Springtime in Paris

 I made this card for the Gecko Galz Yahoo Group March Eiffel Tower challenge.  The paper is from the Gecko Galz Neverland Paper set, the image was a freebie from the Gecko Galz store.  Speaking of freebies, this week customers who make a purchase will receive FREE their "Artsy
Jewels Collage Sheet"  (it has amazing 1" x 2" images).  I used my Perfect Layers Rulers to get the precise layers on my card, see my sidebar for a coupon or click on my link above.  I cut the doily in 1/2 and I also cut just a piece from one of the beautiful jewel sprays I bought at Dollar Treasure.  That's it for today, thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Christmas in the bank 2nd installment

 For Sandi's Maximum Embellishment second challenge she asked us to make 6 gift card holders.  I made these using images from Gecko Galz Old Fashioned Christmas, Vintage Christmas Stamps set and the tag from Grandma's House papers set along with a Spellbinders die cut.

Gecko Galz has a special going on every week this month!  This week when you make a purchase (no matter how big) you will receive FREE their "In Dreams" ATC paper set a thank you for your business. Also you will be placed in the monthly drawing for a $15 shopping spree on them!  Each week this month they will have a new exclusive product to give away!  I just ordered  mine today!

Sandi's 3rd installment is underway also and this go round will be for 6 gift bags!

Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Happy Mail to share

 I wanted to share with you all the lovely things my beautiful friend Valerie sent me.  You can see more of her amazing work on her blog Bastelmania.  She is an exceptional artist and friend, I must say this truly brought tears to my eyes when I opened it.  She sent it for no reason at all, just because we are friends.  Believe me her friendship is a gift in itself, I am blessed to have her as a friend and I treasure her friendship.  I wish the photos were better to show you all the beauty here, the little inchie book is made from a 6x6 piece of paper, folded to a maze book and topped with the beautiful bouquet of roses.  She made the beautiful box it fits into and included a beautiful bracelet that glimmers in the light!  The tin was covered, varnished and and lined inside, she made a little book to fit inside,

 that says "Dance to the music of your life", it looks gorgeous.  And all sorts of wonderful things to play with, she shared some of her famous gold Utee, (I have never seen the gold), 2 sets of beautiful chipboard pieces, a beautiful embroidered bag, some beautiful papers (which will be hard to cut into), a beautiful collage sheet and some gorgeous sheer fabric splashed with silver.  Can you believe the box went all the way from Germany to Michigan, USA with the beautiful jewel still attached to that blue flower?!  But what I am most grateful for is her friendship, she is a sweet, wonderful woman who is extremely interesting, I always look forward to reading her emails.  

That's it for today, thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Engagement congratulations for Patrick

 The minute I saw this Gecko Galz Man O Man collage set  I knew what I wanted to do for this card.  I had been struggling with making a "guy" card for my daughters fiance, but this image made it easy!  I think he will get a kick out of the humor on the card.  I used Gecko Galz Arabian Dreams paper set on the envelope liner and the background on the card is from the Gecko Galz Neverland paper set.  I added some Stickles to the charm (E for Elizabeth), and the cool looking gold trim is from a Dollar Treasure headband.  I used my Perfect Layers Square to get the image cut square. Enabler Alert!   Gecko Galz has a special going on every week this month!  This week customers who make a purchase will receive the Fantasies digital stamp set (which is gorgeous!) Each week they will have a new exclusive product to give away!

Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Gecko Galz tool caddy

 I made this tool caddy for the Gecko Galz Yahoo Group March Easter Challenge where we are to think outside the box and create something round or oval with Spring in mind.    I used Gecko Galz new mini pack papers from Garden Sonata, and the plaid was from Gecko Galz Vanity Fair set and the gorgeous butterflies are from the Gecko Galz Pretty Little Butterflies collage set.  I made the actual caddy from 2 cake box lids from Sams Club and a turntable I bought a few years ago from Dollar Treasure.  I should mention that I have a large square vase and a round nut container inside the boxes to keep it neatly organized.  It took a bit to figure out how to get the paper in-between the boxes but it finally worked best by running a glue runner tape lightly around the middle of the inside cake lid.  I then lined up the papers just under the top lip and pressed them into place one at a time.  This way I can change out the papers when I want a new look.  I usually print on Photo paper but this time I knew it would need to bend in order to fit so I printed them on regular copy paper.  I attached the frilly ruffled ribbon end to end so that too can easily be removed.  So now my tool caddy looks pretty sitting on my desk.  It's actually bigger than it looks, you can see the handle of my 10" tall tweezers sporting a butterfly inside the box.  There are 4 new challenges at the Gecko Galz Yahoo group and I would love for you to follow my Pin to Pinterest.  Lee Ann has a Pin it to Win it board (so do I) I won the gorgeous Goddess Dreams Stamp set along with a collage sheet of my choice for February.   Whoo Hoo, thank you LeeAnne!   It can't get any easier, just make a Pin it to Win it board and pin the March card (gorgeous one done by Heather Hudson) then leave a comment on LeAnns Pin.  

Well thats it, thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Butterflies

Sorry folks, I am having a problem with a few Anonymous readers, they are at my blog daily offering us all sorts of links to strange things no one I know wants to visit.  I tried to remove a few posts they were hitting really hard, like 4685 comments per post (I know I'm not that popular lol) I thought that might deter them but they of course found a new set of favorite posts to wreak havoc on.  After much investigation otherwise known as Googling, I believe I have found an answer to the problem.  I have changed my settings in comments to only allow "Registered Users" and "Open ID Users", which means Anonymous can not comment.  If your name shows up when you comment as anyone other than Anonymous you should fall into that category,  I hope this does not inconvenience anyone.  If it does I have the option of allowing comment moderation which means you can't see your comment after it is written, it will post after I release it, so if this is a problem I can go that route.  Rest assured I will not go to Word Verification, I can not read those crazy word  scrambles myself,  it takes me at least 2 tries to get it right and that is after I have requested at least 3 better pictures which is aggravating since I am such a slow typist.  Sometimes I type out my comment and have to give up, and it was all for nothing because I can not get it to give me a readable phrase.

So to make a short story long, I had switched this post from published to drafts to deter them, when I put it back to published it published today!  All of the others published back where they belonged, where they were dated in chronological order, for some reason this one did not, so I am sorry, this is from somewhere back in 2009.  I know from experience if I deleted it or put it back to a draft anyone who had Google Reader would be able to see it in Reader but not on my blog, so I figured what the heck, and I let it stay in today's post!  Sorry this is so wordy, you don't have to bother reading through any more really.

My friend Michelle , from Extremelycrafty ( who has an awesome blog also) asked me how to make the butterflies on my spinner card. Sorry Michelle, I had to find the name of the chalks I use, the jars didn't say Pearl-Ex, once they come out of the packaging they don't have any identification. My kids bought me the set for my birthday a few years ago from JoAnns , and they last forever! The colors are so vibrant.

I found this site that sells the Jacquard Pearl Ex chalks (actually mica powders).
I used these to color in my butterflies. I included the product description, so you can get an idea of why they have a pearly look to them. The picture below is of set #2 which is the set I have with the pink flamingo. I use the pink, blue, yellow and green and I apply them with a sponge tip eyeshadow applicator.

Versatile mica pigments can be incorporated into any media for application on any surface. Mix with artist colors for a metallic look that will not tarnish or fade. Transform plain clay into luminous art. Use in or on handmade papers. Swirl into melted wax to create metallic candles. Great for faux finishes on furniture and walls. Use on fabric and glass. Add to embossing powders for rubber stamping and scrapbook pages. Pearl Ex particles are flat platelets with two surfaces, therefore it lays down beautifully like a thin coating of metal. The different particle sizes produce different looks from a fine, smooth, pearly luster to a highly metallic sheen.

This is what the jars look like.

I stamp the butterflies (Wonderful Wings from Stampin Up) with Stazon white opaque ink because it dries fast on plastic surfaces. Here is the problem, the frosted vellum I stamp on is industrial grade .004 drafting vellum frosted one side. It is fairly thick for vellum, but it is stiff enough that I can crease it and the wings will stay up for me. I don't know if they sell it anywhere, I was fortunate that when we closed up our print and sample shop at work I was able to take the samples. Hold the presses! You are in luck, through the magic of the internet I just found some and beleive it or not I found it at Dick Blicks, the same place that sells the Pearl-Ex. That is so wierd, I have never shopped there, I searched drafting film and they popped up again. Looks like they have a .003 or .005 either one would work fine in this application. Actually the prices are quite reasonable too, I know where I will go when I run out now. I will have to save the site to my favorites, looks like they have a lot of nice crafting stuff too. How's that for a plug Dick Blick?

Ok so I stamp them , then I cut them out by hand, do the edges in an 18kt gold leafing pen by Krylon, crease them into shape, and then I add the Pearl Ex. On some of the butterflies I dotted them with my Uniball Signo white opaque pen I bought from StampinUp. I add jewels or some kind of bling and I am done. Hope this helps~Diane

Engagement card

 I made this card for my daughters engagement.  I have been working on it for a couple of weeks and I am happy with how it came out.  This one is a bit over-sized, it is a 6" x 9", so my envelope selection was limited, but lavender and green are her favorite colors.  I printed the insert twice and cut the elephant off of the 2nd one and glued it to the outside of the envelope, I really like the effect.  I used Gecko Galz Between the Lines for the envelope liner  image, the cute little frog was a (free on the Gecko Galz blog) stamp, I printed him onto some glossy polka dot paper..  The beautiful image for the card is from the Love Me Do set by Gecko Galz.  I fussy cut and foam mounted so much of this that it is almost completely pieced together.  I am impressed that the tassle at the top looks so real, it was paper pieced on to the card and I used a little foam mounting tape under it also.   The sweet little love bird and frame was a free set  from Love Birds by Brenda Mascari at Millstream Cottage.  All of the card images were printed on matte or gloss photo paper, the photo paper really brings out the rich colors and the details.  That's it for today, I will be visiting your blogs this weekend, I do apologize, I fell behind this week suffering with migraines, which makes looking at the computer screen close to impossible.
Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Christmas in the bank 1st installment

Hi, I saw a great challenge over at Sandi's Maximum Embellishment blog for Christmas in the Bank.  On the 12th of each month she will share some ideas and offer a challenge to motivate us in building our holiday stash and having our own CHRISTMAS IN THE BANK when December rolls around.  I am of course late and far behind but I did come in late and I do intend to catch up, this is 1 of the 12 tags required for the January 12th challenge.  I don't make tags so the first challenge caught me totally off guard, but I really wanted to challenge myself to make this.  In all fairness, Sandi said not to stress about these and we can make them as simple as we like, but if I were going to do this I wanted to at least do 1 of the 12 tags right!  The image and paper are from Gecko Galz ( Old Fashioned Christmas image and Grandma's House Paper collection).  I used some Ranger spray on the tag, embossed the paper and added some Inka Gold from Flying Unicorn.  A die cut frame and string and lace finish this off.  

I cheated on the last tags, I am using some pre made tags from Gecko Galz , I know, no shame in that as long as I actually made 1 of them all by myself right?  Well I did get a little carried away with the Gecko Galz pre made tags and I really had some fun.  These are what I came up with.

This is my favorite, the spray was a clearance item I grabbed from Flying Unicorn, I added a lot of Stickles to everywhere (the spray had the glitter already on it.  Papers and image are Gecko Galz.

Gecko Galz pre printed tag and Old Fashioned Christmas image with distress ink and Glimmer mist.

Gecko Galz pre printed tag and I added 2 the light and dark blue Stickles, stars were in my stash.

Gecko Galz pre printed tag with flocking, distress ink and Stickles.

Gecko Galz pre printed tag and Old Fashioned Christmas image with distress ink.

 Fussy cut a Gecko Galz Old Fashioned Christmas image and added some ribbon.

Gecko Galz pre printed tag, distress ink and lots of Stickles, this is beautiful IRL with all the Stickles.

Gecko Galz pre printed tag, Stickles on the edge and some Dollar Treasure bangles.

Gecko Galz pre printed tag with some distress ink.

Sandi has already begun the 2nd Christmas in the Bank challenge .  We will be doing 6 Gift card holders (Yay, I know how to do those!) so I hope to get those done shortly.  I would love to see you join us for Christmas in the Bank.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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3rd grade humor

My Daughter teaches 3rd grade in Kentucky, I wanted to make something special for her class so I used Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Photo Booth Props to make these mustache cards.  I did case the sentiment from quite a few different sources on the internet, so it is not my original idea, but I saw it so many places I would not know who to credit.  I photographed these in a hurry so I could ship them out to her, I made 30 of them.  I also did not have the right size envelope so I ended up cutting down some 6x8 envelopes to fit these 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 cards.  I made the envelope liner by using Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Envelopes and Liners SVG and I inserted the mustache cut out.  The mustache and heart pop are on the inside of the card.  I think her kiddos will love them.

Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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