Happy Belated B-day Liane!

My BFF's b-day was last week but I was late as usual in getting her present to her. Hope she got it by now! Anyway, decided to make that Sliding Pop-Up Card again to practice and this time used my new Dandelion Designs stamps! Woo Hoo! Island Scrapbooking brought them in for me (Thanks Michele!). I love that Jean is now doing them in clings instead of woods. Included in the set are also directions for a cute project! I didn't get to try it out yet, but hope to do so before girl's day. Traditionally Dandelion stamps are smaller in size, but these new clings are pretty good sized stamps! I was quite happy that Jean was giving us new sizes to play with too.. Thanks Jean! Here's what the card looks like when you pull on the ribbon... The sentiment inside the card comes with the set. It also includes another girl holding a cupcake. The Wising You sentiment is by Verve stamps. Hope you had a great birthday Liane! Can you believe how old we are getting???? Supplies:

• Girl and sentiment- Dandelion Designs
• DP- My Little Shoebox
• Wishing You sentiment- Verve Stamps
• Ribbon- American Crafts
• Oval dies- Spellbinders

Sliding Pop-Up Redux

Yes, once I learn a new technique, I need to practice, and practice, and practice, until I get it. Here's another Sliding Pop-Up card (tutorial found on Splitcoast Stampers). I think these are better photos than my last card (sorry about that). I decided to use some scraps that I found that made a great background! I love these papers by Prima that Island Scrapbooking brought in awhile ago, but I just never had a chance to play with them since the holidays. I thought this was the perfect background since it some cute flowers. Added in some crystals and butterflies to dress it up a bit. Here's what the card looks like once you pull on the ribbon. DH had a hard time pulling it until I showed him that you have to hold the card on the sides (green cardstock area), otherwise the card won't slide up. The other cool thing about this card is that it will stay propped up like an easel card, which is nice if you want to display it. Here's a close up of Brigitta... Supplies:

• Swiss Pixie's Fall Birgitta- CC's designs
• DP- Prima
• CS- Bazzil
• Crystals- Kaisercraft
• Butterfly punch- MS Crafts
• Sentiment- Lawn Fawn

You Hold The Key To My Heart

Here's another new stamp I got by CC's Designs called Violet with Key. Since she's holding a key, I knew my new key punch would make the perfect accent for the inside of the card. I followed Debi's lead on this card by using some heart shaped doilies. It really gave the card a Valentine's Day touch. Instead of using Valentine's themed paper, I went with a Sizzix embossing folder for some texture without being too busy on the eyes since the doily would clash with most of the printed paper I had. Finished it off with some roses (yes, more roses) since they remind me most of Valentine's day. Here's a peek at the inside of the card. Used the CC's sentiment stamp set that coordinates with Violet. It also comes with two other key shaped stamps. Supplies:

• Violet with Key- CC's Designs
• Key punch- MS Crafts
• Sentiment- CC's Designs
• Red mirrored Cardstock- Bazzil
• CS- Bazzil
• Embossing folder- Sizzix
• Heart shaped Doily
• Roses- Wild Orchid Crafts
• Stickles

Wishing You...

Woo Hoo... Happy Friday Everyone! I found this cool tutorial on Splicoast Stampers called Sliding Pop-up Card. Its pretty easy to make and packs a punch when you pull the ribbon.... she pops up! It also reveals a message when you pull the ribbon. Sorry, I guess the card slid back so it's hiding some of the sentiment. Got this cute Cherrie stamp from All that Scraps. Its actually a Tickled Pink stamp line, but All that Scraps has it in stock. There are other Cute Cherrie images available including some new Valentine's Day themed images. The thing I like about this pop up card is that it lays down flat which makes it nice for mailing. In the photo below, you can see that Cherrie is popped up by her shadow. Supplies:

• Cherrie stamp- Tickled Pink
• DP- Creative Imaginations
• CS- Bazzil
• Ribbon
• Stickles
• Sentiments- Verve Stamps
• Oval and Scallop Oval dies- Spellbinders
• Crystals- Kaisercraft

Washi Clutch

Do you remember my Christmas RAK post? Well, Kris of K-Lusive Kreations sent me a cute clutch made of paper that I just loved. I had to CASE it, but added some of the new washi paper from Island Scrapbooking to it to jazz it up a bit. This photo doesn't show all the gold as nicely as it does in person. Oh yah- honestly, I didn't really plan for the pattern to line up as nicely as it did- just got lucky I guess! Thanks Kris for the inspiration! Go check her out now for more awesome designs!

Friends Are Special Treasures

Here's another Greeting Farm stamp that I finally had time to ink up... Flirty Anya! Wow- I think she was released several moons ago, but I still like her just the same. Since she's a bit flirty, I thought this old Doodlebug heart paper was just the perfect background to use for her. The sentiment is from a new Hero Arts set that I am crazy about! It has a bunch of sentiments in these funky styles that are fun and flirty just like Flirty Anya. To accent the sentiment, I just used my red stickles and made a heart since I didn't have any heart stickers... go figure? Supplies:

• Flirty Anya- TGF
• DP- Doodlebug
• CS- Bazzil
• Stickles
• Sentiment- Hero Arts
• Heart- Spellbinders

Be My Valentine

See how much I like Sweetheart Birgitta? I don't know how they did it but she' somehow much cuter than their other Swiss Pixies, even though she still looks like them. I think her face is fuller. Anyway, I promised you that I would show you a totally different look using the same background stamp right? Well, here I embossed the image using white embossing powder this time and then used Spun Sugar Distress ink over it. Love how this came out too. Gotta remember to do this more often with my background stamps. At first I wasn't going to put Sweetheart Birgitta on this card, but it was a little too plain, even for my hubby's taste... and believe me, he likes things simple. So I added her in as an afterthought and I'm glad I did. She really brightened up the card! Don't laugh, but I was actually supposed to color her blue for the other card I made using her... but I spazzed out and started coloring her pink, so rather than throw her away, I used her on this card. Supplies:

• Sweetheart Birgitta- CC's Designs
• Background stamp- Hero Arts
• Embossing Powder- Zing
• Ribbon
• Sentiment- Hero arts
• Roses- Prima
• Stickles

Happy Early Valentine's Day!

I couldn't wait for this new Hero Arts cling stamp to come in. Ever since I saw Donna Mikasa use it, I knew I had to have it (thanks for the inspiration Donna!). I had some difficulty using it with my distress inks as she did- will have to try again later. Instead I decided to try embossing it and then using my distress inks over it in an emboss resist technique. Went with gold embossing powder (Queen's gold- my favorite!) and then Red Barn distress ink over it. I love the results- looks very fancy schmancy. Since it was so fancy looking, decided to keep it simple and just layer my new nesties over it and accent with some crystals. I did one more card using this background stamp that I will share with you soon. Totally different look just by using different colors! Thanks for stopping by to see what I've been up to! Have a great week! Supplies:

• Sentiment: Denami Designs
• Background stamp- Hero Arts
• Queen's Gold- Ranger
• Crystals- Kaisercraft
• Distress ink- Ranger
• Labels nestiblilities- Spellbinders

BFF Mini Album

Another quick project I whipped up for the store opening. I love that this mini album/gift card holder can be made by using envelopes! And using coordinating papers from the same release make it a no-brainer. I wish I had put a sentiment under the two girls though. These two cuties are by Penny Black. I got this wood stamp because it totally reminds me of my DD and her BFF! I think I should add in some photos of the two girls- dont'cha think? Supplies:

• Girl stamp- Penny Black
• DP- Bo Bunny
• Ribbon
• CS- Bazzil
• Envelopes

Tote-ally Awesome!

Awhile back, I bought a tutorial from Becky of Inking Idaho... Love her creations and couldn't resist this cute tote! Finally found some time to make one and it took much longer that I thought it would... partly because I took awhile figuring out which papers and accents to use. Her instructions were easy to follow and it came out so cute! Supplies:

• Tote-ally Awesome Tote- Becky Roberts (Inking Idaho)
• CS- Bazzil
• DP- Creative Imaginations
• Labels dies- Spellbinders
• Pearls- Kaisercraft
• Ribbon
• eyelets
• velcro
• flowers- Prima
• Pearl brad- American Crafts
• Lace- Walmart

Fancy Anya Valentine's

Here's the newest Anya to arrive at The Greeting Farm... isn't she cute? Fancy Anya is perfect for valentine's day- she looks so sweet in her little dress. Had to use her with the new Imaginisce Garden Party papers. Layered some lace too to give it a sweet look. Finished it off with some roses and I was done.. Gotta share that the roses were totally inspired by watching the Golden Globes red carpet the other night. Seems like lots of gowns had rose accents on them in some form or another, so I decided to add them to my card. Must be watching too much E! I can feel my husband's eyes rolling as I type this. This one didn't take me as long to figure out as some of the other cards I worked on recently. Isn't it strange how sometimes it just comes together so easily and sometimes it a painful process. Well, I'm happy to share all my newest creations with you... I'm pre-posting this but by the time you read it I will be well into the start of my 3 day weekend. Aaaaaah! Supplies:

• Fancy Anya- TGF
• Sentiment- Hero Arts
• Circle and lacey circle nestibilities- Spellbinders
• Lace- Walmart (sorry no company)
• DP- Imaginisce
• Roses- Wild Orchid Crafts

If Friends Were Flowers I'd Pick You

So I got Sweet Anya about a month ago, but she's not seen ink till now. I have been dying to play with her but the holidays and everything made crafting for fun take a back seat to other priorities. Now that Island Scrapbooking is re-opening, Michele asked the girls if we could make some new samples for the store, so I thought this was a great excuse to ink up my new, but unused stamps. Since this cutie is so sweet, I thought these new Bo Bunny papers were the perfect compliment to her. The sentiment is by Lawn Fawn and seemed to match the floral paper perfectly. Added in the MS border punch for a lacey look. I know it doesn't look like it but I spent almost one night working on this card! Had to re-do it in its entirety once, but I finally got it where I'm OK with it. Have much more to share, so stop in again soon! Supplies:

• Sweet Anya- TGF
• Sentiment- Lawn Fawn
• Border punch- MS Crafts
• DP- Bo Bunny

You're A Great Friend

Seems like forever since I've posted.. the fact is I've been busy helping Michele get the store ready for re-opening this week, which included making some new samples up for the store. These new CC's swiss pixies caught my eye, so I knew she would be one of my first projects. Some new Imaginisce paper came in called Garden Party that I fell in love with so I also wanted to use that in my card. Decided to try my hand at a shaker card again... not too successful in the past, so I thought I'd try once more... sometimes you need to take a break from it and then go back and try again, so that's what I did. I had trouble with my first attempt, but this one seemed to come out better (no beads falling through, etc.). Here's a close up of Sweetheart Birgitta. Well, tomorrow is my Friday! Thank goodness for this 3 day week! Supplies:

• Sweetheart Birgitta- CC's Designs
• Labels nestibilities- Spellbinders
• DP- Imaginisce
• Cardstock- Bazzil
• Roses- Wild Orchid Crafts
• Acetate
• Lace- (no company- got from Walmart)
• Sentiment- Hero Arts

Emboss Resist Thanks

Ok- I finally gave in to this technique called Emboss Resist. I saw Debi do it many times in her distress ink class, but never really tried it myself. Got inspired by Gina K's site called Stamp TV (you will want to check it out) and wanted to try this technique over my new definition stamps. Unfortunately, you can't really see the leaf shape, so I decided to stamp it again below the definition. As you can see, the distress ink did not do so well on that image, so I added on my sentiment right over the part that did not stamp nicely. Looks like I did that on purpose. Hmmm... maybe I shouldn't have said anything and maybe you wouldn't have known!!? OK- back to the calendars... Have a nice weekend!

Thank You Definition

I was literally drooling over these new Hero Arts stamps and finally broke down and got them from Island Scrapbooking. Funny how these two sets were not my first choices, but the more I looked at them, the more I knew I had to have them, even though they are not my normal style. Maybe I'm getting old? This card was inspired by one of the cards in the new catalog. I changed it up a little to add my own spin on it by adding the acetate overlay. I love the look of the clear layer over a card, but had to keep in mind that I couldn't use white as my background since the ink used on the acetate was also white. So I ended up using an ivory cardstock and blended distress inks around the edges. Anyway- only 1 more day till my weekend starts! Yay for Furlough Friday!

Crafting Time!

Did you survive your first day back at work? Akemi had wavier day, so I stayed home an extra day on my vacation, which made it even harder to go to work today. But I got through it and now its time to craft! Get it??? Saw a cool clock at Photocraft over my vacation to Honolulu. Brian showed me some really cute Hello Kitty samples he did as a class. I liked his Hello Kitty ones, but wanted to make one using my sister's designs. For the main numbers, I used my sakura punch as the markers. Then I blew up the image so that it would fill up the space below the middle of the clock. It was much easier than I anticipated and a fun change from all those calendars! Here's a close up of the image... She's my favorite girl of the collection! I'm thinking these will make great gifts next year!

Fun Gifts

Happy New Year! 2010 was a crazy busy year for me, so I needed some time to wind down from the holidays. I still have some calendar projects that I'm working on, so not much new things to share with you yet, but here's some cute things I got for xmas and my b-day... Aunty Jan gave me this for xmas.. she said she didn't make it herself- got it from Creations Unlimited, so I'm sure Norice or one of the girls that work there made this cute creation. Its a checkbook holder. Aunty made the flower charm for the pen though.. thank you Aunty! This next xmas RAK is from Kris of K-Lusive Kreations. Thanks Kris! Love the bag! I think she also made those headpins but not sure. They are really pretty. So pretty I don't want to use it! Lastly, I got this cute Birthday RAK from Enjoli. Look at all those goodies! Can't wait to play with them! Thanks Enjoli! I feel so spoiled! Hope you had a nice holiday! Can't wait to see what 2011 will bring.