ODBD Sneak Peek

I'm happy to bring you a sneak peek at a new stamp set - Sing Thy

Grace - and a new embossing/cutting plate - Faithful Fish Pattern - by Our Daily Bread Designs that will be released on Thursday, January 1st. When I saw the sketch for SCS Sketch Challenge, I knew I wanted to create a corner collage using this grunge style sentiment and guitar.  The background paper is from ODBD Christmas Paper Collection 2014.  The stars were cut using ODBD Sparkling Stars die set.

Be sure and stop by the ODBD blog on Thursday to see the new products!  I'll also have a couple of cards here on my blog for the new release! See you then...

Sparkle & Shine

Happy New Year's Adam! No...I haven't lost my mind. Adam comes before Eve - lol!  I am switching gears after not doing much stamping over the holidays and then keeping our 3 month old grand baby the past 2 days.  I hardly know what to do with myself with not feeding, burping, changing, bathing, entertaining, etc.  It was a joy to keep her but I will have to admit it will be nice to sleep through the night tonight! :-) 

My mojo was rather scarce when I ventured into blog land to see what challenges were still in action.  I found the CAS(E) This Sketch #104 challenge was still open with this great CAS sketch by Leigh Penner.  I initiated this new WPlus9 "Sparkle and Shine" stamp set with matching dies for my card.  I added clear Wink of Stella shimmer pen highlights to the gems after coloring in with an Aquapainter using Peacock Feathers distress ink.  The embossing folder is by Stampin' Up. 

Mojo Monday

Hi everyone!  It's tall and skinny week over on the Mojo Monday Challenge blog so I went with a 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" sized card.  I wanted to bring some sunny colors to you after a rainy Sunday (and currently a rainy Monday), so went with these happy patterns in Echo Park's "Splendid Sunshine" 6x6 pad.  I used Verve's Happy Place stamp set and colored with Copics (Y06, Y08, YG01, YG03, YG05). The flowers and circle Nesties were popped with foam.  A really quick, easy and fun sketch to play with!  

Now is a great time to get some new Verve at great sale prices!

Check out the other mojo makers' creative entries on the Mojo Monday blog...or...you can click on their individual blogs below:

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen 

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Masculine Birthday

Has everyone come up for air yet after the holiday hustle and bustle?  Hopefully, you've all had a blessed Christmas...I know, I did!  For me, it's all about good times with family and friends...good food and the most important reason for the season - the celebration of Jesus' birth and the hope we can have in the Lord!  It's also extra special for me because the rehabilitation center where I work shuts down over Christmas and this year we had 3 glorious weeks off!!!  Not many nursing jobs allow you to be off that amount of time - if any - over a big holiday.  

So...I finally got some crafty time yesterday and today.  Three cards were for design team obligations,

but I also needed a masculine birthday card for my brother, so this card will head his way on Monday.  I used the layout (flipped version) for the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge and paper pieced the cupcake after stamping in black and clear embossing.  Papers are all from Simple Stories' "Color Vibe 1" Snap pad.  Stamps are from a set called Small Packages by Verve.  

That's all from me today...thanks for stopping by!

Mojo Monday

Good Monday everyone! Are you ready for another awesome sketch for the Mojo Monday challenge?  I went with a distressed style of card this week and wondered if it was a subliminal sign of what I was feeling with so little time left and still much to do before Christmas day is here - lol! I'm guessing Freud would have a theory on it!  I started with  the distressed patterned papers from The Paper Studio's Pine St. Square stack.  It naturally led to distressing all the edges and then burlap and rusty bells seemed like the next logical embellishments.  The snowflake is a SU punch and natural ribbon is also by SU.  The sentiment (Holiday Treats) and holly leaves (Holly Jolly Christmas - ? retired - unable to find in Verve store) are images by Verve.  I picked up some red paint on a brush and flicked it onto the white sentiment panel.  The holly/berries were colored with Copics (G43, G46, R29), fussy cut then Diamond Stickles added to make the berries appear frosted.  I really enjoy making Christmas cards and hate to think the season for creating them is nearly over!

Check out the other mojo makers' creative entries on the Mojo Monday blog...or...you can click on their individual blogs below:

  Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen 

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Looking Back at ODBD December Release

Today, we're taking a look back at Our Daily Bread Designs December release! 

I wanted to use this beautiful sentiment with its great combination of fonts from the Let It Snow stamp set as the focal point.  I paired it up with the papers in ODBD Christmas Collection 2014.  I gold embossed after stamping with Versamark ink, then die cut using the ODBD Antique Labels and Borders die.  It's popped with foam dots over the ornament die.  I embellished with ODBD Peaceful Poinsettias with coarse glitter added to the edges.  I struggled with getting a good photograph of this card.  When I angled it to see the embossing, then the gold looked brown. :-( 

You'll definitely want to head on over to Our Daily Bread Designs blog to check out the gorgeous creations and be inspired by the rest of the designers! 

Here's what I used:
STAMPS: Let It Snow (ODBD)
PAPER: Christmas Collection 2014 (ODBD), Forest Foliage, Cherry Cobbler, White, Gold
INK: Versamark
ACCESSORIES: Antique Labels and Borders die (ODBD), Peaceful Poinsettias die (ODBD), 2010 Heirloom Ornament die (Spellbinders), Fine gold embossing powder, Gold cording, Gold jingle bells, Glitter by Martha Stewart, Gold brad.

Color Throwdown

Hey, hey! It's hump day and that means a new Color Throwdown Challenge! Lori has a fabulous combo for us: pale pink, rose, kraft and green.

I started to go with a Christmas card, but these new stitched panel dies from Lil Inker Designs were calling my name and these florals - also from LID - have been neglected for too long!  I went with a very clean and simple design that's self-explanatory. 

Be sure and check out the beautiful card from our talented December guest designer - Sue Lelli from the Card Therapy blog!

Our guest star stamper this week is Rosemary Dennis of Hey There... rosigrl!.  Congrats, Rosemary!

For details on how to play along and for more inspiration, be sure and check out the rest of the design team's creations on the CTD blog or you can go to the links below:

Barbara Anders  
Broni Holcombe   
Joan Ervin  
  Jodi Collins 
  Lori Tecler   
Monika Davis
Tammy Hershberger  
Vickie Zimmer 
  Wanda Cullen (you are here)

  Sue Lelli - December Guest Designer

STAMPS: Sketched Floral Stamps (Lil Inker Designs).
PAPER: Kraft, Blushing Bride, Regal Rose, White, Black.
INK: Blushing Bride, Regal Rose, Versafine Onyx Black.
ACCESSORIES: Stitched panels, floral and sentiment dies - all by Lil Inker Designs. Sequins by Avery Elle.

Santa-tizer Gift Ideas

 
Need a fun, inexpensive little gift for someone? Try making these little Santa-tizer gifts! I made 4 of these this afternoon after seeing the inspiration on Pinterest.  I first cut a 4 1/4" x 10 1/2" length of white CS then used Stampin' Up's scallop edge punch for the bottom edge.  I then adhered a strip of red CS over the white using my Scotch ATG "gun".  Then I die cut the buckles by placing the 2 smallest square Nestabilities together over silver glitter CS.  I cut a black strip the width of the buckle opening then added two buttons using medium glue dots.  I computer-generated the labels using 36 font size and die cut with a Fishtail Flag Die-Namics.  I used silver cording to tie it to the bottle.  I plan to pair the sanitizer with some Burt's Bees hand cream and lip moisturizer with what I hope will be a practical yet well-loved gift for under $20!

Christmas Tags

I was in Christmas gift wrapping mode this morning and needed some tags! I checked out the Color Challenge on SCS - Soft Sky, Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive - and went with that color palette. I used 3 different WPlus9 stamp sets: Merry and Bright, Just Geometrics: Triangles, and Ink Splats.  I just love the depth of the two and three step stamping on the flowers and pine boughs!  The tag dies and floral matching dies are also from WPlus9 (just love their trendy designs!).  Quick post here...gotta run to the post office and also need another gift card...or more. :-)

Blog Candy Winner!

 
  
I have a winner for my blog candy on the Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop post! Random.org picked commenter #37 - Kerry Urbatch!
Congrats, Kerry!  If you will send me your mailing address at cullenwr@yahoo.com, I'll have it sent your way!

My work schedule plus the busy weekend did not let me get more than a fourth of way through all the blogs to comment, so I'm definitely not a power hopper - lol!  I appeciated the 71 comments that did come my way and will wait to hear from Kerry!

Mojo Monday

Another great sketch is on board for the newest Mojo Monday Challenge! I keep thinking I'm

finished with Christmas cards, but then someone else's name pops up in my mind and I keep on cranking them out! I wanted to use this sweet new manger scene by Verve and this time I gold embossed on a wood grain patterned paper.  All of the papers are from Simple Stories' Cozy Christmas pad.

STAMPS: Weary World (Verve) - manger and sentiment;  Joyous Noel (Verve) - poinsettias.

Be sure to check out the other mojo makers' creative entries on the Mojo Monday blog...or...you can click on their individual blogs below:

  Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen 

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

Merry & Bright

The countdown is on! Only 2 more working days and then I'll be off for THREE glorious weeks! Can. Not. Wait. So, I decided I would multi-task with another Christmas card this morning which fits 4 different challenges:

Retrosketches - mine is a flipped version.
Tag, You're It challenge - inspired by the the clean, white tag and die cuts.

SCS Ways to Use It  - use office supplies (I used staples and a paper clip).
Just Us Girls - word week: "Sparkle" (I used glitter tape and glitter CS).

STAMPS:  Bring on the Merry (Reverse Confetti)
PAPER: Trim the Tree (SU), Garden Green, Early Espresso, White, Silver glitter CS (SU).
INK: Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler.
ACCESSORIES: Tag, tree and snowflake dies - all by Reverse Confetti; Silver confetti, Staples, Heart-shaped paper clip.

Thanks for stopping by...

Holiday Coffee Lovers' Blog Hop

This is a fun day for many stampers who are participating in a HUGE holiday coffee lovers' blog hop!  Not only will there be lots of prizes donated by many generous companies (last time I checked there were 27!), but many of the blog participants are offering blog candy as well!  So...take a break from the holiday rush...grab a cup of joe...and comment as you hop along!  A big THANK YOU to Amy Tsuruta for heading this up!  You will want to start the hop by visiting her blog here.  She will have the posting details available there which will include the linky tool so you can join in and hopefully be a winner!

Here is my coffee-themed card that I also created for the new Color Throwdown Challenge where Tammy is our hostess with these

fun colors: pink, red, teal green and aqua.  I used some of my fave stamping elements - watercoloring, die cut sentiment layering, texture paste with stencils and loopy twine!  I mixed some blues and greens from a Pelikan water color palette for the background then added light modeling paste using a stencil.  See the list of all the products I used at the bottom of this post.  Also, you will want to check out the other designers' creations on the Color Throwdown blog post.  There will also be details on how you could possibly be our next star stamper by joining in the challenge!

I am offering the following blog candy to one of you readers!  It will include a Keurig variety pack of coffees (not shown in photo) and some stamping goodies - 2 My Mind's Eye paper pads, embossing folder, wood veneer embellishments, jingle bells and burlap shapes!  The hop commenting for this prize will end Monday, December 15, at 2:59AM EST (this time was edited to match Amy's end time of 11:59 Pacific time).  Please remember to include your contact info with your comment if you don't have the reply settings in place and I will contact the winner by Saturday, December 20th.  Good luck!

Another perk (yes...pun intended - lol) to this hop is that everyone's hop projects will be pinned to a special Pinterest board!  Woohoo!  Let's get this party started!

 

STAMPS: Holiday Treats (Verve); Diagonal Stripes BG (MFT).
PAPER: Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, White, 90 lb Watercolor CS.
INK: Melon Mambo, Black.
ACCESSORIES: Stitched square dies by Lil Inker Designs, Hand Lettered Thanks die by WPlus9, Dotted Flowers stencil by Dylusions, Light modeling paste by Liquitex, Fishtail Flags Die-Namics by MFT, Black twine.

Let It Snow!

...and snow it did nearly all day yesterday! Huge flakes which means it was a wet snow and didn't stick much in spite of falling most of the day.

The SCS Sketch Challenge is an easy one this week and perfect to showcase this new sled image from Our Daily Bread Designs' December release.  I love adding coarse glitter to the snow because it really sparkles and shines IRL!  The tag is a new Mini tag die by ODBD.  I tweaked the layout and added the sentiment to a tag rather than the bottom of the sketch.  Stay tuned for my next post for the Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!  This will be a fun, prize-filled ride beginning at 9:00 AM EST!

STAMPS: Let It Snow (ODBD)
PAPER: Cozy Christmas by Simple Stories; Vintage Cream (PTI), X-Press It Blending Card.

Mojo Monday

I feel like I'm in a time machine that is spinning out of control toward the new year! It's already the second Mojo Monday Challenge in December and I am just now starting to address Christmas cards! ((gasp!))  Feel so behind, but somehow the "to do" list generally gets done.  Anyway...check out this new sketch by Julee...isn't it a classic and easy to use layout?  I kept things pretty simple and layered up 3 sizes of snowflakes from Verve's Glad Tidings set.  I went over the stamped flakes with a silver Wink of Stella shimmer brush pen to give it some subtle sparkle.  The sequins are from Verve's signature sequin mix.  A quick sentiment stamped with Midnight Muse ink and some loops of silver cording finished it off.

For more inspiration, you can go to the Mojo Monday blog or you can click on the links below of the other mojomakers' blogs:

  Carole Burrage

Debbie Carriere

Julee Tilman (Owner)

Marisa Ritzen 

Mary Fish

Sarah Biglow

Teresa Kline

STAMPS: Glad Tidings (Verve)

PAPER: Sweater Weather (My Mind's Eye), Silver glitter CS (SU), White (PTI)

INK: Midnight Muse

ACCESSORIES: Snowflake Tidings dies by Verve, Stitched rectangle die by Lil Inker Designs, Silver cording, Signature sequin mix by Verve, Brad.

Curtain Call & SFYTT

When I saw the new December sketch for the Reverse Confetti Sketch For You To Try challenge, I knew I wanted to pull inspiration from the current Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge to pair with it! I water colored a couple of distress inks (Mowed Lawn and Peacock Feathers) for the background.  I just love this RC circle garland die which really popped with the silver glitter cardstock! I'm also entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where we are to use a festive Christmas/holidays theme.

Here's what I used:
STAMPS: Tinsel 'n Trim by Reverse Confetti.
PAPER: Bermuda Bay (SU), Sour Apple (MFT), Tim Holtz water color cardstock, Silver glitter CS by SU.
INK: Peacock Feathers and Mowed Lawn distress inks, Versafine Onyx Black.
ACCESSORIES: Stitched rectangle die by Lil Inker Designs, Silver cording, Frosted jingle bells, Snowflake and Circle Garland dies by Reverse Confetti, Rhinestones by SU.