Gingerbread Card

This adorable gingerbread was stamped from SP & Company's Cutest Gingerbread man set.  I colored her with Copics.  Her cheeks have some Stickles and I used Liquid Pearls on her mouth and frosting.  I used real buttons to cover her stamped ones.

The sentiment came from the Hero Arts set called Sending Holiday Cheer.

To make the card more fun I added a couple of little rolling pins I'd gotten in a pack of holiday shaped buttons.  Then I finished off with a whole bunch of sequins

This is the very last holiday card I have to share!  So, now I can move on to more current projects :)

Thanks as always for visiting me :)

Amber

Snow Much Fun Card

I  just LOVE these adorable little snowmen.  I used the Close to My Heart set Flakey Friends.  I just love their round little bodies.  I colored them with Copics and added sequins for their buttons.

The ribbon is from Papertrey Ink.

I can't help but smile when I look at the cute little faces on these guys :)

Amber

Happy Holidays Card

I used the Cricut Cartridge Jolly Holidays for this one.

I added some Stickles and Liquid Pearls to jazz things up a bit.

I added faux stitching around the edge of the card with a Stampin' Up marker.

I don't use sentiments made from die cuts very often, and normally opt for stamps instead.  It was fun to make the sentiment such a large part of the card.

Amber

Swirly Snowflake Card

Here's yet another one of my holiday cards.

This one started with a cut from my Silhouette.  It's called Swirly Snowflake.  After cutting it out I embellished it with some blue and clear rhinestones.

The sentiment is from the Fiskars set Winter Wishes.

I thought it looked too plain, so I sponged the edges of the card and I liked the way it softened the look.

Simple and quick, yet still elegant.

Amber

Winter Trees Card

Here's a super simple card I made.

The image is from Hero Arts and it's called Winter Trees.  I stamped it and then did a little sponging on the lower hill for a bit more dimension.

I cut a window in the card front and mounted my image behind it.

I framed the image with some Diamond Stickles.

The sentiment came from Stampin' Up's Polar Party.

As quick and simple as this was, I still think it has a stunning effect.

Amber

Santa Card

Here's another one of the Christmas cards I made this year.

The santa was cut from the Winter Frolic Cricut Cartridge.  I stamped his eyes from Peachy Keen's Wide Eyed Kids.  To embellish him I used some Liquid Applique to make the white parts of his outfit, and his beard fluffy and neat looking.  I also used a some pop dots to pop up his belt buckle, which I covered in gold Stickles.

The Ho Ho Ho sentiment was a bling I purchased at Michael's awhile back.

The paper came from a DCWV Holiday Stack.

Thanks for visiting!

I will be sharing more cards over the next few days.  Sorry I didn't get them up before Christmas, and I don't have all the sizes and details for each, but I'd still love to share with everyone :)

Amber

A House Themed Christmas Card

Here's another one of the holiday cards I sent out this year.

I used a really great set from Hero Arts called Sending Holiday Cheer.  A lot of the time I mix and match stamp sets to get exactly what I want.  In this case I just loved the way the set worked together and didn't use any other sets.

I did all of my coloring with my Copics.  Honestly I wish I had played a bit more with the shading, but I do love the fun colors I used.

I'll be sharing the other cards I made after Christmas!

Have a wonderful holiday for those that are celebrating tomorrow :)

Amber

Snowman Card

I had a lot of fun putting this together.

For the background I created lots of dimension.  I used snowflake stamps from a Fiskars set called Winter Wishes.  I started off with plain white cardstock.  I stamped a layer of snowflakes in Versamark and then embossed them with clear powder.  Then I brayered I very light blue over the whole sheet.  Then I stamped the snowflake in Versamark again and used clear embossing poweder.  Then I went over the whole thing with a medium blue.  For the final layer of color I just stamped some more snowflakes in dark blue.  So, there are 3 colors of snowflakes.  White, light blue, and dark blue.

The ribbon was from the Target $1 spot a few years ago.

The adorable snowman was cut from the Winter Frolic Cricut Cartridge.  I added a cute face from Peachy Keen's Wide Eyed Kids.

I used a couple of colors of Stickles for a little glitter on his accessories.

Thanks for visiting!

I'll share some more Christmas cards in the coming days.

Here's why I haven't been posting...

We're remodeling the kitchen.  The work just started a couple weeks ago, but we were running all over planning and picking things out before that and it's been crazy.  My husband is doing it all himself, plumbing, electrical, etc.  He has to do this on nights and weekends when he's not working so I'll be without a kitchen for a long time!  We are making do with a temporary kitchen set up and lots of plug in appliances, but I don't have an oven, a sink, etc in that area.  I wash dishes in the utility sink in the basement.  I use the microwave and crock pot a lot, and we are making do.  Crazy stuff!

Here's my old kitchen before the demolition.

Here's a recent shot with most of the things already out.  My husband is replacing the sub floor because of some old water damage that happened before we owned the place.

So, as you can imagine, life is a bit chaotic right now!  I have been crafting and will start posting more photos again.  My husband is almost done with the sub floor, and then I won't have a huge hole above the basement dumping wood chips and dust all over (my craft room is in the basement so that definitely has an impact right now.

I'm really excited for our beautiful new kitchen.  Lots and lots of new things!  Pretty much everything except the dishwasher (which we just bought 3 years ago when we moved in) will be replaced.  However, it will be a long time before it's all done.  So I've got to have patience.  Lots and lots of patience :)  I admit it's hard not having a fully functional kitchen, but we are making do without eating out.  It's just hard!

I do hope to be getting back into my blogging habit as of today.  Wish me luck!

Amber

Mermaid Card

Here's something mystical and pretty, a mermaid!  I really wanted some gorgeous mermaid images and decided to get Under The Sea Mae by Some Odd Girl.

I colored her using some Copics.
Here's the color list:
Hair: RV09, RV06, RV02
Seashell: E35, E33
Skin:E33, E11 with RV02 on her cheeks
Eyes: BG32
Top:V09, V17
Main part of Tail: YG09, YG07, YG05
Side fin on Tail: BG18

After she was all colored I fussy cut her out.  I did my favorite trick afterwards.  I used a Copic Multi-liner around all the cut edges.  This covers up any white parts on the edges, and adds a little black anywhere you might have cut the line too narrow.  It really gives a great finish!!!

To finish her off I used Fruit Punch Stickles in her hair.  Crystal Effects on her eyes.  Glitz Stickles in the color Mermaid on her side fin and her tail.  I created all the scales and lines in the end of her tail myself, they were not part of the original image.

Then I moved on to the water.  Below is a close up shot so you can see a little bit of the detail.

I started with some white cardstock much larger than what I needed.

I began by dragging across the Distress Ink colors Peacock Feathers and Broken China.  I did this in waving motions to make sure I didn't get defined lines anywhere.

After these were applied I used a foam brush to drag some water across the surface.

Then I moved on to the next step with the cardstock still wet.  I started dragging Stamping Up inks in Marina Mist and Soft Sky across the paper.  Because it was still wet these only left little dots in random areas instead of any streaks or lines.  Giving a different texture and layering effect to the colors.

For the last bit of color I sprayed Glimmer Mist in Blue Skies.  You can't see the glimmer in the photo, but of course in person you can.

I cut this down to size 4 by 5 and 1/4 and embossed it with the paper still damp using the Darice embossing folder Beach Waves.

I let it dry and then adhered it to a card base made with Papertrey Ink's Smokey Slate.

For a finishing touch I added some My Craft Spot sequins.

Wa-lah!  Magical mermaid wonderland :)

Sorry for the long explanation, this card took a few hours and I wanted to explain all the steps.

Happy Friday!

Amber

I Made a Purse!

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately.  Hemming new jeans I bought, working on my daughter's Halloween costume, and now this purse!  I just LOVE this fabric and it's just my style.

The bag is lined with pink satin and I created a pocket.  The pocket has stitches down a portion near the center.  This divides the pocket into 2 sections, so that one part is the perfect size for my cell phone and the other part can hold other odds and ends.

The bag closes with magnetic snaps.

I'm so excited to start carrying it!!!!

If you'd like to make one of your own you can use this FANTASTIC video tutorial by the very talented Debbie Shore.  Her instructions are so clear that I was never confused.  That might not sound like much, but I assure you that when it comes to sewing it doesn't take much to have me totally lost and scratching my head instead of making progress.

All I did differently was add the pocket and the snaps.  I added the pocket as soon as that lining piece was attached to the black top.  I added the snap closure right before putting the handles on.  The decoration was added at the very end when the rest of the bag was constructed.

I'm so grateful for people like Debbie that help the rest of us figure these things out :)

Thanks for visiting!

Amber

Sequin Hello Card

I just love the sequin trend and I wanted to do something fun and different.

I cut the word hello with my Silhouette and then went over it with some sequin trim.  I worked slowly so the glue didn't dry before I could push down the sequins.  The trim was easy to work with and curved beautifully.  In a few spots I cut the trim to avoid too much overlapping, like in the bottom of the H.  I was fine with the spots that overlapped only a little bit, like in the L's.

Now I had a die cut totally covered in sequins and ready to apply to my card.  I took some Smokey Slate cardstock from Papertrey ink for a card base and adhered my sequined word.

To finish off the card I cut some of the sequins loose from the trim and scattered them around.

Thanks for visiting!

Amber

Rainbow Washi Wonder Card

I used a stamp set from Close to My Heart called Washi Wonder.  I fell in love with this set and just HAD to have it.  It's a hostess set and I didn't feel like placing a big order right now, so I just got one on Ebay :)

The white layer is 2 and 3/4 by 4 inches.  I stamped various "tapes" from the set using all Stampin' Up inks.  The colors I used were Rose Red, Only Orange, Summer Sun, Glorious Green, Ballet Blue, Brilliant Blue, and Elegant Eggplant.  I stamped all the tapes off the edge so one side would look more "clean" and the other would have the torn edge look with varying lengths.  I figured having one side with the edge more defined would keep it from getting too "busy."

I mounted this piece on a dark navy piece of cardstock.  I actually cut it down after the white piece was mounted on it, by eyeballing, but it seems to be showing about 1/16th of an inch on all sides.  That layer was mounted to the one below with pop dots.

The grey piece measures 4 by 5 and 1/4.  It's embossed with the Darice folder Circle Interlock.

The card base is a simple black A2 size.

Thanks for visiting!

Our Decorations Halloween Layout

Here's a simple layout I whipped up to show off the Halloween decorations my kids made last year.

The patterned papers are from the DCWV stack Midnight Spell.

The black square is 10 and 1/2 inches.

I cut 2 patterned paper purple squares. 1 at 6 inches, and the other at 4 inches.

The title was cut using A Child's Year Cricut Cartridge.  The other die cuts are from the Mini Monsters Cricut cartridge.  I thought they went perfectly with the photos.  I added a ribbon to the top of the spider and some Starry Night Stickles to her hourglass.  I added a bit of green Stickles to the leaf on the pumpkin.

That's it!

Thanks for dropping by :)

Amber

Wickedly Witchy Card

Here's a Halloween card I put together.

The cuts were made using my Cricut and the cartridge A Frightful Affair.  I actually don't own this cartridge.  Right now Cricut is letting you cut from it for free in their Craft Room Software - for this week only.  So I took advantage of that.

I waned my witch to have a little pizazz and style so I added polka dots of purple glitter to her hat and boots using Starry Night colored Stickles.  Her cauldron is all blinged up with Black Diamond Stickles.  For her brew I used some metallic sequins from My Craft Spot.

For the creepy creature's arms in the window I used Lime Green Stickles.  Looking at it afterwards I think maybe I went a little too bling crazy - but it is a tiny portion of a cut so it would have been hard to use an embossing folder on it and I wanted some kind of detail because I thought it looked too plain before.

The sticker is from American Greetings.

The paper is from DCWV's Midnight Spell stack.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Amber

Simple Chalkboard Card

I found the perfect font for making chalkboard cards!  I'm really excited because I love the Chalkboard trend, but want to be able to spell what I'd like.  It's the Hero Arts set called Sketchbook Letters.  I picked it up at my local Archiver's and I'm in love.  I used the ColorBox chalk ink in Popcorn to do all the stamping.  Then I used that same ink with a sponge and made some soft white marks all around to make it look like a well used board.

For the background I used Hero Arts Woodgrain background stamp on some Kraft Cardstock.

I used my Corner Chomper on the 1/4 inch setting on all the corners for this card.

This was simple and quick to put together!  I can't wait to try this font  in black on some white cardstock for the more sketchy effect too :)

Amber

Gorjuss Card With a Rabbit

I just love this image.  We have 2 adorable rabbits of our own so it was a must have.  It's from Gorjuss and it's called I Love You Little Rabbit.  I used copics to color it.  For blacks and grays I used: 100, N6, N4, and N2.  For the bunny I used E35 an E33 - the little tail is very fluffy because I used some white Liquid Applique.  Totally cute in person :)  For skin tones I used E00 and E21 with RV42 on the cheeks.  For the purples I used V09 and V17.  For the green I just used YG07.

Her dress features Star Dust Stickles on the dots.

The sentiment is from Hero Arts Mi Casa.

The gems are all Irock.

Then I finished off with some strips of washi tape and some faux stitching done with a Copic Multiliner.

This was a fun one.  I am really, really learning to love making easy to mail cards.  Another bonus is that they fit in my card organizer SO much more easily.

Have a great Friday and a fabulous weekend!

Amber

Deer Card

To be honest I can't decide if I like this or not.  I don't hate it, but I'm not in love with it either.

Here's how I put it together.

The papers are from the Simple Stories Vintage Bliss 6 by 6 pad.  I wanted to use that cool wood design so I made it the main background.  The edges are rounded on a 1/4 inch setting on my Corner Chomper.

The brads are just from my stash.

The crocheted flowers are actually very special.  My Grandmother hand made them.  When she died I got a bunch of her things, and these were among them.

The fancy shape is from the Ashylyns Alphabet Cricut Cartridge.  The edges are inked with Always Artichoke by Stampin' Up.

The deer is from the Cindy Loo Cricut Cartridge.  I added Glossy Accents to the feet, eye, and nose for a bit of shine and additional detail.  She's up on a layer of pop dots.

There's my project for the day.  Pretty simple and quick.

Amber

Friends Are the Chocolate Chips Card

Here's another nearly flat clean card.  I don't know what's gotten into me lately but I'm enjoying this style more and more.  I still love layers and glitter, but it's nice to do other things and not get stuck in a rut.

Along the top I just have a strip of washi tape.  The button is from Papertrey Ink and it's threaded with some crochet thread.

The cookie comes from Fiskars The Sweet Life.  It's colored with E33, E35, and E47 Copics.  I stamped it first and then masked it off so that it would look like it was sitting in front of the milk bottle.

The milk bottle image comes from W Plus 9 Milk and Cookies.  Seriously this set is SO cute.  I just got it and am in love :)  I stamped it in Bordering Blue from Stampin Up.  I added a touch of shading to the milk with my Copics using N2 dabbed onto 0 to get a subtle bit of shading.

The sentiment is from Jim's Rubber stamps - I purchased it on Ebay.  I stamped it in Memento Rich Cocoa ink.

Simple and fun!  I have always been totally obsessed with cards and layouts that have to do with food.  Not sure why, but I think they are SO cute.

Crafty hugs and best wishes to you all!

Amber

Playing With Polymer Clay

Thought I'd share a little something different today.  I've been trying to learn how to sculpt things with polymer clay.  I'm interested in making cute little animals and tiny food.  I've been dabbling and thought I'd share this little turtle I created.  It's FAR from perfect but I still think he's pretty cute.

The biggest problem I'm having is getting small parts like the fins on this turtle attached properly and having them thick enough so they don't break the second I try to handle them.  I'm going to keep practicing, and if I get better I may do a tutorial someday :)  Since right now I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing, that would be pointless.  *LOL*

Happy Friday!  

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend :)  

Personally I can't wait for the weekend.  I'm going to lock myself in my craft room and finish catching up on the last of the photos I have waiting to scrap.  Then I have to sort and print photos from the last 6 months.  I think I may actually be fully caught up soon.  I'd like to get to the point where all photos I take are sorted, printed, and scrapped within 30 days of taking them.  Fingers crossed I'll get there.  It just seems so much less stressful to work on what's current and fresh in my mind, and scrap every photo in order so I don't have to sort my layouts later

Amber

Goldilocks

I just LOVE this sweet image from Kraftin' Kimmie.  Her name is Goldilocks.  She's colored with Copics and popped up on a layer of foam tape.

For the background I wanted to create a quilt with paper.  I thought it would go well with the image.  I used the My Mind's Eye Blush 6 by 6 pad and cut 1 inch squares.  I glued them all together and then stamped some stitching with SP & Company's Stitchery Doo set using Hero Arts Chalk Ink in Latte.

I did a little trick to make the kraft border even.  My card is actually 4 and 1/4 by 5 and 1/4.  That way I could work with simple 1 inch squares and still have a nice even border.  No one would really notice unless they set it next to a 4 and 1/4 by 5 and 1/2 inch card, and even so - who cares.  It can easily be put in a regular A2 envelope.  Sometimes a simple solution is best.  Just go with what works and don't over-complicate it :)

I can't wait to send this little sweetheart to someone who needs a hug!

Hope you are well dear visitor.

Amber

Seize the Cupcake

This is about as clean and simple as I get!  *LOL*

The faux stitching was done with a Copic Multiliner.

The stamp set used was Hero Arts Cupcakes.

I colored the cupcakes with my Copics and didn't bother with any shading at all.  I just left them plain and simple.  Although I did add a subtle bit of glitter and shine with some glitter glue - it didn't photograph well.

The washi tape is from My Mind's Eye and it's their Adorbs collection.

That's it!  Other than a little time spent on simple coloring this was so quick I could see doing it for mass production.

Glad you came to visit :)

Amber

The Sky's the Limit Grungy Card

Here's a grungy card I whipped up.  Not my usual style, but I like it.

The background is the Tweed Pattern Stamp from Hero Arts.  I just used some white pigment ink over grey cardstock and it came out beautifully.

I rounded the top left corners of both layers on a 1/2 inch setting with my Corner Chomper.

The little bird is a brad I purchased from Oriental Trading.

The sentiment and large arrow are rub ons from 3 birds I purchased a long time ago and am trying to use up.

The green button is from the $1 section at Michael's.  The blue button is from Stampin' Up and was free during the last Sale-a-bration.  Both of them are threaded with some embroidery floss.

I used some chevron washi along the bottom of the kraft layer.

The little clothespin meant I needed to put the kraft layer up on pop dots, but I like the look of pop dots anyhow so that was no big deal.

I used some mirrored and regular sprarkly gems from Irock.

I used a large white brad from my stash.

I used the Papertrey ink set Grunge me to create some splatter effects on the kraft layer.

I used some Bisque colored liquid pearls as well.

There's so much going on here so I hope I listed anything you may have wondered about.

My daughter went crazy for this, my husband was polite - but I could tell he hated it!  *LOL*  Personally I really like it.  I'm not sure if I'm any good at this type of style or not, but I sure had fun trying.  The worst thing that can happen is a little paper in the trash - so don't be afraid to experiment, you just may like what you come up with :)

Thanks for visiting me :)

Amber

Hugs Card

Here's a little card to cheer someone up, or just say hello.

The paper is from Basic Grey's Kioshi 6 by 6 pad.  The banner is a Spellbinders die from their Ribbon Banners set.  The sentiment is from My Pink Stamper's Simply Sweet Occasions set.  It's stamped with Rich Razzleberry Ink.

The image is from Kraftin' Kimmie and her name is Charlotte.

I used a Rich Razzleberry marker to make dots and dashes around the purple layer.

The bling is just from the $1 spot at Michael's.

I hope everyone's week is off to a great start :)

Amber