Sweet Gecko Galz image

Isn't she just too cute!  This sweet Little Miss Spring flower girl is a free image offered to the  Gecko Galz Yahoo group of participants.  I made her for a swap with Linda at Random Creativity .  I made the 2 sided tag, hung her on a fishing line then hung her in the opening of the card.  I used Flower Soft on her bouquet and hat.  I like how the Flower Soft came out, I think it worked better because the bouquet had similar colors in it to begin with.  The little butterflies are punched and I added some Stickles to the wings.  I did a rough free hand with a Uniball white ink pen on the edges.  I used the cut outs from the cards to make a little door to hide the note in, and I cut the card twice once in white again in blue so I could hide where I mounted the tag.  Problem I ran into was when the line broke after it was all glued and taped inside, never fail the beautiful flower hid my mistake.

I am entering this into:
Gecko Galz Little Miss Spring Tag challenge.
And Susans new challenge blog called Just Keep On Creating 
 Would love for you to join me there.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Fun in Gerrie's craft room

 I had fun on my play date with Gerri from It's all Treasure.   I had the unique opportunity to play with Gerri's craft stash, she invited 12 of us from all over the world into her space to share her stash with all of us.  It was fun to see what everyone made with basically the same products.  It was fun to play with such a gorgeous and different array of products too.  I used her beautiful foiled paper, which made me think I have some wrapping paper similar to it that I could be using.  I loved the printed oval and the way she made the butterfly with the beads strung through the wire!  My photo does no justice to the gorgeous mirrored button with the fringed string.  The sweet little girl with butterfly wings is hers, along with the neat black ric rac, I think it may be a different kind of German scrap she uses.  I added another image from my stash by Gecko Galz called Fairies.  I used some Tattered Angels sprays and masks along with my Perfect Layers rulers to frame up my layers.  Thank you Gerri for hosting the play date, I really appreciate all the goodies I have left over to make many more projects with too.  Stop by Gerri's blog to see what everyone made. 

I will enter this into the Pretty Little Pixie challenge at the Gecko Galz Yahoo group.  We are growing daily, I would love for you to join the fun there too!  

Thanks for looking.  ~Diane
I am entering this into  Susans new challenge blog called Just Keep On Creating

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My Dear friend Carole

I want to show you the beautiful shirt my blogging friend Carole made for me.  Isn't that bird just the cutest, she embroidered it on to the shirt for me!  She is such a sweet and talented lady, I am so happy I met her.  We met on a design team a few years ago.  I admire her so much, not just as an artist but as a person, I am so lucky to call her my friend.  She is just a few years ahead of me, (I know you won't mind me saying) but her life is so full, she does so much, she really made me realize I still have a lot of life to live and to look forward to.  For showing me that, I am forever grateful, you are my role model dear friend.  You will have to stop by her blog to see all of her amazing cards.  She has a talent for adding so much personality to her cards through the most subtle touches.  She adds a few dots of white ink and embosses it in just the right way and it comes alive!  I hope you get to know someone like Carole, someone who will touch your life when you need it most.  Big hugs to you Carole, and thank you for the beautiful shirt, but more importantly, thank you for being my friend!  ~Diane

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Party dress cards

 Good Morning, I have some very exciting news to share!  Lindsay, The Frugal Crafter has been invited to be a columnist in the awesome publication Scrap and Stamp Arts Magazine!  Whoo Hoo, I am so proud of you!  She will have her own column which will be called The Frugal Crafter!  Her 1st column will appear in the October issue, congratulations Lindsay, you will be an awesome addition to an already awesome publication!  

Speaking of awesome, Lindsay made this precious Party Dress Printable and SVG set.  Which means if you do not have an electronic cutter, you can still buy the file and print and cut the pieces by hand, all you need is a printer.  I had so much fun making these cards, just like playing with paper dolls, lol.  I must share I am so honored Lindsay let me have 1st stab at this and I got to make the cards for the product listing!  I cut this 4 times, twice in white and then 1 of each pattern, then I just switched the pieces around.  I used some foam dimensionals to lift up the pinafore and collar and I embossed one of the pinafores, I love those little details!  This is another really versatile set, I already have more ideas on how I want to use it, so be prepared, you will see more of it here soon! 

My daughter came home for Easter break and her Birthday so I apologize for being a bit slow visiting with you, I will catch up when she leaves.  Time is precious when your kids move away, I don't want to miss a minute of our time together.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane
I am joining the challenge at:
Cute Card Thursday - Anything goes 
And Susans new challenge blog called Just Keep On Creating

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Happy St Patrick Day!

Happy St Patrick's Day to all of you and Happy Pink / Green Saturday .  Thank you Beverly  for hosting us again, I love meeting new crafters in every venue on your site.   I made this mini card with an image from Gecko Galz and I entered it into the St Patricks Day Luck O the Irish challenge on the Yahoo group.   They are looking for more members and it is a lot of fun, quite a few challenges going on now and Leanne has some very generous prizes too!  I used my Perfect Layers rulers to frame the picture.  I used a free cut file from Monica to cut the pretty shape, it is her Gatefold 10 file, thank you Monica.  I used some shiny satin ruffled ribbon to trim the back side of the card and Stickles and green pearls to embellish it.  A couple of green roses and I'm done! 

And before I leave you I want to share the beautiful card and tag my friend Linda at Random Creativity swapped with me.  I just loved her gorgeous hand made envelope too!   Pop by her blog to say hi and see all of her beautiful creations!  Thank you Linda!
Hope you all dance a happy Irish Jig sometime today.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane
 

My Graphico and Lindsay's Stamp Stuff are having a 1 day 40% off sale!  Your chance to scoop up some lucky bargains!

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Shocking before and after cards.

Can you see the difference?  I made this card twice, once with my Perfect Layers rulers and again without.  (I did not have the heart to permanently glue down the before).  I made some larger borders this time, I usually use the 1/16th but there are so many different sizes to choose from now and I love the dramatic effect it gives!  The other thing I love about these tools is how I can conserve on paper and mailing weight.  The 3 layers of deep pink were all cut from the same 1/2 sheet of 8.5x11.  I took some pics so you can see what I mean. 
Recognize the gorgeous paper?  Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Bold Black and White printed in grey ink on pink card stock.  I love how versatile that paper set is!  The balloon is from Lindsay's Steampunk Stamp set.
I am a Brand Ambassador for Perfect Layers Rulers, if you are interested you can use this link to view a video and purchase your set of  Perfect Layers.  Use the promo code Bove5% and you will save 5% on the rulers and get flat rate priority shipping.
I am linking up to Beverly's fabulous Pink Saturday link party.  Thank you Beverly for hosting, this is always so much fun.  I suggest you join us there if you haven't already.  Beverly's Pink Saturdays are fabulous, and so are the wonderful bloggers I have met there, so many interesting blogs!   I love you Pinks!  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Time for another fabulous Pink Saturday.

 Beverly is hosting her wonderful Pink Saturday again!  Thank you Beverly, this is so much fun, I have found so many wonderful blogs and met so many wonderful bloggers through your Pink Saturdays.  Please do pop by and say hi to Beverly, you will love her blog How Sweet the Sound.  Today's card is simple, the butterfly die cuts are from My Graphico SVG Shop called Botanical Butterflies.  I cut the butterflies on white cardstock, used a punch on the edge,  placed a piece of pink card stock behind it and embossed it with a Stampin Up embossing plate.  Then I colored the butterflies with pink chalks and mounted them back into their spaces with some dimensionals to give them some pop.  

 I have had my Sure Cuts A Lot software for over 2 years now but I am still finding new ways to use it.  I just recently figured out that I could aim my die cuts on a page by selecting the paper size.  I was using it for 12x12 or 8.5x11 and cut a ton of whatevers.  Now I found out I can place the butterflies on the page and cut them where I want them.  Pretty cool I think, it is a bit to get the hang of, the items are a bit dyslexic, and that's bad because I am too.  It takes me a few tries to figure out which way, what I have on the screen will cut and which way to load the paper.  But I am definitely happy I am learning this, it is well worth the effort.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Pretty Birds

I made this card for my friend Meg's Birthday.  The image is from Gecko Galz, Birds and Bees  You can sign up for their newsletter here Leann is always offering free images to her readers.  Gecko Galz, have an Invite a Friend challenge going on for the whole year.  All you have to do is follow their blog and then join the Yahoo group.  Tell them who sent you (ME) and the person who brings the most followers will get that months digital products.  Thats right you win all the collage sets, digi stamps, and paper set!!!  So be sure to say I sent you:), and send some of your friends over too, you will be glad you did. There are all kinds of challenges and opportunities to win free products.

I cut the Shaplie frames from Penny Duncan's CD.  I used my Perfect layers rulers to get a perfect set of solid frames to mount behind the Shaplies.  I am now a Brand Ambassador for Perfect Paper Crafting, so if you use my link and coupon code Bove5%, you will save 5% on the Perfect layers rulers and get flat rate priority shipping. 

 It was hard to  photograph this, I did some fussy cutting on the birds and the pink flowers but you can't really see it here.  I also embossed all 3 of my Shaplie frames with a different pattern.  The lace flowers are from Pizzazz Aplenty.  I also want to mention that I printed the image on Staples Photo Supreme double sided matte paper.  It really makes a difference when you are printing vintage ephemera and deep colored papers.  Well that's it for today, thanks for looking.  ~Diane
I am entering the following challenges.

Allsorts Challenge – Anything goes  

Do You Stack Up – Layers 

Lollipop Crafts – Anything goes  

Penny’s paper Crafty Challenge – anything goes 

Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays – more than 2 layers

Make it Monday link party, thanks to all the ladies on the DT who make this possible and take the time to visit all of us. Mary J, Rene, Lisa M, Shirley anne, Chrissy, Michelle, Karen and Kerrie.

Perfect Layers Rulers

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Perfect Layers Rulers

Many thank's to Cindy Adkins  for adding me to your Featured Blogs list, it is a real honor!

  

I made this sexy card with the Valentine image from Shabby Cottage Studio.   The paper is Black and Cream Damask Variation  and my new tool  Perfect Layers  made the beautiful straight layers possible.  I used the 1/16th and 1/8th cuts to make this card.  I just had to have a matching envelope!.
I am really excited to share a new set of tools with you today,  Perfect Layers .  I saw this at Paper Craft Planet and went wild for it and I knew I had to have it.   I go crazy trying to get my card stock layers centered, I hate crooked edges, they really catch my eye and ruin the whole effect.  What really turned me on to this fantastic set of tools was the fact that it not only would allow you to cut straight but that you could also glue it together straight!  I can't tell you how many times I have picked up a piece and tried to move it around so it is centered before the glue dries!  With these tools I can glue my piece directly to the next layer and depending on how big I want the border I can trim away the excess with an Exacto knife and have it seated perfectly on to the next layer.  No need to eyeball it and try to center it in.  The Perfect Layers Rulers are clear so you can see through them. Each side of the ruler has a little lip or an edge on it, each lip is a different measurement, 1/16, 3/16, 5/16" 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 5/8", 3/4" and 1". When you want to layer something it takes all the measuring and frustration about even edges edges right out of the process.  The other thing I love is how I can save paper while using these rulers.  I cut my border pieces from the middle of the 5x7 sheet and then hide the space behind the layers so I get 2 borders out of 1 sheet,  I took some pics below to show you what I mean.  Watch the video and you will want one too!

You can use this link to view a video and purchase your set of  Perfect Layers.  Use the promo code Bove5% and you will save 5% on the rulers and get flat rate priority shipping.  Once I saw this video I was sold, so much so that I contacted the company to see if I could offer a discount to my friends!

I am linking up to

The Joyful Stamper link party.  Many thanks to Maria for hosting and inviting me to join.

Make it Monday link party, thanks to all the ladies on the DT who make this possible and take the time to visit all of us. Mary J, Rene, Lisa M, Shirley anne, Chrissy, Michelle, Karen and Kerrie.
Cindy Adkins A Woman Thing link party  2-  Special thanks to Cindy who has another best seller!

 

 Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

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Passionate

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I love this image, so passionate, so romantic!  Perfect for Cindy Adkins its a  Woman Thing  the link party and Beverly's Pink Saturday, link party.  A big thanks to Cindy and Beverly for hosting.  

I won a gift certificate to Shabby Cottage Studio and I chose a ton a papers and the collage sheet this image came from called Valentines.  Many thanks to Linda at Random Creativity for allowing me the opportunity to win this wonderful gift certificate.  I love the paper and I love the fact that I will never run out of it!  Digital papers are such a great thing for paper hoarders, we can use our favorites freely because we will never run out!   I was like a kid in a candy store choosing these gorgeous vintage style papers, you will see more of these in the future.  My $10.00 gift certificate went a long way too, Gail's products are very reasonably priced.  I also like buying the paper by the sheet instead of a set.  This paper is called Edgy Ornamental Diamonds it is in the Pink section.  I love how the papers are grouped by colors too.  Gail offers both digital and hard copies of these papers along with many other vintage products.  She also offers online classes, stop by her blog to see more information on the classes she offers.  I am also linking up to Seasonal Sunday's, many thanks to the Tablescaper for the invite.  Stop by and see her amazing tablescapes.

This went together so easily, I made it with my new tools from Perfect Paper Crafting.  I will tell you more about them in my next post.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Sale at Lindsays Stamp Stuff.

  

I think 40 % off should warm you up, Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Winter Warm up Sale  February 6-8.   Do pop over and see what is new in her My Graphico store.  

I don't like to write a post without sharing something I've made, but yesterday was not my day.  I had a great idea but I just could not make it happen!  So all I have to share is a card I made a while back  with one of Lindsay's retired sets.  I made this as a Sympathy card, but it could be used as an Easter card too.   I will get back to that great idea and try to make it happen, lol.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

More Valentines!

I made another Valentine with  Cheri Wengers digital Love Notes set.  I just love tracing her hearts with Stickles!  As you can see I went overboard with these, red inside and gold outside.  I was trying to keep this masculine for my Son.  Not sure if you can tell but I used a wide red satin ribbon then layered the red and gold braid on top of that.  I used 5mm Ruby Rim Stones from Judy at Pizzazz Aplenty and trimmed the white card stock with my Gold Leafing Pen.  Did I tell you I am hooked on envelope liners?  I traced the envelope lip, cut it out and then used a punch on this one.  Here is a tip from my friend Emily at Sweetly Scrapped.  There is a new photo editing website called iPiccy.  iPiccy makes your photo awesome with many easy to use photo tools. Edit pictures, apply beautiful photo effects, add text and even paint! Enjoy free photo editing online and show your creativity with iPiccy editor!  For those of you who used Picnic, it will be closing in April, they will give refunds to all of their Premium members.  I used iPiccy today, it is awesome!  Thats it, thanks for looking, and most of all thanks for stopping by and leaving me all the wonderful encouragement, I really can't tell you how much I appreciate it.  ~Diane
I am hooking up to Carol's link party over at The Answer is Chocolate,  thank you Carol!  Come join me there!

I hope Phil has it wrong this year.

Feels like an early Spring here in Michigan, our temps have been 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit for the last few days, beautiful weather!  All this Spring like weather inspired the Forsythia branches I made with Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Build a Blossom SVG and Printable.  I used the Lilac blossoms, cut them and then rolled the edges and pinched the centers then glued them to some branches I found in the yard.  My DH asked me where I got the flowers, he thought they were real, lol. 

So from USA today, here is Phil's Story.

Famed groundhog prognosticator Punxsutawney Phil has weighed in with his yearly forecast from central Pennsylvania: Six more weeks of winter.Here's Phil's forecast, as relayed at the annual ceremony: "Many shadows do I see: six more weeks of winter it must be."
The Groundhog Day celebration is rooted in a German superstition that says if a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, the Christian holiday of Candlemas, winter will last another six weeks. If no shadow is seen, legend says, spring will come early.
McGill adds that experts have found that Phil's forecast is accurate only about 39% of time.  I think he may be wrong this year too, at least I sure hope so.
Please stop by Lindsay's blog The Frugal Crafter and check in on the rest of the Design Team too.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Happy Pink Saturday!

Happy Pink Saturday everyone.  Thank you Beverly for hosting Pink Saturdays and giving me yet another good reason to create something Pink.  Please stop by and see Beverly and all of her amazing Pinks!  For today's card I used a Gecko Galz Pixie Dust image, covered in Sticklles.  The beautiful heart was a try at wax embossing.  I used Lindsay's Stamp Stuff gorgeous Decorative Doily SVG, I cut it out of Freezer Paper which has a wax backing.  I ironed it onto the card stock and when I peeled it up there was not enough wax to do the technique.  Never fail, I laid it back in place, ironed it down again and used Tim Holtz distress ink.  I then removed my stencil and Voila!  And the stencil can be used again.   The borders are a  Lettering Delights SVG, so is the pinwheel.  Now that I am spoiled with the envelope liners, my cards feel naked without!  I used Lindsay's Stamp Stuff Plain Envie liner and used a punch to make the beautiful border.  You do not need a cutter for this set, Lindsay has a printable version so you can print and cut the plain liner then use the punch of your choice to finish it off.  Well, thanks for looking.  ~Diane

I am entering this into the following challenge.

Gecko Galz - Valentine using Gecko Galz image

I'm the Featured Member at My Graphico this week!

I'm the Featured Member over at the My Graphico Community!  I am really honored that I was chosen to be interviewed.  Jenn asked me some really fun questions too, I loved this one.  "If someone gave you $10,000 for you to ONLY USE to redesign or create AND stock  your Crafting Room or Space – what would you put in it and what are some of the features, structures, storage, etc your new space would include?"  You will have to pop over to read my answer here.   While you are there check out the latest My Graphico giveaway, it is a Tim Holtz bonanza of products look below!   

  The cards I popped up for today are from one of my favorite Lindsay's Stamp Stuff SVG sets Sweet Baby.   One of the things I forget to mention is that many of Lindsay's sets, this one included are both SVG and JPG Printable sets.  Which means if you don't have a cutter you can still print this out on patterned paper and hand cut it with scissors, this one is a really easy cut too.  I used some of Lindsay's retired papers, and I printed both sides of the card stock so I didn't have to add extra layers.

Well, that's it for today, I appreciate your stopping by, I hope you get a chance to see my interview at My Graphico.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Passionate Pink Saturday

I made this card for Beverly's How Sweet the Sound Pink Saturday using some awesome Gecko Galz digital ephemera.  The rich pink paper is from the Nouveau Nights Collection.  

The passionate lovers image is from the new January Kiss Me Collection.  I used a bit of pleated lace cut in half and I added some pink Cotton Candy Stickles to the edge of it.  I added some pearls, a paper rose, Spellbinders frame and some Tim Holtz Distress ink to finish it off.  Speaking of Gecko Galz, they have an Invite a Friend challenge going on for the whole year.  All you have to do is follow their blog and then join the Yahoo group.  Tell them who sent you and the person who brings the most followers will get that months digital products. Thats right you win all the collage sets, digi stamps, and paper set!!!  So be sure to say I sent you:), and send some of your friends over too, you will be glad you did. There are all kinds of challenges and opportunities to win free products.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Gecko Galz - Valentine using Gecko Galz image

Sweet Babys Vintage Style

 

This is great, Lindsay's Stamp Stuff is having a Pre Valentines Day Sale so you can pick up some great sets and still have time to make your Valentines with them.  This was so easy to make, I used Lindsay's new Valentines papers Hugs and Kisses along with the Sweet Baby SVG  to make these sweet baby cards.  One of the nice things about digital paper is that you can print both sides for 2 sided paper like I did here to make it match inside and out.  I felt these papers had a bit of a vintage feel to them so I used the lace and ric rac to pick up on that theme.  I think I had a "sun suit" very similar to the pattern on the right, that makes me suddenly feel vintage too, lol.  I love these papers, and they are really versatile, I think you could use them in a vintage or a modern piece.  Be sure to stop by Lindsays blog The Frugal Crafter  today, rumor has it she is offering a freebie and you can also see what the rest of the Design Team has made also, links are in my sidebar.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane

Be Stickle My Heart

Like my pun, be still my heart?  I really went crazy with the Stickles on this one.  I used Cheri Wengers cute Love Notes set to make this Valentine.  I am going to enter it into Taylor Usry's layering challenge over at Paper Craft Planet.  The prize is a $35.00 gift certificate to Perfect Paper Crafting, where they have this fabulous tool called Perfect Layers, check out Taylor's tutorial , it is the answer to getting your layers lined up straight, I really need one of these.  I hate it when I get it layered crooked, it drives me crazy!  I also used some Tim Holtz distress ink, an embossing folder and the pretty red glitter tape which was part of the Christmas loot from my daughter.  I also popped up the letters and the heart with foam tape to give it some added dimension.  Thanks for looking.  ~Diane