Just say it...

(pssst...If you're here for the Unity HHH post, it's the next one down! *wink*)

Today's Limited Supply Challenge (LSC206) was to 'Say what you feel'...make a card where the *only* stamp you use is a sentiment. I don't feel this way today, but believe me, there are days where this quotation from W.C. Fields completely speaks to me!

This time, I started with the DP...a fabulous piece of Cosmo Cricket that I *never* would have picked up on my own. (Not because I don't like it, but because it's not "me", or at least not the old "me". The new, *growing* "me" is absolutely lovin' it. So, "thank you" to my darling, 4-year-old son for grabbing it at the LSS!)
I cut the DP to 3 3/4" x 5", then a 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" panel of Basic Black for a thin mat, and mounted both to a standard A2 card base of Very Vanilla. Then I stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of VV, and mounted it to a piece of DP from the same line of Cosmo Cricket. I cut four circles of DP and Basic Black using my punches, and began layering them onto the card base, threading some black grosgrain through a couple, and adding foam tape to portions of the DP circles (see the first pic for a close-up of that). I taped the grosgrain down on both sides of the card, and trimmed the ends, adding a black metallic snap to keep it from falling off the card. Last, I attached my sentiment panel over the top using foam tape.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend! I have a few more projects to share with you, so stay tuned! Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Very Vanilla, Basic Black CS (SU!); 'Picnic' and 'Blowing Bubbles' DP (Cosmo Cricket 'Hello Sunshine')
Ink: Pumpkin Pie (SU!)
Stamps: Edgy Eloquence (SU!)
Other: black snap (We R Memorykeepers); black grosgrain (unknown); foam mounting tape (3M)

a note for my love...

This was a card I made for my amazing hubby...he was so sweet to let me take off Saturday night to go to the Donna Downey class, and then ALL day Sunday for CHA. He takes such wonderful care of me and our family, I just had to give him a little love note! *wink*
I used a standard A2 card base in Chocolate Chip, with Swiss Dots debossed down the edge using the Cuttlebug. All of the sticker elements are from Stampin' Up!'s Messenger Accents and Elements (which is now retired...sorry!). I put the 'UR fabulous' sticker onto a strip of Ruby Red (after punching the edge with my Martha Stewart scallop punch), and added a layered flower that I built up from 3 graduated stickers, with a pewter snap in the center, and foam tape underneath. I left the chipboard letters raw, and added a hand-cut Ruby Red heart to link them.

Every time I make a card, my DH *always* looks inside...even though he knows I tend to leave the inside blank so that the card can be customized later. So, just for him, I finished the inside of this one. *wink*
I centered a 3 1/4" x 4 1/2" panel of Kraft CS, and added one of the Messenger sticker strips to the edge, and another layered flower to the corner.

He {loved} it! It's sitting on his desk at work now... *wink*

CHA photos are coming up next!!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Ruby Red CS (SU!)
Ink: none!
Stamps: none!
Other: 'Messenger' Accents and Elements (SU!); pewter snaps (Making Memories); chipboard alpha (Heidi Swapp); scalloped punch (Martha Stewart Crafts)

Owls Again!

Well, I don't have anything 'new' per se, but I do have some projects I made pre-Christmas, so I'll show you those before it's June. *wink* This is a card that I made for my MOPS group to do on our last craft day before our semester break.

The card base is an 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" piece of Chocolate Chip CS, folded to make a 4 1/4" square card. I stamped the base using Chocolate Chip ink and the Snowflake Spot stamp set from SU!. Then I stamped the Three Owls onto some Very Vanilla CS, and colored them with Prismacolor pencils. I mounted the stamped panel to a strip of Ski Slope DP, attached them both to the card base, and tied on some green satin ribbon to finish the card.

I'll be back again (probably tomorrow, though I won't make any promises *wink*) to show you a snow globe gift card holder that I made for some dear friends...it's seriously cool! *grins*

Thanks for stopping by!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla CS, Ski Slope DP (SU!)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU!)
Stamps: Three Owls (Hero Arts); The Snowflake Spot (SU!)
Other: satin ribbon (Club Wedd by Target); Prismacolor Art Pencils (Sanford)

Felt snowflake joy! (CI32)

(Note: although this mostly fits the Unity Junkies' Challenge, my real card is in the next post *wink*)

Did you know it's only ONE MONTH until Christmas? To get everyone in the holiday mood, Kristina Werner's Color Inspiration Challenge is a Christmas-y one of red and shades of white and cream...so elegant:
And I know I said I wouldn't be having time to do this, but I'm proving myself to be a liar, apparently. There's not much I can do to help my DH and his dad, so I'm keeping the boys out of their way, and away from the noise and dust....and the craft room upstairs is a pretty good place to do that. *wink*

While I was at Wally's World this morning picking up a box fan and filter for Philip, I also spotted a pack of Martha Stewart Crafts 13" Eyelet Doilies (3 per package!) made of felt, and *knew* they'd be perfect for crafting. Just think of how many embellishments I'll be able to get out of one pack! And then I saw the Kristina had a new Color Inspiration Challenge up, and everything came together perfectly!
I used a circle template, and cut out two eyelet images including the border, and one without. Then I cut two of the smaller daisy-shaped parts. I also cut a portion of the scalloped outer border to use later. After stamping 'Joy' from The Snowflake Spot using Versamark, I arranged the 5 snowflake/flower pieces on a A2 card base of Riding Hood Red (this one is 4 1/4" x 11" folded in half), and attached them using a combination of mini glue dots and silver brads.

Then, I adhered a 1" wide strip of Whisper White to a 1 1/8" wide strip of Sahara Sand, and mounted that over the edge of the scalloped border I cut previously, using foam tape to match the height. Last, I tied on a piece of woven ribbon that matched the Sahara Sand over the layered panel:
I absolutely love that ribbon! It has a slight sheen, almost metallic-looking, and the texture is fabulous. The only problem is that it warps if you pull it too tight, and frays easily when tying into a knot or bow...but I'm completely willing to overlook those problems for the extra touch it gives my card. *wink*

Thanks for stopping by (again) today!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, and Sahara Sand CS (SU!)
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)
Stamps: The Snowflake Spot (SU!)
Other: felt embellishments (Martha Stewart Crafts 13" Eyelet Doilies); Silver Brads (Making Memories); Mini Glue Dots; woven ribbon (Michael's $1 spot)

50 days 'til Christmas!!

I know, it says 51...that's because I took the photo Sunday, and had planned to do this post yesterday, when it *would* have been 51 days until Christmas. But, you know what they say about the best-laid plans... {FYI: Here's a Christmas Countdown webpage}

This is a clipboard that I designed for my MOPS group to make at our second meeting this month! It's a Christmas countdown clipboard, made from a Staples 6" x 9" clipboard. I'll be making a new one before my MOPS meeting, though, since I'll be using this year's 'Ski Slope' dp (this was just a sample so that the steering committee could see what it would look like).
I used Mod Podge to cover the front with two coordinating pieces of DP (I made a template for the top piece, so it is actually fitted around the clip and none of the board shows). After that had dried, I sanded the paper off of the edges with a sanding block for a clean edge, and tied on a piece of red grosgrain where the two pieces meet. I also Mod Podged on 3 trees that I stamped on Old Olive paper and cut out, and Mod Podged paper onto a chipboard circle to cover the 'Staples' on the clip. The whole board got 2 more coats of Mod Podge for durability (before I tied on the ribbon).

The main panel is loose, so that the clipboard can also be used to hold Christmas pics or a favorite card. I printed the 'Days until Christmas' onto Very Vanilla from my computer, and cut it to size, and matted it with Old Olive, after punching all the corners with a ticket corner punch. Then I cut twenty 1 1/2" x 3" strips of River Rock, and stamped the numbers 0-9 on them (so this could count all the way down from 99, if you're *really* anxious for Christmas!)....you have to have an even amount of papers in each pile or they slip out. I ticket-punched opposite corners for each number (see above), and clipped them to the board.

Pretty easy, and so cute!! Here's a couple more close-ups:
The holly leaves and 'berries' are from an On Board garland kit from last year...I painted the leaves with an Adirondack Paint Dabber, and covered the berries with Real Red Craft ink.
All together, I figured out these little boards are going to come out to only $3.80 per board (including the $1.49 per board for the clipboards)!! Isn't that awesome? I love economical crafts! *smiles*

Thanks for stopping by today!
~Michelle

Supplies used:
Paper: Dashing DP, River Rock, Old Olive, and Very Vanilla CS (SU!)
Ink: Stazon Timber Brown (Tsukineko); Old Olive Classic and Real Red Craft (SU!)
Stamps: Ornamental Alphabet (Martha Stewart Crafts); Giggle Grove (Unity Stamp Company)
Other: Mod Podge decoupage medium; 'Lettuce' Adirondack Paint Dabber (Ranger Industries); On Board chipboard elements, ticket corner punch, Real Red grosgrain (SU!); E6000 cement