Hello!

I just wanted to let you know that this weekend I was in Kingston for Victopia, a weekend where I get together with my girls at Vicki's house and stamp, laugh and have a blast. I was hoping to let you know before I left, but I just didn't get the chance. I was busy running amok (I think that work should be spelled amuck because that's how you say it! Just a thought...) and I didn't get online before to let everyone know where I would be, and explain why I didn't post anything last week.

Well, let me tell you! I had a verrrrrry productive weekend and I am so excited to share them with you! Unfortunately tonight I am smack-dab in the middle of my life, and I haven't got time to take pictures before the daylight goes. I will take the pictures tomorrow and start posting tomorrow as well. Wait until you see what we did!!!!!

Ok gotta go put my Olivia to bed. See you tomorrow!

Donna

Hello! Today I am posting two cards, simply because I've shown a few Build-a-Bear cards, so not much new there. This is the second card from the Stamp-a-Stack, so again I used the designer paper from the mini.

This next card, the last one from the Stamp-a-Stack, was a little different from most. I based it on a card that we made at Regionals last year. I liked that it was different from the usual half-page card that I make way too often. On this one, only the red piece opens. Although this makes a great card, it doesn't stand very well for display purposes. So it has beauty but no functionality (is that a word?). Oh well, you can't have it all! LOL

I sure wish I had some interesting story to tell you, but I don't! LOL So I guess I will end this here. Have a great week!
Donna

Buckle Up!

Hello! Remember way back in February when I said I was doing a Stamp-a-Stack with my friends Kim, Jacqui and Laurie? Then I said I would show you the cards I had designed? Then I didn't show you? Wasn't that so mean of me? ;)

Well here is the first one! This is a buckle card I had designed. We were using the Valentine's designer paper in the mini. Can you see the sparkle on the big pink flowers in the buckle? That's the embossed part of the dsp. Isn't that great? SU is starting to dabble in textured dsp, so we thought the stamp-a-stack should feature this awesome paper. The stamp-a-stack was a great day, and I got to meet some very nice ladies who were funny and lots of fun! I still have two more cards to show you, so I'll be back soon to do that!

Have a great weekend!

Donna

Happy Wednesday!

I hope your Wednesday is happy-mine is a bit on the soggy side. It is pouring cats and dogs outside right now. It's the kind of day where I'd like to sit on the couch, watching a good movie, snuggling with my hubby and girls, wearing my jammies...and maybe eating some chocolate too...yes, definitely some chocolate! LOL
BUT I can't do that...for one thing, I have piano lessons tonight, so I have to wear something besides jammies...it's so comfy at the piano teacher's house, it's always warm and cozy, and the couches she has are soooo comfy. While my girls each have their half hour lesson, I just sit and wait for my turn (yes, I'm learning too!). The only problem is that I am too comfy, and I become very, very relaxed. Almost sleepy, in fact. By the time it's my turn, I'm a-yawning, and a-blinking, trying to wake up before I have to play. It's hard to listen to your piano teacher while holding back a yawn! LOL Just thinking about it makes me sleepy and yawn-y! Ok, change of topic!
The card posted here is one that I made with my friend Kim. We wanted to try this fancy cut and fold technique. It looks so neat, doesn't it? The fancy technique I mean. The card isn't half-bad either, if I do say so myself. Of course it uses Rich Razzleberry, my fave!
Well, I should try and make some dinner before we head out for lessons. Have a great Wednesday! I'll see you again Friday!

Hello! It has been way too long since I've blogged...I am very sorry for being such a bad blogger...forgive me? I have been busy with a project that I can't show you yet, but I do happen to have a few others to show you in the meantime.

My sister's youngest son loves dinos, and we were talking about invitations to his birthday. I mentioned that I might be able to come up with something that would work. This guy is made completely with punches! His teeth are made from the My Way punch (the one with the three arrows). I used the largest arrow to make his sharp, scary teeth. I did have to go non-SU for the texture of his skin, but everything else is non-contraband! LOL

Well, my sister loved it, so she came over and we worked on them. We didn't get them done, but it was no problem for her to take them home and complete them because the punches make everything so easy! My nephew liked the invites too, but he did point something out to me that only a true dinosaur expert would notice. He told me, "But dinosaurs don't have eyebrows!" LOL

Kids say the darnedest things, don't they?
Have a great Easter! I will be back soon with more projects!
Donna

Egg-stra Egg-stra! Read all about it!

Bad puns aside, I think this little guy is cute! A year or two ago, The SU magazine that they send out to all of their demos featured a picture of a plate/bowl with 6 or so decorated eggs. They had used a larger flower punch, sparkles and different Easter coloured paper to decorate the eggs. I know now why they used a bigger flower! LOL It took a while to assemble this one.

I used the flower trio punch and Razzleberry Lemonade dsp to make my flowers. Then I curled each one against the end of a pen, put a mini glue dot on the bottom and stuck it to the styrofoam egg. Looks cute, no? The big problem came after I took the picture-the flowers started popping off! There was a scattering around my egg, and at first, I couldn't figure out who punched the extras and placed them around the egg, then I realized my egg was molting! LOL

I would have love to have tried this with pins that have the pearl heads, they would have stayed put much better, I think. However, with this method, my fingers were kept hole-free, which is just how I like 'em! LOL

This Sunday I am getting together with my girls (Jacqui, Kim and Laurie) for a card Stamp-a-stack. I can hardly wait! It is going to be a blast! So on Monday, I will be able to show you the cards I designed for the class.

Until then, have a great weekend!

Donna

Wishing For Spring

About this time of year, I start wishing for spring to hurry up and get here already. As I type this, there are big, fluffy flakes falling outside, and I can no longer see grass, my driveway, nor much of anything, because there is so much snow. Blech! It's hard to believe that just yesterday the sun was shining, squirrels were out, and the girls, my hubby and I were skiing and sweating from the heat! I wasn't even wearing mitts or a hat because it was so hot! And then I woke up today, and it's like yesterday's hint of spring was all a dream....dang!

So as an invitation to spring, birds singing, and the end of another way-too-long Canadian winter, I made this card. This flower pot card doesn't open. Instead, you pull on the flowers, which are attached to what looks like a wide bookmark, which is where you would sign and put your hugs and kisses to Mother Nature, in the hopes that she would be sweet enough to end winter just a tad earlier than she'd originally planned. LOL I love making cards that are not your typical quarter-fold card, so this one is right up my alley. Plus, I was able to use not one, but two of my Big Shot dies (the daisies and the leaves) for this card, plus an embossing folder (ok, not SU, but relevant to the spring theme). The Big Shot can make life (ok, not all of life, just the card-making, and 3-D project-making part of life, which is pretty important, no? ;) ) so much easier, don't you think? Yeah, me too!

I have another 3-D project to show you on Friday, so I hope to see you then! Have a great week!

Donna

Fantastic Friday!

Hello and Happy Friday!

As promised, I am here, showing off my latest 3-D project. As I mentioned, I cannot take complete credit for this little beauty. The original idea came from an e-mail I received from Andrea Walford, in which there was a link to the instructions to make this box. Hers was a Christmas box, and the top incorporated a Christmas card. Mine was adjusted to use non-Christmas stuff, so it would be more applicable to spring. And of course, I had to incorporate my new fave colour, Rich Razzleberry. Plus I had a lot of extra Cottage Wall dsp, so it was very convenient to use the Razzleberry for this project.

I love using transparencies to create butterflies, but on their own they're hard to see. So I used white Staz-On to sponge around the edges, and then some swirly parts from Baroque Motifs to decorate the wings. It reminds me of the new SU embosslits that cuts and embosses 5 (?) butterflies of different sizes at once. The biggest one has a bit of a swirl at the bottom.

Not wanting to over-think things and take too long to put this together, I made the cards inside the box identical to the top of the box. Original, no? LOL Well, at least this way, you'll know exactly what's inside.

I just changed the sentiments on the cards, since the cards are versatile for a variety of occasions. (As you can see above)

This is a peek at the drawer that is inside the box. I think this is so neat, to make a box that contains a drawer!



And this picture proves that I made it so you could close the drawer. Thank goodness for great instructions! LOL
So there you have it! What do you think? Drop me a comment, I'd love to hear from you!
Have a great weekend!
Donna

A Little Birdie Told Me...

Hello! I am back from Vegas and adjusting to real life once again, which means that I have made some time to stamp (and have done some housework too, but let's stick to the fun stuff here!). Having a nice clean stampin' table, and stampin' area has been like an open invitation to sit and be creative. It is so nice! *sigh* Maybe it was bad feng shui that was cutting into my stampin' mojo, because it would seem that under all that clutter, I've found it again!

Just before I left for Vegas, I had my Stampin' Divas over for the first time in a long time. It was great to catch up with them again-I've really missed my ladies! I borrowed some of the new things in the Occasions mini and the Sale-a-bration mini from my friend Kim (hello! and thanx!) and came up with a couple of cards for my ladies to make. This was my favourite of the two. The bird and branch were created from a new punch that SU has just released. Isn't it adorable?? I love this idea, because this bird is so versatile, you could put any sentiment on this card--thank you, birthday, sympathy, congratulations on the news a little birdie told me...and on and on! See what I mean? Unfortunately for me, I had to give the punch back to Kim (pout) but I have ordered one for myself (yay!), but it is on backorder as far as I know, so I'm not sure when I'll get mine (pout again). I am looking forward to making more of these cards. I like the scallop circle card idea, it's something different from the typical 4 1/4" x whatever card (no, I am not awake yet, why do you ask? LOL).

The clouds in the background of this card were a neat little trick my friend Jacqui (hello friend!) showed me not too long ago. You just punch out a scallop circle (the punch one, not the Big Shot one). Then you use a sponge inked with Bashful Blue (on bashful blue paper here on my card). Start at the top and ink around the top of the scallop circle. Slide it down (or over), and ink along the top of the circle again. Continue downward until you have enough clouds. It's that easy! I have to say that in real life, the clouds are not this hard to see on the card. The picture really blanched them out, and I couldn't bring them back with Photoshop. So if you're trying this technique remember that you don't need a lot of ink to create a dramatic effect.

If you happen to make a card with the bird punch or try the cloud technique, send me a link in the comments section, I'd love to see what you've come up with!

On Friday, I will be back with a really neat 3-D project I just completed last night. The only hint I'll give you is that it is AWEsome (modest, aren't I?) and you're going to LOVE it (more modesty!). That's your hint! LOL If you want to see it, you'll have to wait for the post on Friday! But I think you really will like it! (ok, you'll love, love, love it, but I'm trying to keep the bragging to a minimum! LOL) In all seriousness (and modesty) I can't take credit for all of it (but it won't stop me from trying!), just some of it.

See you Friday!

Donna

Vegas, baby!

Hello!

Good news! My stamping area is organized, I can see my stamping table again, I know where most of my things are (LOL), and I am ready to sit down and stamp! But I can't today...I'm in Toronto, and tomorrow my hubby and I, and 10 friends are headed to Vegas! Yahoo!

But I will be back early next week! In the meantime, I've dug up a picture from Regionals when I went last February. Isn't this a cute little frame? Simple yet fabulous!
Have a great week!
Donna