Saturday, January 30, 2016

A Card for Leslie

Yes, it's been a busy week with card making. A co-worker of mine lost her mother over the weekend. It seemed to have happen quicker than everyone thought, and knowing she's at peace in Heaven makes it just a little better to bear. But to lose a mother is very devastating. I know when I lost mine, I will remember that day for the rest of my life. She passed in my arms, and I'm so glad I was there for her and she wasn't alone. My sisters, daughter, and father were there too.

So this card is for Leslie, who lost her mother to a horrible lung disease, mesotheloma. I don't know what else to say, other than, God rest your soul.

Here's my card for Leslie:


This card is simple in it's creation, but beautiful. Leslie, who is an artist, will appreciate it. She's always so complimentary on my cards, and making a card for someone who deserves one is what I can do.

Rest in peace, Leslie's mom!

Friday, January 29, 2016

A Card for Frannie

What do you say to someone who was just delivered "not so good news" about the rest of their life? It is very hard. It's that old, nasty "C" word again. It just doesn't know who it wants to attack, but when it does, you give it your all and hope for the best.

Well, you see, Frannie is a woman I met through my friend, Connie. She's a wonderful lady, and Connie has so many sweet stories she tells of her times with her and their cruises on the high seas. I wanted to make a card for Frannie to cheer her up in her time of uncertainty, and of course, figuring out what to say is very hard. So i chose this pretty stamp set, You're Remarkable, and created this pretty card to send to her. She should have it by the time this posts, and I sure hope it does its job of cheering her up.

Here's the card I made for her:


Here's to you, Frannie. My heart, prayers, and all the well wishes in the world, are yours. May you find that miracle and claim it for yourself. You so deserve it.



Thursday, January 28, 2016

Alex's First Place

I have a new co-worker that just moved into her first apartment, so I thought it would be fun to do a collection and get her a nice welcome basket. Everyone at work was happy to pitch in, and Monica and I set out to shop. We had such a great time and got so much stuff.

Of course, I had to make the card. I typically make my cards 4-1/4 x 5-1/2, but this time, I made the card 5 x 7 so everyone could sign it. I saw a really nice card over at inkadoodlercreations, and went ahead and made my card for Alex. Here's how it turned out:



Everyone, including Alex, loved the card. She actually has it on her refrigerator at home, and plans to frame it. How cute! I'm honored.

Well, until next time ... happy stamping.

Love and Hugs,
Helen

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Coloring Down the Lines - Happy Home

Hi everyone! It's Blog Time! I hope you are having a nice week. We got a whopper of a snow storm over the weekend - The Blizzard of 2016, Jonas! My area got dumped with 28" and we thought it would never stop snowing. It sure is pretty though.

So, what did we have to work on this week, you ask? Well, I'm glad to show you. Below is the photograph and color pallet we had to work with. Check it out.

Now my design is very simplistic. The colors all blend together nicely, and if you look close enough, you can probably pick out the different ones.

Here's my entry for this week:


So there you have it. If you haven't been to Amanda's blog yet, click here to go back to check her card out. Then, hop on over to Joni's blog and check out hers too. Keep on hopping ... you'll get a nice surprise at each stop.

Enjoy the rest of your week and I'll be back soon.

Hugs,
Helen


Saturday, January 23, 2016

World Traveler

Do you enjoy traveling? I do, well, if it's for fun.

This next card was also created at our last team meeting, and the world traveler embossing folder just makes the card. I used the going global stamp set, and the wood embellishments added the perfect touch to the card.


Well, that's all I have for today. Check back tomorrow ... I hope to have more cards for you.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Let's Party!

Birthdays are always fun, and you can never have enough birthday cards. This card was another we made at our last team meeting, and I'm loving the confetti embossing folder. It makes quite an effect on the card.

The stamp set is Party Wishes, and accessories I used were the Party Punch Pack and Confetting Embossing Folder. What a cute card, don't you agree?


I have a whole lot of ideas for this stamp set and embossing folder. Stay tuned for more ...


Thursday, January 21, 2016

The Sky is the Limit

Hello again. I'm posting another card we made at our team meeting last month, and the featured stamp set is "Sky is the Limit". This stamp set is one of our Sale-a-Bration sets you can earn for free. I wasn't sure if I wanted this one, but after the cards I see made using it, I just might get it. After all, it is free with a $50 purchase.

Now, why don't you let your sights soar and see what you can make with this set.

See you again tomorrow.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Coloring Down the Lines - Thankful Forest Friends

Howdy there everyone! It's a very cold week here in Pennsylvania. I hear we're expecting a significant snowfall this weekend, so I'll have to make sure I have everything I need in case we get snowed in.

This week, we had a fairly easy challenge - the colors basically are monochromatic. Here's the color pallet and photograph we used for inspiration:


So we didn't have a whole lot of color to work with, so this is what I came up with in keeping with our color scheme:


I used the woodlands embossing folder for an added touch in the background, and there you have it. Plain and simple ...

If you started with Robbie and landed here, don't forget to hop forward to Joni's blog and see what inspiration she drew from our challenge this week.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone. I sure do hope to see you again.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Bloomin' Heart

Have you seen the new Occasions catalog yet? If not, here's one of my favorite thinlits .. "Bloomin' Heart". It has such an intricate design, and our new big shot die brush is perfect for getting those hard-to-get pieces out of the paper and thinlit.

This card also has the new blushing bride glimmer paper behind the intricate heart. It pops out nicely in person.

The stamp set used on this card is from the "Going Global" set and it just worked nicely on this card.
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, if you don't have this thinlit and glimmer paper, you might want to think about adding it to your stash.


Tomorrow is our Coloring Down the Lines Blog Hop. I sure hope to see you back here then.

Until then, have a wonderful and warm day!

Monday, January 18, 2016

Going Global

I wasn't sure what type of cards I would make using this stamp set, but the more I see cards made using it, the more I like it.

Here's a card we made at our last team meeting. It actually is one of my favorites from that meeting, but there are few others I love too.

Anyway, the stamp set is called "Going Global" and the designer series paper is "Going Places". I love the constellation and stars, and so this one will sit on my shelf with the rest of my prized cards.

Hope you like it.


See you tomorrow ..

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Coloring Down the Lines - Party Wishes

It's Wednesday and time for our blog hop. Would you believe it was snowing yesterday? It was supposed be only a slight snow squall, but we ended up with almost an inch. I left work to go to get my hair done, and by the time I left the hairdresser (1-1/2 hours later), the snow was coming down so hard, it was like a white out. I was excited, but, I knew I had to drive home in it. Luckily, I made it fine, but it sure was slippery because even the salt trucks hadn't been out yet.

Anyway, don't let me divert! It's time for our Coloring Down the Lines, and this week, our challenge was to come up with a card / design using some very basic colors. Here is what we had to work with this week:


I had no idea what I wanted to do with these colors, but I managed to come up with something that didn't turn out too bad. I was thinking of presents, and who doesn't like presents? The holidays are basically over, but presents are a welcome gift anytime. 

This is my card for you this week:  Yah, Presents!!!



If you've arrived here from Amanda's blog, hopefully you've seen Robbie's entry too. Make sure you hop back if you haven't. Then take a leap on over to Joni's site and see what she's made for you this week. Always fun, always new ideas, and ... a brand new year.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Coloring Down the Lines - Snow Place

Welcome back to Coloring Down the Lines 2016! We're off to a good start, and I'm excited to be able to craft again on a regular basis. The holidays are behind us, and a new year begins.

The color pallet for today's blog hop is bright and happy. I've chosen to use the stamp set, Snow Place, for my creation. I think I've chosen it because we've had such a mild winter so far, and I'm missing the snow. So, I've incorporated the colors into my card. Here are the photo and color pallet for this week's challenge:


Ok, now you're wondering why I possibly created using these colors, aren't you? Well, here you go:



Unfortunately, you can't see the dazzling diamonds glitter on the snowbanks - but they're there. Isn't it cute? I hope you like it.

If you haven't checked out Robbie's blog,  please click on this link to go back one and see what she's done with these colors. Then when you're finished there, hop on over to see what Joni created for you. As always, you'll never be disappointed.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you back again and again.

Cheers!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Flowering Fields (Sale-a-Bration)

We had a team meeting / holiday gathering at the end of December and each of us had to bring a shoebox swap using something from the new catalog. Since I had the flowering fields stamp set that I got at the regional in Baltimore in November, I thought I would use this for my swap. Here's the card I created with it:


I can see I'll be using this stamp set quite a lot. I love flowers, so it's only fitting.

Hope you get a chance to get this stamp set too. It's got a lot of potential.

See you tomorrow.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Christmas House

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a good start ... and let's hope it stays that way!

I saw this post on Pinterest that I fell in love with and just had to make it. I CASED it, with a few minor changes. The credit goes to The Craft Spa for making this card. It's beautiful and I was quite pleased with how mine turned out.

This first picture is the front doors. I placed the wreaths on each door and put boughs over the top of the door. That's what is different from the post on Pinterest. I used the Festive Fireplace stamp set for this.


This next picture is the inside. I stamped the windows using Happy Scenes and Cozy Christmas, with vellum on top, and used the Hearth and Home framelits for the gold windows, and cut two more windows using whisper white for the inside of the window sashes.


I don't know if you can see on the mantle or not, but I punched out 6 candles - 4 white and 2 gold.

Of course, I'm going to keep this card for myself. It took a lot of time to make this, and I want to thank thecraftspa for making such a lovely design.

I hope you like it as much as I do. I just might try this card again for other seasons. Since it takes quite a bit of time to make, I'll have to do it on a day where I don't have much to do.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, January 1, 2016

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my family, friends, and followers! You are the treasures of my life, and I'm thankful for all of you. I wish all of you a happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year! I'm excited to spend 2016 with you, and beyond. May you be blessed with good cheer, laughter, and friendships in the coming year.

I wanted to share my last hooray in 2015. In Glenmoore, PA, every year, the Methodist church puts on a cookie and Christmas craft bazaar, and this year, I got to participate. I only had 2 weeks to prepare, so of course, I was like a craft making machine for two solid weeks. I didn't make a whole lot of items, but to my surprise, I sold quite a lot. I was super happy about that ...

Here are some of the items I made to share with you:

 Here are the snowmen gift card holders I made the flew out the door like crazy. I sold almost every one that I made, and I made 26! I just love them.

 Here are the snowmen cookie boxes I made. Would you believe, I only sold a few of these? OMG, I thought they would fly out the door, especially with the cookie sale going on. Nope. O well, they will go to good use next year.

 I saw a cute video on how to make these adorable Frosty the Snowman hats. I didn't sell any of those at the bazaar, but I had several people purchase them for gifts, and I ended up giving them away as gifts as well. They were so flippin cute ...

I made these Santa wine tag holders a couple years ago, and they sold this year. It pays to hold on to things. If they don't go one year, they certainly will go another time. Phew, that's great!

 This is a picture of my wares that I made for the bazaar. There are gift card holders - the coffee cup ones flew out the door - sure wish I would have kept one ... they were mighty cute. In the background, I had some left over bags I made for cookies and didn't sell those, but all of the Christmas ornament lip balm holders sold like hot cakes, but the purse lip balm holders did not fare well. The Santa gift card holders and the Snowmen gift card holders flew out the door, as did the random gift card holders you see in the background. They were left overs from previous years. I did not sell any of the Christmas tags .. but that's ok, I'll use them for next year's gifts.

Here is my display at the bazaar. I came home with one box less than I started with, and $250 richer. Whoooo hoooo! I also got special orders and filled those rather quickly. All in all, it was a good day.

I hope you enjoy your New Year's Day, and best wishes to all of you in 2016!