Gift wrapping

I would have to say that I am 98% done with my holiday shopping.  Many of the gifts are spread out on the dining room table waiting to be wrapped.  

Before Thanksgiving I made a bunch of tags.... Now the problem.  

Finding bags and gift wrap to match.  Does this happen to you???  

I made a couple of these tags a few weeks ago.

 After a browsing a few stores, I found that I really could not match the 

package as well as I would have liked.  

I used an adorable stamp set that I picked up from the Rubber Cafe.   

I stamped and colored an extra package.  Cut it out and used some pop dots to pop it off the tag.  Added some glitter behind to give it a little sparkle and then framed the image with circles.  

Here is the finished package.  Not quite what I was going for but it works.  

Teresa

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Bling It on

Rubber Cafe - Creative Packaging

Friendship

Happy Friday!!!!  

I am so glad it is the weekend.  It was a very busy work week.  Now I get to relax and  craft.  YAY!!

I spend all week thinking about participating in the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

I came home.... had a little dinner and then made this little tag.  

It is constructed of 4 circles that are folded in half and then linked together to make a square.

I covered the backside with the sweet image from unity.  

When the circles are ope it looks like a flower.  

I stamped this Unity Sentiment on some white card stock and placed it inside.  

I want to apologize for the poor photos.  I have messed up the Sync of my camera and the external flash and I am not sure how to fix it.  UGH!!

 I had to use my on-board flash and it likes to wash out the photo's a little.  I   

I'll be back soon to share another tag.  But I am going to photograph it outside.... better light...LOL

Teresa

Taking the challenge with Mou

Hello there.

We are down to 14 days until Christmas.  How are your holiday projects coming along???  

 I took some time this weekend to complete some handmade gifts.  I have been playing around with some mixed media.  I wanted to make something for a dear friend.  She really loves to put together and frame puzzles.  I seem to buy her one every year.  This year I though I'd try something different.  

I raided my son's room and found a dollar store puzzle that he would not be putting together anytime soon.  I used two coats of gesso to hide the image.  Then painted the pieces with silk acrylic paints.  The stamped images and heat embossed the puzzle pieces.  

I then layered papers on the art board and used acrylic paint and my gelatos to achieve the background color and texture.  Added more texture with some modeling cream and Ferro.  

This is actually the first piece I have shared with anyone.  

I will admit.  After I took the photo, I decided it need a little sparkle.  

So I added some distress stickles.  

I hope my friend enjoys this piece.  

Thanks checking in

Teresa

I will be entering this project in the following challenges

Design Memory Crafts - Take the challenge with Mou - December.  

Christmas Magic

Hello All,

I'm still working on some holiday projects.  Almost done though.  Our house is still treeless.  Maybe we will get the tree up this weekend.  That will make the Son happy.

Today I want to share another Christmas card.

I used the Unity Be Inspired Challenge sketch to put together my card.

Of course the Sentiment if from Unity.  I used the snowflake die from Spellbinders.  I picked up the die at the scrapbook expo.  I just love these shapes.  

Hope your holiday projects are moving right along,.

Thanks for stopping by

Teresa





I will be entering this project in the following challenges:


Unity - Be Inspired Challenge
Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge - Holiday Cards
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Christmas/Holidays
Get Creative Challenge Blog - Christmas

Holiday Inspiration

Today I placed in the mail 51 cards for the Caring heats card drive.  I am very happy participate in such a great cause.  I hope my cards bring joy to the recipients.  

While making cards for the drives, I am always looking for some inspiration to keep things fresh.  One can only make so many of the same layout.  

While blog hopping I noticed that Winnie and Walter has a challenge....Play date #4

Here is the inspiration 

And here is my card.  I did make more that one... of course.  

I was inspired by the deep red colors with the sparkle of the silver.  My silver is in the Gems that I added to the tree.  The sentiment is from Winnie and Walter.  I stamped it in white.  The tree is from Spellbinders.  I tried using Gems and glitter to decorate the tree.  The Gems worked the best.  I might make a couple more and and use sequins for the tree .

Thanks for stopping in....

Teresa

I will be entering this project in the following challenges

Winnie and Walter - Playdate #4

Christmas cards in progress

Hello Friends,

What have you been working on????

I have been working very hard on holiday cards.

I am making as many as I can for the Caring Hearts Card drive.  All of the cards collected will be sent to the elderly.  I love supporting these types of causes.   The first year I participated I only sent a few cards.  This year I may have 40 ready to send out.

Now that I have almost finished my task, I can take some time to share.

I made this card using a fun stamp set from the Rubber Cafe.  The elves in the set are super cute.  I added a little sparkle to the stars and embossed the card base.

Merry and Bright seems to be the sentiment of this holiday season.

Thanks for stopping in.  I plan on sharing more soon.

Teresa

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - We're Seeing Stars

Taking the Challenge with Mou.

Happy Saturday!  

I hope you are enjoying your weekend and getting crafty.  

Today I want to share with you a project that I made with the inspiration from Mou from the Deign Memory Craft blog.  

Mou made a beautiful pillow box to give to her family at during Thanksgiving.   I was very inspired by this project, so I thought I would make one of my own.  

I first coated my pillow box with Gesso.  Then stamped the leaves in white ink and and heat embossed with clear embossing   

I used my gelatos to water color the background.  I then used my Stampers Big brush pens to color in the leaves.  I then tied on the wooden leave with some twine.  

Thank you for stopping by.

Teresa

November already?

Oh my.... November is here already.  This year is flying right by. 

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.   Ours was a little wet.  But it did not stop the kids from having fun.

Today I started coloring images to start making Christmas cards.  Yes... I said Christmas.  

Though I took a little time out to play with my Paper Smooches set that I picked up a couple of months ago.  I made this cute little card using the sketch from the Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge.

Have a great weekend

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Anything goes 

Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge - October Sketch 

World Card making Day with Winnie & Walter

Hello all....

Last weekend was World Card making day.  There were so many different challenges to participate in.   Winnie and Walter has called it world card making week.  YAY.  That is perfect for us working folks.   They posted many different challenges.  I had time to play in 4.  

The first challenge I choose was Unexpected Stamping with Kelly.

The basic rules..... Use your stamp in and unexpected way.   I stamped the card stock using the word  "Boo with white ink and then heat emboss.  I got my great color by using purple and blue Gelatos.  The Gelato color will wipes off the embossing with a damp towel.  I then stamped and cut out the ghost.  The sentiment background was also colored with my Gelatos 

I made this card for the Pattern Play with Shay challenge.  

The basic rules.... Ad some patterns to your card using stamp, die cuts, paper and/or tape.  I choose this awesome patterned paper covered in spooky frames and glitter.     I love the stripped background.  I just added the sentiment.   I love it when project come out so easy.  

The third challenge I choose is the Pinspiration with Vanessa

Rules..... Be inspired by this image

I choose to use the wood grain as my inspiration.  I found this grey wood grain paper.  Found some interesting scraps.... and added some flowers.  I am so happy to use up some of the scraps from the growing pile.

The last challenge I  choose was Sketched with Julie

I just receive my new Winnie and Walter stamps and had to ink them up.  I embossed the circle of leaves with gold.  I cut the flowers using some of my practice attempts from the H2O's.

That is all for me today.  I more projects to complete for Halloween and then to start those Christmas cards.  

Teresa

I will be entering card #1 in the following challenges

WCMD with Winnie & Walter -  Unexpected Stamping with Kelly.

Design Memory Craft - Take the Challenge #10

I will be entering card #2 in the following challenges

WCMD with Winnie & Walter - Pattern Play with Shay 

I will be entering card #3 in the following challenges

WCMD with Winnie & Walter - Pinspiration with Vanessa

I will be entering card #4 in the following challengs

WCMD with Winnie & Walter - Sketched with Julie

World Card Making Day + A Winner

Happy Monday!!!


I just wanted to share a few of the cards I made over the weekend and of course the winner of the GIU stamps.


It was World Card Making Day on Saturday.  Did you get a chance to create?  I just need to finish up a few more Halloween cards and then I must get started on Christmas.  I'm sure there will be some card drives needing holiday cards.

Friendly spider just dropping in.....LOL

Heartfelt Creations Image

Using up some scraps and left over stickers

Fall colors

And now to announce the winner of the Itty Bitty Stamps from Unity?????

First I had Random.org pick the day

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:4Powered by RANDOM.OR

Day 4 - Thursday

There were 20 comments

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:4Powered by RANDOM.O

Funny.... It picked 4 twice. 

And the winner is Vicky.....

VickyOctober 2, 2014 at 8:16 AM

Super Spooky! Love them both, and the Boo! card is outstanding!

Congratulations......   Please e-mail me with your choice of two (2) Unity Itty Bitty Stamps  and your mailing address.  I will forward your information so Unity mail your stamps to you.  

I will be entering the fall colors card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Monday Challenge - Falling in Love

Great Impressions - October Challenge - Autumnal Elegance

GIU - Day 5

Happy Friday.!!!!

I am sad to say that today is my last post For Growing In Unity.  I have had so much fun sharing my projects with you.  Everyone has left such wonderful comments.  I am very encouraged by all of your kind words.

I will be choosing the winner of the Itty Bitty Stamps on Monday.  So, that give everyone through the weekend to leave a comment.

I also want to send out a big Thank You to the Unity Stamp Company for their generosity.

Today's project I made using a leaf stamp I received in a grab bag.   I found that it is part for the Color of the Seasons KOM set.  I first and embossed the leaves in white on watercolor paper. I used my twinkling H2O's to create this background.  The technique I used was to wet the H2O heavily and also wet the paper.  That way I could move the color around as I desired.  Then I heat dried the color into place.   Since the paper was very wet and was warped I found I needed to iron the paper flat.  I Then distressed the edges and sewed it onto the purple paper.  I added some stickles to the circles in the leaves.  Finishing it off with the sentiment and sequins.

Hope you enjoyed all of the projects.  Next week there will be another GIU gal.  Check out the Unity blog on Wednesday to see who will inspire you next.



Thank you again and have a wonderful weekend.

Teresa

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Monday Challenge - Finishing Touch

GIU - Day 4

Wow!!!  Can you believe it is October already.  Yesterday my hubby said to me that are 30 more days until Halloween.  That really cracked me up.  I found out he has an app that has a Halloween count down. There really is an app for everything.

With that being said, my projects today are Halloween themed.

My first card I used the Unity stamp Hello My Pretty Friend,  I stamped and colored the legs image and then paper pieced the dress.   Just seeing the bottom half of the witch really makes me smile.  I have to confess.  I saw this idea on Pinterest, however, I took the idea to another level by using by border punches and embossing folders to embellish the dress.

For my second card I used the Unity stamp Kooky Spooky.   I stamped and embossed the image and the frame.   I used the embossing folder on the background and then added some color with a silver Gelato to make the embossing pop.  I have another confession here and must give credit were credit is due.  After adding the letters I felt that the who card was a little flat.  I showed it to the hubby.  He suggested to add glitter behind the letters.  So.... out came the Stickles.   I then added the google eyes to the bat just to make the card more fun.

One more day remaining of my GUI showcase.  So be sure to check back tomorrow for the final project.  

And remember at the end of the week I will be giving away 2 Itty Bitty stamps to one random person who leaves a comment.

The winner could be from any day.  So the more day's you comment means more entries.  

Here are the links to Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 blog post if you missed them.  

See ya tomorrow...

Teresa

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Monday Challenge - Finishing Touch

GIU - Day 3

Happy Hump day.  

Today is day 3 of GIU.

Here are the links to Day 1 and Day 2 blog post if you missed them.  

Today's project made of more pieces of  testing techniques using Dylusions ink spray.    

For this background I stamped the image and heat embossed it with burgundy embossing powder. 

Using the Dylusions I sprayed yellow and then some pink colors.   

The result was the orange color.   

On some of my practice paper I stamped the flower over the color and heat embossed it with black. 

The image is Unity Moments In Bloom stamp set.  

 I made the frame for the image using two of my Spellbinders Dies.  

I finished it off with a couple rhinestones and the sentiment.  

Don't forget come back every day and leave a comment.  

At the end of the week I will be giving away 2 Itty Bitty stamps

 to one random person who leaves a comment.

  The winner could be from any day.  

So the more day's you comment means more entries.  

Thanks for taking some time out of your day to stop by.  

Teresa

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Monday Challenge - Finishing Touch

GIU - Day Two

It's day two for my Growing in Unity Spotlight.   Thank you to everyone who left wonderfully inspiring comments yesterday.  You all are very kind.

My project today is put together from pieces different techniques.  I have been playing with Dylusions ink spray.   Using pink ink spray I misted the paper fairly heavy to get a deep color.  I then I stamped the diamond background and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  That locked in the pink color.  Then I used blue ink spray to get the purple color.  I discovered I still had this the bike image that I stamped for a previous blog post within my scraps.  This one I had messed up the top while trying to blend the gealtos.  I just cut off the area that was ugly and added the black border.   That is why I never throw out all my mistakes.  Sometimes they can find a new purpose.

The bike image and the sentiment is Unity's Enjoy this day

Don't forget come back every day and leave a comment.  At the end of the week I will be giving away 2 Itty Bitty stamps to one random person who leaves a comment.  

Teresa

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Simon Say's Stamp - Monday Challenge - Finishing Touch

GIU - Day 1

Good Morning and a happy Monday.

This is going to be a fun week here on my blog.  Today starts my GIU week for the Unity Stamp Company.

If are not familiar with Unity, please take a moment to check them out here.   You will find that they have many beautiful stamps and awesome customer service.  They are also very kind and generous people.

Today's project is a card I made using my "Face the Sunshine" stamp designed by Phyllis Harris.  I colored the the image with alcohol markers and framed it with some gold cloth paper.

Now be sure to come back every day.  I will have a new project every day.   And don't forget to leave a comment.  At the end of the week I will be giving away 2 Itty Bitty stamps to one random person who leaves a comment.  

Have a great day.

Teresa

I will be entering this card into the following challenges

Simon Say's Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Summer's Last Hurrah

Hello All,

It's going to be another beautiful day in Cali... though I hear we may get some rain tomorrow.  I guess I will be buying wiper blades tonight, just to be sure I am ready.  Of course, then it won't rain, right?

I think I stated before I love the fall weather.  Warm days and crisp nights.  And then there is all the color of the leaves, sunsets and sunrises.   It is like summer is holding on, just to stay around for a little longer.

For today's project I thought I'd try something a little different.  First I used painted the background paper with water colors to look like a sunset.   Then I used glue from the Rubber Cafe and very lightly rubbed a small amount it through my Tim Holtz sun burst stencil.  I let it for about 5 minutes and then sprinkled on a layer of glitter.  This glue from the Rubber Cafe is my favorite.  You should check them out.    The sentiment if from Serendipity stamps.

Have a great Hump Day!!!!

Teresa





I will be entering this project into the following challenges

Serendipity Stamp Challenge - SSBC#35 - Summer's Last Hurrah
Simon Says Stamp Blog - Monday Challenge- Stencils & Stamps

Another boy card.

Hello there!!!

How is the weather in your part of the world?  We are going to have a beautiful fall day with temps in the mid 80's.  

Today I have another boy themed card to share.

I pulled out this adorable stamp from Stampendous and colored it with my Alcohol markers.  

The "Sweet" sentiment is from Neat and Tangled.  

I went with this simple design and found some great scraps to use.  

Have a wonderful rest of the day

Teresa

I will be entering this project into the following challenges

Stampendous - September Challenge - All About Kids 

Boys

Happy Monday!!!  

I can't believe it is almost October.  However,   I am glad we are moving out of summer.  Summer in my area... Northern California....  can get very warm.  And after a while I can't wait for those warm days and crisp nights.  We also are in desperate need of rain.   I'm sure you have heard about our drought and now this very large fire in the mountains close to home.  

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I was out of boy themed cards.  Shocking.... LOL.   

Now every time I sit down to make some cards, I try to make at least one that is boy themed.

This image is from The Greeting Farm (WS-Logan).  This is one of my all time favorites.  It reminds me of my son.  Starting in a couple weeks he will be hiding in his hoodie every morning on the way to school.  He lives it one all winter long.    The Sentiment is from The Alley Way.  I like it with this image because it is perfect for the teenage boys.  Simple design to use up some scraps.     

My blog is going to be busy the next couple of weeks, so stop in frequently.   

Teresa

I will be entering this project into the following challenges

The Greeting Farm - FFF - Fall

Halloween is coming......

It's September.... And that means it is time for me to get my craft on with Halloween cards.   I love Halloween.  Maybe even more than Christmas these days.  It is such a fun time of the year.  You get to be a little crazy and have loads of fun doing it.


Last year Halloween was an odd day for us.  My husband was in a car accident the afternoon of Halloween.  Even though he was not hurt badly we still need to visit the ER to be sure there was no major injuries.  He was a champ though and waited till we prepared our son for the nights festivities.  Now that he is older, the years are numbered on our son going out trick-or-treating.   Luckily his best friend's Mom took him for the evening while we tended to our other issues at the ER.   Can you imagine going to the ER on Halloween.

Here is our Zombie.  Thanks to my Tim Holtz ink refills we got that dirty look to a bright white shirt.

As for my card.  I went with the Lawn Fawn "Hoppy Halloween" stamp set on some water color paper.   I used my colored pencils to color in the background.  Glitter on the stars and moon.  

I'll be back to share some more of my cards soon.

Have a great week.

Teresa






I will be posting this project on the following blogs

Lawnscaping Challenge blog - One Layer
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Stamp It Challenge
Great Impressions - September 2014 - Get your Spook On

Birthday Card

Hello there.....

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Labor Day weekend.   Some of our plans fell through so we are just staying home and relaxing.  However my son is attending a birthday party for his best friend tomorrow.  It;s the big 14.  I can't believe how fast these boys are growing up.

Since I seem to be running very low on Boy themed cards, I had to make on for tomorrow's festivities.    

My son choose the Sunday stamp from the Greeting card.  He told me to go with blue.  I used some brads in each of the corners and even the WOW  is a brad.

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a fun and safe weekend

Teresa



I will be posting this project in the following challenges

The Greeting Farm - Farm Fresh Friday -Favorite Embellishment
Simon Say's Blog - Wednesday Challenge - Anything goes 

Creative Blog Tour

Hello All,

Yes,  it has been a while since I have posted.  Sometimes life seems to get in the way.  There has been lots of happenings that have kept me very busy.

I hope today is the first post to get me back into the swing of crafting and blogging.

My Friend Jennifer asked me to participate in this Creative Blog Tour.  I thought maybe this would be a great way to start things off.   You can check out her blog here...... http://jentscrappysideofme.blogspot.com/

Take a some time and go back and see some of the talented ladies from this tour.


What am I working on?

This weekend I started making some Halloween cards.  Since I have been having crafting block I made a couple cards from some Pinterest inspiration.  That was helpful to get me started.  Then, since I received some new stamps from the Unity Stamp Company, I decided to take part in their monthly challenge.

How does my work differ from others?

I am not sure how my style is different.  However, I really love to play with colors.  I am fascinated with all sorts of mediums.  The first card I used my Gelatos to make the background.  I really love the Gelatos. They are fun and easy to use.  I also have been using some of the Silks Acrylic Glaze paints.  Great for paper crafting.  I just love how they work with paper.  I am also interested in adding water color to my proljects.

Why do I create what I do?

The creative process to me can be relaxing.  I try to push myself outside my comfort zone.  The position I hold at work requires me to be very organized and controlled.  Crafting lets me make a mess.  Sometimes those messes hit the garbage but sometimes they turn out beautiful.  Crafting helps me to realize that I can make mistakes and it is OK.

How does my creative process work?

I have got a head full of ideas.  But they don't always work out.  I try to make small sketches before I start.  I am always amazed on how the idea materializes differently that what I expected.   I also spend a lot of time blog hopping.  This is a great way to find inspiration.

Thank you for stopping by.  Sadly, I appear to be the end of this string of the tour.  Many of my blog friends are very busy with their families and were not going to be able to participate.

Sequin Shaker Blog Hop

Happy Sunday!!!  

Today I decided to participate in the Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop.

I have only been successful one time whit a shaker box.  

I have tried a couple of times, but those projects became practice attempts.  

One of the things I have learned from all the practice is.......Keep my fingers out of the adhesive. 

 I get in on my fingers and then all over everything else.  

There are still a few tricks to master.  But as they say Practice makes perfect.

Thanks for stopping by.

Teresa

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my Crafty Friends.

I hope everyone has a sweet day with their family's

I made over 100 Valentine cards this year for the Cards From The Heart card drive. 

 This year over 4000 cards were collected to send around the country to the children's hospitals. 

 Just think.... 

4000+ children are smiling today when they receive their special cards.

  

I also made cards for friends and family.  One friend is proposing to his girl today.  

In the next couple of days I want to share some of the cards I made.

For these cards I used paper from the Authentique's Smitten collection.  

The stamp is from Unity.  

The hearts were cut out using The Greeting Farm Heart die.  

This is the negative of the cut out used on the background of the first card.  I popped up the True Love sentiment to give the card some dimension.   

Thanks for stopping in.  

Teresa

I will be entering the first card into the following challenges

Unity - Friends With Flair

Simon Says Stamp Blog - Wednesday Challenge - Get Crafty