Here's the promised artwork with the "Miracle" Paper Kit! Such pretty blues & greens. I've paired the paper with one of our newer stamps sets "Dreams Come True." Of course I like it because it has a Great(!!) Flourish! (Used behind the chipboard flower)I'm also very pleased with the sentiment & font chosen. I added Crystal Blue ink onto the chipboard "Irresistible" then edged it with a sponge & Desert Sand ink. It's finished off with a sparkle. Gotta love the bling! The white flower & stitching on the chipboard are part of the resist technique that make these "Irresistible" Dimensional Elements so much fun to work with, you just rub color on with a sponge & ink & wipe of the resist area clean & Ta Da it adds instant visual "Pop" to your piece. These 3"x 3" cards are the perfect size to accompany a small gift or fit into a gift bag. Quick & easy to make to show your appreciation to that someone special in your in your life.

I wish I had a better picture of this card. It is so much prettier than it looks. The design is from "Mojo Monday."(turned sideways) I second generation stamped in the circle very lightly with the large damask stamp from the Feb. SOTM set & then stamped my sentiment (from the Card Chatter-Sympathy set) over top. It's matted with Sweat leaf & Heavenly blue CS & then I ruffled paper under it & added pop dots.

Open Your "Wings" & Soar!

Look at what we found! While we were packing our camper to go away for the weekend a bird kept flying out of the tree at us every time we walked by with another load for the camper. After a while I thought she must have a nest in there & look what we found. How sweet is that! Two newborn chicks & two eggs unhatched.

New chipboard...Yippie! You have to check out the "Irresistibles" Dimensionals elements. The pattern is clear embossed on the letters and all you need to do is add ink! They are awesome! (This is one of my favorite items in the new catty) When our new catalog came out & I saw the "Wings WOTG" kit I new just the pictures to use with this paper. The "My Stickease" were a perfect match for my photos. Some of you know that I usually have a hard time with stickers, but...these were perfect. I did add some ink to them, I know what you are going to say..."She's got to cover the white space!" Yup that's me! I always seem to alter them in some way & just have to use my stencil brushes or sponges! The bird is a stamp rolled in several colors of ink & cut out. I only adhered the body to the sticker tag to leave movement in his wings. When stamp rolling aways start with your lightest color (sweat leaf) & then roll other colors (blush, & vineyardberry) onto the edges of the stamp. Very pretty effect when using leaves & flowers.

The flowers are from our "Just Blooms Spring Blossom" pack & "White Daisy" Variety Pack. Just sponge a little ink in the middle & around the edges & wala you have a beautiful flower to match your layout or card. The White Daisy flowers are on sale right now on my website. Be sure to check the "While Supplies Last" clearance center as there are even more goodies (lots of great ribbon & flower packs) marked down to 75% off!! Whoo Hoo! The gorgeous centers of the flowers are our "Filigree Charms." Aren't they amazing. They come in a package of eight and are pewter charms with brads. I rubbed them across brown StazOn ink & set them aside to dry. It creates a vibrant coppery color. You have to use a permanent ink (like StazOn) as it will work on all nonporous materials such as; metal, plastic, glass, coated paper and more.

Look at the flourishes in these letters! I love it! (Imagine that!) Yes, this stamp set, "Bohemian Alphabet" is something I had to have. With clear blocks & clear stamps our alpha sets are so easy to use. Just stick all the letters you need to make your word on the block & you can easily stamp them right where you want them every time! No more lopsided letters or place a stamp tool. Once again our My Acrylix stamps are "Faster, Simpler & Easier!"

The card below is one of my favorites. When I get started making tag backgrounds I generally make a bunch of them. You never know how the colors are going to blend until they dry. Once I get started & see how pretty they are, I think "What will these three colors look like together" & before you know it I have 50 tags in different colors! I'm actually at a point were I need to make more. I've used almost all of them up! This one had just the perfect colors for the Wings paper. If you would like to have a workshop on how to make these tags let me know & I will put something together.

The butterfly & sentiment are embossed with "Black Embossing Powder. It really is a striking effect. This Stamp set has a place in my heart as it is just my type of design! It was the January SOTM (Stamp of the Month) "Find Your Style" I hope they add it to our inventory in the next catalog.

New Technique with my Loveable Cuttle Bug

I love using my Cuttlebug! This technique is so easy & the results are stunning! Run your white paper through your cuttle bug with your favorite folder (make sure it has a busy pattern), Choose a color & ink your rubber brayer up. Make sure to saturate your brayer. Using light pressure run your brayer over top of the cuttlebugged paper. Hint...do not press on your brayer to get a darker color on your paper, re-ink your brayer & apply as many coats as you need to get the color you are happy with. If you put pressure on your brayer you will get ink in between the raised design of your folder. Once again my cuttlebug gives me a new avenue for my creative outlet. Go & check out your CB folders & create a beautiful easy card!

Christmas Card Workshops

These are just a few of the cards you'll be able to create at my Christmas Card Classes on Sunday October 17th & Friday, October 22nd. Some are not pictured because I have to have a few suprises for you too! My favorite is the blue reindeer card. (Although I think the cute reindeer is fun too. He's got lots of glitter & bling!)As most of you know I love flourishes and this has lots of them with snowflakes in it! Add a little glitter & it's lovely! Come & learn new stamping techniques, experience the "Cuttle Bug" & enjoy yourself. Best of all you'll have your Christmas cards done & it's one less thing to worry about during the Holiday Season.

Heres the details:
Sunday Oct. 17th, 1:00 to 4:30
Friday Oct. 22nd, 6:00 to 10:00
Classes will be held at the Lowell Chamber of Commerce, 113 Riverwalk Plaza, Lowell, 49331
**Make 15 Cards, 5 Designs, 3 of Each
**RSVP to me #616-608-2653 save your space & to have your "Supply Kit" cut & ready to go.
**All you need to bring is a basic "tool kit" including your 12" cutter, scissors, adhesives & any of your favorite tools
**Bring your own drink with a lid & a simple treat to share. Coffee & tea will be available.
**Cost is $25.00 including envelopes, cash & check only please.

Join me for a Christmas tradition of creating your own cards. You'll pick up some new card making tricks & tips & add your own charming touch to these handmade treasures.

Sweet Home Card

I enjoyed working with the subtle backgrounds in the "Sweet Home" paper pack. The Nestabilities dies from Spellbinders work so well with our white core paper, they add dimension & texture when using them to cut & dry emboss paper as I did with the scallop circle. Just sand the outside edges of your white core paper & Tada...you get instant character. The blue & brown polka dot flower started as one of our white daisy flowers. I sponged it with Crystal Blue ink & used Chocolate ink with the dot background stamp from "Spot on Backgrounds." I love playing around with flowers. Ink them, layer them, add pop dots inbetween the layers. Use jeweled brads for a center or try glitter or beads. Flowers make a great accent on cards or scrapbook pages.

Golf Anyone

A friend of mine ordered this stamp set to make thank you cards for a charity golf outing for her son Jared who has MS. He's a year younger than my Jared & is a sweetheart. Our families have known each other for a while as our kids all play soccer together. If you go back a few posts to the soccer slide show you will see Jareds dad doing a bellie flop into the pool at hotel at the Canton Cup soccer tournament. (He's my son Nicks soccer coach) I designed these cards with her family in mind.

I used my Cuttle bug to emboss a design into the white CS. Thinking of a "golf" theme I used my circle folder & dot folder. I also used the circle die from Nestabilities. At first I didn't like the "nesties" because of the noise they make when they go through your cuttlebug, but I watched some videos on you-tube & got over it! I colored the stamped images in with colored pencils & sponged over top of the thank you & attached it with pop dots. The stamp set is "Tee Time" & the sentaments is from "Thank You."