I Melt for You

I tried to get a good picture of this so many times that I finally gave up. You get the idea though... I really struggled to come up with something different (for me anyway) for this week's OCC challenge which was to add something clear to your project. You can find challenge details HERE. I found these little votive holders and mocha scented candles for dirt cheap a while ago, and decided to use one for this CLEAR challange. I used the solid and outline hearts from MFT's Heart's Galore with Blazing Red Stazon ink to stamp the red hearts on the glass. Then I used White Craft ink on the outline heart and stamped on top of the red. I cut out the paper hearts with my Nestabilities on Bella Rose DSP on top of Riding Hood Red cardstock. The sentiment is also from MFT's Hearts Galore. I masked the stamp so that I could split it into 2 lines to fit inside the small paper heart. I applied sticky tape to Riding hood Red 5/8" grosgrain ribbon and adhered it to the glass, and topped it with the paper hearts. I then used Liquid Embroidery to put the little white dots on the top and bottom of the glass. Cute!

It's New Year's eve day. It's snowing here in central NJ,and I love it. 2008 has been a whopper of a year - some big challenges, and some great gifts. I wish you and yours a great start to 2009 and a peaceful year ahead.

Happy Anni-VERVE-sary Julee!

I have had so little time to stamp these days - I am amazed at the people who have so much going on and still turn out these amazing projects every day! The blog posts out there have been bowling me over!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa... whatever your celebration is. I had one of the nicest Christmases I can remember. It helps to have 2 little boys who are awaiting Santa and his reindeer with such excitement and delight. One of my boys is a choir singer - the sound of children singing always makes me cry. My guys were also in a Nativity play. I used a lot of tissues in the past couple of weeks. Also, this was the first year in a very long time that I was in a work environment at Christmas time where Secret Santa and lots of other festivities took place... so fun. I worked from my home for 10 years prior for a company that was 750 miles from my home, so my work holiday celebrations were a party of one! It was so much fun this year to have a community to Fa La La La La with! I also sang on Christmas Eve at a children's Mass which was very moving. We celebrated with family and friends here in our home on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day, we went to a big old fashioned Christmas dinner at our dear Friends' house with lots of wonderful food, many kids, lots of caroling by the fire - just wonderful!!! I am so happy though, that I got to post my latest OCCC card today. I made it on Sunday, but I never got to post it. I need to get back to my stamps and ink!!

So, last Saturday's OCC Challenge was to make either a love of a lifetime/anniversary card/project or just something for that special someone who makes you go all lovey dovey. Vervegirl Julee Tilman presented this challenge in honor of her 11th wedding anniversary. So here is my lovey dovey card to help mark the occasion! May you have many happy anniversaries ahead of you Julee and Mark...

Here is the recipe:

Stamps: Owl Together Now, Verve ~ Feeling Groovy
Paper: Groovy Guava, Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi, Afternoon Tea DSP, White.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Riding Hood Red.
Accessories: Nestabilites, Photo Corner Punch, Copics, 1/4" Grosgrain Ribbon, Dimensionals, Cuttlebug, Mat Pack & Piercing Tool, Sponge.

Snappy Birthday Li Li!

Today is my dear sister Lisa's birthday. Happy birthday Li!!! or shall I say... Snappy Birthday! We have had so many great adventures in our lives. We have shared many joys and sorrows. Today I celebrate her birth, her life, her place in my family and the many things we have to share in the years ahead. She's going to love this silly crab... The layout comes from Jen del Muro's November 15th SFYTT. I thought it would be perfect for my little crabby guy.

Here is the recipe:
Stamps: Crab & Company
Paper: Pacific Point, Black, Baja Breeze, Kiwi Kiss, White.
Ink: Stazon and Classic Black.
Accessories:Re-inkers, markers, dimensionals, Stardust Stickles, Circle Punches, Cuttlebug and EF.

Joy to the World!

I just LOVE this sweet little mouse. On my Black Friday jaunt to Scrapper's Cove, I found this clear stamp set (Peace on Earth) and another one with the same little critter by Impression Obsession. I tried to link to their website here, but it's not working for some reason. When I saw Beate's sketch last week - WSC67, I knew this would be perfect for it. Main image is stamped with Black Stazon on Whisper White mounted on a layer of Ridinghood Red and then Pink Pirouette scalloped edge cut with Nestabilities. That three layered panel is adhered with dimensionals. The base of the card is black topped with Ski Slope DSP. The left panel is also Ski Slope DSP on top of Kiwi Kiss. I used reinkers with an aqua painter to color my critter along with shades of brown ink and a blender pen. I used my silver Zig Painty pen to highlight the top of the ornament. The sentiment is stamped in black ink on a Metal Edge Tag. I applied glue to the aluminum edge, and then sprinkled it with Dazzling Diamonds. The ribbon is Riding Hood Red Taffeta. I accented the top right corner with Dew Drops. Sweet!

SnowflakeMan

On Friday, instead of hitting the mall, I went to Scrapper's Cove and made a few purchases! One thing I bought was this adorable stamp from Hero Arts - Cupcake Snowman. I also had to have these sequins and adhesive crystals, also from Hero Arts. When I checked the OCCC on Saturday morning with my cup of tea, guess what the challenge was??? Well, you guessed it. It was to make something using SNOWFLAKES or SNOWMEN! Woo Hoo! My cupcake Snowman was calling me to ink 'm up!

Here is the recipe:
Stamps: Hero Arts ~ Cupcake Snowman, Sweet Serendipity.
Paper: Night of Navy, Kiwi Kiss, Real Red, Whisper White, Brushed Silver.
Ink: Black Stazon, Real Red, Kiwi Kiss, Almost Amethyst, Baja Breeze.
Accessories: Cuttlebug, Snowflake EF, Aqua Painter, Blending pen, Liquid Embroidery, DD, Snowflake Punch, MS Snowflake Border Punch, Dimensionals, Hero Arts Snowflake Sequins and Adhesive Crystals, Felt Flurries, Rhinestone Brad, and snowflake ribbon from Michaels.

Thanksgiving Place Cards

Thanksgiving is by far, my favorite holiday. It is chock full of wonderful memories, traditions, and warmth - no shopping and wrapping (well, there can be lots of grocery shopping, but I don't mind a bit!) - just gathering with family and friends to share all kinds of things. I love it! Ever since I can remember, we always made place cards for my family's Thanksgiving table. This year, we are going to my niece's house for the feast. She and her wonderful husband are hosting for the first time in their new home. They have a wonderful story, those two, and I am so happy that we are going to celebrate at their house this year. There will be 21 at the table, and of course, I wanted to make the place cards... this is what came up with.

I took my inspiration from 2 wonderful artists Nancy Riley and Amy Sheffer. I just loved THIS card that Nancy made - I needed to use those adorable pumpkins, so I lifted them directly from her creation to mine. Thanks Nancy! I saw THIS wonderful place card design on Amy's Blog, and I loved the idea of using the library clips. I love the way Amy used the clip to hold the name plate with the backing a bit tilted. That did not work for my cards, but the library clip was a great embellishment for mine. Thanks for the idea Amy!

This year has been quite a challenging one for me and for my family, but the blessings that we have far outweigh the trials. My husband and children are the loves of my life. I have a wonderful family. We have such rich traditions filled with love and beauty shared with my parents and sisters and our extended families. My dear friends, both old and new, are such gifts... they give my life such warmth, color, strength. I love my work, I love my craft... I have met such wonderful people in this SCS and blogging world and I have learned so much in this last year. I wish you a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with love, great smells, tastes, some rest... every good thing. Gotta finish my place cards and head to the feast!

For You for 2

I made this card today for two challenges: SCS Sketch Challenge SC202 and this week's OCC Challenge which is to use silhouette stamps for your project. I am so happy with the way this turned out.

Here is the recipe ~

Stamps: Fresh Cuts stamped on Vellum with Versa Mark, embossed with black embossing powder, and colored with re-inkers and a blender pen.
Paper: Basic Gray, Black, Pacific

Pointe, Kiwi Kiss, White, Vellum, Urban Garden DSP.
Ink: Versa Mark, Black.
Accessories: Small Oval Punch, Square Scallop Punch, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug & Swiss Dots EF, Rhinestone Brads, Flower Fusion, Dimensionals, Kiwi Kiss Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Mat Pack & Piercing Tool.