Carole's Grand Opening

My friend Carole has just opened her Etsy shop,
would love to see you all support her

"I love sewing. I have seven sewing machines and they all are used frequently. Two machines are Brother Embroidery machines and there is such fun in creating projects with darling embroidery designs. I love to keep on hand embroidery hand towels to offer up as blog candy... this froggy represents one of the twenty froggy designs and earlier this year I finished a frog quilt. I am a frog collector and I have a bedroom with about 40 frogs sitting around from huge stuffed frogs to tiny little display frogs on a keychain.

I keep my creations. So much of my heart gets put upon anything I make so I just keep everything... I have stacks of quilts and towels, table runners, baby blankets and quilts, embroidery t-shirts, totes, trays and trays of cards that I have uploaded to various online sites, cards for design teams, cards that have been published. Now is the time I must finally open my Etsy shop.

The shop is open, but as of this moment, the shelves have not been stocked. My shop name is www.crayola58.etsy.com. Soon it will have cards of all styles and cute little handmade totes."

Isn't this the cutest hand towel!

Isn't it sweet! Thanks for looking ~Diane

Date as the main focus on a card

USE A DATE AS THE MAIN FOCUS OF YOUR CARD, LAYOUT, OR ALTERED PROJECT.

Recipe: White and orange cs, Spellbinders Classic Ovals Nestabilities, Just Rite Calendar Borders & Centers Oval Set Fiscars stamps, Tim Holtz mask, folk art black acrylic paint, crystal effects Stampin Up.

This is the first time I have ever worked with a mask, actually I thought I was buying a stencil. I was so wishing I had a black Copic Marker and an air gun! Copics would have made it so easy, but I had to make do with what I had. It was a little bit tricky to get the hang of it, but quite easy once you know what you are doing. I found the best results using a THICK white card stock. I stuck my mask on to the white cs and used a foam brush to apply the black acrylic paint. I did have a problem with the paint seeping under the mask, so for the last try I applied the paint and then immediately sponged up the excess paint from on top of the mask with a paper towel. I am happy with the final result. ~Diane

Spellbinders Grand Prize Winner!

Congratulations Margarita, of Grand Junction, Colorado, USA! She is the Grand Prize Winner in the Spellbinders Pendant Project contest! The Random Integer Generator made the final decision, which was a very fair way to do it. I won $100 in Spellbinder products, had a wonderful time working on my entries, following the reveals and being chosen in the Top 5! That in itself was quite a prize, so thank you Spellbinders and your Coordinating partners, I will be back again!

Where'd All My Money Go?!

I love the name of Steph's blog, Where'd All My Money Go?! I bet we all can relate to it too! She reached over 25,000 blog hits recently and she is looking to share the love with the most awesome Blog Candy! She will purchase a gift card or gift certificate to the place of your choice, so that you can get what you want! Are you ready for the Awesome part? The amount of the gift card will be $150. You have until 8/28 at 10 PM (central) to enter. I am posting and sharing this with you for totally selfish reasons, I want a chance to win! LOL You will totally enjoy your visit to her blog, as you scroll through her posts to the 8/9 Blog Candy post, check out all the beautiful cards and ideas along the way. And be sure to stop at the 8/12 Best Entrance post -( JK Wedding Entrance!) I love this You Tube video she kindly posted for us, I can watch it over and over. This video makes me smile from ear to ear, kinda like the way we'll be smiling if we win her blog candy! Thanks Steph, and good luck to us all! ~Diane

BUBBLES OF FUN DESIGNER CARD STOCK

Bubbles of Fun Designer Card Stock
Hello everyone, remember how much fun blowing bubbles used to be? Today's post is a tutorial which I hope will inspire you to let loose and have some fun with your paper crafting. In fact this is so much fun you could invite your children, grandchildren or friends to do this with you. I will show you how to make the Designer Bubble card stock I used in this Birthday card.

Card Recipe
Brown card stock, bubble card stock, violet pink vellum paper and the cute cake in the center is card stock from DCWV THE SWEET STACK. I cut and embossed the cake and sentiment with Spellbinders Petite Ovals Nestabilities.
I dipped the edges of my ovals in a Vivid raspberry ink pad and added some pink glitter to the flowers I cut with Cricut Walk in my Garden, and then added a brown ribbon.

Bubble Card Stock Recipe
Plastic tablecloth or protective cover for your table, plates to catch the bubble drips, small bowls, water and 1 teaspoon of sugar per small bowl. 1 bottle of bubbles- I only used 1/4 of this small bottle for all 5 dishes. Straws, food coloring (I used Neon Bright's I found at $store)
Sorry my recipe did not give a measurement for anything but the sugar. I did approximately 1 part bubbles to 2 parts water (free pour) and I added more food coloring as needed.
Card stock, I cut 8 1/2 x 11 sheets in 1/2 to make them a little easier to manage. I also try different colors because you never know what combination will look best. Rubber gloves are optional and old clothes for the little ones.

Now let the fun begin! Mix your water, bubbles, sugar and food coloring with your straw and start blowing bubbles! This was so much fun, and the bubbles were such beautiful colors too! Put a plate or old pie tin underneath to catch the mess, I figured that out a little late.

Notice the difference in the 2 bowls of bubbles? You want your bubbles to look like the top picture BIG, not the little bubbles near the straw in the second picture. Small bubbles make a large dark spot on your card stock.

Hold your card stock over the top of the bowl and let the card stock smash or break your bubbles. Pick up the card stock and move it around to fresh bubbles and keep doing this till you fill the page with bubbles (you may have to blow more bubbles to finish the page).

This gets messy ,1/2 way through I added a plate underneath.

Above the card stock drying out on the table,
below you can see it brightens up after it dry's for 24 hours.

I do hope you decide to give this a try, it will definitely release the inner child in you. So now that you have your very own designer bubble card stock what will you create with it? I think it would be a great background to use as a frame on one of those cute images everyone colors in with their Copic's. Anyone else have any suggestions as to what you could do with your Designer Bubble card stock? Please share your ideas ~Diane

Pin It

Chocolate brown, white and teal butterfly card

This week's Challenge is a color-combo!!

Chocolate Brown

Teal

White or Ivory

... AND to use an image using your fave coloring medium.

This is the card I made for the challenge, I used some of my bubble paper! Thanks for looking ~Diane

Spellbinders is thrilled to announce the Top 5 Winners in the Pendant Project Contest!

And I am thrilled to be one of them!

Here it is this is it! I have kept quiet since Thursday last week when I was told my card was chosen among the top 5! You have no idea how hard that has been! I just checked with Beth at Spellbinders and I can show you my card on my blog too! I have already won $100.00 in Spellbinders Dies and I have a shot at the Grand Prize of $500.00 plus goodies from Scrapbook Adhesives, My Minds Eye, Clearsnap, core'dinations and JustRite Stampers! Woo Hoo!

It was a difficult decision, there were so many entries, and so much creativity! Take a look at the Pendant Project Gallery!
Congratulations to all the top winners I share this honor with, and the 3 honorable mentions too!
Diane of Rochester Hills, Michigan, USA! Diane’s creative card using acetate and S4-204 Fleur de Lis Pendant with vellum caught our attention. That's me!
Margarita, of Grand Junction, Colorado, USA! Her entry was an elegant mini heritage album using S4-207 Kaleidoscope Pendant and S4-216 Kaleidoscope Borderabilities.
Marion of Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia! Marion’s adorable Baby card incorporated S4-208 In Spades Pendant, and S4-217 In Spades Borderabilities (both pieces!).
Monica of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada! Monica wowed us with her Queen’s Necklace. Monica used S4-204 Fleur de Lis Pendant, shrink plastic and a copper leafing pen to achieve these results!

Nicole of Wateford, Pennsylvania, USA! Nicole’s Framed Butterfly Quilt is just stunning. She used the S4-204 Fleur de Lis Pendant on this 12 x 12″ framed home decor piece.
And the honorable mentions were Baby Card by Kathy of New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Foil Pendant Card by Sandy of Canfield, Ohio, USA.
Purse by Jan of Garrison, Iowa, USA., (Jan is a blogger friend of mine!)

PAY IT FORWARD

I have been on the receiving end of Pay it Forward through an Etsy store, JTDtwo, she sent me some lovely storage boxes for the price of shipping, how sweet was that? Not to mention the very good fortune I have had of late! So when I saw this post on Amanda's Crafty Paper Girl blog I jumped at the chance! So this is how it works.

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me, especially for you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make but I hope you will.

2- What I create will be just for you.

3-They say I have a year to get it to you. But I promise it will NOT take that long.

4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It’s a surprise to both of us at this point.

The catch? You must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog.

So the first five people who post, and are willing to pass it along, will get a handmade gift in the mail from me. When you get it, make sure you post a pic on your blog!

I hope you'll play along and pay it forward with me!

TODAY IS MY LUCKY DAY

Wow! My email started going crazy this morning, Claudia saw my name on the Spellbinders Blog! I am one of the Top 5 winners in the Spellbinders Pendant Project contest! Woo Hoo! Yippee! That means I have won $100.00 in Spellbinders products and I have a shot at the $500.00 Grand Prize! How awesome is that? I am so excited!!!

I also received a blog award "Circle of Friends" from my new friend and team member Margie this morning! I don't know how this day could get any better. Thanks for sharing my joy! ~Diane

And I'm passing it on to to these friends.

Carole
Sandi
Kristen
Jeni
Tara

Bubbles of fun Designer Bubble card stock

Hello and happy Friday! This is my newest card, I wrote you another tutorial, this one explains how to make the Designer Bubble card stock I featured in this card. I hope you enjoy it Thanks for looking ~Diane

Blog Award from Sandi at Paper Trail

I  want to mention a challenge near and dear to my heart, posted by my friend Sandi at Paper Trail "Adopt a Teacher". Stop by her blog and read about how you can help, it's a wonderful and rewarding way to share our love of crafting. Thanks Sandi, (my daughter starts her first year of teaching on 8/31) for your challenge, you are Awesome!

This is my homemade flower card.

Recipe:Flower was made with Cricut Walk in my Garden and vellum from Paper and More. Spellbinders Petite Ovals Nestabilities and Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Pendant Shapeabilities. Beautiful background card stock from DCWV THE SWEET STACK, rhinestone and ribbon.


Wow, how great is this! I have a blog award! My very sweet friend Sandi at Paper Trail sent me this blog award. My kids can hardly believe Mom writes a blog, when I told my daughter I received an award from a friend she just shook her head and said "I don't even know how to write a blog!" I haven't been blogging for very long, but I do love all the people I have met and all the inspiring sites I have visited. Blogging has opened a whole new world for me, and I love it. So now I need to list 5 things I love and choose 5 others to pass this on to.
The 5 things I love will have to start with:
1. My family and friends (including all my new blogging friends)
2. Don't laugh, I love to cook, I married my Italian sweetie, and became Italian through osmosis.
3. I love to make cards, that's a given.
4. Air conditioning, we Northern gals just can't take the heat and humidity.
5. Helping people. I know it sounds corny, but I feel like my blog gives me the opportunity to reach out and share what I've learned and help others in the process.

Now for the hard part, choosing 5 others to share this with. I have to say it will be my sisters in the Die Cuts R Us design team. This is a wonderful group of women whom I greatly admire.
Margie
Jessica
Cara
Amber
Gwen
Carole who introduced me to Sandi, also received this award from Sandi, so it's not mine to give to her, but I can't leave her off my list.
Please stop by to see their blogs, they have so much inspiration!
And thank you again Sandi! ~Diane

Come join us for some fun!

This is the card I made for the Tuesday Challenge.


Here's the recipe for this card: The fabulous card stock background is from DCWV NANA'S Kitchen. The flower pot is barely bannana SU, and has a sheet of vellum embossed with a Sizzix plate over the top. I molded the flowers, ladybugs and flowerpot around various items on my desk to give them shape. I added dimensional foam to the flower pot, and the ladybugs bodies. I had some chunky glitter I found on clearance at JoAnns a while ago, I added it to the black bodies of the ladybugs and used it for the centers of the flowers. The ladybug eye's are from dollar store. Oops, I almost forgot, the flower pot, flowers, stems, and ladybugs were all cut with my Cricut Walk in my Garden.

Well the Spellbinders Pendant Contest deadline has come and gone. Good luck to all of us who entered! I entered 3 projects which I can't show you yet, but here is one of my rejects that didn't make the cut and get entered.


For this card I used the Spellbinders Fleur de Lis , I added a few rhinestones and an embellishment to the center. I wanted to enter it into the contest, but my family voted it down and chose another for me to send in. Thanks for looking ~Diane

Spellbinders Pendant Party ending soon!

Happy Friday Everyone! The Spellbinders Pendant Party is ending Monday August 10th! I hope you are all entering your great Pendant Projects, I know I am! I have 1 already entered, and the other 2 are half done, I have to get busy this weekend for sure.

I've been so busy this week I haven't had a chance to tell you about the Heirloom's Novi Rubber Stamp and Paper Arts Festival I went to last weekend. I took a ton of pictures(with permission of course), and I have so many fresh new ideas swimming around in my head, I am almost dizzy with creativity! So much inspiration, I saw a lot of Pop Up cards- so cute, a lot of vellum and acetate too. I love working with different substrates. I was able to try out a few different things too. And oh the stamps! So many unusual and fun stamps. Next year I will be back for sure! Thanks for looking ~Diane

T is for Teacher, monogram card.

Here is a sneak peek at my monogram card, along with the recipe.

Monogram card recipe.

I used this great apple cardstock from DCWV the Sweet Stack to make my Monogram card. I also used Green Galore, Pixie Pink, and Apricot Appeal that I cut with my Spellbinders Petite Ovals. The Monogram T was cut on my Cricut using the Plantin Schoolbook in a 1 3/4 size cut, on the 1st cut and on the shadow. I added a little bling with some pink glitter and I cut one of the apples from the DCWV card stock and I used some of the Crystal Effects. When the apple dried, I touched it with some real red ink and added a bow. I used the 3 D Dots foam adhesive under the apricot appeal and also under the pixie pink card stock to give it some added dimension. Thanks for looking ~Diane