February 2014 Tim Holtz Tag - 12 Tags of 2014

I cannot believe how fast this month has flown by! I know February is a short month, but this one just got away from me early on!

Today I am sharing the tag I made for the monthly tag challenge - 12 Tags of 2014 by Tim Holtz.  This month he did stenciling with distress inks and a fun chalkboard technique.  I was fortunate that I have the stamp Tim used this month, as well as the stencil (this is not always the case). After that I was on my own to give it my own touches.  As many of you know, I have been participating in this challenge from the beginning and some months I get them done early, and other months I am scrambling to finish.  This was one of the latter.

I am looking forward to seeing what Tim creates for March!  I actually will be around that day, so maybe I can get a jump on it next time!   If you haven't tried a tag, I would suggest you pop over and see what all the talk is about.  You will learn fun techniques and how to use fun products and enjoy such a great community!  I love seeing what everyone creates and how unique everyone's work turns out to be.

Thank You Cards For Baptism

I was honored to be asked to make a pair of cards for a friend to give her in-laws.  Her son was recently baptized and her father in-law performed the sacrament, and her mother-in-law was the baby's Godmother.  My friend Christine wanted religious thank you cards for each of them to show their appreciation for all their kindness and love.

For her father in-law I decided to use a embossed cross for the focal image.  The papers are from my February Simon Says Stamp card kit.  The stamps is by Papertrey Ink and embossed with Ranger Silver embossing powder.

For her mother-in-law I decided to use a Thomas Kinkade stamp called "The Forest Chapel" as it is such a lovely image.  I embossed it using clear embossing powder over Potting Soil Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink. The edges of the image were inked with Tattered Rose Distress Ink.

One of my favorite aspects of card making are the special days and events you get to be part of even if it is in a small way.  When people come up to me years after a wedding, or a birth of a child, and mention a card they received that I made for them, it always warms my heart that they remember that!

Tea Time Tuesday - Peter Rabbit/Beatrix Potter & Friendship Spring Card

Happy Tuesday! For today, I thought I would share a charming Tea for One set I have called "The World of Beatrix Potter - Peter Rabbit."   I fell in love with this one years ago and remembered loving the stories of Peter Rabbit as a little girl.  This set has such adorable images all over it, and it never ceases to make me smile.  When I have my nieces over for tea,  this tea set always gets chosen for the table!

I can't help but wish for Spring to arrive soon and this tea pot  really made me long for the return of the bunnies in my garden.  Now, I am always having to shoo them from my garden like farmer McGregor did in the stories, but this year I can't wait for them to come and I will have to treat them to some tasty plants!


Today's card I made using a lot of Spring Distress Ink colors on watercolor paper. I heat embossed a great friendship background stamp in black first.

Do you have Spring Fever like I do?

You Are Loved - Using Card Kit Supplies With Stamps From My Stash

As some of you may know, I have subscribed to the Simon Says Stamp Monthly card kit.  I never belonged to a kit club before, and joined a few months ago to try new things and paper styles that I normally don't gravitate towards.  I was asked to make a fun card for a friend to give her best friend. One thing that I am liking about these kits is that I can use some of my stamps from my stash and mix the two together.  The card I am sharing today was made using two patterned papers and card stock from the kit.  I also used a chipboard arrow from the kit as well.   The bold sentiment was embossed on the paper using Ranger Black Embossing powder, and I did the same on the arrow.   The stamp set is by Momenta.

I think the card turned out nicely and it was rather bold in nature compared to my usual style.  The yellows and pinks really had me feeling Springlike, even with all this snow around me!

Hope you have a great day and do something fun along the way!

Waiting For Vincent Louis

There is nothing more special than awaiting the birth of a precious little baby.  I was asked to make a personalized baby shower card for a baby boy and had some fun digging through my stash to find a stamp I have not used in ages.  I've had this little baby stamp since I started stamping over 12 years ago and I found him in a dollar bin!

Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G 
Paper: Gina K Designs, DCWV
Ink: Archival Cornflower Blue
Misc.: Spellbinders Dies, Stampin' Up Oval Punch

For this card I decided not to do the usual baby blue colors and think this different combination was a fun one.

Wishing many blessings to the family and friends as they await baby Vincent's arrival!

From Frosty to Summer by Defrosting

I have been mentioning how I am "so over" winter this year.  The snow and ice have been relentless.  These shots were taken from my front and my kitchen windows this week.

After peering out at these views for days, I was feeling I needed some Summer!  Then I remembered I had one large bag of my summer-grown tomatoes in the freezer!  What a fun sight to see and it brightened my winter mood.

I decided to turn them into pasta sauce to enjoy for supper.

Wish you were here to enjoy it with me!  I am so glad I saved a batch of the tomatoes for a winter day like today.  Hope to sit down later and plan my garden for this year.  That should put a touch of spring in my soul!   Do you have a garden?

Tea Time Tuesday - You Are My Sunshine

We have been having one snowstorm after another this year.  I am praying for Spring to arrive early as I am done with the ice and dangerous roads and the shoveling! For Valentine's Day my husband gave me a Tea for One set that really had a springlike feel to it.  I thought I would share that with you today.

Here is a close up:

Doesn't it scream Spring to you?

My father in-law is 88 years old and lives a few towns away from us.  With all this snow, we have been blessed as his neighbor has been plowing him out after each storm.  To say thank you we thought we would send over some home-baked cookies.  I decided to stamp on some plain bakery bags expressions of THANKS to make the packing a bit more personal and convey our thoughts.  I love to get the most out of all these stamps I have been acquiring all these years!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope the weather is treating you okay where you are!

You're Egg-cellent!

Yesterday was a very sweet Valentine's Day! Both my husband and I take off from work each year to spend the day together and go for tea at a local tea shoppe named Chat Noir.  It is a lovely place with fabulous food and service.  We make reservations in advance as they always book solid for the day.

I selected Creme Brulee tea and it was delicious! Their butterscotch scones are my favorite and I love their orange butter.  For lunch we had Baxter pie which was something I never had before.  It reminded me of a breakfast bake with potatoes, veggies, sausage, eggs and cheese.

I thought I would share the Valentine card I made for my hubby.  This was a fun one for me to make.

I bought this Lawn Fawn stamp set with my husband in mind.  Every Sunday he brings me a tray with a cup of tea (and a silk flower).  I get to spend a precious half hour enjoying my tea and a good book! It is a treat and then I get up and make us a nice breakfast (most often bacon and eggs!).  So this card really reflects us in a fun way!

Hoping you all enjoyed your Valentine's Day!

WOYWW #245 - Valentine's Day Gift Bag Decorated With Tim Holtz Supplies

Today is Wednesday, so I am sharing what is on my work desk with you. Shield your eyes if the sight of a inky mess scares you!  I just finished decorating a gift bag for my husband's Valentine gifts.  I decided to use a few sets of Tim Holtz stamps by Stampers Anonymous and Wendy Vecchi Archival inks.

I used my Distress Markers to spritz the bag and made a tag with one of Tim's tickets that I stamped on.

Here is the completed bag.  I decided to use the Tim Holtz tissue that has text on it.  My husband loves books and dictionaries, and he cringes when I tear them up for my crafting.  I know he will like this fun paper. He will see the Distress Glitter on the heart and know it was made by me!

Thank you to Julia for this desk hopping fun!  I look forward to catching up with a lot of you today!  Hope everyone has a special Valentine's Day on Friday!

Tea Time Tuesday - Tea Time With Tarzan

Today I am sharing a fun and quirky tea pot from my collection.  It is Tarzan!  I love that Cheetah is on his shoulder and becomes the handle!  Some pecs on Tarzan, eh?

For some, when they think of Tarzan they hear Johnny Weissmuller, but for me, I think automatically of Carol Burnett! As a girl I used to love watching her on tv and always enjoyed her Tarzan yell.

Having my tea in some of my fun tea pots really can turn a frown into a smile or just elevate my mood.

I thought I would share a tea related card I made today for one of my girlfriends in my Jane Austen group.  We are all tea lovers, so I love to make tea cards for this group of ladies.  For this card, I broke out my February Simon Says Stamp card kit, and used the pretty papers and a few of the fun stamps. For the focal image I used an adorable House Mouse stamp.  Isn't he cute?

Thanks for visiting today!  Until next time!

You Are Loved

This week has been a rough one and I am hoping the week ahead brings some needed relief. The winter has been relentless here, with the snow and ice adding to the daily commute and stress.  Today I was finally able to sit down to make cards.

One of my girlfriends had surgery this week and I needed a special card for her.  I wanted something cheerful that would relay how very much she means to me.  This week I got my February card kit from Simon Says Stamp so I decided to dive into it and this is what I came up with:

This month had lots of pretty papers and I felt that the florals would be cheerful to use.  I am praying for a speedy recovery for my friend and hope this small gesture brings some comfort to her.

Thanks for the visit today!  I hope that I am able to blog more this week and have some fun, quiet time to stamp and create!  

Tea Time Tuesday - London Tea Set and My Love for Sherlock Holmes

Today I decided to share with you a new tea set from my collection.  It was given to my husband and me for Christmas from a friend.  He knows how much I love tea, and how much my husband and I enjoy various BBC shows together.  This china tea pot and set of mugs is by James Sadler.  We both fell in love with it when we saw it. Aren't the images just wonderful?

Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday, and my husband and I settled in to watch the game with our usual yummy dinner and treats.  The game itself was not very interesting to us due to the pounding the Broncos received by the Seahawks.  By 10:00 pm we were really looking forward to seeing the finale of Sherlock on Masterpiece and found it a lot more exciting than the big game turned out to be.  Benedict Cumberbatch is an amazing Holmes.  He really made the character his own.  Martin Freeman's portrayal of Dr. Watson is simply wonderful.   If you haven't caught this series yet, I highly recommend you do so.  It is unlike any of the others I have seen, and as a blogger, I love that Dr. Watson is a blogger, too!  I think I will be making this tea set my Sunday night set while watching this great series, as well as the other fine programming they show.

Do you have a favorite British series or show?  I would love for you to share it with me.