A little Christmas train magic

The Christmas Magic (142119) stamp set was one of the sets I first noticed in the 2016 holiday catalog and knew I would need to have in my collection.  It has so many possibilities.  I created this card for my friend's husband and his children.  She passed away this July and I wanted to make a special card for them.  He is a huge train enthusiast and I know he will appreciate the thought.

I really enjoy coloring so this stamp set was definitely for me.  I find it to be very relaxing.  I remember as a child my mom and I spending time coloring, especially during the holidays.  It was always a fun time.  My brothers didn't have the patience to color, so I would often have a little time with mom to myself while they were off playing.  We still occasionally sit and color together when I go to visit.  The images are stamped on Shimmery White cardstock with Stazon black ink.  I colored the images with an aqua painter.  

Some of the colors used are:

Crumb Cake, Emerald Envy, Watermelon Wonder, Real Red, Crushed Curry, Dapper Denim, Mint Macaron, Sahara Sand, Smokey Slate and Soft Suede.  I used a Stampin' chalk marker for the snow around the trees and on the North Pole sign, then added clear Wink of Stella glitter pen on top of that.  For the silver area on the train, I used a retired Stampin' Dazzle silver pen.    The sentiment is from the same stamp set.  It was stamped inside the banner from Thoughtful Banners in Emerald Envy and punched out with the classic label punch (141491).

Thanks for stopping by my blog day.  I know everyone is busy and I am truly grateful for your time.  Please leave me a comment and if you need any supplies, you can order from my online store by clicking on the shopping cart.  Have a blessed day.

m&ms Jar of Love shaker card.

Anyone who really knows me knows I am a HUGE m&m fan.  So when I saw where someone had used the Jar of Love stamp set to make an m&m shaker card, I had to make my own version.  I started with a patriotic card and moved on to a Christmas card.  I plan to make one for fall and for the spring as well.  This card features the Jar of Love stamp 141587 set and Everyday Jar (141490) framelits which can be purchased either separately or as a bundle (142342) to save 10%.  The background is stamped using the Touches of Texture stamp set (141934).  I used Real Red, Dapper Denim and Whisper White cardstock along with Real Red (126949) and Dapper Denim (141394) ink.  The jar was stamped on window sheet (114323) with Stazon black ink (101406) and cut using the Everyday Jar framelits.  The jar lit was embossed on whisper white cardstock with gold embossing powder as well as the ribbon and bow.  They are also cut with the matching framelits from the Everyday Jar framelits.  The banner was created with the Thoughtful Banners stamp (141614) set which has a matching punch called the Duet Banner punch (141483) and can also be purchased in a bundle (142330) to save 10%.  The shaker frame was made using the new foal adhesive strips (141825) which make shaker cards so much easier.  The m&ms were made utilizing a punch I had purchased from the m&m store in Las Vegas, Nevada.  

This is the Christmas version of the card.  It uses Real Red, Emerald Envy (141415 cardstock and 141396 ink pad) and Whisper White.  The sentiment for this card is from the Oh, What Fun stamp set (140386).  I used markers directly on the stamp to create the multi colored look.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and taking some time out of your busy day.  I hope you are inspired to create something today.  Crafting is my therapy and I love sharing my creations with all of you.  If you would like to purchase any supplies, please click on the shopping cart and it will take you to my online store.  Please leave me a comment and tell me what you think.  I'd love to hear from you.  Please stop back by.  I'm going to try to be better about posting weekly from here on out.  I've had quite a few health issues and other personal trials going so far this year.  Hopefully, the rest of the year will be much better from here on out!

Petals and Posies Fabulous Fall Shaker Card

I had so much fun making this card.  I love the colors and fall is my favorite time of year.  To make this card, I started with a piece of whisper white cardstock.  I sponged on crushed curry, cherry cobbler, rich razzleberry and Cajun craze inks in random places blending as I went.  I then stamped the leaf image from Thoughtful Branches  which is only available through the end of August 2016 (143539), and the smallest leaf images from Paisleys & Posies (142196) in Versamark ink (102283) and embossed them with white embossing powder (109132).  I used the Large Letters Framelits dies (141712) to cut the letters from the finished piece.  I then used a piece of window sheet (114323) adhered to the back to close the letters.  Some foam adhesive strips on the back (141825) made it easy to form the basis for my shaker card front.  I punched some small leaves from an old leaf border punch I had on hand to fill the letters.

The sentiment is from the Thoughtful Banners stamp set (141614) and cut with the Duet Banner Punch (141483).  These items can be purchased in a bundle to save 10% (142330).  I stamped the banner and sentiment in early espresso ink (126974) and mounted the shaker card front onto a piece of early espresso cardstock.  (119686).  

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and taking some time out of your busy schedule.  Please let me  a comment, I'd love to hear what you think.  

Thoughtful Branches love is a sheltering tree

I made this card for my 36th wedding anniversary for my husband.  I love the way it turned out and I hope he will too.  I wanted to make something extra special.

I started with a scrap piece of very vanilla cardstock and stamped some splatters on with the Touches of Texture (141934) in cajun craze, and crushed curry.  I then stamped the tree branches from Thoughtful Branches (143530) in Emerald Envy and another in Garden Green.  I cut both out with the tree top from the Beautiful Branches framelits dies (143438).  These are only available until August 31 and I highly recommend the bundle in which you can save 10%.  (144328). This is a very versatile set and will last the whole year through.  I used the balloon celebration stamp set (140675) to stamp a few clouds on a piece of whisper white cardstock to make the card front.  I then stamped the tree trunk from Thoughtful Branches onto the white cardstock after I had set down the tree top to judge the placement of the trunk.  I stamped the trunk in early espresso ink.  I then stamped the trunk onto a piece of chocolate chip cardstock in early espresso and used the coordinating die to cut it out.  I stamped one of each bird in the set using tempting torquoise with a little bit of dapper denim on the wing and delightful dijon on the beak.  I used smoky slate and a bit of sweet sugarplum on the other bird.  In order to shape my tree, I used adhesive foam strips (141825) in the middle section of the tree top and adhered the emerald envy tree on top of the garden green tree top to give it some dimension.  I used a little bit of snail adhesive on a couple of spots on the outside edges to the tree would appear rounded on the card.  Before placing the tree top on the card, I stamped some garden green splotches from the Gorgeous Grunge stamp set (130517) to make the tree seem extra full in the background.

From Sheltering Tree stamp set (137163) I used the swoosh to make the grassy area and used the stems and flower tops to make the flowers.  I also used these pieces on the inside of the card just to add some interest there as well.  The grass is stamped in pear pizazz, stems in garden green and flower tops in blushing bride.  I also used the sentiment friendship is a sheltering tree and used the selective inking technique NOT to ink the word friendship.  I used the word love from Thoughtful Banners (141614) to complete the sentiment to save love is a sheltering tree.  I punched hearts from the heart border punch out of blushing bridge and red glimmer paper (121790).  I finished off the inside of the card with a little stamping and a sentiment from Flourishing Phrases (141534).