I Smell Something!!!! Weekend Project

This is one of those projects you need to have a little bit of machinery to play with. Click on the photo to view it closer.

Here is what you need to make these:

Stampin' Up! "Fun Pun" set (skunk)
Black Staz-0n ink
Band saw or scroll saw
Brads
White Gel Pen
Colored marker for flower
Aromatic Cedar board
Dril with a small bit
Hemp
Old scissors or wire cutters
Crystal Effects

I took the piece of cedar board and stamped the skunk on it. Then I lightly drew a line around it so I could have a guide for sawing. I was making several of these so after I made the first one I traced the cut out on onto a piece of acetate and cut it out with a scissors. Then after I stamped each one I just set the acetate in place and traced around it. It made the tracing part go quicker and all the pieces are cut pretty close to the exact same size. I say pretty close because cutting on a band saw (when I cut anyway) nothing is ever exactly the same. It its close enough though!!!

After I got done cutting them out I took a file and sanded the edges on the back side. They are always rough from the band saw blades. Then I drilled a hole in each one on the top just above the skunks head.

Then I took a marker and colored in the flower. The marker soaked into the wood nicely and there wasn't any need to spray on a fixative. Not that would have wanted to do that. I think it would seal in that side and it wouldn't smell like cedar anymore!!!

I took the brad and cut off the prongs. I added a dot of Crystal Effects and pushed the prong into the wood. There is a bit of prong left and that is the part that gets pressed into the wood. It lays nicely after you press it into the wood.

I then took the white gel pen and colored in the three area on the skunk, the top of the head, the back and the tail. The gel seems to dry almost instantly.

I took a piece of hemp and threaded it through the hole and tied a knot. It's now ready for a drawer or for hanging.

Isn't this little stinker just adorable???

If you don't have access to a band saw or scroll saw you can get little squares of aromatic cedar and stamp on them. You don't need an electric drill to make the holes either. There are hand drills out there that work just fine. I had gotten one at a craft and hobby store several years back and it was just under $10. And it came with drill bits. They are standard bits too so you can pick them up anywhere they sell drill bits!!! How convenient is that???

These little stinkers make great gifts!!! I LOVE the smell of cedar in my closets!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Fall Trees!

I just love the colors of the trees in the fall. Here in Minnesota where I live the trees are all done changing colors and in our very own yard the trees have lost all of their leave (finally). Boy did that rake get a workout this year!!! My favorite tree in the yard is the black walnut one. It starts losing it's leaves in September and they are small enough that they just blow away!! I LOVE that tree!!! And I don't feel guilty about the leaves blowing away into other people's yards, I have no control over that. But somehow it's some type of natures' "fair " exchange. We get some Jurassic Park leaves in our yard. I have no idea who has a tree with leaves that big!

Anyway on to my card. I wanted to make a fall card using the Stampin' Up! "Season of Friendship" set.

For this card I used Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard and Close to Cocoa inks. I randomly stamped them in the trees and on the ground. The little pumpkin is from the "Holiday Blitz" set. I just love that set, it's SO versatile. I used a left over oval I had done from the candies in my post from yesterday. I set it up on Dimensionals to give it some depth. And I just layered it on top of a piece of Old Olive card stock. Just simple, no fancy folds, buttons, bows or other embellishments. My goal was to have the card carry itself with the colors alone. It's a perfect card for the times you have limited supplies!!!

I'm also including on this post a picture I took of some trees from the top of Enger Tower in Duluth, Minnesota. This was taken in the first week of October. We were told the trees had already peaked up there. We didn't think so. Isn't it beautiful??? I would love to live there in the fall among the beautiful colors. And spring and summer wouldn't be too bad either because of the cool air lake effect. Not many have air conditioners up there. But winter. Now don't get me wrong. I LOVE winter I just don't think I would love it up there driving on all those hills!!! I bet to be an owner of a break shop would be the ideal business to have up there!!! LOL

I was wondering if it is too early to do Christmas "stuff?" But then I'm thinking that it might now be. If some of you want to make things for gifts for friends, family, teachers, etc. you would want to get started on them soon and you'd want to get the supplies while they are still in the stores, right?? That is how I was thinking about that issue. SO you might want to prepare yourself for some Christmas gift giving ideas that will be coming.

This item was made using Stampin' Up! products. To view more items made using Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Thanksgiving Gifts Weekend Project

I have had this little project tucked away for a long time now and after seeing the Caramel Hershey Kisses I thought it was a good time to give it a try. I found it at Laurie's blog "Clearly Delightful" way back in the beginning of September. Nothing like getting to things right away!!! LOL Ummm, I was waiting for the right project??? Chocolate was hard to find!!! LOL You buying any of this??? LOL How about, just TOO much stuff going on and too many projects to do?? That is more like it. But at least I got to it before the end of the year!!!

If you check out the link above you will find the easy to follow instructions for these boxes. I made mine for my Stamper's 10 Club members for this month! I did purchase the boxes and I have some left too. You will be able to find them in my store as soon as the webmaster gives me the link. That should be within 24 hours. They are 3 for $1.50 plus 60 cents postage. Click on the photo for a closer view.

I did the wording on the computer and used the Stampin' Up! oval punches. I attached them directly to the box using Dimentionals. Then I tied on the ribbon and formed a bow. Simple as that!!! Oh and I did turn my candies on the side instead of stacked on top of each other. The scored strip doesn't matter which way you put the candies in. I liked that!!!

If you go to Debbie's Stampin' Haven she has a Hershey Kiss Treat Box pattern and instructions that could be used for this project. It holds 5 kisses so you would have to adjust the acetate you insert from 7" to 11", scoring just under an inch for each score. Fold the same as or the one that holds 3 but keep going for the additional scores. You'll know how to fold it by looking at her folded one. You can use acetate to make the one at Debbie's so you can still see the candies. It isn't always necessary to purchase things when you can make it yourself!!! Though the purchased ones are nice because they save a lot of cutting time!!! And they take less candy!!! LOL

These were fun to make but all that scoring got a bit boring. So I would make one at a time so it didn't seem so bad. Once you get them folded, put the candy in and then look at it you think it's SO cute that you are ready to score another strip! Now I did 10 of them and before I started it I thought it would be a fun thing for a craft fair but I'm not a big fan of scoring and especially strips so I decided I was only going to do these 10 and that is why I have the rest of my boxes for sale!!!! I know, what a wimp!!! LOL

These make great gifts for teachers and can be used for almost any holiday!!! It all depends on how you decorate it!!!

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

"Family" Frame

I had several people ask me where I got the frame on my wall. It's such a fun frame, isn't it?

I got it through LTD Commodities last year. But I just checked and if you click on that link it will take you directly to that page it's on. It was only $20!!!! Shocker, huh? I signed up with this company under my business name. I'm not sure if they are still business orientated yet or not. You'll have to check. I do remember that someone at our church would use the church as their place of business (name and address) so they could get the catalog. I authorized my sisters to be purchasers and when the order the boxes come to me because it's my business. Catalogs will come in the mail (to my house) but in their names. You'll have to check if they sell to the public or if it's just to businesses.

This frame is kind of weird though, it actually folds in half!!! The pictures go on the metal using some type of magnetic ball clasps on the back. You can have the frames go in any direction too, which is very nice because not all photos are horizontal or all vertical. It was fun putting the photos in the frames and one of these days I may even mat the photos!!! I just put them in the frames so I wouldn't misplace them or they wouldn't get damaged.

It was fun finding all the photos to put in the frame too. It takes FOREVER though. It's not like you pick out some photos and put them in the frames. NO, you have to look though ALL of them and take that proverbial trip down memory lane every time you open the photo container up. LOL But it's so worth it.

For those of you who want a frame like this I hope you are able to purchase them. I really do like mine.

Thanks for asking!
Wanda

Blog Candy Winner!!!

I forgot to do the blog candy drawing. It's going on 1:30 in the am and it just dawned on me!!!

I really enjoyed reading all the stories of Halloween costumes. Some were scary and some were pretty funny!!! It's just a fun time for the kids (and some adults too!!!). It was a very nice Halloween here in our neighborhood. 100 + kids at our door and there was not one pumpkin smashed in our street this year. I thought that was very responsible of the trick or treaters.

Ok on with the treat!!! The blog candy winner is:

SherryBee and here is her comment:

What a fun idea you have and congratulations on starting your 3rd year of blogging! I love seeing what you share with us! Thanks!The most memorabe costume for me, was the year my younger brother dressed up as a baby! HA! HA! He was about 38! Oh brother!!!

Congratulations SherryBee please email me with your snail mail address and I will get the package out in the mail to you soon. If you do not get a reply back from me within 2 days please leave a comment on my blog (I won't publish it). It could mean that the email went into spam and was deleted.

Thank you all for playing along. There will be more blog candy coming. I am about 1/3 of the way done with my Christmas cards. I had said that if I get them finished before Thanksgiving I was going to celebrate with more blog candy. And there is still more blog candy to come because my blog is nearing 600,000 hits!!! How's that for impressive???? I know I'm impressed!!! LOL

Thanks again for playing,
Wanda

Emerging Color Technique Page

I know, I know. I need to get on the ball with these technique pages. Many of you are waiting anxiously for them!!! I have been working on them but Halloween got in the way!!! SO here is my first one for this month. This is number 11 in the pack of 20. I'm getting there. I'm hoping to post two or three a week so I can get them done for you in time for Christmas in the event they may be for gifts!!!

Stamp small images on card stock using various colors. Using a larger solid stamp ink it up with the VersaMark pad. Pour embossing powder over the card stock, tap off excess. Heat to set. Ink up your brayer with the darkest color and roll it over the entire piece. Keep rolling until you are satisfied with the color. Wipe excess ink off with paper towel. Use as a background or background components.

Another fun technique for you to play with. I have not used this one in a card yet but it is on my list of things to play with when the right set comes along!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Decor Elements Projects!!!

I got brave and played with my Decor Elements.

First I put the "Family" words above a grouping of family photos. Funny how it just seemed appropriate to have it there!!!! LOL

I REALLY like it. I did have to cut off over 3" from the top and from the bottom before I put it up on the wall. There wasn't a lot of room between the wall and the ceiling and I didn't want the words to go on the wall crooked because the ceiling got in the way!!! Plus I thought all that excess would show up on the wall. Well, there was still excess on either edge and it does NOT show up on the wall. It just disapperared like magic!!! When I got off the ladder I stepped back and was in awe. I just LOVE it. And get this DH really liked it too.

Then I must have been feeling lucky so I moved on to my workroom to work on the "Season of Blessings" frame. Now this didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. I was hovering over the frame trying to get the wording on there straight and the next thing I knew the words were stuck to the glass. And I mean stuck. I thought I could lift the paper up but the smaller words started coming off so I knew I was stuck. All I could do was affix them and hope for the best. And *insert heavy sigh here* it's crooked. I am toying with the idea of removing it and purchasing a new one.

Sue suggested I put a leaf in the upper left corner to bring the eye back that way and the words wouldn't look so crooked. I tried that and I had crooked words on a frame with a leaf in the corner!!! LOL The leaf fell off, landed on the floor and one of the cats claimed it as their new toy!!!

All in all it was a fun experience though I do have to say I liked putting the one on the wall much better than on the glass. I am now considering some of the other wall decor elements for my home. What a fun and easy way to decorate your home!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A BIG Oops!!

As I was reading through all the comments for the blog candy I always delete the duplicates. Duplicates just happen, I know I've done that myself and I just delete them. Well, here's what happened. When I deleted them I didn't pay attention and I had checked the boxes of the ones I had already read and when I hit delete they were deleted too.

SO if you don't see your comment on the blog candy post please repost or email me and I will forward you what you wrote so you don't have to type it all again.

Could it be the stuffed head from this cold thing I just caught a couple of days ago?? I rarely catch anything. And my voice, well ..... I don't have much of one and I'm sure DH is enjoying that but would NEVER say!! LOL

I am SO sorry about the error.

Wanda

WOW!!!! A Blogoversary!!! It's Blog Candy Time!

I can't believe it!!! I have been blogging for 2 years now. Where has the time gone???

To celebrate me starting my 3rd year of blogging I am going to offer you some fun Blog Candy. And as usual (for those of you who have won blog candy from me before) I add more things to the package as the days pass!! I never reveal on the blog what I give out other than the original candy. Some things are just best left as a surprise, don't you agree?

Now nothing in life is free and that includes blog candy from me. SO what will I ask of you??? Since Halloween has just past tell me what was the cutest or most memorable costume you've ever seen. Not just this past Halloween but any Halloween.

Many years ago we were caretakers in our apartment building. It was a security building so the caretakers had to be in the entry way giving out the candy. The residents were asked to bring their candy down to our apartment and we brought it to the entry and sat there on candy duty. Now the kids that came to our building were lucky. I had 3 grocery bags FULL of candy that had been removed from the big bags they were purchased in. I filled a large bowl and when kids came I told them to just help themselves. And I made sure they took at least one handful and I encouraged them to take more! Lucky kids, huh??? My hubby was out of town that night so I had to have our son in the entry with me. He was three years old. All of a sudden he was trying to get behind me. His arms were around my neck and he was choking me while pulling me backwards and he was crying. I looked outside and there was a limo in the street. Then I saw what our son saw. It was a gorilla in the bushes!!! He saw how scared our son was and decided not to come up the steps. I went to the door and he asked me to buzz the person he was there to pick up. His costume was SO real looking, he did a great job with the "gorilla walk" too. And hiding in the bushes was pretty scary for our son. I wonder how he feels now about gorillas??? LOL

Ok, tell me on this post only your costume story!!! You will be entered in the drawing to be held on Saturday evening November 8th.

The two large sets are clear stamps by Scrapy Cat and the smaller one is by Studio G. There's LOTS of hours of fun with these stamps plus the other fun items I include in the package!!!

Good luck to you,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers

I was SO totally out of it last night. I was doing some work on the computer and printing away and the next thing I know an email came in. SO of course I had to go check it out. It was the Wednesday Sketch Challenge!!! I had mixed emotions about it coming in. That meant it was getting late in the evening (after 11 pm) and I wasn't done with my work yet. Plus I wanted to play with the sketch.

SOOOO I decided to finish up my computer work and then play with the sketch. It must have been the thought of having fun with the sketch that kept me going because it was after 3 when I finally left my workroom!!!

For my card I used the Stampin' Up! "A Cardinal Christmas" stamp. I thought it was fun to be able to play with a brand new set. It was SO brand new that I hadn't even put it together yet!!!! I SO love these cardinals.

I wanted to keep an even balance of red throughout the card so I thought I would add a big red bow to the top. Plus I wanted to add some red to the bottom. I first tried a piece of Real Red card stock but it just didn't look right. I had already decided I was going to use the snowflake paper from the new "Ski Slope" designer paper. It's SO pretty. And that bottom part happened by accident. The snowflake paper had turned over and upon gazing at it I realized that it had just the amount of red in it to keep your eye moving around the card.

To do the cardinal I stamped the image on glossy white card stock using black Staz on. I actually used markers to color in the bird and branches. I took a marker and a blender pen and colored in around the bird and as I got further away from the bird I sponged on the color.

As I was sponging I touched the bird and got red ink on my finger and didn't notice it until I got it on the right side of the bird. UGH!!! I wasn't able to cover it up or get it to blend or even disappear! So it's stuck there. I did use some hair spray to set the color in place. I just sprayed it on lightly and let it dry. Once it was dry then I was able to touch it all I wanted and I was finally able to put the card together.

This was another fun layout from SplitCoastStampers. If you have time I highly recommend you head on over there and play!!!

Thank you SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

A Season of Friendship Frame Weekend Project

I got this fun frame at (where else??) Wal-Mart!! It was only $2.00. The price was not bad either!!! That way if I screwed it up I wouldn't be out much!!!

The set is "Season of Friendship" from Stampin' Up! I saw a couple of these on the net and I thought I would give one a try. I LOVE it that I was able to use almost all of the stamps in the set.

In the fall one the pumpkin is from the Stampin' Up! "Holiday Blitz" set. I just HAD to add it!! Isn't it just adorable on there???

This frame set was fun to make. I just stamped away. The birds were all stamped on white card stock, cut out and taped in place on each season.

The paper layers at the bottom were torn and taped in place and the winter one had glitter added to it. If you click on the photo you might be able to see it better.

These were VERY fun to make and it's something you can put up on your wall that will last through each season change!!!

Be sure to email me the photo of yours and I will post it here!!! We all would LOVE to see it.

This item was made using Stampin' Up! products. To view more items made using Stampin' Up! products click here.

Thanks SO much for stopping by,
Wanda

Our 2008 Christmas Card

Well, here is what I came up with for our Christmas card this year. I am such a snowman lover and each year I make a snowman card as our Christmas card. I wanted to use the photo of the snowman Kevin and I made last March but I didn't get enough (free) copies made so I may use it next year.

For our card I used the Stampin' Up! "Holiday Lineup" set. Those snowmen are just TOO darn cute, aren't they? And I still need to play with the other two stamps in the set. The elves are adorable as well as the reindeer. Though I did use the reindeer when I made my "spotlight" technique card! But the elves are still on hold. I'll work on a card in a week or so with them! I promise!!!

I wanted our card to be clean and simple looking. I didn't want any ribbons, bows, brads or buttons on it. I didn't want to pay the extra 17 cents surcharge per card. That would be an additional $17+ to mail out our cards. Not that the friends and family aren't worth it but I really didn't want to spend over $50 to mail out Christmas cards. WOW, it's so expensive but very worth it.

I colored my snowmen in with markers. I liked making these, even though I had over 100 to make. Using markers without any blender pens or aqua painters made the task a much easier one. Coloring directly from the marker allowed me to make these images more portable. I took them with me several times so I could color in a limited space.

I did run the white card stock through the Cuttlebug snowflake folder. I wanted snowflakes on the background but I didn't want to heat emboss. I could run two pieces of card stock through the Cuttlebug at a time. That saved a bit of time.

I used the 1-1/4" circle punch for the words of which I printed out on the computer. The 1-3/8" punch for the Almost Amethyst circle and the Ballet Blue piece was done using the scallop punch. It's simple but it works!!

How are your Christmas cards coming along??? Mine are not done yet but I will be sure to let you know when they are. It's such a GREAT feeling to have them all done and an even better feeling when they are done before Thanksgiving!!! That would be nice if I could get them done before then. If I do I will have to celebrate with some Blog Candy!!! I was putting them together as I was giving out candy to the adorable Trick or Treaters! There's not much else I can do because every 3 seconds the door bell would ring!!! LOL Our doorbell got quite the workout! I did get a couple components to the card done but that was it. This weekend is looking promising so I may be able to get them done then! I REALLY REALLY REALLY want them done before Thanksgiving!!! I'm just down to taping them all together so it does look like I should be done before then!!! Keep your fingers crossed!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for stopping by today,
Wanda

My ASK Frames

As I said I was working on two ASK frames for my sister-in-law's birthdays. I also made one more for my mom to give to a friend of hers for Christmas. I used the Stampin' Up! Parisian Summer decorative paper on the background. Perfect Plum and Pale Plum card stock was used for layering. I thought those colors went well with the decorative papers. The square brads are from Making Memories. They were the only ones I could find that went well enough with the color scheme. I think they go nicely with it.

This frame has such a warm look to it with these colors, don't you think so??

Thanks SO much for checking in,
Wanda

Sharing What They Make!

The Thanksgiving card was made by Sue C. using the "Paper Napkin Transfer" technique I showed last week. Isn't it pretty. I LOVE the rich look of this card. I will never look at napkins the same way again!!! LOL

You can view her card here at SplitCoastStampers. She did such a fabulous job on this technique!!!

But wait, there's more sharing. Last week I taught the ASK Frame class and I photos of some of the frames that were done. And now I'm going to share them with you. To see the original "Frame" post, click here.

This one was done by Liz. I like how she used the swirl stamp from the Stampin' Up! "Priceless" set in the bottom corners of each letter piece. Isn't it pretty?

The next one is the one that Sue A. did. She used one of the images from the Stampin' Up! "Pocket Silhoutettes" set on the bottom corners of her letter pieces. I like the colors of this one too. That decorative paper happens to be my favorite paper this fall. I've ordered several packages of it!!

And then there's Sue L. I LOVE how she used the new Bella Rosa paper, isn't it pretty? Don't you love how rich it looks?? And she used the small flower from the Stampin' Up! "Flower Fancy" set. Don't you just LOVE it???


Now as for mine, well....... they are not quite finished yet. I have them about half done and I'm hoping to find some time later tonight to finish them up. I need them for my sister-in-law's birthday's next Sunday. They are identical twins so I can make them identical gifts!!! Oh and I have to make cards too. I almost forgot about that. I guess I'll be staying up later than I thought!!! LOL

Aren't these frames fun???

I hope you have time to make one for yourself or for gifts this holiday season.

Thank you all for sharing your work with me. I just LOVE it!!
Wanda