When is an umbrella not an umbrella?...

There are times when I don’t know where my brain goes.  Sometimes an image will inspire the craziest thoughts.  In this case,  I think they all worked out well. See what you think.

         When it's an Easter egg??                                     or when it's a butterfly??

 

or maybe some fishies??                                    how about a bra??

or maybe I'm just batty??                                                        oh!  I saw the light!!

                                                 

Can you tell that I had a lot of much  with this umbrella which is part of a new set from Sparkle N Sprinkle called Spring Swirl. 

Is this not the prettiest set?  Can’t wait to do the little ducks!  I’ll show you another card using part of this set in later post, but it has to wait until the blog hop that Sparkle N Sprinkle is doing in combination with a ribbon company (so keep watching my blog!).  Let me know what you think?  I always love to hear from you!

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Design Adhesives...

Here's a little card I made using those fun Design Adhesives that Sparkle N Sprinkle has started carrying.  If you want a quick fix with a lot of pizzaz, then these should be in your craft space!   I had so much fun working with these and I know you will too.

I used quite a few elements here starting with the Flower Design Adhesives by glittering them first then placing them one on top of another and adding a coordinating pearl to the center.  Then I used a die by MFT for the scalloped strips.  I finished off the scalloped strips by adding Tear-ific Tape at the top edge of each strip.  I then rubbed in two different glitters to make them pop.  Last, I added the sentiment which is part of Sparkle N Sprinkle's new Birthday Set.  One of the great things about this set is that some of the images coordinate with Spellbinders' circles.

Give these Design Adhesives a try and let me know how you liked them!

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

I rate right up there with "junk mail"...

Ah, the surprises keep coming!  My daughter sent me a copy of this “junk mail” that she received from CardMaker Magazine and realized “hey! that’s my Mom’s card on the front of the envelope!”  So she took a picture and emailed it to me.  I feel quite honored to see it there -- and quite surprised as well (LOL)!  Just thought I’d share.  I've included a close-up of my card.

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Calendar Queens...

Here are my Queens of Inkland (minus me as I’m the one taking the picture and minus JoAnne who had a medical emergency).  These are the ladies I gather with once a month to make projects/cards, exchange ideas, insult one another, eat great food and, generally laugh an awful lot.  Upper left is Regina, next to her is Mary (with her mouth open - sorry, Mary!), then Chris in pink and in the foreground is Nancy.  We’ve been together for over 10 years doing this and it never, NEVER gets old!  I can only wish this same closeness for all of you out there.  We’ve been through a lot in these ten years, but our friendship stays strong and solid.

So, yesterday was our monthly gathering which we had at Chris’s new condo (yummy place!) and the project was to make our yearly calendars.   I know, we’re a bit late this year, but many of us have had lots of life issues this past year.  We have all given the Queen’s wave to 2010 and no fond adieus were included.  

Our plan for the calendars was simple.  Chris Zuttered the calendar base together and each of us had picked two months  to do (we did this the PC way by throwing all the months in a bowl and picking two).  So, after many hours of work, laughs and good food, I chose one calendar page from each Queen to show you.  We love our calendars and we changed it up a bit this year by just telling everyone to bring DP, card stock, bling, ephemera, punches, etc. that would go with their month.  Then each month’s doodads were put on the table and we each interpreted the month the way we wanted it.  Some of the months were constructed ahead (March and August for example) and all the components passed out to each of us.  We then did the placement as we wished.  The other months were pretty much a free-for-all and we did our own thing.  For me this was a big leap out of the box.  I am too self-contained and non-spontaneous when it comes to cardmaking or papercrafting.  I like to know where I’m going.  But I tell you I had a blast doing this calendar.  Wasn’t it a great way to spend a cold, windy Sunday afternoon?

I hope you like the samples I’ve shown and  I’d love to hear from you.   

Have a warm day and ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Lattice work...

Ahh, a sunny day!  But it’s going to get really cold over the next few days, so I think I’ll hunker down and devote some time to my online classes.  In the meantime, this was a class we did last night and we really had a great time.  My students were amazed at how really easy they were to construct.  I had seen this done on a blog whose name shall forever be lost in my fog-shrouded mind.  I do remember that it began with a “V” and that’s all I can tell you.  I just loved the idea of using Nesties dies in a different way.  The “aha” moment was using ribbon in place of paper/card stock on one of the cards.  I kept it extremely simple because the card on the left was going to involve more time and effort to complete.  But each and every student did an incredible job on their projects.  I’m so proud of them and I know they loved their cards when they were done.  These are the moments I live for (LOL).  Click on “read more” below for a close up of the rose card.  Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Getting really tired of snow...

Ah, yes, here we are approaching the last week in this month and we are looking at more of that white stuff.  It’s coming down pretty hard here - about 1” to 1-1/2” inches an hour.  The only saving grace is that it’s light and fluffy.  And if you think really, really hard, you can see the beauty in it.  Let’s face it folks, we’re a little tired of this “beauty”, but cheer up! -- they tell us another storm is on the way next week.  I’m pulling the covers over my head and not coming out till April. 

So, in honor of the “white stuff”, here’s a card I put together for a class next Thursday (the one on the right). This card was made using the Heartfelt Die that’s been all the rage lately.  It does do up a lovely card, don’t you think?  In this case I doubled the cardstock and made an actual card from the die, then placed some (ugh!) snowflakes in the window and in the front.  And see all that glitter? It just wouldn’t be me without it!  I just love the blue glitter by Sparkle N Sprinkle - it’s called Misty Blue - so beautiful!

On the card at the left, I cut the die using brown CS then went over it with two different colors of Liquid Pearls to give it that shimmery affect.  

Well, I’m off to shovel the walkway so the plow can come by and shovel me back in again!

Ciao for now and I hope your day is beautiful!

Ciao Bella!

Tis the season...

Sorry, folks, it’s been ANOTHER one of those weeks!  Be fair here, we did have Thanksgiving thrown in there!  Well, now that that’s over with... You’d think I cooked a meal, but we spent it at my daughter’s new home and she did the honors.  She made one mistake though.  She told all of us to take some leftovers and kindly provided us with nice containers to carry them in.  Well, I guess we all got carried away and didn’t leave them ANY turkey!  Now, to be fair, I was the first one to pack leftovers, so I’ll have to finger-point at someone else in my family (LOL).

So, on to the next holiday, not that I haven’t been posting Christmas stuff right along.  But i thought I’d show you a card using one of the newest sets from Sparkle N Sprinkle.  What a fun time I’ve had with this set!  This card was done using two different sizes of their Tear-ific Tape (that’s the striping) and I did the ornament on acetate and glittered the devil out of it.  

Here's a close-up of the ornament.

 For those of you who live in the area, I’ll be teaching this card at the Scrapbook Cupboard on December 8th, so sign up early to save a seat!  I’ll try and post more later this week.  In the meantime, enjoy and please try and comment.  If all else fails, just email me. Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!