by Susan Itell | Sep 20, 2015 | Fall Cards, Step it up Sunday! |
I am so glad that so many of you enjoyed yesterdays card and I hope that this card today makes you happy as well! Click here to see yesterdays post and then todays card is the "Stepped up version" Let me clarify, when I say stepped up, it might mean just adding some layers, changing colors up a bit, changing an orientation of the card etc…
You all seem to enjoy these post and my hopes are to show and teach you that there are many ways that you can make some changes that can softly change the feel of your card!
Before we get to the card, I need to say that I am doing the happy dance that my Mom's friend is filled with joy and I think it will work out…..I helped rescue a dog, a very special dog for her. At the end I will share the scoop! There are no words to say how happy my heart is.
I apologize for the icky pictures – it was super late when I took them and the lighting was not the best…sorry! I think that you can get the idea of the card and can image how luscious the fall colors together are! I just love Fall…..tomorrow the weather is going to be perfect for our party!
Here are the main differences of the 2 cards!
- I added the layered level, 4" X 5 1/4" and then I corner rounded the layer as well as the A-2 card base.
- For the banner, I ran it through the Big Shot with the Wood Grain embossing folder
- The Mossy Meadow Circle, I added leaves that are on the Cottage Greetings stamp set (I know, you can hardly see it int he pictures but trust me, it's cute!
- I pulled some threads from a piece of burlap ribbon and added a bow to the cute acorn.
This truly is a sweet card and a fast card to make. If you want to mass produce a card for fall themes, this would be one that I would do – change up the sentiments as you are a shining star –
Now to share with you what I have been up to. First – things like this just happen to me – this was TOTALLY NOT PLANNED or even on my RADAR SCREEN that this would happen!
Thursday I went to a Horse Show….my horses were not showing but I wanted to go and see my "horse friends" and cheer on their horses….at the shows we go to there are many special people, vendors and always a ton of fun!
One amazing organization was there, Danny and Rons Rescue. They are from Camden South Carolina and I urge you to look them up on google. These guys have the biggest hearts and have placed over 4,800 dogs. Simply amazing!
You know me….I went up to the bus as they drove in to see the dogs and help them if they needed it and I saw Milo…my heart knew that this was a special dog and boy was I right. I spent some time with him and immediately thought of Earlene.
She is 82 years old and amazing. Truly one beautiful person inside and out! She has lost her husband and also lost her daughter in January and I have known that she has wanted a companion.
I came home and called her son talk to him about it and he said, "Let's make this happen" – so back in the car I went on Friday and picked him up.
He spent the night with us on Friday and yesterday we made the introduction. I went over there 4 times yesterday just to make sure everything was going ok and it is really working out. He is an AMAZING little guy and definitely a companion dog.
He was shot in his leg and has a limp (Earlene likes that as she says she limps!) She walks outside with a walker so I wanted to make sure that she was able to handle him and the walker etc….and he was perfect – I could go on and on about my day but I am sure you are bored and I am pooped! Busy day for me tomorrow but please keep sending great thoughts that this pair is meant to be –
My JOY tank is so darn tootin' full!
by Susan Itell | Sep 19, 2015 | Fall Cards, Simple Saturday |
Happy Weekend! My "joy" tank is on FULL and hopefully tomorrow I can share with you why? Please keep you fingers crossed that something wonderful will happen to a very, very special person in my life, my late Mom's dear friend…..I think that it is going to happen – you'll have to pop back to see!
I usually do not try to share with you a card that uses (3) different stamp sets…but to me all three of these are so basic, classic…totally timeless! They are Acorny Thank You, Vintage Leaves and Cottage Greetings.
The foundation of the card is both basic and classic but you can easily change up the sentiment to make it work for your needs!
You can see with the products below what I used and tomorrow I will share with you the recipe with the "stepped up version"
The overall card size is the good old A-2 Very Vanilla and the fun….you can see how quick and easy this is and then you can clearly see that with a change of sentiments…..you are good to go with many different cards!
I hope that you pop back tomorrow to see how I made some changes to make it…..step up – well just a bit!
Today our house is on overload – John is home (and oh so happy to be home) and we are getting ready to have his firm over (70+) for an afternoon of fun….games…swimming – a good old whiffle ball game….and great food – needless to say a busy and fun time!
My fingers and toes are crosses that I can share some JOY with you…..my heart is pitter pattering and I hope it happens….if not – we have a PLAN B~
by Susan Itell | Sep 18, 2015 | 3-D Projects, Fun & Cute!, Halloween |
What is the PERFECT time?
TODAY is the perfect time to hit that SHOP NOW button (or go to the end of the post and click it right into your cart) and purchase this must have, classic, timeless and oh so versatile die as it is 25% off! I know…I know – that dies are very $$$$$ but that is why this is the perfect time to take advantage of this!
Yep, that's right….this Mini Treat Bag Thinlits Dies is on the weekly deals and this is one of those things that you will never regret purchasing! Stampin' Up! had this on weekly deals back in June and it was a huge hit and I am thrilled that they brought it back!
In June, I did a 2 day post on this special gem so this post is rather short as you can click here to see all of the scoop and measurements on how to minimize your paper usage and then you can click here to see how I stepped it up a bit to make it even more fun, (if that's possible)
On the 2nd day that I posted this I showed you how you could take this little gem of a bag and add a super cute card and trust me, you can even still stick in a treat! Todays bags are filled to the brim with treats only!
The thing that I adore about this framelit is….you can easily use it all year around…with the amazing paper that we have at our fingertips, you are surely going to be doing the happy dance all year long creating all sorts of fun!
Here you go…..how about a fun parade of pictures…..you will see the supplies I used at the bottom of the post…the new tear tape is a dream machine putting this together!
I am not a scary Halloween person but I do think sweet and happy Halloween things are fun. To me, this is FUN to the max and I know that it would bring a smile to anyones face!
Do you see the threads of the bow that I put ontop of the Rich Razzelberry one? These are from pulling the threads from the stripe in color ribbon, further down you will see that I used the Tangelo Twist on the other treat bag – this is a fun and oh so easy effect!
Don't you love the sparkle on the witched hat – a bit of bling! Remember, the fun glitter paper is available in my Product Share! I like to only use it if "little doses"
You know I love my sentiment framelits – what a statement they make and yes, I did use 2 layers of the vanilla coaster board….makes all the difference in the world and truly does not take much extra time!
Here is a close up of what I was talking about before…this ribbon is a dream ribbon, it is so easy to work with and being able to use it in another way by pulling the strands is a win-win! (remember, this ribbon is on my product share)!
I hope that this brought a smile to your face! I think that they are super cute!
DOG UPDATE: I need to include all dogs on this one….John comes home late tonight so I had to break it to them….the slumber party is over! We have had a blast all week at our slumber parties and Eddie is doing just great! The little sneak – he found another stash of tennis balls and I swear there must be 20+ all around!
I have a friend that works at a tennis center and she gives me all of the balls that they can not use anymore…so trust me – our yard/barn areas look like a permanent Easter Egg Hunt….I need to get a quick video of Eddie trying to get 2 balls in his mouth at the same time – PRICELESS as he really, REALLY tries hard to do it and he is a HOOT barking with a tennis ball in his mouth….he sounds like a dolphin!
Please remember that today is the last day to order anything from the new Holiday Catalog Share. You can click here to see the post and feel free to email me if you have any questions on specific shares.
Until tomorrow!
Here are the weekly deals…and then below that will be the products I used for the post today!
by Susan Itell | Sep 17, 2015 | Christmas |
It is Thursday and you know what that means….time to play with the Pals Paper Art Challenge and today is a sketch and I have a confession..I was STUMPED!!! I was having such a brain block as I look at sketches and take them too literally.
Does this every happen to you???…all I could see was using stars but I was determined to do something different! Todays card I used the lots of labels framelits to do the job! This framelit was introduced in the Annual Catalog ans it is a keeper. (It fits with so many of our stamps)
Let's get to this fun and whimsical card! As you know…it's hip to be square and this is a 4 1/2" square card using the thick whisper white card stock. If you have not used this yet, hit that SHOP NOW button and treat yourself to it (you'll never go back)!
I just adore the paper stacks, and these polka dots are just plain old fashion FUN at its best! There is something just magical and special when you see a bright red and green together at the holidays.
You can clearly see that the label framelits were the star of this clean and simple card. The "peek" of red was just one framelit cut in half and adhered behind. It is "just enough" to give the card balance and then let the pom-pom trim shine!
Did you notice the white dots around the Tip Top Taupe shape? This is something that I do all of the time and the white gel pen is a dear friend…I love it and always have a spare ready, just in case I run dry! (Heavens, that would be terrible) This simple touch makes a big statement and basically costs nothing but it does so much!
I knew that the fun polka dots needed a little something fun = THE POM-POM TRIM! Is that the cutest or what? An instant smile came on my face when I saw this in the catalog….just use it in bits and pieces and you will make a great statement.
I added a glue dot to adhere the pom-pom trim and also added a white cotton bow to hide the area of the trim I cut. I also added a glue dot behind the 3rd pom -pom to hold it in place and then the trim hung perfectly!
The custom envelope came together in a cinch with the envelope punch board….so fast and easy! To add a bit more interest to the envelope, I first adhered a 1/4" Tip Top Taupe and then added the cucumber crush polka dot fun paper!
Now I ask you…..how would you interpret this sketch? I invite you to hop over to the Pals Paper Arts Site and see what the other designers came up with….( I had a sneak peek earlier this week and WOW – there are some super cute cards !
Thanks for popping in…and I hope to see you back here tomorrow as I am going to showcase some goodies from the weekly deals! You will smile!
by Susan Itell | Sep 16, 2015 | Christmas |
Good Morning and this card just might be in the running for my Holiday Card! Guess that means that I like it….well I do and I hope that it "tickles your fancy" as well! I had a sweet nudge from my friend Brian King to play along with this new challenge that he is a a designer for!
I hope that you will as well as not only are the designers from all over the world – it is an FUN challenge and I encourage you to hop on over to their website to check it out…and the play along – you have nothing to lose! Here is the sketch that inspire my card!
I knew exactly what I was going to do when I saw this sketch! I have just been "itching" to ink up the Peaceful Wreath Stamp Set and remember my motto this week…"When John's away, Susan will play" We have been having some beautiful weather and I took my stamped wreath outside and colored away!
I think that I will do a video on this card as it looks like there might be a "hard factor" but there really is not…I say there is a "wow factor" as you can see that the wreath is completely cut out – FUN!
Can you see in the above picture that the crumb cake base was cut out? I just placed the wreath in the "hole" and then on the back side I adhered it with the new MUST HAVE tear & tape. Have no fear, I would never leave the back not solid as that would not be me at all….so all I did was adhere a piece of crumb cake in the A-2 side – DONE!
(I realize that this sounds difficult but I just cut the card base and the extra piece at the same time so I was sure of a perfect cut, I love that you can cut 2 sheets of paper at the same time with the Big Shot)
Linen thread, especially against the crumb cake is always so rich and warm but adding the pop of the real red was the icing on the cake! A simple glue dot did the trick….love those things!
You can see the watercoloring….so easy and relaxing – I highly encourage you to give it a try. It is one of those things that you really can not mess up on and you just get better and better with practice. I truly have "no clue" as to what is right or what is not….I just roll with what works for me! Have fun with colors – mix it up!
You can see that there are (2) colors on the leaves….I first went over them in Pear Pizzazz and then let that dry…then did a quick here and there with old olive….works for me – what do you think?
I just LOVE this new Designer Series Paper Stacks and I even love it more when it is in the In Color like this is (Mossy Meadow) as you get (4) sheets and when you cut the paper like I did for this envelope….you will be able to do 12 envelopes per sheet of paper!
This is the paper stacks that I have in my product shares (#7)….it is just the best that you will get a 1/2 sheet of each of the patterns in every color…Regals, Subtles, Neutrals, Brights and the In Colors1
I did heat emboss the sentiment but you could easily use white Staz On but I really enjoy heat embossing and i think the sharpness of white just makes it POP! I was super excited to be able to use the NEW enamel dots…these are the best and I could use them in many colors!
There you go…..I hope that you like it as much as I did – it is to me, a warm and inviting card that will be remembered! If you would like to see a video of this card, please leave me a comment – I would adore sharing with you the ins and outs more in detail – you know me….I love to share and help you learn!
Thanks for your time, please email me if I can be of help and remember to use the hostess code of YHNMUJNJ to take advantage of your gift from me!
You can click here to see the goodies that I will send to you! I have a beautiful table full of "dot boxes" and they look so fun when you see them – instant smile!
Speaking of instant smile – EDDIE UPDATE: He is either going to start laying eggs and getting feathers as he is LOVIN' his egg and turkey menu! I am so proud of him as he has not missed a meal – a great appetite and I am hoping when John comes home he think he looks heavier.
Remember that I told you about how he likes the horses bucket…well I brought one up to the house by the back door and Daisey Mae (my dear little fat piggie) knocked it over but this doesn't stop him…..gotta love this picture!
Until tomorrow!
