Big Prima Surprise and Contest

Contest ends tonight, so hurry and get your entry in before it's too late:

http://prima.typepad.com/prima/

Card Art

I've been a bad blogger.....a very bad blogger! I don't know how I let the time get away from me ~ can't believe my last post was in October!! But I'm baaaaaaaaack!

While I was away, I've been busy re-organizing my scrap room. This photo frame was crying to be filled, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use the Cuttlebug and some cardstock that coordinates with the curtains in the new scrap studio. Each of the white BG's is embossed with a different CB folder and CS used is Only Orange, Tempting Turquoise and Certainly Celery. The Petal Prints two step stamping set was combined with a rock n roll technique on the base flower on the image to the left, a TAC sets called "Little Things" was used for the sentiment in the middle (along with a stamp from SU's Mon Ami, and the SU Flutterby on the right is framed with the Borders and Corners set from Papertrey.

Can't really see the fine detail in this photo, but it's very elegant.

Scrap Candy Give Away

http://designingwithdiecuts.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:scrap-candy-give-away&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

Halloween II

Please forgive the shadow on this photo ~ I'm still trying to find the best spot/time to take pictures!

This is the facing page to the Halloween 2008 LO. Love the journalling corner stamp that I got from Inque Boutique...it was the perfect size to comment on how the 80 degree weather wasn't suitable for a fleece costume.

Birthday Reminder Box

The PaperTrey blog had a post about getting ready for all those birthdays that seem to creep up on us each year. Essentially, the idea is to have a system in place at the beginning of the year that will remind us what to send, to whom, and when. The idea is to keep a birthday list in the same place with suitable cards, along with a list of addresses, a pen for addressing the envelopes, and the stamps to put on them. Several of the contributors shared their versions of birthday organization, but none of them seemed exactly right for me, so I went hunting.

In the Splitcoast Stampers gallery, I saw quite a few versions of this box, originally designed for stationery. (Not sure who the original creator was, so sorry I cannot give credit). Anyway, I looked at a few ideas, made some changes, and came up with my own interpretation of the various designs to make it work as a 'birthday card box'. Instead of an address book, I made a birthday list book, using month stamps from Purple Onion designs, and the journalling page corner from my Halloween LO. This book sits in the inside front pocket, right next to a spot for address labels. My plan make address labels for the entire year, so that when I have the card ready to go (with matching envelope), I can simply grab and label and stick it on....no looking up the address, hunting for the missing postal code, etc.

Here's what the box looks like opened:

Coffee Anyone?

One of the things I really miss about Canada is Tim Horton's coffee...and when I wanted to make a birthday card for a retired police officer, a Timmy's cup seemed exactly right, kwim?

One of the kind ladies on the SCAL User's Group made a card template of a takeout coffee mug, and I fiddled around with it to make it look Timmy-like. The background of both the cup and the lid are done with Unity Stamps ~ distressed dots and worn grid stamps, respectively. The letting was done by downloading the Tim Horton's logo jpeg from the internet, then importing it into Inkscape to make it into an svg usable in SCAL. My first attempt at conversion, and VERY easy, thanks to a tutorial on Susan Bluerobot's blog.

Ovals were cut from nestabilities....cardstock colors used were Creamy Caramel, Baroque Burgundy and Chocolate Chip, all from SU. So...whaddaya think ~ shall we all go out to Tim's? Or could someone bring me back one???

Anniversary

From My Cards

Yikes! I suddenly realized that I hadn't yet made a card for DH for our anniversary, so a quick look at my favorites in my SCS gallery was in order. I received my inspiration for this card here.

Colors in this card are Bordering Blue and white. The large heart stamp in the middle and 'forever' are ones I found in the dollar bin at Big Lots, while the stamps in the corners and on the punch are SU. The BG embossing and stamp cuts are from the free die cut/embossing set that came with my Cuttlebug....my first time using a combo set like this, and I'm pleased with the results~ plus, no measuring since the set is made to be used together.