Simple Friendship Shoebox Swap Card

This is the card that Cyndi made for are Sunday Shoebox Swap. She said she took it directly from Andrea Walford's website. I think it is such a stunning card. It was very fun and easy to make too! Of course I can say that because I didn't have to cut all the card stock and decorative paper for it either. Gotta LOVE Shoebox Swaps for that alone, plus all the fun cards you get to take home with you!

I LOVE the colors of this card and the elegant all round beauty of it. Isn't it funny how you see decorative paper in a package and you think it's just ok but when you see it used on a card or scrapbook page is becomes STUNNING and something you HAVE to have!!!

This card was made using the Stampin' Up! "Simple Friendship" set. I don't have this set. I do believe it's going to be going on my ever expanding wish list!!!

This card is a very versatile one too. You can change that circle from friend to make a get well card, birthday card, thinking of you card, sympathy card and even a wedding card. And you know how much I LOVE versatility in a stamp set!!!

Good job on blog surfing Cyndi, I LOVE this card!!!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Snowman Notebooks! Weekend Project

I have SO many things to share with you that I don't know where to begin. I think I will post another notebook project. I started these snowmen a LONG time ago. Yes, WAY back when the Stampin' Up! set "Tags & More" was still a current set!!! I did hang onto this set because I continue to use that snowman from the set. He's just SO cute and he's the perfect size for my 2-1/2" x 2-1/2" notebooks I make. And a little note on my notebooks. I make them myself using a paper cutter, some copier paper, card stock, plastic coils and the RubiCoil punch machine. My machine is sort of broken at the moment. A while ago a spring sprung on it and the handle no longer flings back so the punch pins tend to stay down and if you don't make sure they are up it will either not punch your paper at all or it catches the edges and makes it look just awful!!! I did tilt the machine back and I try to remember to push the handle away from me before I punch and it's been a bit easier to work with. I did order the parts I needed. They should be arriving sometime this week. Great deal, just hope I can figure out how to put them on!!! And I was told that when you replace one you replace the other one too!!! Ok, just hope I know how to put them on!!! I'm REALLY hoping that the second one is still intact, though if it were wouldn't you think the handle would fling back somewhat???

Anyway, back to these notebooks. These actually started out as an adornment for Hershey Bar wrappers. I made one here using a Santa theme. I'm surprised I didn't have any on my blog!! They were pretty cute. And as I was cleaning up in my workroom and den (stuff has spewed into that room too!) I found these unfinished pieces SO I took the snowman parts and the brown layer and thought I would just make notebooks with them. I found some paper with these that were already punched. I think my plan there was to make notebooks with them after all!!!

I am in the process of printing out my cookbooks for an upcoming craft fair and in the meantime I'm digging through the piles of "stuff" have sitting around. SO while the cookbooks are printing I found these and finished the notebooks. They seemed more fun this time around!! Why is that? Do you think it's because I know that they are now completed and out of my "messy" area?"

Oh and laundry is going at the same time. More than "multitasking" if you ask me! Plus typing on the computer entering this post on my blog!!! It will be SO nice to get these things all done and be organized once again!!! Hope that is completed by the end of September!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

The card stock used here is Bashful Blue, Whisper White, and Chocolate Chip. I used markers to color in the snowman and I remember cutting them out by hand!!! No punches for them!! And the snow layer was made by tearing the card stock and setting a piece of foam tape behind it to give it dimension. I do remember making these and I do remember how cute I thought it was. I should give this a try with a current catalog snowman!!

These are great for Hostess gifts, Customer Appreciation gifts, Make n Takes and Craft Fairs. When I put these in craft fairs I wrap them up in a clear cellophane and tape it shut. It gives it a more professional look and they always sell out!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Intimidated by a Card!

Ever been intimidated by a card? This one sure intimidated me!!! This is the card that Autumn designed for the Sunday Shoebox Swap. I took one look at it and my first thought was "I don't even know where to begin. It sure threw me. It wasn't a "regular"or "normal" card and i was surely stamping out of my element tackling something like this. Fortunately Autumn wa standing next to me when I sat down. Perhaps she saw the "deer in headlights" look I had on my face and took mercy on me!!! LOL

She guided me through it and it wasn't so bad after all!!! I don't know what this card is called and I don't have the measurements for the bottom part. Autumn had everything all cut and scored and the slit in the top where the card slides in. Actually it doesn't slide in, it's taped in place. The box is folded up in half and it forms a standard size greeting card. The kind I'm use to seeing!!!

I stamped the image which came from the Stampin' Up! Hostess set "Kind & Caring Thoughts." I LOVE this set!!!

The butterfly was made using the new butterfly punch!!! It was folded in half and when you close the card up to mail it you fold the butterfly shut so it all fits in the card! Isn't it just an adorable card? I feel SO fortunate to be surrounded by such talented gals!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

On a Pedestal Birthday Card

This is a card that Angie designed for the Shoebox swap that was a couple of weeks ago. It seems like it was SO long ago now. Hmmm, that must mean I've been VERY busy!!! Oh and I have. I have lots of new things to show you as the days go by here!!! I even designed a new bracelet and I'm hoping to have some for sale in a few weeks. Just in time for Christmas!!! I seem to have my hands in too many projects lately. One HUGE project is getting my workroom in order. That is a nightmare in the making!!! The room became so cluttered with "stuff" and it's still overwhelming to me to tackle certain areas. But I'm plugging along and it's slowly coming together. I just ordered my counter top today for the 7 foot long row of cubes I have. It will be nice to have a smooth work surface!! SO the down side of that is I need to get it all cleaned up in 10 days!!! I shall prevail!!! LOL

Ok, onto Angie's FABULOUS card. This is from the Stampin' Up! set "On a Pedestal." I don't have this set but after looking at it and playing with it I may have to put it on my ever growing wish list!!! I say ever growing because of the new mini catalog. Have you had a chance to see that yet??? OUCH!!! There's hardly anything in it that I don't want!!! LOL

This card was a very fun one to make. And my card actually looks like the one on display!!! Amazing, huh??? LOL I really did enjoy making this card. And don't you just LOVE the new "in" colors?? I'm having a lot of fun with them. Oh and the matching polka dot ribbons!!!

I'm off to sort through some stuff and clean off a worktable so I can create something fun tonight!

Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Note to Self Altered Notebooks Weekend Project

I ran across some cut and punched copier paper and thought I should make notebooks with them. Well, that was the intention when I had cut and punched the paper a LONG time ago. It's amazing what you find when you start cleaning up "stuff." My workroom is such a mess and I've been digging and cleaning and finding little treasures here and there and junk almost everywhere else!!! Some things I wonder why I kept and other things I wonder where I'm going to stuff it to work on them sometime in the future!!! But isn't that how it got to the place it was at when I recently found it??? LOL

Anyway, these little notebooks were fun to finish off. Maybe I kept them so long because I was waiting for a set like this to come along!!! Yup, that must be it!!

I used Bashful Blue and white card stock. I used the Stampin' Up! "Lots of Tags" die. This die is the one I've used the most from that set. I used the "Trio Flowers" punch, the "Wide Oval" punch and the "Note to Self" stamp set. I bought this set because of the "notes" stamp. And I do like that background image from it too!! I'm sure the other 3 items in it will grow on me. This will be one set I will be keeping for a long while because of the word "notes!"

I added a yellow brad to the center of the flower and put it all together. This layout can be done with many store bought notebooks too!!! It's a clean and simple look that anyone would enjoy!!

I LOVE doing notebooks and when the parts come for my RubiCoil punch machine I will be a happier camper. The spring broke and I had to order new ones. I'm just hoping I can install them myself!!! Nothing like having the parts and being SO close and not being able to finish the task!! LOL

These notebooks can be used for Customer Appreciation gifts, Hostess gifts, Make n Takes, Craft Fairs and even a Stamp Camp project!!!

I have more altered notebooks on my blog. You can see them by clicking here,there's over 80 of them!!.
And you can find more weekend projects here, there are over 40 of them!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Take Your Place Wednesday Sketch Challenge

Lucky me, I found some time to play. I LOVE doing the Wednesday Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers. This layout was a lot of fun. Some interesting layers to it.

I was thinking of what I could do with the Stampin' Up! "Take Your Place" mini note kit. I like the images in it but thought I could use them for something more than just note cards! Well, then this sketch came along and this image fit it perfectly.

For the background I used the Cuttlebug "Snowflakes" folder. Between that one and the Dotted Swiss one I'm not sure which I use the most!!!

The tiny snowflakes on the Bashful Blue piece came from the "Holiday Blitz" set. Another set I get LOTS of use from!!!

The triangle layer is some new decorative paper from the "Autumn Meadows" package. And the snowflake was made using the new punch Stampin' Up! came out with in the new catalog!! LOVE it, LOVE it, LOVE it!!!

I sponged the edges and then I added a little rhinestone to the snowflake and then taped it all together!

It was a pretty easy card to make. I just LOVE that little tree image!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Botanicals Fall Card

This card is absolutely STUNNING!! My friend Ann S. made it!! She's such a talented person. And a great eye for art! She had the background paper and found the leaf in the Stampin' Up! "Botanicals" set and it was perfect for her card. I LOVE the colors of this card and the colors she used in the leaf. I believe it was the retired Spectrum pad "Pumpkin Patch" from Stampin' Up! I hung on to those Spectrum pads. You never know when you may need one!!! And after seeing that leaf done using it I was glad I did keep them!!!

I do not know where Ann got the background paper. It was an 8-1/2" x 11" piece. I'm guessing it was either from Michael's or Joanns. It was printed on one side only if that helps any of you who my go out looking for it!

The words were from the "Teeny Tiny Wishes" set. They were stamped on white card stock and then punched out with the oval punch. A scallop was punched out and added to the back of the oval piece.

A little sponging and stamping off was done on the focal part of the card. It was just enough to complete the card!

I'm SO thrilled to be surrounded by such talented stampers here!! It was a very fun week of stamping!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Together Forever Card

This is the card that our hostess Cyndi had for us to make. It's always nice to have new wedding cards on hand!!! This one is SO pretty too!!! I cheated on this one. Sue A. was sitting next to me an she made an extra center so I really can't tell you how that was made. It was embossed with something sparkly, that I do know!!!

The background was done using a "Backgrounds 1" template on Whisper White card stock.

There were two stamp sets used here. That center that I did not make myself is from the Stampin' Up! "Wedding Sweet" set and the "Mr. & Mrs." is from the "Together Forever" set. I have used that set a lot and just LOVE it.

A piece of ribbon was added to the top and the card was assembled. It was a very quick, simple and clean looking card. It's SO pretty!!! Didn't Cyndi do a great job on it?

This was the last card we did on that Thursday evening Shoebox Swap!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Happy Birthday Ladybugs!

This is the card that Amy designed for the swap a couple of weeks ago. Yup, it's taken me that long to get to some of these swap cards. I keep making cards and now scrapbook pages myself to post here!!! Imagine that!!! My designs on my blog!!! LOL I'll squeeze in the swap cards now and then until I get them all in here!

This card requires only a couple of stamps. We used the "happy birthday" from the Stampin' Up! "Teeny Tiny Wishes." This set has 24 word images to it that cover the major holidays and a few other greetings you "must" have! I LOVE this set. And get this, a lot of these work with the Word Window punch!!! Such a deal!!! And the other images were from the "Circle Circus" set.

The ladybug was done using circle punches and cutting off the top part of the circle so the head of the ladybug would show. The antenna were drawn in!! There were no antennas in the set. I asked when I sat down to stamp mine!!! LOL

Amy did dry emboss the background for us to save time. These cards are suppose to be designed for the one making them to get them done in about 5 minutes. The background was from the "Texture Plates Kit #4." I don't use those as much as I do the folders. The folders seem to be easier to use and the impression in the paper seems to be deeper and more defined.

The cute leaf is from the Sizzlits Dies "Little Leaves." I have this one but have not used it yet!! Sounds like 50% of my stamping stuff!! Kind of sad but I'm sure I will get to it soon so it will be more like 25% instead of 50%!!!

This was a very fun card to make and not hard at all!!! Amy did a great job with it and get this, mine did look like hers when I was done!!! LOL

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

A FABULOUS Autumn Days Card

Sue A. is a phenomenal stamper. This card was for the Thursday Shoebox Swap. She punched out all of those inlaid pieces for us!!! It's such a fascinating looking card! And of course I just LOVE this set so that makes liking the card even easier!!!

Now when I said Sue had punched out all of those pieces, she even punched the corners for us!!! We just started in the center towards the top and began taping the pieces in place. We trimmed off the ones that hung over the edges and we were ready to stamp on it. Now because the card stock was taped on top of the Kraft card stock it gave the pieces a little space between them and the ink did not get on the Kraft card stock. Well, it did if you pressed to hard, like I did a couple of times!!! But you wouldn't have noticed if I wouldn't have said anything!!!

The words and image stamps are from the same Stampin' Up! "Autumn Days" set. This set could be very versatile set. I see the pheasant and pine cone stamps as ones that I would probably only be using in the fall. Maybe the pine cones for summer camping type cards or scrapbook pages but the pheasant, not so much!!! The other 4 stamps in the set can be used for masculine cards. They can be used as the focal image or a background. And I can even see using the wheat shafts on a masculine sympathy card. I saw the versatility in this set before I bought it.

There is one set I keep running across and I laugh at it every time I see it. I have not used it yet and it's on that list of "what was I thinking?" when I bought it!!! LOL I will make something with it soon and share it with you. It is not a very versatile set and obviously I wasn't thinking when I bought it. I probably saw a cute card made with it and just HAD to have it. Now it would have been smart of me to somehow save that photo of the card or the link or something but I did not!!! SO typical of me!!

Anyway, this card was LOTS of fun to make and it isn't as bad as it looks. The ribbon is the new Dusty Durango dotted ribbon, it's the backside of the ribbon!!! Again versatile!!!

Such a fun card! Thanks Sue for being SO creative and also for cutting out all of those pieces in advance!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

My First Official Scrapbook Page!!!

Yes Sharon H., I have finally done my very first Scrapbook page!!! I have had my scrapbook since January. It took me this long to get my nerve up to try a page!!! I did a back to back page which really means I did two pages!!! These pages are 12" x 12".

It was a lot of fun (after I figured out what photos I was going to use and where I wanted them!). It didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it to and I am not going to tell you what I had originally drawn up for the pages!! It's close but not exact!!

I used 2 sheets of 12" x 12" Very Vanilla card stock. Those adorable leaves on the background are from the Stampin' Up! "Autumn Days" set. I just LOVE the leaf in that set. And as you can see, I did use it a lot on the background. I also had a tiny leaf paper punch so I punched out a bunch of little leaves and taped them in place on the pages. My main colors of card stock here are Brocade Blue and Not Quite Navy. The wording was all done on the computer. I thought it would be easier, quicker and neater if I typed it out instead of writing it by hand. It took long enough to figure out the layout, cut the pieces and tape them in the right places. So using the computer saved me some time. I am not a big fan of typing so I just went online to find the information about Enger Tower and I did a cut and paste. I did edit it for content because there was some information I didn't want on there, like dates and times, etc. I just kept what I needed for the information on the page and printed it out. In the future some of my pages will contain my own personal comments (where I feel they are needed!). I will be doing more pages but it will be slow going, I'm thinking it will be. It may go faster than I think it will, who knows. Only time will tell on that one!!! But the important thing is, I will be making more!!! I have HUNDREDS of photos to put in the book and I'd like to try to make a set of pages a week!!! Nice goal, lets hope I can do it!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Medallion Card

I LOVE this new Stampin' Up! "Medallion" stamp. There is SO much you can do with this one too. This card was made at our DIVA Shoebox Swap, Sandy was the designer of this card. Sandy is a very talented person. Her cards are never "ordinary." She has a flair for this. Sorry Sandy, I didn't get all the parts on straight. Her sample was FABULOUS and I probably should have taken a photo of that instead of the one I made. Hmmm, now there's a thought!!! I think I'll do that right when I start stamping at those things! The one done by the designer is always the nicest!!!! Why didn't I think of that before?

Now when I sat down to make this card the feeling of fear came over me. How do I do this? But after looking at it and asking a question or two I got it!! Like I have said before, when I go to these things you would think I have never stamped before in my life!!! I don't know what it is but it happens every time!!! LOL

The center of the Medallion has a Build-a-brad. The layer behind that was cut out and added with Dimensionals. The piece behind that was just the Medallion stamped on card stock. It was set up behind a piece of Crushed Curry adn then layered on top of the black piece.

SO I got this wonderful card all done and I was happy with it. Isn't it gorgeous? Sandy did a fabulous job making this card and dazzling us all!!

The theme for the swaps was to use the new "in colors" on the cards. Sandy used the Crushed Curry here. It looks like More Mustard in the photo but trust me, it was the Crushed Curry. It's just too fabulous!!! Great job Sandy!!

Thank you for visiting today,
Wanda

Wednesday Sketch Challenge Teddy &Train

Here it's Wednesday again and I was fortunate enough to have time to play with this weeks Sketch Challenge at SplitCoastStampers. This sketch was right up my alley. I LOVE layers and this one had LOTS of them!!! I wanted to use the Stampin' Up! "Teddy & Train" set but I wasn't sure how I was going to get that teddy in that final layer. Well, cutting him out was the only option. He didn't fit there just stamping him in. And I really didn't want to make that #5 layer bigger. The whole purpose of the sketch is to follow their diagram. Making things bigger or smaller changes the sketch and takes away the challenge to the card!!

SO in sticking with the dimensions of the sketch this is what I came up with!!! I LOVED every minute of making this card!!

That little set sure has a lot of nice images to it. On the Certainly Celery strip there is a little duck stamped all over the place. I got it off the end of the train that comes in the set!! I was originally going to run the train along that strip but I didn't like the idea of the train going north and south when the layout of the rest of the card wasn't headed that way!!! SO just taking the duck was the way to go!! It worked!!

The Pretty in Pink layer has baby rattles stamped all over it using Pretty in Pink ink! I wanted to keep the colors soft but yet visible. Often using VersaMark just isn't dark enough for me. I often use the inks that match the card stock instead of VersaMark.

Those adorable buttons came from a package of little buttons from Michael's a LONG time ago. There isn't much left in that package anymore. Fortunately these buttons fit with the card nicely and I was able to use them!!!

The white background on this card was done using the Cuttlebug Dotted Swiss folder. It was a pretty simple card to do, just lots of layering. But like I said I LOVE layering!!! It was fun!!! Go play with this sketch if you have time!!! Challenge yourself to do something with this many layers!!!

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda

Templates and Folders

Here's a wonderful card to make if you need to do one quick!!!! This card was made by Peggy and believe me, it's a quick card!!! This would be great for those times when you have just a couple of minutes before you have to be out the door!!! Ever have that happen to you???

There was wording in the oval of this card but I didn't add it. This card was such a versatile card that I thought I would add some words later for the occasion I'm going to use it for. It's such a bright and clean looking card. This is such a talented group of gals. It's fun to see all the different ideas we all come up with. We amaze and astound each other!!! And of course we share with each other too!!

The background on this card was done using the Stampin' Up! texture templates and the Big Shot. I like the templates but not as much as the folders. I like the textured areas to be deeper and more defined like the are with the folders.

What is fun with this card is you don't need any stamps to do the background or to even dress it up. Just the words in the center are all you need. This is such a fancy looking card. It can be used for SO many different occasions. I'm thinking how fun this would be to use this layout for a wedding or anniversary card.

Isn't it a fun design? Peggy is a wonderful stamper!!! Thanks Peggy for the beautiful design. Sorry I didn't stamp the words you had on this card but I wasn't sure what occasion I was going to use it for so I left it blank.

Thank you SO much for visiting today,
Wanda