With Love and Flower Soft!

 

Hello my friends!
  I'm sorry it's been a while since I posted!  I have been busy working "behind the scenes" on some things that I can share with you soon, but today I thought I'd share something that I do when I need a quick card and just don't have time to stamp an image, color it up and create a card.  This is a Flower Soft Scenic Window Set, available HERE. 

It has a variety of fully colored images, and all you have to do is put one on a card!  If you wish to let it just go the way it is, you certainly could!  If you want to add some great texture and interest to your card, then go ahead and add some fun Flower Soft!  I added a wrinkled seam binding bow, and I popped up the curtains that also some in the Flower Soft set, using small dimensionals to adhere.  These Flower Soft cards pack quite a punch, and take little time to complete!

I will be back later this week with some sneak peeks for you!  I can't wait to share what's coming your way in June!

Blessings,

Fishers of Men

Hello friends!  I hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day!  I certainly did!  I spent the weekend in TN with family, and they spoiled me rotten with a BEAUTIFUL gift basket filled with all my favorite things.... coffee and chocolate!  That plus many hours of pure fun made this a most cherished mother's day!

I did want to pop in to share a card I made for a challenge on SCS and for ODBD's Shining the Light Challenge this week which is to use an image that depicts stone or wood, or use them on your card.   I used Our Daily Bread designs The Waves of the Sea and Fishing Net Background .

I sponged my image with distress inks, and added a little white with a THoltz marker so this was extremely quick to make! The Spellbinders used are Sprightly Sprockets, Classic Circles Large and Small, and Ribbon Tags Trio 3. The dp is Websters Pages Yacht Club. This was quick and easy, but I like how it turned out.  Hope you enjoyed it too!


Have a wonderful week!  I have a busy one ahead of me, but will try to not stay away too long!


Blessings,

Shedding some Light and a mini tutorial!

Hello friends!

We're still cleaning up the mess from the flood here on the lake, but I wanted to share something fun and different I tried.   I did take a few pictures along the way to show you what I did.  Forgive the background of my work spaces.... this was done not to be pretty, but to help you see the basics of the process.


I decided to try using that real copper metal sheeting you can buy at craft stores in rolls, and see if it would die cut and emboss to make a candle holder band.  To begin, I stamped the ODBD Cathedral Window- Wood with Stazon ink on acetate, cut it out with the outer part of the ODBD Custom Cathedral Window and Borders Die,  and then on the back, I colored the window with Sharpies. 

 I tried die cutting and embossing the copper that I had bought at AC Moore, and was thrilled to find that it die cuts beautifully. I cut the copper, using both the inner and outer parts of the custom Our Daily Bread designs Cathedral Window and Border Die.

 I then cut a 1" strip long enough to wrap around my glass candle holder like a belly band, to which I could attach the window die. I embossed the strip with an E-bosser embossing folder.

I antiqued all the copper with an antiquing medium I have had for some time.

 

I scored the band at the measurements needed to wrap my candle holder.  I adhered the acetate to the back of the window with Tombow Metal Glue, careful to only dab the parts of the window that would be covered by the metal in case the glue would show after it dried.  I then adhered the band to the back of the window with Aileen's Jewelry adhesive. I'm really happy with how this came out, as it has a real metal look and feel that just would not have come from paper alone, to say nothing of it's much stronger.

I hope you were in some way inspired to try something dfferent and create something pretty for your home or as a gift with this lovely window stamp and die set!

I am entering this in the following challenges:
 Crafty Ribbons -  No designer paper, Paper Crafting Journey -  Anything Goes,

Until next time....
Blessings,

 

Deep Waters!

Hello friends!  I hope that where you are, you are enjoying wonderful weather!  We have just had some pretty heavy rains, and even more so in the mountains where the streams empty in to the river that feeds the lake we live on, and we have been dealing with incredible flooding.  Our lake crested at 9.9' above full pond, causing much damage to homes, docks, etc.  We are blessed to be high so our home is fine, but the dock and shore line are a mess and are going to be expensive to repair.  So I have been busy trying to save the dock and other things along the shore, tying them off with ropes, etc.  Entire trees 20-30' long have ended up stuck in our dock and shoreline.  Someone else's boat with their entire dock attached ended up on our bank, and we have been trying to keep that tied up as well so it won't go over the dam.  We called the County Sheriff who has tried to contact the owner, but so far no word from them.  They may be summer visitors and might not live here year round.  Oh the joys of lake living in the spring time!  Old timers tell us this is the worst whey have seen except for one other flood in 2004, which was supposedly a 100 year flood.  The good news/ bad news is that tomorrow we are supposed to not have any rain, but it starts up again Fri. and will rain through Mother's Day!  However... we have soooo much to be thankful for!  Many right on this lake have have had their homes flooded, cars flooded, and docks, etc. carried away.  Our lake seemed to take the worst of it, however lakes south of us are now getting it as well.

The events of this week have put in my mind this verse, from the May release at Our Daily Bread designs.  I decided to play along with this week's Shining the Light Challenge, which is a word challenge.  You are to use the letters in the word  S-P_R_I_N_G, and create a card using things that begin with 4 of the letters in this word.  I used  S-Spellbinders Bracket Die and String, R - Rich Cocoa Momento, I - Ink, N- Neutrals,  and  G- Green (Sage Shadow).

The sets I used are Waves on the Sea, Fishing, and a past release, Footprints in the Sand.  I also used the border die from the ODBD Custom Cathedral Window and Border Die.  I stamped the image from Footprints in the sand on Sahara Sand and used that behind my main image/ sentiment panel.  I lightly stamped the image from Waves on the Sea with Sahara Sand ink, and then over stamped the verse from Fishing with Rich Cocoa Momento ink.  The bracket is Spellbinders Bracket Borders One.  I added twine and brads for simple embellishments.  The Sage Shadow layer is embossed with a Darcie Wood Grain folder set side ways as it acutually looks a lot like water that way.

It's so good that even when we are going through the "deep waters", we don't walk alone!  Even when we don't see His footprints, we know that God is leading us along, often carrying us along,  and will never let us go!  If you think of it... pray for the people effected by this flood and those who yet will be as the waters rush south through the next lakes along the Catawba River.

I am entering this in Word Art Wednesday where you can use their freebie verse, or any encouraging Scripture or sentiment.  

Blessings, 

Christmas Blessings in May, and free shipping!

Hello friends!  I have a card to share that I made using this month's Cathedral Window Marble, and the ODBD Custom Cathedral Window Die.  From the first time I was this die and stamps, I thought of the many possibilities, which included some awesome Christmas card possibilities.  For this card I also used the wreath image from Poinsettia Wreath, and sentiment from Cardinal Ornament.  I embossed with Fantasy Gold ep, and cut the sentiment with SB Fancy Framed Tags 2.  The embossing folder is from Craftwell.  The window image is stamped on pink vellum and THoltz Markers were used to lightly color the wreath image in soft tones to match the soft pinks of my base and seam binding.  I love doing unconventional colors for Christmas cards, so this was fun for me. 

I wanted to just let you know that Kelley is offering free shipping on orders placed through 12 midnight tonight (May 5)!  No Code is needed... the free shipping will simply be applied to your order!  This is in honor of Nathional Scrapbooking Day!  So if you have been wishing for some great Our Daily Bread designs stamps and dies... this is the day to jump on this deal!  *Note: International Customers will receive $5.00 off of shipping, and no code is needed for this, but will simply show up  in your card. 


Thanks for stopping by,  and remember,  this is the day the Lord has made.... rejoice and be glad in it!

Blessings,

May 1 Release Blog Hop!

Hello friends!  Welcome to the May Release Blog Hop!  Here in the US, May flowers are in full bloom, and the earth is singing the praises of it's Creator! We hope you are too!

I am the first stop on the hop, but if you did not see the release, you might want to start at the ODBD Blog so you don't miss anything!  Here are the basic details of the hop:

• Hop will run from 8:00 am EDT May 1 to 8:00pm EDT May 2
• Winners will be announced May 3 on the ODBD Blog
• There will be THREE prizes:  a $20.00, $30.00, and $40.00 Gift Certificate toward stamps in the ODBD Store.  *Must be redeemed within the month of May!
• To qualify to win all you have to do is hop to each designer's blog, leave a comment, and return to the ODBD Blog to tell us you completed the hop, and if you had any difficulties along the way!  Easy Peasy!!!

Our hop this month focuses on two different themes.  I think you'll find lots of different possibilities with these two themes!  For my samples, I have decided to share one of each.  First, I created a special masculine "gift" card... a card that actually houses a little box that holds a fishing lure.  Depending on the requests I get I may do a tutorial for this card later on... but for now, here is my "gift card".

For this card, I used Waves on the Sea, Fishing, and Fishing Net Background, as well as the anchor image from a past release, Anchor.  I cut my image panel with the ODBD Custom Elegant Ovals Die, and matted with Spellbinders Labels 4 in black.  The image itself is colored with Copics.  I stamped the sentiment from the Fishing set,  and cut it with a Spellbinders Back to Basics Tag die.  I added some burlap, twine around the anchor, and I knotted some twine for the tag.  The tag is colored with Copics as well.

The card itself looks more like a book from outside, because there is a surprise inside.  I created a custom sized "box" to hold a fishing lure as a gift for my husband, who loves to fish. 

The inside of the card is stamped with the Fishing Net Background on River Rock, and then lightly spritzed around the edges with my Airgun, using a B91 Copic Marker.

Here are the stamps I used on this card:

My second sample is much more formal and uses the Cathedral Window Wood stamp, and the ODBD Custom Cathedral Window and Border Die.

 

 For this card, I wanted to create a wedding card, and I decided to try to create the feel of a wedding chapel.  I stamped the Cathedral Window Wood with VersaMark and heat embossed on vellum using a midieval metals embossing powder. (It is basically copper colored).  I lightly colored the back of the vellum with  blue and violet Copic Markers and my airgun, but it's hard to see the color in the photo.  I then cut the window with the Custom Cathedral Window and Border Die from both vanilla and Prism Antique Bronze card stock.  I used the bronze window pane cut to give a little shadow to my panes, and then adhered the vanilla window pane over top, offsetting just a little bit.  I adhered my window on to a vanilla base which I had cut with my new Spellbinders 5 x 7 Elegant Labels 4 die.  As you know, you can't get a top fold from standard card stock when working with this large a die, so I had to create a hinge by scoring the top fold, and cutting part of the design a second time.  I then matted my card front on that partial cut, and backed it with still another die cut.  This completely hides the hinge and allows a top fold card even when 12 x 12 card stock isn't long enough.  My sentiment is from a past release, All Occasion Sentiments, and it is cut with Spellbinders Fancy Tags 1. I added some Cheery Lynn mini Fanciful Flourishes and little flowers punched with a CarlCraft punch.  The greenery is punched with a Martha Stewart bough punch, and I added tiny pearls to the centers of the flowers. 

To add to the fun I stamped the Flourished Cross Samped by Mini on the back and signed it.  I'm so excited that ODBD is now offering these special little stamps!!!

Here are the ODBD products I used for this card:

 Just in case you missed my sneak peeks, here's a look at a couple that are posted just  below this one, if you want to scroll down for more info on them:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

From here, you will hop to the super talented Julie!

Blessings,

Another Sneak Peek!

Hello friends! 

Today, I'm sharing another sneak peek with you.  This is a wonderful new stamp and die set coming your way from Our Daily Bread designs on May 1!  The window is Cathedral Window Marble and the die is an ODBD Custom Cathedral Window Die and Border.  You are going to love it!!!  I also used a past release for the sentiment (Mini Tags 3) and the ODBD Custom Recipe Card and Tags Die for the tag die cut.  The lacy die is my new Spellbinders 5 x 7 Elegant Labels 4.

I started with a base of Prism Bronze, added my vanilla SB die cut mat, and then I used the next smaller die from this SB set with Ancient Monument Metallic, by Scrap Metals.  Playing off the tones in that paper, I used a blue vellum and heat embossed the Cathedral Window image in  a coppery embossing powder.  I cut my window once from the Ancient Monument Metallic, once from Vanilla, and once from black so I could add a little shadow to my window panes.  I like doing this to give some depth to the windows.

Now I just added some flowers, punched greenery from my Martha Stewart punch, and a little vanilla sheer bow for the tag, and I was done.  I love how this came out and know I will use this set often.  Stay tuned for more ideas coming your way soon!

 

 I am entering this in Word Art Wednesday, where you can use their freebie sentiment or any Scripture or encouraging sentiment.

Thanks so much for stopping by... and I hope to see you back here on Wednesday for the release blog hop!
Blessings,

Happy Father's Day -A sneak peek!

Hello friends! Did you think I vanished?  Lol!  Well, I have been busy working in the yard and then I spent the weekend visiting our daughter and grandkids.  Our Granddaughter turned 12 today, and we celebrated last weekend.  We had so much fun having a "girl's day out"!  She had decided she wanted to go shopping with her birthday money, have lunch, and get our nails done as part of her celebration.  Well.... to make a long story short... we did shop, went for lunch and a coffee, but instead of getting our nails done, she fell in love with the hermit crabs they had in the mall, and we came home with an aquarium, all the fixings, and two hermit crabs.  I have to say, she will get many more hours of fun from watching those crabs!  I joked though and said that instead of coming home with pretty nails, we came home with claws!  LOL

Anyway... today I do have a sneak peek for you!  This is a peek at a set called Waves on the Sea, to be released by Our Daily Bread designs May 1, and I'm loving it!  I stamped with Memento, colored with Copics, and I added touches of white gel pen for waves and reflections.  I matted with black and blue.  The only embellishments are the two brads holding the sentiment panel, which is a Spellbinders Back to Basics Tag die.

I was also excited to find that ODBD is going to be offering these fabby "Stamped By" minis!  There are a bunch of cute images and fonts to put your personalized touch to the back of any card!  This one is Chickadee Stamped By and it's one of my faves!  These too will be available May 1!

 
 I'm entering this in the following challenges:

• Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes, Penny's Paper-Crafty - Anything Goes,
  Nutcrafters -  Anything goes, WordArt Wednesdays -   word art freebie OR use an encouraging uplifting sentiment -Anything goes, Cards und More #80 Scene Stamps, Celebrate the Occasion Clean & Simple,
  Craft Room Challenge  So Sentimental!, Loves Rubber Stamps  The Great Outdoors, Through The Craft Room Door Anything Goes, Tuesday Throwdown  Make Your Own Backgrounds,
  Addicted to Rubber Stamps- Make your Mark, Sisterhood of Crafters- Free for all!

Will be back with more fun soon!
Blessings,

The Flowers appear on the earth...

Hello friends!  I hope you are all doing well!

Today I am sharing a card I made for a couple challenges.  I used Morning Glory, one of this month's many new releases from Our Daily Bread designs.  The set is made to fit Spellbinders Labels 26, and so I cut it out with that, and then matted with Spellbinders Marvelous Squares.  I mounted that on a Cuttlebugged background, slightly tilted, and added a bow and bling.  It's CAS but I actually like how it came out.  The image is colored with Copics.  I'm loving all these Labels 26 sets this month!  I hope you do too!  I love that the design allows for many different verses to be stamped inside the post card.  This one is from Song of Solomon, and certainly is perfect for a spring card, and could be used for many different occasions.

Here is the set:

 I am playing in the following challenges:
DRS Designs -  Bows, MilkCoffee Challenge - Welcome Spring, Paper Crafting Journey - Use a Sentiment, Crafty Creations - No Patterned Paper,  Creative Moments -  Spring, Penny's Paper-Crafty -  Sentiment, WordArt Wednesdays -  word art freebie OR use an encouraging uplifting sentiment -Anything goes


Thanks so much for stopping by!  I love knowing you were here, so why not say hello?

Blessings,

A little something fun!

Today I have something just fun to share with you.  I made an ornament using the Quatrefoil Design Die from Our Daily Bread designs.  All  I did to create this was die cut the Quatrefoil Design 5 times from white card stock. I also cut a length of gold cord long enough to pass through my beads at the bottom and to pass up to the top, where I tied it in a knot.  I folded each panel in half, and then  I used TomBow Metal Glue to to adhere each half to another half panel, while carefully keeping my gold cord in the center.  This glue will stick fast and hold tight, and it's a bit thicker than most, so you can run a very thin bead of it without having it ooze out when pressed together.  I love it for delicate work!  After adhereing all my panels together, I added a May Arts bow and tiny rose bud. to two sides so no matter what direction you see it from, you will see a pretty bow.  So quick and easy, but I think it would be a lovely little gift for a shut in or for a shower, just to name a couple possibilities.  I hope in some way you might be inspired to give it a try!

Blessings,