Not a card....

     You have to love those $1.00 frames that Michael's sells......at least I do.  The overall dimension of this frame is 5 x 5, the inside measures 3.25 x 3.25.
     Using my largest Fleur De Lis Square Nestie with some black linen cardstock I ran this through my Grand Calibur.  Then I took the cardboard piece that was in the frame and laid it on top of the piece I ran through my machine and traced the square inside of it....I then used my Fiskars cutter to cut around my marks (if you have a square die you could probably use it instead).  In the meantime I cut a piece of 5 inch by 5 inch DP from K & C (Ancestry.com design) and trimmed the inside the same way, using the cardboard inset that was in the frame.  I glued the DP to the front of the frame that I had previously painted with some acrylic paint in the color Caramel Candy.  Then I ran my die cut through my Krylon machine and placed it over the DP.  Using my Cheery Lynn die I made a few leaves and placed them in the corner of the frame, then I added a few of my homemade flowers I had from a previous project.  On a recent trip to the craft store I found some cute Metal embellishments in a butterfly design that I used as well.
     On a piece of good CS I used my Stampin' Up More Mustard Ink and stamped the Branch and Butterfly stamp from the Our Daily Bread Designs Faith set  (it was too strong to stamp directly on my piece, so after inking I stamped it once on scrap paper and then onto the CS).  I then used an Impression Obsession stamp for the sentiment.
     This was so fun and I have so many ideas about ways to use this frame, thinking Christmas, small group gifts, family.......a pretty endless list of ideas and styles are rolling through my mind.

Materials:  Wood frame, Spellbinders, Metal, Martha Stewart Punches, Cheery Lynn Die, DP, Krylon Machine, Our Daily Bread Design Faith, Impression Obsession Sentiment


Challenges:  Simon Says Anything But a Card, Dream Valley 35 Things with Wings

A good cause...

     Most of the cards I make are for friends, family, Church or the Ranch.....but there are many that I play around coloring and following through on ideas I have.  This week I took those cards that didn't have a specific purpose and boxed them up for shipment to OPERATION WRITE HOME.  These cards are sorted and sent overseas by a group of  volunteers.  When they arrive our soldiers can look through the very well organized selection and take cards they want to send to family, friends, and loved ones.  So glad to know something I have created will be used by someone who serves this country and defends my freedoms.  God Bless them all.   

OPERATION WRITE HOME

     Consider sending some of your cards to this very worth while group!!

Red, White and Blue

     It may not be the Fourth of July yet, but this past week was Flag Day (I always remember this day because it is also my DH birthday).  Recently I have been playing with some small frames I purchased at Michael's.  The first few I covered with paper and I really liked them, but I wanted to try my hand at painting and stamping one.
     I covered this small frame with some Red Apple acrylic paint, then I took the Wood Background stamp from Our Daily Bread Designs and inked it up with some brown ink.  The stamp is not quite wide enough to cover the entire frame so I had to stamp it once, then eyeball it and stamp it a second time.  I think it turned out very nicely and I have more ideas to play with this same look and maybe aging it a little.
     Wanting to enter this in the challenge over at Really Reasonable Ribbon I then took some cute little 'red, white and blue' ribbon and with my score tape layered it across the bottom.  After looking through tons of images and ideas for the center I settled on a computer generated sentiment that I stamped over with a Northwoods Fireworks stamp, and then jazzed it all up with the large blue stars around it.
     I will be entering this in the Our Daily Bread Designs challenge for summer in the USA, I think fireworks are a big part of the summer celebrations....I am very patriotic, one of those people who cries when they play the National Anthem.....
     Be prepared to see a few more things with these frames I bought 24 of them when I was in the store, I'm thinking Christmas gifts for some Bible Study friends and family!!!

     Thanks for visiting,

Supplies:  Michaels Frame, Our Daily Bread Designs Stamp, Basic/Basic Ribbon, Star Rhinestones, Northwoods Rubber Stamp 

Challenges:  Really Reasonable Ribbon #50,: Red, White and Blue, Our Daily Bread Designs ODBDSLC112 Summer

Be still my heart...

     If you know me at all, you know that there are two styles of stamps that take up many drawers in my stamp cabinet compared to the other drawers.....those would be Christian stamps and Western stamps.  It has been with great pleasure that I have watched the market for Christian stamps grow and suppliers of those same stamps as well.  It is a little more difficult to find Western stamps that are to my taste...this one of da Man, retired by Stampin' Up many years ago is a favorite of mine.  While I do not own this stamp, I have come to know a lovely women (Greenie) through Splitcoaststampers, who befriended me, and sends me a supply of this 'hunka, hunka' cowboy so I can create cards with him.
      She surprised me recently when she sent images of him stamped on patterned and colored paper.  I am a little use to coloring him and loved that she thought to challenge my thinking.  Looking at this image I decided to look through some of the photos I took during my recent vacation at the White Stallion Ranch, in Tucson, Arizona.  One of the shots I took of the tack room (the place that saddles, blankets, etc are stored in) seemed an appropriate background for da Man. Kind of like having him on vacation with me (whoot, whoot)!!
     I will post this at Splitcoaststampers on the "Bring the Man Back" page.  With the anniversary of Stampin Up around the corner a group of us are rallying them to bring back this set, or at least da Man.  My last visit to e-bay he was selling for $180.00, while I love the stamp, I don't love him that much.

Supplies:  Photograph, CS, Spellbinders, Stampin' Up

Zoom, zoom.....

     Before I went on vacation I was perusing the net for horse and cowboy images.  I came across a few adorable images that were digital.....ughhh!  For some reason these intimidate me.  Over the last year I have purchased and downloaded several and they live a lonely life in my computer files.  Soooo, I decided to play and teach this old dog new tricks.
     Other than my western cards I do very few that are for the masculine gender. This little fella and his dog from Mo's Digital have been on my computer for about two years I thought it was about time I inked him up with some Copic's and added a new design to my card stash.  Below is a just for fun card I made that I actually used two digital's on - woo hoo - I'm starting to get the hang of this.

Supplies:  Top card Mo's Digital Pencil, Spellbinders, Crimper, Sentiment My Favorite Things, Ribbon, Copics, Button Embellies,  Second card, Digital by Clear Dollar Stamps, Copics

Challenges for the First Card:  Ozook Challenge 3, Paper Players Challenge 98, The Ribbon Girl. use ribbon or lace, The Perfect Sentiments Anything Goes

And a one, and a two, and a three...

     Oooh, I just love Mumu by Mo Manning.......just before I went on vacation I purchased this stamp. Next trip to the stamp store I want to get the one with her hanging the laundry.  She just reminds me of a free spirit, unafraid to shake that booty with an in your face attitude.
     The challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ was to do something on your card your afraid of.  I don't really fear trying anything when it comes to stamping, but there are styles and techniques that are for sure out of my box.   Sooooo, I decided to distress the edges of my background paper as well as sew around them. (I am so NOT grunge that it was a challenge for me to even get those edges messy). I also decided to work on perfecting my paper piecing by cutting her skirt out of some lovely paper I have been hoarding.  There were several sentiments I felt fit this cha cha mama, but for today's card I chose this one by Inkadinkado.  The next one I make with her I plan on using another sentiment from this set that says 'Confidence is Sexy' with a truly wild paper pieced skirt!!

Materials:  Mo's Digital Pencil, Copic markers, Pearls, Inkadinkado Sentiment

Challenges:  Stampin Sisters in Christ  , The Perfect Sentiment, Anything Goes  PSC34