Friday, August 31, 2012

You Light Up my Life

Hi!

I am still running from one activity to the next, but I did manage to squeeze in some time to make a quick card! I saw the Tuesday Morning Sketch for the week and I had in mind what I wanted to do with my little spin on it.

I started with a Lunch Bag Kraft card base from The Kraft Outlet and added some vintage white paint to the edges. From my stash, I added a piece of Graphic 45 paper to the card base and started embellishing with some pretties. Just a look at some of my favorite things! :-)
I took some recycled corrugated cardboard and die-cut a butterfly and added some vintage white paint embellishing with a mini clothes pin and a rose from The Inspired By Stamping store and added to the center of my burlap rectangle.
Finishing touches include buttons, pearls and a sentiment from Practicing Creativity!

Here is the inspiration sketch from Tuesday Morning Sketches

I am also joining on the playground for another go at the swings at Pixie's Crafty Snippet Challenge.
I hope you have enjoyed this quick little make. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Hugs,
~Tammy~

Monday, August 27, 2012

Recycle It with a Pop of Green

Hello!

**Excited to note that this card was chosen at Little Red Wagon as one of the Featured Upcycle Projects on 8/28/12 Thank you ladies I am Honored and also made Honorable Mention Cup of Tea at The Shabby Tea Room on 9/2/12**

I have a quick share with you today that is all about recycling! Everything on this card was created from my scrap stash including the card base. There are also some repurposed elements as well.
I started with an embossed background leftover from another make. I used the letterpress technique to add the pop of green to the embossed impression. I took the embossed pattern and distressed the edges and curled some corners to give it a worn look. I had a scrap of floral patterned paper laying on my desk and it was the perfect size to add to the center of my card. A length of lace trim and white pom pom's were added to the top and bottom of the floral patterned paper followed by some green baker's twine which was wrapped horizontally around the card front, tied off in a bow and embellished with a pearl. 
As I was cleaning out my closet I realized I had an empty box from my flat iron. (Don't ask me why I had this in my closet still???) As I was headed to the recycle bin, I had an idea to use the corrugated piece on a project. I cut a piece to use and I die-cut a heart and painted it white sanding it up a bit for a worn look. Inspired by Deb Hickman, I used a dress pattern to make my floral focal point. I added a square brad through the layers and glued a fabric button to the top of the brad to dress up the flower.  I die-cut some leaves and added the dress pattern flower to the corrugated heart to complete my focal image.
Finishing touches include two heart stick pins, and a ticket which was stamped creating a sentiment from Inspired by Stamping Little Phrases II.

I am joining along with Our Creative Corner's - Recycle It with a Pop of Green 
I've missed playing in the playground at Pixie's Crafty Snippet Challenge so I am joining in there!!!
The Shabby Tea Room - Summer Cottage
Little Red Wagon - Upcycle (Thanks Jessi)
Catered Crop - No stress to Distress (Thanks Jessi)

I hope you have been inspired to recycle things in your projects!

So excited to share that this card made Top 3 at The Shabby Tea Room Last week! Thank you so much ladies for the shout out! 
Week #128 - Rebecca Deeprose, Tammy, Cathy Mc

Hope you have a great week!
~Tammy~

Thursday, August 23, 2012

With Sympathy



I started this card by adding a piece of patterned paper and pink, gingham, fabric tape to my rustic cream card base. A sentiment was stamped in Charcoal ink to the lower right corner of the card front.  A cross stitched bird was stamped in Stick Candy Ink onto sage cardstock and fussy cut and popped up with foam mounting tape onto the circular die cuts which was stamped with a flower.

For an embellishing touch, a row of buttons were added to the card front followed by some darling little flower rhinestones. 

We would like to see a homemade theme along with pink and green in your project. I can't wait to see what you create!

Have a fantastic day!
~Tammy~

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Sweet As Sugar


Hi!

(**Woohoo this card was selected for Top Three at The Shabby Tea Room on 8/27/12 Thank you!!!**)

After yesterday's post, I had to escape to my craft room and make something girly! The card is a lot cuter in person. I got my craft on late, so no sunshine for picture taking.

I started this card by adding a piece of gorgeous patterned paper to a cream cardstock base. I stamped a damask pattern in Bubble Gum pink onto a oval die which was cut in half and added to the top and bottom portion of the card front. 
Emma, from Paper Sweeties was stamped in Tuxedo Black Ink and was fussy cut and colored with chalk and colored pencils. She was then dressed with an outfit from You are Fabulous. For a bit of dimension, she was added with some foam mounting tape to the right side of the card front.
I added some fun goodies of seam binding, stick pins, a prima flower, buttons and a heart doily to embellish this cutie. To complete the card, a Sweet as Sugar sentiment on a hand-cut banner was added to the lower portion of the card front. 

Inspiration for this card comes from The Shabby Tea Room - Shabby Patterns 
Simon Says Stamp - No Rules

Thanks for visiting me~ Still very busy on this end between, swimming, baseball, soccer. The front of my car should say, Mom Taxi! 

Hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday!
~Tammy~

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Thank you for a Soccer Coach...

Hi!

I will start off by saying this is not my favorite card. I think for several reasons, but for starters it's not girly (love pink, buttons, bows, and bling), I had to make a dreaded man card, and I flat out find it hard to find time to craft right now,  This was another make that was done again "stupid late" out of necessity.  Anyway, all who have followed me long enough know I post the good, the bad, and the ugly! Ha!

My son went to another British Soccer Camp, and it was just as great an experience as it was a few months back. Another parent, and I wanted to give the Coach a thank you gift to show our appreciation. She asked if I had a card knowing I "play with paper". Of course my stash of thank you cards are pretty girly. 

So here is what I came up with, and I had a little help with the layout mojo thanks to the August Sketch For You To Try.

You know it's handmade when you improvise to make something work!!! I didn't have a Soccer Ball, so using some black glitter paper I used a circle nestie then hand-cut the shapes using white cardstock.  Next I used a white gel pen to fill in the lines. (Didn't use the noggin to realize that the gel pen was not going to turn out pretty on glitter paper.) Oh well, it's homemade with appreciation! :-)))

I believe everything else is self explanatory. 

Here is the sketch from SFYTT
aug2012sketch
Let's just say, I am writing this post stupid late as well...Thanks for hanging in there with me with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Hoping you are having a fabulous summer. Mine continues to be crazy!

Take care,
~Tammy~
{Recipe}
Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages
Paper: CS: Stampin' UP!, PP: DCWV
Ink: Momento
Other: Dies: Spellbinders, PTI, White Gel Pen. 

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Gift Set For a New Home

I would like to share a gift set I created.

Since this is a picture heavy post, I will spare you the long details. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me.
This set was created for a young lady who will be moving off to college and her major will be Culinary. So I put a little homemade gift together to "spice" up her kitchen in her new apartment. It's an exciting time and one that should be celebrated!

Here are the spice jars. I kept things neutral so it will work with any color in her kitchen. 

Here is  a sample of one up close.
I started with a plain ol' Kraft bag, and dressed it up a bit! :-)
Next up is a coordinating tag.
No gift is complete without a card!
All papers in this coordinating gift set are from Cupcake Cards and Crafts Flourish Line. 

I hope you all are doing something wonderful this weekend. I am actually out of town, so if you are reading this, then blogger was kind and worked! 

Hope you grabbed you some new goodies from the Inspired By Stamping store and took advantage of the free shipping and August discount bundle! 
~Tammy~

Friday, August 17, 2012

For Someone Sweet! Inspired By Stamping - August Release


Hello!

Welcome to the Inspired By Stamping August product release post.
I used the sketch from SFYTT for my inspiration.  I used the new Mason Jar and Mason Jar Add On II as my focal image as well as some new red polka dot Washi Tape. All available today!!!
This is such a fun set with so many wonderful accessories! 
I started with a Lunch Bag Kraft card base adding some fun papers! When I think of canning jars, I think of the County Fair. I was influenced by the homespun patriotic feel of the crafters and artisans that participate in the exhibits. This is just a fun release to work with! :-)))

As I mentioned, I used the sketch from SFYTT as my layout inspiration!
aug2012sketch
Thanks for visiting me! I hope you have a fantastic Friday!
~Tammy~

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Inspired By Stamping August Peeks!

Hello crafty friends,

(Blog Candy Alert details at the end of the post)

Welcome to the second group post for the Inspired by Stamping August release. I hope you were able to check out the gorgeous designs yesterday by Deb, Kim, Irit, Colleen, and Joanna. 

So let's get started shall we...
My inspiration for this card started with this beautiful fabric tape you see on the bottom of my card and on the tag. Yellows and blues are so pretty together!   I stamped the soon to be released Mason Jar on vellum and fussy cut it out. I then flipped the image over and stamped the Butterflies on the reverse side in two different blues and a fun bright yellow! The sentiment is from Mason Jar Add On II. 
Love this gorgeous tape! 

For my next card, I used the Mason Jar again, but this time I used Copic markers to fill it in. One of our favorite drinks around here is Strawberry Lemonade, and for a treat, I will add in some Grenadine both for flavor and color! We also drink out of Mason Jars!
A little sneak look at some beautiful crochet trim now being carried!
I started with a Lunch Bag Kraft card base. I used the letterpress technique on the upper portion of the card, and pieced together with the pink gingham patterned paper. I took a length of gorgeous Rosewood satin ribbon and wrapped it horizontally around my card front and tied off in a bow embellishing with a button. 
Finishing touches included die-cut strawberries that have been kissed with glitter, buttons and a sentiment from Mason Jar Add On II.

My next project was inspired by the upcoming fall season. Everywhere you look, there are ad campaigns for Going Back to School!!! 

This project would be perfect to give to a teacher on the first day! I have friends that are teachers, and they do get tons of apples, but how about Apple Butter and a complimenting card that your child could give to introduce themselves? Now that would leave a lasting impression! :-))))
If you don't have little ones heading back to school, this set could be used for anyone. This would make a great hostess or neighbor gift. 
Using a sentiment from Mason Jar Add On! The frame is from
Mason Jar Add On II!


We love apple butter in our house, and if you visit a pick your own orchard, you may be wondering what to do with all those apples. There are many easy canning recipes and tips on the Internet. 
I started with a cream card base and pieced together my patterned paper trimming the excess and rounding the corners. 

And now for my final card! (Thanks for hanging in there with me)
I started with a Lunch Bag Kraft card base, and added some vintage white paint for a shabby touch. I added some beautiful patterned paper to the card base adding a hand-cut banner from a vintage book to the right side of the card front. Using coordinating paper a rectangle was cut and added as the next layer. A length of seam binding was wrapped horizontally across the top portion of the card and tied off in a fussy bow embellishing with a button and twine. 

For the focal image of this card I used a sentiment and frame from Mason Jar Add On II  which was stamped on a coordinating Spellbinders die adding to a beautiful doily. A gorgeous bloom was added as finishing touch. 

Further inspiration for this card was found from the current Mojo Monday sketch.

I hope you have enjoyed these projects! Please pop on over to the other talented ladies showcasing this new release today! 



Thanks again for letting me share with you!
~Tammy~

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Big 5 Birthday Girl

Hi!

{Wohoo, this card was selected for the Comet Award at Papercraft Star on 8/21/12...thank you very much}

We were invited to a birthday party that was a carnival theme, so I had to put together a quick birthday card and I was limited on time, so I actually cased one of my own cards for the layout. That took all the guesswork out of it, and the card come together quickly. Running short on time....look through some of your favorite card makes and recreate it. 

I started with a kraft card base which has been distress painted. The patterned paper is a collection by g.c.d. Studios called Funhouse. It's perfect for a carnival theme birthday! 
The Funhouse collection also has some coordinating embellishments.  I added a pocket with a fun little coordinating card for a sentiment.  I stamped a 5 on a die-cut and added it to the outside of the pocket. On the inside sentiment card, I added two tickets which have been stamped with the Birthday girl sentiment and a 5.  Some die-cut stars were added to the pocket from the coordinating Funhouse papers.

This paper collection is so fun~

A banner was cut and added to the top embellished with some buttons. I made some hand dyed seam binding and created a fussy bow embellishing with a button and twine. 

The Papercraft Star has a Fair or Carnival Theme. What perfect timing to go along with the birthday card for our friend. 

Thank you so much for stopping by! 
Have a wonderful Wednesday! 
~Tammy~

Sunday, August 12, 2012

DeNami Designs Bright, Bold & Beautiful

Hi There!
It's DeNami Blog Hop time!!!
You should have arrived from
Wendy's blog,
but if you just popped in you are
not going to want to miss all
the beautiful inspiration so
you will want to start at
the beginning 
plus you don't want to miss out 
on your chance to win
a mini DeNami Shopping Spree!
2 very lucky commenters will win
$20.00 gift certificates !!
Here is what I have for you today!
It's a little more clean and simple then what I usually create.
I started with a white card base, 
and added a strip of beautiful patterned paper 
from Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely Collection
to far left of my card base, and then 
I added some fun washi tape.
I created a pocket from some
patterned paper in the same collection,
adding some faux stitching to the pocket.
Unfortunately, my brand new
gel pin was not working very
well. I think I got a bad/old one. Ugh! 
It's hard to see the white on white, 
but a postage stamp punch was used
to stamp my heart image from
Some yellow baker's twine
was vertically wrapped
around the card front and tied 
in a bow. 
Last, but not least, a sweet
little sentiment from
was added to the lower
right corner.
***********
Before I send you off to Linda's blog
remember you have till 
August 13, 2012 at 11:59 PM PST
to comment on all the blog hop
participants.   Remember there
are some awesome DeNami gift certificates up
for grabs! Lots of wonderful inspiration
to feast your eyes on! 
~Tammy~

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Arrrggghhh, Matey a Pirate Birthday...

Hi!  

(A delight to find that this card received the Comet Award from Papercraft Star on 8/7/12 Thank you so much to the DT for liking my card enough to give it a shout out!)

Thanks so much for your kind words and support. We received a short notice birthday invitation and although we can not attend, we picked up a little something for the birthday boy and here is the card that will accompany the gift. I stayed up burning the midnight oil to get this finished. 

Since I had little mojo and it was stupid late, I followed the Tuesday Morning Sketch for the week. So grateful for that!  Everything was created with my scraps. A treasure map was added to the card base. This was left over from my son's birthday party a few years back. I knew those leftover supplies would come in handy. The stamp on the ticket is from Hero Arts. Along with the tiny star.   It's not super noticeable, but I stamped the kraft cardstock that the Pirate is on with a script background stamp from Hero Arts. The Pirate is from The Angel Company and they have gone out of business. 
I decorated the inside and added a birthday greeting sentiment. I added various distress inks to the sentiment panel to flow with the feel of the map. 

Inspiration found: Tuesday Morning Sketches 

Papercraft Star - Use a Map - Hopefully a treasure map counts :-)
The Kraft Journal - Use Any Sketch

Thanks so much for dropping in with me again!
~Tammy~

Friday, August 3, 2012

Thinking of you always

Hi!

Over the summer, my blog has been rather quiet. Good ol' summertime has not left a lot of time for free "play" time. I have to say we have been quite glued to the TV at night between baseball and now the olympics.  Not to mention, we have been ducking in and out of town on short vacation stints. The travel will come to a halt as I roll back into my role as a single mother with a husband away on an assignment for a couple of months. This also proves to be challenging because I have no back-up to let me have a little bit of design time. My short stack loves to play baseball in the front yard and with Daddy gone I am on my own being the entertainment committee! :-)))  

Why am I babbling all this, to explain why it's been hard for me to post and stop by to visit your lovely works of art this summer. I do appreciate each and every one of you and I hope you continue to stick around till things roll back into normalcy in a few months.

Having said all that, I snagged some crafty time during nap yesterday. I needed to do house chores, but I think for my sanity I needed to craft something! 

So here is a share for today. 
I totally dug into my stash of scraps! Yay! I love that!  All papers are from Cupcake Cards & Crafts. Even though these papers are from previous makes, I love that I have these on file to print out whenever I need. If you love that too, please head over to Cupcake Cards & Crafts and check out what can be delivered right to your inbox to download. 
For my focal point, I made a ribbon loop focal embellishment dressing up with buttons.  A ribbon flower was created to add to the center of my doily. 
I finished my card by stamping a lovely sentiment from Hero Arts - All Occasion Messages.

I found inspiration for my card at The Ribbon Reel - Button It! A Blog Named Hero - Freestyle, Pixie's Crafty Snippet Challenge. - Scraps

Thank you so much for stopping by! I appreciate each of you so much!
~Tammy~

Thursday, August 2, 2012

~Just want you to know how special you are~

Hi there,

{I am super honored and delighted that this card made Top 3 at The Kraft Journal 8/7/12 Thank You So much to the DT for liking my card}

First of all, I need to say Happy Birthday to my Mama! I miss you and wish we were closer to celebrate!

I started with Lunch Bag Kraft cardstock and added my punched border to the side of my patterned paper applied to the center of the card base. A pink bow was tied and added to the center of a linen flower which was embellished with a beautiful rhinestone flower brad, twine, and leaves cut from burlap.

I am also joining in at The Kraft Journal - Use Any Sketch and Pixie's Crafty Snippet Challenge - All things from my stash!

Thanks for stopping by! 
~Tammy~

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

August Cupcake Craftroom - Fresh and Summery

Hi!

Welcome to August Cupcake Craftroom monthly challenge! This month's challenge is lilac and lime. I have used some new papers from Cupcake Cards & Crafts called Lilac and Lime Spring. 
I started with a Lemonade card base. I layered with a white embossed panel adding a fun decorative panel strip called buds to the bottom. The Midi polka-dot paper was handcut into a banner and added to the left portion of the card front. Stitched Stripes was used as a focal base for my fun layered ice cream cone which was paper pieced using curly brackets and Lilac polka-dots

Finishing touches include a sentiment stamped on Lemonade paper and some fun twine which I wrapped in a wonkly manner around my panel and tied in a bow.   

Beautifully coordinated papers makes designing a cinch. 

I hope you will play along with us at The Cupcake Craftroom and be sure to check out this fun new line called Lilac and Lime

We look forward to seeing what you create!
Thanks for visiting me today!
~Tammy~