Ornaments to share..

I had forgotten that I had made additional ornaments. With the sudden move and sale of the house, I hadn't realized that I had not posted them for all to see. I know I had several requests for ornaments that I had made asking to buy and my sincere apologies for not getting back to you. After being here for two weeks and we had been trying to settle into our new home, we lost our two sweet animals to cancer. Happy was 11 years and Olivia was 10 years. It really took a toll on us. Its funny how you become so attached to them and they become your children when you nest is empty. I still get emotional thinking about it as I write this and my sweet husband has really taken it the hardest and has cried almost everyday and of course it just breaks my heart to see him break down as they definitey were his babies.

Okay here are the ornaments I had made. I know Christmas has past, but still wanted to share them with you all. I still have three more to share, but need to locate them on my drive.

Merry Christmas

Just checking in and wanting to wish every one a stocking full of wishes and a blessed Christmas. May the true meaning of Christmas be with you and yours during this wonderful season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I am alive and well..Life is just crazy!!!!!

Hello my fellow bloggers and sisters! I am so sorry I have been missing in action for over a month now! Time has certainly gotten away and the holidays are upon us and I have just lost track of time! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and you were able to find some great unbelievable deals on Black Friday.

I am in the midst of moving (swore I would never move during the holiday season) but you do what needs to be done especially in the housing market here in California. Our house sold quickly and they wanted a short escrow like 7 days!!!!! Yikes! Luckily for us we were blessed to find a beautiful new place to live in that is a gated community for 55+ and all the amenities you could ever imagine to be spoiled by. We had to sell all our massive furniture as it would not fit in the new home, but that is okay as it has been time for a change in style for quite a while, just couldn't justify buying new until now. (wink). So instead of having myself enthralled in making ornaments, cards and all the other items that go with this merry season, I am packing boxes and moving. The movers will be here tomorrow to move us and thus I will begin the task of unpacking, putting things away and then hopefully get my craft room done but it will be the last thing to do as there is so much other stuff that needs to be done first which means it probably won't be until the end of the year or the new year before you see any new creations. I hope to still have your faithful following and to all my blog sisters, I promise to comment on your creations (I know I said that before and didn't get around too it) but definitely will I promise!!!!!!. Will get pictures of our new place on here once it is decorated and unpacked for all to see.

If by some chance that I do not get back on here to make a post (as I will have to wait for the new internet service to start) Please have a wonderful Merry Christmas and remember that Jesus is the Reason for the Season!!!

Been that long?

No card,ornament or other to show. I cannot believe it has been this long since I have posted anything on my blog. I know I promised to show more of the christmas ornaments I have made, but just haven't taken the pictures and life has been really CRAZY right now!!!!! So please bear with me and I will get them posted.

I have not even visited my fellow blogging sisters to leave comments and certainly need to visit everyone and will do that this week I promise.

I did have a nice surprise from my sweet hubby..he purchased the Cricut Expression for me along with 6 cartridges and the studio. YIPPEE!!!! I have yet to play with it and figure out how it all works, but I know once I learn it will be smooth sailing.

I hope you all had a restful weekend and that you were able to get some projects done. I cannot believe we are two months away from Christmas!!!!! Please continue to visit as I promise to have more items to show.

Breast Cancer......Men?

I don't have a card today, but just wanted to make sure that all you gals are having your yearly exam of your ladies. I read more and more of this terrible disease taking lives of younger women and have personally lost a friend to this disease. Be proud to wear pink all month long and pass the word on to others, even if they are strangers. I have a button that says "Have your ladies been checked?" Of course you can imagine the looks I get from people especially the men, but it is food for thought and hopefully it will make a light bulb go off in their heads. This year alone 1500 men will get breast cancer and of that 1500, 400 of them will die because they didn't realize they can get breast cancer as they believe only women get it! Cancer knows no gender!!!! Be sure to have your hubby's checked as well! My sweet DH thought it was just a sore spot on his left breast, he mentioned it to the doctor when he went in for his annual exam. The doctor began feeling his right one and then pushed on his left breast which about sent DH through the roof from the intense pain; the doctor immediately had him sent for a bioptsy and when the results came back it turned out to be cancer and was at Stage 2. My husband had a radical left masectomy 3 years ago and remains cancer free..praising God for his goodness!!!! You still are asking yourself "men can get breast cancer"? Yes men can get breast cancer. It is only a percentage of 5% of men who do, but they have all the same glands as we do as the doctor explained to me, they just don't develop because of the testosterone. I just wanted to give you all a friendly reminder to remember to get them squished and examined and make your hubby do the same! He may laugh at you, but share this story and it will make him think twice about having an exam this I can guarantee.

Lots of love and prayers to each and everyone of you who have beaten this and to those who are going through it!

May The Joy and Peace...

I seem to be on roll in making these ornaments and probably due to the fact that I have exactly four weeks left until the "Relay For Life " Bazaar put on by the American Cancer Society and not to mention orders that have come in from various gals on SCS and blogs. I just love this one as well and I am so glad that I don't have to make a decision on which one to purchase. I love how this all came together and the coloring took a bit of thinking as I was trying to think how this village/town would of looked like back in the day when Christ was getting ready to be born. I felt that there were not many colors the adobe/brick walls could be so I went with more of the earth tones depicting it. Again if interested in purchasing an ornament see the post below on how to contact me. Thanks for looking. Supplies: Stamps: JustRite; Ink: Stazon; Ribbon: Offray Satin; Westrim Rhinestones.

Heavenly Angel

Hope you are having a great Sunday afternoon. My sis Beth is going to be over later and we will be BBQ'ing and finally catch up on all the latest. Had the four grand kids again yesterday but have to admit I am tired and am not as young as I used to be. LOL!!!!I have another ornament to show you. This one sat on my table for quite sometime as I had stamped the angel, colored her in and then just couldn't decide on how to finish her until late Thursday evening. Kinda a "light-bulb" moment if you get my drift. LOL! Found this fantastic folded ribbon at Michael's and thought it was just perfect to give the ornament the softness associated with an angel. Again, each ornament I make I seem to like it better than the last one. I will say trying to take pictures of these are a pain at times as there always seems to be a shadow casted on the part of the ornament as you can see on this one on the lower left side. I think it was part of my DH head when he tooks it, but there is no discoloration on it even though it shows there is. I have had several inquiries wanting to know if the ornaments are for sale. They are and if interested in purchasing one please contact me at heartdb@yahoo.com. Hope you have a wonderful restful Sunday afternoon. Thanks for looking! Supplies: Stamps: JustRite, Stampin Up; Ink: Stazon; Ribbon: Michaels; Sparkle: Stickles and Westrim mini rhinestones.

Let Heaven and Nature Sing

I thought I would begin showing the ornaments I have been working on. This one was a little more trickier, but I feel it really turned out rather well. I think this one will be a favorite of some especially ones who have bird feeders and the love of nature near and around their homes. I wish we could see a red cardinal here in California, but I believe they are birds of the East coast. I wasn't really sure how I was going to color or even embellish it, but knew it needed to be minor as to not take away from the image itself. After I colored it, I kept thinking it needed the snowy-icy effect hanging off the eaves of the bird house and remembered that the PTI set Border & Beams Accessories had that icicle edge. I stamped it in white and then added the stickles to give it the effect of ice hanging off the eaves. I used the small red rhinestones to accentuate the berries on the holly and just lightly glazed the leaves with stickles as well. The side of the ornament has red satin ribbon encircling it to give it a finished look. Supplies: Stamps-JustRite & PTI; Ink: Stazon, Chalk, Sharpies; Embellishments: Offray satin ribbon, Westrim rhinestones and Stickles. Thanks for taking the time to look.

It's Just Not My Day...

I know this isn't stamp related, but I could not help but share this fun photo of our Border Collie Olivia. When you have four little ones invade your space, you just have to deal with it. My DH is always with camera in hand when the little ones are over, because you never know what cute picture can be captured when they are all together. Such was the day yesterday when all the grand kids were here and playing in the toy box ranging from 1 to 7 years of age. From the time Mikayla was a baby (our first grandchild) we have had this red basket full of different toys, beads, bracelets and glasses for the kids to play with. They decided that it would be fun to dress Olivia up. Olivia being the trooper she is just laid there and let them fully accessorize her from head to paw. And remained in the "dressed-up" mode for about 2 hours which really surprised us. The grand kids got the biggest kick out of it and were laughing hysterically which in turn got us to be the same way. Grand kids you gotta love them!

Cleaning Out The Studio

I had planned on working on more ornaments, but as I was looking for a certain item in my closet, I stood there shaking my head (LOL!!) and thought okay its been long enough putting off the "Clean Mode" so today I decided today was the day and began going through the items in my studio and clear out unused items that I have not used in 6 months to a year. I figure if I haven't miss it, then I obviously don't need it. LOL!!! Take a look to see if there is anything of interest to you. Once I get this studio cleaned, I promise to post the ornaments that are completed.

ALL SOLD!!!!! YEA!!!!!!!

The Spirit of Joy

This is the second card I made for the Papertrey Swap. Again I had forgotten I had this set and remembered it was one of my favorites. Why is it we forget what we have in our stamps? Could it be we just have to have it, can't live without it and then it stay stashed in a drawer until we realize..oh yea, I have that set LOL!!! I used three different colors of blues to make the snowflakes stand out and then of course had to add Stickles to make them look sparkly and light. I remembered I had the Stardream Paper (which you really can't see in the picture) which is sparkly as well. I added the scalloped nesties as the double layering for matting behind the saying. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Supplies: Stamps-PTI Snowflake Serenade; Cardstock-Stardream Midnight Blue, Basic Gray Silver and SU Whisper White; Ink-Stazon Midnight Navy, Encore Ultimate Metallic Blue and Encore Silver. Stickles-Icicle and Rhinestones. Ribbon-Offray 1" Blue Sheer.

Dreams are...

Sorry for being MIA! Down with my back a few days and was nursing it to help my daughter unpack her house, which we didn't get very far because of it, but thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with her. It definitely gets cool up in the mountains and I am glad I remembered to pack my long pj's. LOL! By the way she loved the "Just Moved Cards" (see in lower post) I made for her which of course just warms my heart to no end! I have been working on getting cards done for swaps and wondering why I signed myself up for so many as I have so much to do, but felt I needed a break and need some cards to have on hand. This is one of the cards for the Papertrey Swap. Wasn't sure about it at first, but thought everything finally came together. I have been working on several more of the Ornaments. I am hoping that this weekend I can get them posted as there are another 7 done and about 4 more in the works. I am thinking these will be a major hit at the ACS Christmas Bazaar. If you would like to purchase one of these ornaments, please contact me and let me know which one(s) you would like or want made. I'd be more than happy to accommodate you. :) Thanks for looking!
Supplies: CS-SU Razzleberry & Soft Suede; Ink-Rich Razzleberry & Soft Suede; Stamps:PTI Spiral Bouquet; Stickles and Dew Drops.

Questions Regarding Ornaments

I have had so many compliments on the ceramic ornaments and also many questions. LOL! I will see if I can answer them according to who asked. And if you have a question that has not been addressed, don't hesitate to contact me.

So here it goes:

Shelly asked....How many do you make each season? Depends. I always make for all of my immediate family which is 13. Then there are those who have seen theirs and want one so I guess I could roughly say maybe a total of 40-50. But if it is for the ACS Relay For Life Bazaar I will make close to 200!

Paige asked...Any chance of getting a group shot of all the ornaments? Sure, as soon as I finish up on the others I am working on I'll be sure to take group picture.

Jenn asked...Where do you buy the plain ornaments? I ususally get them at Michael's and was very fortunate to be able to purchase what they had left for 10 cents a piece and I have a total of 120 in boxes right now and as soon as they are put out I will begin to buy more a little at a time.

Traci asked...Who is the snowman by? The snowman is by Inkadinkadoo. It came in a set with snowflakes, sentiments. I got it at Michaels last year, but I think if you went on their website they may have them there.

Jennifer asked...Tip on keeping the stamp from sliding. When stamping make sure you don't oversaturate the stamp. I have found through many trials of error when I first began making them that it is better to lightly stamp the image and if you decide you want it more prominent then wipe off and apply the ink a little heavier..it is just a matter of patience and error.

Sankari asked...Any chance of a Tutorial? Yes, but need to locate a video camera first LOL!!!! I don't own one personally but daughter does and maybe after she gets moved in her home she will loan it to me.

Melissa asked...Ink Type used? I have found that Stazon seems to work best, but you can try others but would have to seal it with a matte finish so it won't rub off.

Heidi asked...What do you use to color the images? It all depends on the image itself. I have used Sharpie Finepoints and regular Sharpies, Bic Markers, Colorbox Cat Eye Chalk Pads, and sometimes the Copics. I have found with Copics that they seem to streak so I rarely use them.

Where The Party Never Ends...

I have seen these accordion file holders using #10 envelopes and then cutting them in half and inserting them in between the folds of the accordion pleat on SCS and have wanted to try one, but just never got around to it. I have a co-worker whose house is completely done in Mickey Mouse. She says her whole family are crazy about Disney (like me and my DH) and she and her husband love Mickey. They just recently got back from vacation at Disneyland and I thought I would make this up and send it to her for to put memories in and as a thank you for helping me with the big bookkeeping mess we had at work. I think the hardest part was making the accordion part of the box. You know the saying "three times is a charm" well it was in my case! I either had one to wide or one to short and it sat lopsided. I eventually got it measuered correctly and assembled it the way it was suppose to look evenly LOL! All the paper is by Disney and of course the large Mickey sticker and sentiment is as well. I added stickles to the white dots and stars to give it a little bit of extra sparkle and then used versamark on the yellow to give the indication of confetti and fireworks happening. I thought for sure I was going to break my SU Word Window Punch when I was trying to go through three layers of chipboard to place the tab in, but it punched through okay. I am planning on altering a couple more items for her before this is sent and I hope she will like it. These would be a neat little gift to make for anyone or for any occasion or a cute birthday party favor. I know there is endless possibilities. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Just Moved...

I have been making these cards for my daughter in secret. They are getting ready to move into a home of their own as of today and thought this would help alleviate the stress of telling everyone their physical and P.O. Box address and phone number. It took me the longest time to figure out a design and then I vaguely remembered seeing one on someones blog or SCS (and if it is you please let me know so I can give credit where it is due). Mine isn't exactly like the one I saw so it isn't totally cased, but still would have liked finding it again. Their home is way up on top of a mountain surrounded by the national forest and I thought using the pine tree from the "Lovely As A Tree" and matching it up with Papertrey Ink's Board and Beams House and sentiment so it would be depicted correctly. The house is exactly these colors, and thankfully I happen to have them in my Prismacolor markers. I am hoping that she will be happy with these as it took a while to color them and make sure they were perfect. I just know she is going to ask me for more of these and I will gladly make them but maybe just not as fast. LOL! I used the MS Punch for the look of the pine needles. Ink is SU in Chocolate Brown, Black and Old Olive. I used Crystal Effects to give the windows the look of glass. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Let It Snow!

Whew!!!! What a last 5 days! Computer at work crashed, thought I had lost everything which would not of been good, but finally got a new computer today and now I am back logged in getting things caught up before the 31st! Anyway enough about my work LOL! I have another ornament to show you and this one I think is going to be another favorite of mine. It seems the more I am making them, I like it better than the last. Hopefully these will be the favorites at the annual ACS Bazaar this year. I have had this stamp since last year and used it to make ornaments for family. As I have stated before I discovered a way to make the stamp not slide on these porcelain ornaments and seems to be working. I used Liquid pearls to make it look like small snowflakes/ice was falling around the snowman and his friend. And then I thought about the outside rim and thought maybe I could sparkle it up a bit. I wasn't really sure the Scor-pal tape was going to adhere to the slick porcealin side, but with a little patience and the heat tool, it adhered really well to it. Next I took the Iridescent Flakes that you use in making handmade paper (hopefully I will be able to find more of this soon) and took the ornament and rolled it inside a container to get it to coat the sides well. I had to hand press some of the flakes so they wouldn't fall off as they are not real small. I took the heat gun again and heated around the ornament (about 14 inches away so not to melt them) to make sure it was sealed well so during transporting or hanging on a tree, it wouldn't come off. I used stickles for added gltiz and then bic markers for the coloring and red liquid pearls for the berries on his hat. I must say he turned out rather cute. Thanks for taking the time to look.

Star From The East

I wasn't sure how to decorate this particular ornament and then the PTI set was sitting in front of me and I thought why couldn't I use the cross as the focal point?
Although there is no sentiment added, I think it represents what was followed the night our Savior was born...The Star! It is so hard to photograph an item when there is glitter and bling added to it. Out of the 10 taken this was best by far and believe me it was taken in many aspects of lighting. I think this will be one I give to our Pastor and his wife at Christmas. Thanks for looking. Like the Snow Sprite, this was among the ones I got at a great price last year. The stamp is by PTI and the ink is Stazon. Stickles and rhinestones by Westrim. I think maybe one should be made in a midnight blue to capture the stillness and excitement of that very special night. Thank you for taking he time to look.

A "Snow Sprite" Ornament

It is getting that time of the year where I need to start making ornaments for the family, friends and the ACS Bazaar. I totally refuse buying a Hallmark at $$$ when I can make one that will be more memorable. Of course there are those times when you want to buy one from them because it is such a special occasion or the person is not into handmade items, but rarely do I need to do that. I am a big fan of Santa's, Snow, Snowmen and whimsical Wintery Sprites. I think this has to be in my top ten favorites of stamps that I own when it comes to winter or Christmas decorations. She just looks so light as if she is just gliding along with the snowflakes as they begin to fall. I have tried this stamp in many colors and no matter what color (other than yellow/orange or black) it always turns out wintery and Christmasey. I have found this year a sure way of making the rubber stamp not slide when stamping these ceramic plain ornaments and it has certainly made a difference. Last year I bought all they had when everything was 75-90% off, so my top shelf in my craftroom is covered in boxes of these ornaments but will begin to dwindle once I really get going on making them and of course you know I will be watching when they begin to put Christmas out as well as when they have sales. LOL!!!! Stay tuned for more to be posted as I am on a roll. LOL!

Sweetest Ever

Hello! It has been awhile since I have posted, but have been busy creating and just haven't taken the time to post as I finished each project. Saturday I was invited to a SU Stamp-n-stak and wasn't going to go, but decided it would be fun. Out of all the favorites she had in our packet to make 20 cards (4 each) I fell in love with the Hostess set "The More the Merrier". She had stamped the cupcakes and then provided the necessary papers and ribbon. I only made one and then came home and put my own twist on it as I cannot get myself to be just a plain simple type card gal. LOL!!!

I just had to add more in-color cardstock, dp, stickles, and of course scallops to decorate it up more and I needed the CB effect on the card stock itself. All the coloring of the images, ribbon and solid cardstock are the new In-Colors and the dp is the Razzelberry Lemonade. I changed up the layout from the original card she had as a sample so I could call it my own. I think this card would be fun to give to anyone for any occasion. Thanks for looking.

Forgive Me...

I have not posted or created anything new in over two weeks. Good friend of mine lost her mother to cancer, so I have been upset over that; my job has really kicked my butt these past 2 weeks with the revamping of bookkeeping and by the time I get home, I am just mentally taxed! New software had to be installed and then the connectivity thing from the older version to the newer version was anything but nice..aarrgghh!!! Finally getting the kinks out of the system, but still have a few bugs that seem to becoming out of nowhere to cause havoc and have my computer shut down completely!!!! But I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel and hopefully sooner than later!

I had planned on working on a few items this past weekend, but had my precious grand babies and well...they just take all my time and I enjoy every minute of it since they do not live in the same town as I. So it is now the start of the work week, but have several items I am planning to try and create this week. And I have not been able to leave comments on my sweet blogging friends blogs and thank you to all of you blogging sisters who have left such sweet comments on mine. I promise to make it up to you this week to comment on your wonderful creations.

Have a wonderful week and dwell in the love of the Lord!

Friendship

I had forgotten that I had made this card until I was going through the pictures on my computer. I had sent this card to a a friend who was going through a divorce. I remember her getting it and calling me to say that my card had lifted her spirits more than I could have ever imagined. That it reminded her that no matter the trials we are going through there is always those 1-2 friends who can ease the pain of it. I know the the saying has the word grief on it, but if you have ever been through a divorce that you never saw coming..it just shatters your world, breaks your heart in a million pieces and the tears never seem to stop and trust me I have been in those awful shoes. And like her I had 2 great friends who helped me make it through and realize that my life wasn't over, it was just taking a different path than I had planned. And it was up to me to pull up my boot straps and get back on the horse and someday know that I would re-marry again and take a chance of my heart not getting broken. I did take that chance and this time I truly found my prince charming who swept me off my feet 17 years ago and had no problems adding two little ones to his life. Now that is a Blessing from the Lord.

Simply Simple

Another card I made awhile back and never posted. This was some scraps left over from another project where I had to stamp a curly background and realized I had stamped more than I needed. I have a couple of baskets on my crafting table of scraps and images I have stamped/colored that decided to not use in a certain project. This is one of these as you can see it is very simple but yet with the embellished accents and charm attached it could be a card for any occasion. The flowers are from Technique Tuesday (sorry don't know the name of the set) and the ink is SU Brocade Blue. Used Offray 1/2" satin ribbon and the charm and rhinestones are by Westrim. Thanks for looking at my blog today.

A Day Of Emotion...

Today is a day of emotions and sadness, a very dear good friend of mine lost her mother to cancer on Friday, she had been battling it for quite sometime and we all know she is in a better place where there is no longer any pain. But no matter how much we try to prepare for it, it still hurts deeply when death finally succeeds. I understand what she is going through as my mother has been gone for 17 years and today it just opened up the flood of emotions of missing her after receiving the message that Steph's mom had passed. I have had some cards made for quite sometime and just have not posted them and felt today would be a good day as my creativeness is not here as all I can do is think about Steph. This card was suupose o be submitted for a Verve Challenge, but I was not real pleased with it so I didn't place it in the Mojo Monday Challege. But it could be used for "Just A Because" card or encouragement as well. Anyway thanks for looking and vsiting my blog today.

Have You....

Ever felt like you walked in a store (Michael's) and headed over to the dollar spot only to find the most amazing items you can alter!!!! It happened to me last Saturday. I was in the store in Santa Clarita and thought hmmm... I wonder if they have different items than mine does. I can only wish our store was as stocked with paper craft items and goodies as this one. I saw this little notebook which had the pen attached to the side of it. I picked it up and thought I bet I can alter this (as it had rather in ugly colors on it..LOL!!!) So I proceeded to pick up a couple and brought it home and altered it. I decided to give it to one of my SS over at SCS. Who couldn't use a nice little notebook to carry in her purse to jot down last minute items to pick up or to even sketch an idea seen somewhere in another store? and you know how hard it is to cover those pens with decorative paper and hoping it will stay stuck once you have rolled it? Solution: Go to the paint store and pick up the large Dutch Boy Paint Chips. They have an adhesive back so if you are deciding to paint a wall you can stick it on there to get a better idea of how it will look but of course my mind wasn't on a wall, it was another light bulb moment of I bet this can be used for other items..punching shapes, letters, and now pens and it is self adhesive. YEA!!!! So now I must confess that every time I go into the hardware stores I check to see if they carry this brand and pick up 4-6 each in 1 to 3 colors (little at time as to not be obvious of what I am doing..LOL!!!) and when I came back I do the same again but I think it helps that I know the manager in the paint department and he always just smiles and says what color this time. LOL!!!!!!

Whew!!!! Hot! Hot! Weekend!!!!!

I am not sure where you all live but if you live anywhere near the central part of California, then you will know the temperatures were a scorcher this weekend and looks to be that way into the middle of the week. Saturday was 110 degrees, Sunday was 113 and tomorrow, Monday they are prediciting 115 degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The grandkids visited this weekend and were in the pool only about 4 hours as there was no way we could be out there all day. Those sweet babes would of looked like a burnt tomatoe. They had sunscreen on, but still they could of had heat stroke even at their young age. They left today and I was able to get a card made. A very simple one but still a nice card. It's nice once in a while to not make a big fuss over a card and worry if it has enough embellishments on it. LOL!!!! Supplies: Stamps-SU Priceless, Ink: SU So Saffron and Pink Passion, Embellies: Gold Rhinestones and sheer ribbons; Paper-SU So Saffron, Pink Passion and Whisper White. CB Folder-Swiss Dots.