Obsessed with an impression...

Ha, ha!  My attempt at a play on words.  I'm talking about Impression Obsession stamps, specifically Cover-A-Card stamp images.  They are so much fun to work with and there's a myriad of combinations you can use with them.  Here are two cards I did for our Spring Fling at the Scrapbook Cupboard.  I have to keep the cards as simple as possible as we're dealing with upwards of 25 people in a Round Robin setting.  They had a blast and everyone ordered these images.  They also requested that I do a regular class using them.

I used three different designs as depicted on the purple card - very clear to see what was used.  On the green card I used only two of the designs for the background and the third design for the flower.  Fun, huh?  So I had the store order three more different designs for a class coming up in early May.  Check out the calendar at Scrapbook Cupboard and join us!  We have a ton of fun -- no serious stuff here.  However, they DO learn techniques, all kidding aside.  It's what keeps card making fun and interesting.  

Hope you like it and I welcome all comments.

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Non-traditional Mother's Day Blog Hop

Hello crafters!  Welcome to the Sparkle N Sprinkle "non-traditional" blog hop (http://sparklensprinkle.com/blog/).   Why non-traditional you ask?  Well, we at SNS know that there is always a special female someone in your life whether it be a mom, sister, cousin, friend, co-worker, etc.  that you'd like to honor in a special way.  So the designers got to work producing non-traditional  cards that can go in whatever direction you need.

I hope you've been enjoying the previous cards presented by my fellow "sparkle" team designers and if you just came from Julie Z's blog, you are in the right place.  I hope that you will continue to be inspired as you hop along.  Here are two cards that I thought would fill the bill for this particular theme.  All you would have to do is add a sentiment to the outside -- or not!  Maybe they'll inspire you just the way they are.

The set I used to create two very different "cards" is Flower Vases.  First of all, I say "cards" in quotation marks because one is actually a sun catcher that your recipient can keep up all year round.  Secondly, what makes these cards special, is that we took the stamp set out of retirement especially for you!  We realized these images still have so much potential and we hope you are thrilled with our decision to resurrect this set again.

The above card is a totally non-traditional one in its color choice alone.  We have white, black,  and gray  for our color scheme, but look how well they work together with a crisp, yet feminine edge to it.

The second card is actually the sun catcher which is done using acetate and our wonderful glitters.  The acetate is encased in a double rim (front and back) using Spellbinders Beaded Circles dies.

I'm so happy you dropped by and be sure to leave a comment before hopping on over to Eleanor's blog  for additional surprises and inspiration.  I hope you win one of our terrific prizes!

Be sure to come back and visit my blog and leave comments any time - I welcome them all.
Ciao for now!
Ciao Bella!

Feature article in Papers and Pixels...

Well, imagine my surprise when Papers and Pixels contacted me to do a feature article on my tea bag folding techniques!  Actually, this came about through one of my online students, Traci Brennan, who was affiliated with the magazine at that time.  She enjoyed the classes on tea bag folding so much and we got to be wonderful cyber friends.  When I found out how talented she is in her own right,  I asked her why she was taking MY classes!  From there we got into her involvement with Papers and Pixels.  I really feel quite honored to be counted among such notables as Lauren Meader of My Time Made Easy.  She is an incredible talent.  If her name sounds familiar, she used to be with Papertrey Ink.

Papers and Pixels is a gorgeous, crisp, detailed, online FREE magazine and you should avail yourself of its pages.  They are predominantly a scrapbook publication, but they like all types of paper crafting.  So they put an article together about me and pointed it here to my blog where you can enjoy another FREE item!  Pretty good!  Two freebies in one day.

I must apologize for the technical difficulty on the last page of this slideshow, but if you read the last page you will be able to complete your project.  Not being a techno geek, I haven't been able to figure out why my last page dropped the instructional voiceover.

For other tea bag classes, please feel free to contact My Creative Classroom which is an online classroom only.  You can sit in the comfort of your own home and work at your own pace and time to complete the projects presented.  You have a one week, 24/7 window to complete each class for an extremely reasonable fee!  If you can't finish the classes you have signed up for, the classroom remains open for an additional 2 weeks at the end to enable you to catch up.  I just finished a four week tea bag folding class which may run again in the Fall.  My next project is Heat Embossing and all that it encompasses.  There will be three classes beginning with in-depth information regarding the different embossing powders and  you will complete three very different and fun projects when you are through.   So, go ahead, and check out My Creative Classroom for upcoming events.
Ciao for now.
Ciao Bella!

STAY TUNED!!

Can I tell you how excited I am!  And why you might ask?  On March 15th (actually midnight of 3/14) I will be featured in an article in Papers and Pixels which is a FREE online magazine.  You must check it out when it's released (don't worry, I'll remind you!).  This is a wonderfully executed digital magazine that is filled with tips, tricks, layouts, information, photos, etc. that incorporates many aspects of the stamping and scrapbooking world.

I was "discovered" through my work at My Creative Classroom, specifically Traci Brennan who is one of my students, and she asked if they could do a feature article on me and my tea bag folding.  Traci and I have since become online friends and would love to meet one another one day.  I just love how relationships evolve, especially something like this.  So, Traci, thank you for the recommendation and the exposure.  I'll be in touch soon!

So, for the rest of you, stay tuned for the release which will also point you to my blog for a FREE tea bag folding project slideshow.  It doesn't get any better than that!
Ciao for now!
Ciao Bella!

Soft and sweet...

Here's a little card I did for Sparkle N Sprinkle using their newest Blossoms set which coordinates with Spellbinders Blossoms 3 dies.  I stamped the flowers on vellum using white detail embossing powder then used a pale pink Copic marker to color over the embossing powder to give the flowers some depth.  I then stamped the leaves using a green EP, then colored the backs of the leaves with a Copic marker to match.  I then die cut leaves and flowers using Spellbinders Blossoms 3 and Nested Leaves. Next I cut an entire card using the largest of the Blossom dies, ran the face of the card thru an embossing folder and edged it all around with pink dye ink.  Add a bow and a sentiment from the Blossoms set and you have a quick little card when you're in a hurry.

I'm getting better at keeping it simple (oh, surprise!).  Enjoy.

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Congrats to my son!

After many grueling months of study and outdoorsy police stuff, my son graduated from Plymouth County Sheriff's Department on Sunday.  It was a really well orchestrated afternoon (Translation:  no long winded speeches.)  We met his Major who seems to have taken a special interest in Jeff's abilities and told him he could make a name for himself working for Plymouth County.  It was many nights and every Saturday and Sunday (cramming for exams) for the last 4 months.  Not an easy task since his wife, Dawn, works retail hours.  Dawn's wonderful Aunt Priscilla came through as a babysitter in all that time.  Hubby and I were tied up with taking care of hubby's Mom who passed away in the midst of all this.  So we are proud of ALL of them for getting the job done.  It's onward and upward from here!

                                     Jeff with Sheriff McDonald.

                                            Here's the proud family portrait!

                                                 And don't forget the proud parents!

We all trooped out for a celebratory dinner afterwards and had a lot of laughs.  Luckily we got a waitress who entered into the spirit of it all.  Aunt Priscilla brought two cakes - one for Jeff and one for Dawn who was celebrating her birthday that same day.  Just another day in the life of.
Ciao for now!
Ciao Bella!

Glubers are here!

Okay, you're asking what on earth is a Gluber?  Sounds icky, huh?  Well, basically it's just a giant glue dot!  But the fun thing about it is you can make flowers with them using ribbon, paper, fabric, and even a combination of these!  I have a class coming up the end of the month at The Scrapbook Cupboard and am happy to be the one introducing these crazy little doodads.  So here's what I'll be teaching.

What you're seeing is one flower obviously made with ribbon -- soooo easy!  I added the fabric leaves by using my 2-1/2" wide tape and die cutting them.  On the purple card I used a new product to the store called Viva Gold.  Oh, can I tell you what absolutely gorgeous colors these come in?  You probably can't see by the picture, but they have this glorious lustre to them, many having an underlying shade of gold going thru them.  This purple color does not have gold in it, but is just luscious and soooo easy to use.  I'll be doing a class devoted to Viva Gold on April 8th at the Scrapbook Cupboard, so stay tuned!

Aside from the Glubers and Viva Gold, I used a great glitter called Tyrian by Sparkle N Sprinkle on the purple card as well as their white embossing powder.  The orange ribbon across the top of the other card comes that way - I did not have to glitter it.  

Well, that's what's new and exciting for now.  Hope you enjoy and be sure to sign up for this class.

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Meet Gabby!

Here's the newest addition to the family!  Doesn't look like there'll be any more grandchildren in this lifetime, so we adopted this little cutie.  Her name is Gabby and she's five years old.  We've had her for about 3 weeks now just letting her get used to the house and our routine.  She's a lap cat for sure.  And when you scratch her under her chin she actually drools!!  (LOL!)  She comes up the stairs every morning when I get up and meows, butts her head against the bathroom door and pops in just to remind me she's hungry.  In the beginning she spent days under our bed as a safe haven, but quickly adjusted to life on the couch - she's a regular cat couch potato.  Now she's finding the different sunny floor locations -- I hate to tell her, but that will all be changing with the seasons.  Her favorite sunny spots will be moving soon.  I won't tell, if you won't.  In the beginning she'd hiss and bite if I tried to pick her up.  Then hubby (the one who didn't want a cat to begin with) calmly picks her up and puts her on his lap.  No hissing and biting there!  What's up with that?  Anyway, she's gotten over that with me, but has started something new.  I'll go up to her and pat her and talk to her.  When I get up, she swats me!  Thank goodness she's declawed!  Cat's certainly do rule, don't they?  Here's our girl:

This is probably more than you wanted to read, but I just thought I'd share.  

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Music to my ears...

Hi there!  What a gorgeous day - made even better because there aren't too many snowbanks you have to look over to pull out into major roadways.  The bottom of my hill is still pretty nasty with high snowbanks, but everywhere else we're actually seeing bare ground.  Yay!  Can't wait for Spring!  I know, we're not out of the woods yet.

Anyway, I just thought I'd show you yet another card using the new music set(s) from Sparkle N Sprinkle. See?  there's not only music in the air, but Spring in the air (what an optimist!).  So here's my little card where I used a combination of gorgeous papers from Papertrey Ink and tied them very nicely with the violins.  I just love this color combo - it makes me happy.  Hope you like it as well!

I used Log Cabin embossing powder from Sparkle N Sprinkle for the violins as the PTI paper is already prestamped with the musical notes (they did half my work for me - LOL!).  I just border punched the DP and layered it on the card.  I then used Spellbinders Labels 13 to cut the sentiment and background.  I cut two of the music labels, cut them in half and pieced the opposite colors back together for the bottom layer.  A little twine, pop dot the violins and here we have it.  Oh, I also ran thread thru the violins to make them a little more realistic (that's my anal side).

That's it!  Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!