With Love 73

Hi there! Hope all is going well with all of you. I'm here today to share a card I made using some of my favorite products. I inked up both a fancy border and sentiment image from Waltzingmouse Fancy Phrases then using a S4-235 Fancy Tag die template to cut/emboss the images creating a Fancy tag :)

For color inspiration, I referred to this week's CR84FN8 graphic :

For the bow, I used Raspberry Truffle Vintage style scrunched seam binding from Kimberly Tracy. Kimberly makes and sells some gorgeous ribbon that can be found at My Craft Spot.

Before you know it, Valentine's Day will soon be here! So I gathered up a few things to share with one lucky randomly chosen person via Random.org that may help you get a jump start on making those Valentine's for the one(s) you love! All you need to do is leave a comment on this post by 6:00 pm Eastern US time - Saturday, January 1st and tell me who YOU will be making sweet Valentine's for? :) I will post the winning's recipients name on my post for Sunday, January 2nd.

That's all for now - headed to work for the day. Can't wait to read who you all share Valentine's with! Thanks for looking! Be Sweet :)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Fancy Phrases
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™ Shapeabilities® S4-235 Fancy Tags, GC-001 Grand Calibur 

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Something Exciting to Share... 61

Hi there! To all of you who celebrated, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas :) I received some AMAZING news yesterday that I would love to share with you ... PLEASE click HERE for COMPLETE details :) and PLEASE feel free to share your thoughts :)

Thanks so much for all of your support throughout 2010 - I don't think I would be where I am if it hadn't been for all of you who have encouraged, supported and inspired me along the way - I am looking forward to an exciting, creative 2011 and hope you continue to join me for the journey :)

I may be a bit quiet over the next few days as I work on some necessary DT projects. As 2011 approaches, we get closer to Winter CHA and you know that means right? - Yep, NEW papercrafting products will be introduced! :)

Be Sweet!

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Merry Christmas! 25

Hi there! Just popping in today to wish you all who celebrate a very Merry Christmas :) I hope you enjoy the day with your loved ones! Thank you so very much for all the sweet and encouraging comments throughout the year :)

This is a pic taken from the inside of St. Peter's Basilica Rome, Italy:

Words can not describe the beauty of this magnificent church. The photo below is Scott & I standing in St. Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica while on a summer trip to Italy a few years ago. I think it would be quite the experience to attend Christmas Eve mass at St. Peter's but grateful I had the opportunity I had to visit regardless the time of the year :)

In no particular order, here are a few beautiful Christmas cards that some of my sweet blogging friends sent to me & my family:
This one with the darling paperpieced basket is from Stephanie:

Look at the teensy weensy pearl that Sue used for an eye on the beautiful felt dove:

Heather did an amazing job coloring that gorgeous image:

and look at the sweet snowman with the shimmery detail that Diane showcased on her fabulous card:

This is my last Christmas card of 2010:

 For sketch inspiration, I played along with what will be Mercy Kerin's last sketch for her weekly sketch challenge :( I will truly miss all the inspiration and weekly sketches that can be found on Mercy's blog. ***Mercy is selling an extensive collection of previously used stamps - you may want to check out her blog if you are interested in purchasing some before they are all gone***

 I inked up a label from then stamped the Believe in the magic from and used a to cut/emboss the image. Super easy!

Thanks so much for looking! I hope you have the BEST Holiday Season ever :)

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Holiday Labels No.14, Twas the night before Christmas
Die Templates and Machine: Spellbinders™ Nestabilities® S4-290 Labels Fourteen, S4-242 Big Scalloped Borderabilities® Petite, GC-001 Grand Calibur

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Gift Card Holders 43

Hi there! Are you all finished with your Holiday shopping? I bought a few gift cards for my sister Tina, son Jerry and his girlfriend April so I decided to make a lil' homemade holder for each:

A few weeks ago, I spent a little time at my LSS in the studio using their AccuCut die machine and I cut a bunch of Kraft envelopes that are the perfect size to hold a gift card and are a lot of fun to decorate.

For color inspiration, I played along with this week's Off The Wall Challenge #38:

After embossing the envelope, I used a few strips of double sided tacky tape to adhere the side edges together. I brushed on some paint, tied a bow at the top and added an ornament that was stamped using an image from Waltzingmouse Vintage Ornaments  then cut/embossed using a S4-283 2010 Heirloom Ornament die template. I love the added little jingle bells :)

Here is a peek of the inside:

Thanks for looking! Hope you have a great day :) Happy Holidays!
Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Vintage Ornaments
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-283 2010 Heirloom Ornaments,  S4-190 Labels Four, GC-001 Grand Calibur

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My Friend...WMSC28, CR84FN8 57

Hi there! I hope you are all having a great start to your week :) It's the MOST wonderful time of the year but oh so busy...sigh... In my personal life, a lot of exciting things are happening that I would like to share. I started a new job last week and resigned from my current job of 11 years. It was a difficult decision but after a lot of time and careful consideration, I decided a change would be good. I will miss my colleagues, many who have become personal friends but look forward to making new friendships. One thing I will definitely not miss is being tethered to a pager for countless hours anticipating the next emergency surgery. My "new" job requires NO call, NO weekends -YAHOOOO!!!! almost virtually unheard of for a Registered Nurse working in an Operating Room :)

Here to share this quick, CAS card that I made:

I combined a few of my favorite products to make this card. I pulled out a piece of Pink Paislee's Parisian Anthology collection DP and trimmed a corner off a square doily that I convinced the manager of one of favorite restaurants to share with me :)

For sketch inspiration, I referred to this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge:

and for color inspiration, the current CR84FN8 challenge :)

You may notice, I don't use a lot of what I consider LOUD colors so this color combo incorporating Bright Pink is quite the challenge for me personally! How about you? Do you prefer subtle & pastel,  bold & bright or a little of both?

Using both Spellbinders™ Nestabilities® S4-249 Big Scalloped Circles LG & S4-250 Big Scalloped Circles SM die templates, I created a multi-layered flower embellishment:

I inked up the sweet My Friend sentiment from Waltzingmouse Roses In Bloom and used a S4-249 Big Scalloped Circles LG die template to cut/emboss the image.

Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you are enjoying the Holiday Season :)

Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Roses In Bloom
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™ Nestabilities® S4-249 Big Scalloped Circles LG, S4-250 Big Scalloped Circles SM, S4-139 Petite Scalloped Oval LG, GC-001 Grand Calibur
Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology collection

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Holiday Treats...CR84FN8 47

Hi there! I hope you are all having a great weekend :) Thanks to all who played along with last week's challenge - there were 23 awesome projects!

Let's get to the randomly selected participant for the first CR84FN challenge of 2011 Guest Designer spot is:

Gladys, I would be honored if you would join along as my Guest for the CR84FN9 challenge beginning January 2nd :)

Next, I would like to introduce you to this week's Guest Designer:

You can see all of Suzanne's beautiful artwork at Suzanne's Stamping Spot.

Suzanne made this elegant card:

I love the bold and bright pink flowers that seem to jump right off the card.
Thank you so much Suzanne for joining me with this week's challenge... I hope you all visit Suzanne's blog: Suzanne's Stamping Spot for complete details and to share some love :)

I made some last minute gifts by filling 3 Ball mini jars with various tasty Holiday treats then dressing the jars up with a ribbon, tag and jar topper. I inked up a decorative image from Vintage Circles, Small with gray ink then using a S4-293 Lacey Circle die template, cut/embossed the stamped image and added a Poinsettia blossom made using a S4-219 Nested Poinsettia die template:

Jar #1 is full of mini peppermint sticks:

Jar #2 contains Peppermint Bark:

and Jar #3 is full of Peanut Brittle:

All 3 tags were made by combining a label from Very Vintage Labels No. 4 and cut/embossed using a S4-190 Labels Four die template.

Thank you for looking :) I hope you feel inspired to play along!

Now for the CR84FN Challenge details:

I would like to invite ONE randomly selected participant as the next challenge's Guest Designer :) I would like to keep things on an even playing ground so in order to do so, all you need to do is follow a few simple guidelines:

*Please display the CR84FN graphic with your post if you have a blog. Leslie graciously offers her photos as inspiration and I would like to give her proper recognition. My dear hubby Scott takes the time to create the graphic. Seeing the graphic makes it much easier to locate your entry on your blog.

*Please do not combine the CR84FN with any other COLOR challenges.

*Work must be original.

*You are more than welcome to submit as many creations as you like however, the number associated with your first entry will be the number considered in the random generator.

Once you have your project photographed and uploaded to your blog or on-line gallery, please link the URL to your entry on this post using Inklinkz. If you use an on-line gallery, please be sure to use CR84FN8 as the keyword and if you have a blog, please display the graphic so I can easily find your entry. I hope you come join along and Create For Fun!

*** Due to the Holidays, the CR84FN8 Challenge will run for 2 weeks*** 

Challenge ends: Saturday, January 1 9:00 PM Eastern US time.

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Vintage Circles, Small, Nutcracker Sweet, Very Vintage Labels No. 4
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™ Nestabilities® S4-190 Labels Four, S4-293 Lacey Circles, S4-219 Nested Poinsettia, GC-001 Grand Calibur

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On the Eleventh Day of Christmas... 101

Normally at this time, Claire and the Waltzingmouse DT members would be previewing new stamp sets for release. However, there will be no release this month in order to allow Claire time to focus on a few "behind the scenes" plans that will take us to the next level in the new year.

It's all very exciting, so we ask that you bear with us! It will be worth it! Instead, we're coming together to bring you some ideas and inspiration for holiday crafting (and beyond) which we are calling 12 Days of Christmas Waltzingmouse Style! Each day will showcase a different design team member, so be sure to check back daily through December 17th for the links... and enjoy!

Welcome to the 11th day of the Waltzingmouse 12 Days of Christmas!

I am sharing a coupon book that I made for my hubby who is one of THE most difficult people to shop for on my list! Long before I joined Claire and the Waltzingmouse DT, I was sold on Waltzingmouse Stamps not only for Claire's amazing design style but that fact that she designs so many stamps to coordinate with Spellbinders™ die templates making it oh so easy to flawlessly cut/emboss many of her stamped images. So lets get started: 

On the cover, in the upper right hand corner the stamped label is from Very Vintage Labels No. 4 and a S4-190 Labels Four die template was used to cut/emboss the image.

I made the little decorative embellishment to the left of the Poinsettia by stamping a wreath from Nutcracker Sweet then cut/embossed using a S4-293 Lacey Circle die template.

Page 1 features A visit from St. Nicholas poem from Twas the night before Christmas:

Page 2 features a sentiment and vintage ornament from Vintage Ornaments that was cut/embossed using a S4-283 2010 Heirloom Ornament die template and I stamped a label from Very Vintage Labels No. 4 and used a S4-190 Labels Four die template to cut/emboss the image.

This is what the front of the coupon looks like outside the pocket:

Page 3 features an image from Around Christmastime that was cut/embossed using a S4-114 Standard Circles LG die template then layered on top a scalloped circle cut using a S4-114 Standard Circles LG die template.

 Here is what the coupon looks like outside the pocket:

I stamped sentiments on each coupon front and back (shown below) the Joyeux Noel is from Very Vintage Christmas.

Page 4 features sentiment from Compliments of the Season and a stamped beautiful ornate label from Holiday Labels No. 14 that was cut/embossed using a S4-290 Labels Fourteen die template.

Page 5 has a lot of little star/snowflake images from Seasons of Love - Tags scattered about the background:

I stamped the star image from Seasons of Love - Tags then used a S4-092 Stars Five die template to cut/emboss the image. On the back of each coupon, I stamped an image from Victorian Frippery then filled in the blanks with a little gift of sorts :)

Are you able to see the soft, fuzzy texture achieved by using the Dryer Sheet technique on the blue snowflake?

Page 6 features a stamped black decorative circular border from Vintage Circles, Small 
that was cut/embossed using a  S4-114 Standard Circles LG die template:

Page 7 features an ornate from stamped frame from Victorian Frippery using a S4-162 Labels No. 2 die template to cut/emboss the image:

Below the ornately framed Santa I stamped a sentiment from Compliments of the Season:

Page 8 features a coupon with a decorative heart image from Season's of Love-Tags then used a S4-136 Classic Heart die template to cut/emboss the image.

Spellbinders™ die templates are unique in that you can easily cut, emboss and stencil. Here is how I created the sentiment label on the front of the star: Step 1: Stamp the sentiment from Season's of Love-Tags. Step 2: Positioned and taped a S4-110 Classic Ovals LG die template over the sentiment. Step 3: Run through die cut machine to cut/emboss the image. Step 4: While leaving die in place, use a sponge dauber to apply ink.

That's all I have for today - I hope you enjoyed my project. Thanks for looking! Tomorrow, Joan will be sharing an awesome Holiday project with you! You'll find all the links on the Waltzingmouse Stamps blog.

***EDITED: Dec. 16th 6:38AM EDT: I also have some exciting news to share, if you missed seeing my Waltzingmouse Yuletide Blessings card, please feel free to head on over to the Melissa Frances Blog, where it is being featured today :) YIPEEEE!!!

Supplies Used:
Cover
Stamps: Waltzingmouse:  Twas the night before Christmas, Nutcracker Sweet,
Very Vintage Labels No. 4
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-190 Labels Four, S4-293 Lacey Circles, S4-219 Nested Poinsettia, GC-001 Grand Calibur

Page 1
Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Twas the night before Christmas, Very Vintage Christmas
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-291 Labels Fifteen, S4-286 2010 Snowflake Pendants, GC-001 Grand Calibur

Page 2
Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Very Vintage Labels No. 4, Musical Backgrounds,Vintage Ornaments, Victorian Frippery
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-190 Labels Four, S4-293 Lacey Circles, S4-283 2010 Heirloom Ornaments, S5-025 Labels Seventeen, GC-001 Grand Calibur

Page 3
Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Around Christmastime, Nutcracker Sweet, Very Vintage Christmas, Victorian Frippery
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-291 Labels Fifteen, S4-287 Fanciful Holiday, GC-001 Grand Calibur

Page 4
Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Seasons of Love - Tags, Holiday Labels No. 14, Compliments of the Season
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-290 Labels Fourteen, S4-287 Fanciful Holiday, GC-001 Grand Calibur

Page 5
Stamps: Waltzingmouse:  Seasons of Love - Tags, Around Christmastime, Compliments of the Season, Victorian Frippery
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-092 Stars Five, S5-025 Labels Seventeen, LF-190 Grand Labels Four, Shapeabilities® S4-225 Holiday Cheer, GC-001 Grand Calibur


Page 6
Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Vintage Circles, Small, Nutcracker Sweet, Compliments of the Season
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-304 Eyelet Circles,  S4-114 Standard Circles LG, Shapeabilities® S4-235 Fancy Tags, GC-001 Grand Calibur


Page 7
Stamps: Waltzingmouse:  Compliments of the Season, Very Vintage Labels No. 2
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-162 Labels No. 2, S4-219 Nested Poinsettia, GC-001 Grand Calibur


Page 8
Stamps: Waltzingmouse: Season's of Love-Tags, Victorian Frippery
Die Templates & Machine: Spellbinders™Nestabilities® S4-136 Classic Heart, S5-025 Labels Seventeen, S4-286 2010 Snowflake Pendants, S4-110 Classic Ovals LG, GC-001 Grand Calibur

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