inside flaps of the holder.  I stamped the sentiment from Northwoods onto a small oval with Cranberry Adirondack ink and then punched out some branches from a MS punch and the leaves from the Spellbinders Foliage die set.  I used a Tombow Foam Tab on the back of the oval to hold the branches in place and to create height for my sentiment.  

This would be a quick and easy project that could be decorated for any holiday or celebration.  The possibilities are endless!


OCL Sneak Peek - Boo Boo

Hi there!  Today I am sharing with you a sneak peek of one of the new stamp sets being released from Our Craft Lounge.  This set is called Boo Boo and will be perfect for making a quick card for someone with an injury.  So without further ado, I introduce you to the Boo Boo's.  Aren't they the cutest couple?

How would you like to win some new stamps?  Stop by each of the blogs today and tomorrow and leave some love, you never know you might be one of four lucky winners to get your hands on some of these awesome stamps.  Don't forget to stop by the OCL Facebook page and comment there as well.

The blog candy will end on Friday, December 16th at MIDNIGHT Pacific time/3am Eastern.

 Winners will be announced on Sunday or Monday on the OCL Blog and the OCL FB page.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Twisted Thursday Holiday Gatefold

Good Morning! 
 I am back today to share my card for the Twisted Thursday challenge on the Outlawz Challenge Group.  This week we are creating Gate Fold cards using holiday colors. 


 I was thrilled with this challenge because I hadn't made a gate fold card in quite awhile so I had to put my thinking cap on.  I am really happy with how this card turned out.  Closed, this card is 5 1/2" square so I had quite a bit of room to work with.  I started with this amazing Pinecone Globe image from Memory Box and layered it to a red embossed square, some Jillibean Soup Christmas Eve Soup paper and then to a pretty Wild Asparagus Fleur de lis square die cut.  I added a wee bit of coloring to the image with some Copic markers and then topped everything off with some glitter.  


The sentiment is from Hero Arts and is actually one long clear stamp that I cut apart so that it would fit into the circle.  

We would love to have you join us this week, you can check out the challenge here.

OCL Sneak Peek - Every Heart Beat

Hi there!  Today I am sharing with you a sneak peek of one of the new stamp sets being released from Our Craft Lounge.  This set is called Every Heart Beat and you won't believe how many ways you will be able to use it to make cards for all of the guys and gals on your list.


How would you like to win some new stamps?  Stop by each of the blogs today and tomorrow and leave some love, you never know you might be one of four lucky winners to get your hands on some of these awesome stamps.  Don't forget to stop by the OCL Facebook page and comment there as well.

The blog candy will end on Friday, December 16th at MIDNIGHT Pacific time/3am Eastern.

 Winners will be announced on Sunday or Monday on the OCL Blog and the OCL FB page.

Gotta have 'em right now, click HERE to start shopping!

Here is a list of all of the AWESOME blogs that you check out!  

Melissa Cash  {you are here}


Friday, December 9, 2011

CSS Blog Hop

Hi there, I am so happy that you have decided to join me and some of my pals from the Gina K. Designs CSS Alumni Design Team as we take you on a journey through our Treasure Chest.

Tonight we have dug into the treasure chest looking for lots of wonderful Holiday Treat Holders using either a Christmas or New Year's theme.  We hope you will find some great ideas for creating sweet little gifts for the special people in your life.

You should have arrived at my blog from Tera's blog, but if you didn't you can go back to StampTV and start from the beginning.  



My little treat holders are fast and easy to make.  I started with a 6" x 8" piece of print cardstock and folded it in half to create a 3" x 4" pouch.  Add strong adhesive (I used Scor-tape) to the bottom (3") and the side (4").  You should have a pouch with a 3" opening at the top.  I used stamps from the GKD Winter Mittens set to create the decorative piece on the front of each pouch.  Embellish with your favorite ribbons and trims. 
 See, I told you they were fast and easy! =)

Make sure to leave a comment as you hop along because on Tuesday morning (December 13), we will randomly choose one of the comments from all the blogs and that person will receive a huge grab bag of fabulous Gina K. Designs Stamps! 
 Free stamps = Christmas Happiness!

While I am thrilled that you stopped by for a visit, I am going to send you on your way to Lori's blog so that you can check out her amazing creation.

Granola Gift

This week the DT Coordinator at Tombow gave us the challenge to create "recipe cards as gifts".  

I decided to get some of my Christmas Granola made and ready to go.  I created the recipe card in Word and then printed it and stamped it with the Spring Branch stamp from Memory Box.  I used Tombow's Permanent Stamp Runner to adhere the recipe card to several layers of cardstock creating a card that can be used over and over.  The recipe is listed below.


I use a ton of candles in my house and this jar is a recycled candle jar.  Don't worry, it has been washed many times and the smell is completely gone. :)

I stamped the sentiment and frame for the sentiment from the Winter Mittens set from Gina K. Designs and cut it out with a Spellbinders Fancy Tags die.  I used more of the Tombow Permanent Stamp Runner to attach the trim to the red cardstock wrap and then I used Tombow's Power Tabs to attach the tag to the front of the jar and to hold the twine in place.  

Here is the granola recipe, it is fast and easy and can be adapted to add whatever goodies you like.


Granola

4 C old fashioned oats
11/2 C sliced almonds
½ C packed light brown sugar
½ t salt
½ t cinnamon
¼ C vegetable oil
¼ C honey
1 t vanilla
11/2 C raisins or dried cranberries
optional:  1 C chocolate chips-add after granola has completely cooled

Preheat oven to 300.  In a bowl mix the oats, almonds, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon.  In a saucepan warm the oil and honey.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour liquid over oat mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon.
Spread granola in a baking pan.  Bake for 40 minutes , stirring carefully every 10 minutes.  Cool completely.  Seal in airtight container or zip lock bag.  Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.  Makes 6 cups.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Twisted Thursday Ornament

Hi there and happy Thursday to you all!  

This week on the Outlawz Challenge group the Twisted Thursday Challenge is to create an ornament or a card/project with an ornament on it.  


It had been quite awhile since I had made one of these glass ornaments so I pulled out the supplies and got to work.  I filled the ornament with a thin clear drying adhesive and then added some Polished Pigments (remember those?) and glitter.  While the ornament was drying I stamped/embossed the Poinsettia Topper from Outlines in gold ink/ep onto some red cardstock and then did the same for the leaves onto some green cardstock and then cut them out.  Before adding the poinsettia topper, I attached little pieces of green ribbon that had been adorned with a red rhinestone to the top of the ornament with glue dots.  Add the topper and a ribbon and you are done.  These are fun to make in all colors.  Great for gift giving too!

We would love to have you join us this week over at the Outlawz Challenge group.  Did you know you could have a chance to win a fabulous prize just for playing along?

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Golden Happiness

Happy Tuesday!  Well, I may not have my Christmas tree up yet, but I do have a couple of pretty golden ornaments to share with you.
This week the Outlawz Paper a la Mode challenge is to create a Christmas ornament or a card/project with an ornament on it.

I had these pretty ornament stamps from Hero Arts Decorate Your Holidays set that I wanted to use.  I decided to create a simple,but elegant card by going with a base of white with just a touch of texture.  I stamped/embossed the sentiment with Versamark ink and gold powder and then created a border above and below with my Scor-It.  In the space above and below the sentiment I embossed with the Textile Texture CB folder.  The ornament were stamped/embossed in the same manner and attached to the card with some Tombow Foam Tabs and then I added a little big of gold cording and some bows.  To finish off the card, I added some hot pink rhinestones.  Ya gotta love the bling!

Gotta run, have a lot on my plate this week. Hopefully, I will even get that tree up!

Recipe:
Stamps:  Decorate Your Holidays-Hero Arts
Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink:  Versamark
Extras:  Pink Rhinestones, Gold EP, Gold cording, Textile Texture CB EF

Friday, December 2, 2011

Gotta Kiss?

Happy Friday! 

As we near Christmas I will share with you some little gifties that you can make to give to those who you want to know that you are thinking of them during the holidays.  Perhaps it is a coworker, or maybe your favorite UPS/Mailperson.  

 Today I am sharing one of the ever popular decorated test tubes and holder with you. I found the instructions here.


I used pretty papers from SEI to decorate some American Crafts cardstock.  The sentiment is from Inky Antics.  I used dies and punches to create the snowflakes.  I used my Tombow Mono Adhesive Dots to attach the print cardstock to the solid and on the glue tabs to hold the bottom of the holder closed.  I used Tombow Foam Tabs to add dimension between the layers of the snowflakes and to attach the snowflake to the front of the holder and the top of the tube.  

I wish you all a happy weekend!  

Thursday, December 1, 2011

All Wrapped Up

Ha! I bet you thought you were going to see a bunch of gifts all wrapped up nice and pretty...nope!

Today the Outlawz Twisted Thursday challenge is called "All Wrapped Up".  We were to design a card or project using the following items:

Bright colored Christmas papers, a tag and a ribbon or bow.

This is what I came up with:
Isn't he cute?  
I embossed this little cutie with black detail embossing powder onto 140# cold press watercolor paper (I use Canson) and then water colored the image with Tombow Dual Brush Markers and a Niji waterbrush.  If you have never used a waterbrush, they are a wonderful little tool.  I get mine here.  My layout inspiration was from this weeks Sweet Sunday Sketch #145 challenge.

We would love it if you would play along with us this week.  You can find all of the details here.

Recipe:
Stamps:  Snowman-Printworks, Merry Christmas-SU
Paper:  Prints-MME Be Merry 6 x 6, Pink-GKD, Seaglass Notecard-Memory Box, White-Neenah, Watercolor Paper-Canson
Ink:  Versamark, Memento Tuxedo Black
Extras:  Black EP, Glossy Accents (on carrot and hearts), ribbon
Tools: Tombow Markers (371, 451, 491, 761,847, 933), Nesties Fleur De Lis Squares dies, Cuttlebug, 1" square punch (to create tail on tag)


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