Monthly Archives: September 2007

I’m loving these stamps!

I was so excited to have the opportunity to review the new Thomas Kinkade stamp line produced by Cornish Heritage Farms. All I can say is wow! Well, actually….LOL….I have quite a bit more to say and if you want to hear it… check out today’s Craft Critique review. πŸ™‚

Pastel Wishing Well

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This is one of my favorite designs. I loved pairing up the Make a Wish Cottage Vignette with my pastels and this Stella Ruby 6×6 pad patterned paper. The stamping was simple to do. My black Palette Hybrid ink worked fabulously for inking up that detailed stamp well. The coloring was done with a Q-tip. I simply applied my Stampin Up pastels to the areas and shaded with coordinating chalk. If you are looking for a simple, quick way to color these detailed images, chalking works really well!.

For the main card design, I layered my Stella Ruby paper with Bravo Burgundy…love that warm rich color this time of year!…and mounted onto a 5.25″ square Vanilla card base. I then stitched on a strip of the striped paper with my sewing machine. The main image was them matted with the Burgundy and then one of the plain textured patterned papers from the pad. To hold it all together nicely and to focus in on the image, I added zig zag stitching around it as well.

For my embellishments, I wanted to add to the vintage look so I pulled out my Antique Brass Hodgepodge hardware and added a sentiment in that. Sentiment comes from the retired SU Autumn Leaf Prints set. Tucked under the label holder is a scrap of chocolate scalloped May Arts ribbon. I added a little hydrangea Prima and velvet Making Memories brad to the center and adhered it with a glue dot. Last tiny touch…three little brads in the top left hand corner.

Quick Tip: Glue dots are fabulous for adhering embellishments and small items that can be difficult and need a firm adhesive.

Edited to add…. I was asked if I use a blender pen to add my chalking. Actually, I sometimes do but in this instance, no. I just run it on. Sometimes you need to build it up a bit by adding a few times. I love how this will shade the colors. If your color tends to rub off, use a matte spray fixative from Michael’s or other art supply store to hold your chalk from smearing.

Supply List:

Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy – Stampin Up

Patterned paper: Stella Ruby 6×6 paper pad – Basic Grey

Stamps: Make a Wish cottage Vignette – Cornish Heritage Farms, Autumn Leaf Prints – SU

Ink: Black Palette Hybrid ink – Stewart Superior, Close to Cocoa – SU

Other: hodgepodge hardware & Stampin Pastels – SU, ribbon – May Arts, sewing machine, Velvet brad & Copper mini brads – Making Memories, Hydrangea flower – Prima Marketing

Simple Peace Christmas Design

I love this Peace set by Flourishes! The beautiful calligraphy turns into a bird…a dove that speaks of peace. This is a simple design. I love simple Christmas cards and I love the fact that I am actually making some ahead this year! The sentiment makes up the main image and greeting all in one!

White Peace

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The main focus of this design is the sentiment/image and I decided to try embossing it in white embossing powder on this gorgeous blue metallic shimmer paper from Flourishes. It is available as part of their September promotion, Peace cardmaking kit and is great for starting you holiday designs early. Check it out before it is gone.

After stamped my image, I matted it with whisper white cardstock and then distressed the edges with my Heidi Swapp edge distresser. Love that little pink thang! πŸ˜‰ I decided it needed a little extra border so I used a zig zag stitch right around the panel and the added two little pewter eyelets with my Crop-a-dile. The blue & white striped ribbon was tied through them as a little embellishment. At the top left, I added a fancier ornate brad that I picked up at the dollar store. What a find!

The main card base is super easy…my patterned paper picked up the white and blue and I adhered it to my card base. To edge the top, I added a strip of my blue striped ribbon to tie the design together and then another dash of zig zag stitching….you can never go wrong with a little stitching… IMHO! πŸ™‚ I don’t pull out my corner rounder often enough and so I decided to round the right edges with it…I love the clean look of it on white cardstock!

Wishing you a peaceful day!

And the winners are…

I just love being able to do this! Announce a couple winners of some goodies I want to be able to share with my readers! πŸ™‚ It is always so much fun for me. I love getting things in the mail and I’ve been so blessed lately with fun new things coming every week…I like to spread it around! πŸ™‚

I used the random number generator to come up with two numbers out of the 330 comments I received. Thanks so much for taking the time. I really appreciated all the comments, facts and questions. The questions, I will try to answer them in the upcoming weeks. πŸ™‚

And so, enough babbling…the numbers chosen were for Prize #1 – comment number 247 … Gail Rachow

Gail wrote:

Hi Julia, I really liked that you have added sketches to your blog. I love using them to get me started on a card or a page. My question is What comes first, the card or the sketch?
Gail

Hi Gail…so glad you like the sketches! I’ve been having fun making them up. Actually…the card usually comes first. I design the card and if I think it would make a good sketch, I create one! I’ve been excited to see a few readers use them and add a link back to the post with the sketch. It has been so much fun to see their versions of it. It you do a sketch, check back in the comments to see other great designs as well!

The winner of Prize #2 is comment number 91 … Angel !

Angel wrote: Hi Julia! Yours is one of my favorite blogs and you’ve answered almost all of my questions already. I love your C’est Bon feature and can’t wait to see what product you feature next. I always refer folks to you to get the info on a particular product because you explain it so well!! Thanks for offering those features!

Hi Angel…hope you enjoy the paper and Primas. I have so much fun writing the {C’est Bon} entries and I’m glad you like them.

Please contact me ladies with your address. My e-mail link is at the top of my sidebar. Thanks so much to my readers who took the time to comment and share! If you didn’t win this time…I have a few great stamp sets coming my way that I’m going to share in the near future. So stay tuned…maybe next time! πŸ™‚ Have a great day and check back in later if you get a chance…I have another holiday design to share.

Cropper Hopper Ribbon Storage – Embellishment Drawers Option {C’est Bon}

It’s good! The Cropper Hopper Embellishment drawer ribbon storage solution! I’ve been very busy sorting out the huge mess that was my ribbon. All a snarl in my drawer! And yes, I DO have a lot of it! Two weeks ago, I shared with you how I sorted out and now store my rolls of ribbon with Cropper Hopper Ribbon Storage. I’ve been busy rolling and sorting and have now completed part B! πŸ™‚ All my loose ribbon.

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Many of you know that I am a huge fan of May Arts ribbon. I love it…just can’t get enough! Since I want it all…I buy it in 3 yard increments. πŸ™‚ This beautiful ribbon deserves to be taken care of and I deserve a better system…one where I can find my products quickly and easily. I don’t have a lot of time and I do a lot of designing so this is very important for me. If I can’t find it, I can’t use it and that is just a shame.

The Cropper Hopper Embellishment drawers are fabulous for storing all my loose ribbon. I had been on the lookout for a solution and had just purchased the Cropper Hopper ribbon storage for my ribbon rolls when my friend Trudee bought this Cropper Hopper embellishment drawer solution. Trudee uses the 4×6 storage solution and I am using the 3×3 size. Both work great. After getting all my rolled ribbon stored away…I moved on to my loose ribbon…a much bigger chore.

I love these embellishment drawers for many reasons, one of which is that I can add to them as I wish. You know how it is…somehow the stash keeps growing! They are all expandable and I can add as many as I wish. Great solution for a ribbon addict like me.

I can find all my ribbon easily with this system. The little drawers even have a great little space about the drawer pull to list what is inside. I also love the clean translucent white look of the plastic. It gives a really nice look and a hint at what is inside. The drawers are light and slide easily in and out.

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Inside the drawers, it is divided into three compartments. This provides stability to the drawer and also helps to separate your ribbon. This is fabulous if you only have a partial drawer of ribbon…it doesn’t slide all over the place. These drawers are actually designed to be used for any embellishment you have, not just ribbon. Cropper Hopper also makes some great embellishment boxes that fit in these drawers. Don’t you just love the flexibility?! Another bonus…these drawers will fit medium rolls of ribbon in them as well!

When using these drawers for ribbon storage, the best way to do this is with ribbon bobbins and clips. These can be purchased separately. The ribbon bobbins are a great heavy plastic that have a perforated center to them. Simply thread the end of your ribbon through it to hold it nice and tight and then wind. A ribbon clip keeps your ribbon from unraveling after wound. The bobbins come in packages of 10 and the clips in packages of 25. Depending on how thick you wind your ribbon, you will get approximately 25 bobbins per embellishment drawer, depending on the thickness of your ribbon. Most times, you will be able to roll two types of ribbon onto one bobbin. If you are buying ribbon in 3 yard increments (like I do my May Arts) you will probably be able to store 50 types of ribbon, 3 yards of each. Hope this will help in giving you some idea on what to order. πŸ™‚ I was totally in the dark about how many I needed to order. Actually, I ordered three times! LOL Maybe it was the size of my ribbon collection I seriously underestimated! And shhh…don’t tell on me! I have more on the way!

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I buy my Cropper Hopper ribbon systems from Scrappin Great Deals. They are a fabulous Canadian Source. Sheila is great at shipping quickly and has very competitive pricing. LOL Actually, Sheila now calls me the ribbon lady… wonder why?! πŸ˜‰ I know it is also available elsewhere…direct from the Cropper Hopper site, and stores in the US.

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Products featured on my weekly {C’est Bon} entries are just things I love and wish to share with you. I always love getting first hand advice from my friends on what is tried and true and hope you enjoy the same. I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies or products in this feature. Thanks for taking the time to pop in. Have a great week!

Hello Daisy

Fall seems to have arrived here in Ontario. Wow…I noticed leaves on the driveway and yesterday it was so cool. Time for jeans and sweaters. I love summer and in a way, I’m sad to see it leave, but I do love Autumn too. The textures, the colors, the crisp air, picking apples, pumpkin pie…ymmmmmm. It is a great time of year too! I’m not much of an orange person but come Fall…I just have to pull it out and have some fun with it. This daisy paper reminded me of this Daisy Dots set by Lizzie Anne Designs. Love it! The warmth of the colors reminded me of fall and of fall flowers so I just had to make a design. I’ve been noticing lots of pots of gorgeous fall mums in the stores. I just have to buy one or two for my porch this time every year.

You may be wondering…isn’t it Sunday? Isn’t there usually a {C’est Bon} feature? Well, yes. But I’m exercising my woman’s prerogative to change her mind. πŸ˜‰ Actually…it has been so busy here, I just didn’t have time and so…this week, it will be Monday’s feature. Fair enough?

Daisy Birthday

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This design uses this new Fancy Pants True patterned paper as the inspiration to get started. I pulled the Blue Bayou, Old Olive and pumpkin color combo straight from the paper. The layers of paper are just the reverse side of the patterned paper flipped. Don’t you just love double-sided paper? It makes it SO easy!

After sponging the edges and adhering my layers, I added different machine stitches to the card. i love the extra definition and texture this gives. To create the faux ribbon “belt” on the card, I stamped the darling Happy birthday stamp from LAD’s Shapes and Stitches stamp set, trimmed and then threaded it through a piece of Hodgepodge Hardware (stampin Up). The birthday word was just the right size to highlight by lining it up with the center of the hardware. A glue dot was great for adhering that buckle to the card.

For my main flower, I stamped the solid flower stamp onto Kraft cardstock with my Canvas Palette Hybrid ink by Stewart Superior. After I allowed it to dry…VERY quick dry time πŸ™‚ … I stamped the line image of the flower with my Black Palette Hybrid ink from the same company and then cut out my daisy. The center was stamped with happy from the same Daisy Dots set and then punched and matted with my circle punches. I adhered the center on a piece of foam tape to make it pop. To finish it off, I added a darling strip of dotted orange ribbon that I just couldn’t resist picking up from Michael’s.

A few things of note:

  • Just in case you missed it…scroll down my blog a little…Belle Bonbons giveaway is underway until Monday night. πŸ™‚
  • Jacksonbelle now has the new Lizzie Anne Designs stamps in stock! Yay! I’ve ordered a few more that I just HAD to have! LOL
  • Never worked with cling stamps before? They are fabulous! Tricia from Lizzie Anne Designs has written a great tutorial about them on Letters from Lizzie.
  • Want to read more about Lizzie Anne Design cling stamps – I wrote a review about them HERE.

Simply Saturday…a subtle design

Sorry for the huge delay here today! It has been totally crazy at my house today. We started renovating and adding an addition. Part of the porch is now gone. Yikes! I hate the mess but I just have to keep the end result in mind. A new bedroom (I can FINALLY get the two year old out of my room!!!! well, soon! ) , a new larger kitchen (feeding seven people is a lot of work), AND the best part…eventually a stamping room! I don’t have one now…just a tiny corner of the family room and it is NOT ideal. NO storage and it just does not look or work well. And so, I’m finally getting a chance to sit down and write this post.

Another embossed card design from me. You may remember back to a few weeks ago, I used a different pattern of these DCVW embossed cards. I love how beautiful the embossing is and how quick they are to create something pretty. I’ve always loved white embossed paper. Another thing I love about them is the square shape…I have to admit, I DO love square card designs! πŸ™‚

Embossed Baby Shower Design

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This design is SO simple to create. I liked simple cards now and then, that’s why I have Simply Saturday posts…a great place to add them in and Saturday’s SHOULD be simply fun right? For my image, I simply stamped my It’s Shower Time image from My Favorite Things onto vellum with Versamark ink. After embossing it with white embossing powder, I colored the reverse side of the vellum with my SU markers. I always love this soft, subtle look and it is always great for a baby design. The image was then punched out with my Marvy Scalloped Circle punch.

I discoverd a fun little tip that works great for dry embossing on the vellum. I used my Empressor stylus to emboss the little circles using my SU Mat pack. Simply line up the eyelet holes with each scallop and emboss from the reverse side. It was so quick and makes a lovely border. Another thing I loved about this idea…the embossed circles were great for adhering my vellum to the card front. Simply add a few glue dots under a few of the embossed and less transparent circles. They won’t show. πŸ™‚

Quick Tip: When adhering vellum…look for discreet ways of attaching it to the design. Stitching, brads, adhesive under an embellishment. Anything to hide the glue… you just don’t want it to show through your design.

Lastly, a quick easy embellishment. You don’t’ want anything too much as it would overwhelm the simplicity of the card. I added a white Prima flower…my current fave…and used a celery SU button for the center tied with blue gingham ribbon.

Hope you are enjoying a fabulous weekend! Make sure you make time to enjoy the simple things in life. πŸ™‚

Belles Bonbons…It’s that time again!

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Yes…it is that time again! Wow! time to help me celebrate 200,000 hits on my blog! Actually, today also marks 7 months of blogging…it seems like I just started! I guess time flies when you are having fun! Not all parts of the past 7 months have been fun, there have been a lot of hard days but I’ve so enjoyed my time spent here! Thanks so much for visiting. Sharing with you is what makes it all fun!

I have a couple giveaways to share with you this time. Simply comment on this entry by 9 pm EST Monday September 17th and you’ll be entered to win one of the two prizes. Ask a question(I’ll answer it in an upcoming post) , share something about yourself, whatever you wish…I’d love to hear from you. πŸ™‚ The winners will be chosen by a random number generator and will be posted on my blog Tuesday morning. Good luck! Please…just one comment per person so that the odds of winning are fair. πŸ™‚

Many thanks to you, for stopping by to visit! Have a fabulous weekend! Paper and Primas from Jacksonbelle’s ebay store.

Prize #1 – Basic Grey 6×6 paper pad Periphery, Daisy D’s French Market Swatches, Prima Flowers

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Prize #2 – Basic Grey 6×6 paper pad Mellow, Daisy D’s swatches, Prima Flowers package

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Wishing you all a fabulous weekend!

Commenting is now finished for this prize! Winners will be announced in the morning! Thanks! πŸ™‚