A Sunny Little Easter Greeting /NAC #34 / My Challenge # 64

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Hey y'all! Happy Tuesday. I hope you had a safe and enjoyable and restful holiday weekend. I stayed busy and am in training all week but am so excited to be posting to my favorite challenge (over with the fabulous ladies over at Nacho Average Challenge) early this week with a quick and easy and I hope you'll think, cute little card. It goes with a project that with any luck, I will get posted later this week, however, this class has a test associated with it so we'll see. Augh!!!!!

Here's this week's project-

Easter Egg Treat Holder with
3 x 3 Easter Card featuring Everybunny Stamp Image and Sentiment

This week's challenge with the Nacho's was a color challenge. Normally not my favorite kind of challenge but I am so ready for spring right now, I was so excited when I saw what they had for us-

I stamped my sweet little bunny in Black Staz-On on a 6 x 3 piece of Very Vanilla c/s and then used my Blender Pen and these colors to just brighten my day! I added a touch of Sahara Sand for shading outside the lines and a tad of Basic Gray for her shading lines on her ears and face, although you really can't see it even with the big picture below. Otherwise just the 3 colors in the challenge. I love how the blender pens allow you to change the intensity of your colors and to layer them until you get just the level you want. *HappyDance*

Oh, just in case you were wondering, the little egg is a basket made with the 2 tags die and the oval framelet. I made them for my team swaps this past weekend and when I saw the colors for this week's challenge I thought it would make a cute set, so I decided to make another set. I'm sure someone will enjoy it. At least I hope they will. :)

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you enjoyed today's card and I hope it inspires you to make a little something fun and cheery. If you liked it or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment and leave me a comment in the space below. I read all of my comments and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's project I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the the storms than the peace the seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Multi-Tasking & "Carry-ing On" for the Nachos / NAC #33 / My Challenge #60

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Hey y'all. Happy Saturday. I hope you're having a great start to your Holiday weekend! As usual it seems like I have too much to do and not enough time to do it in but you know there was no way I wasn't going to make time for my some of my favorite peeps, The Nacho's. That's right, I've been with them since the beginning and they are feeling like family.

On a little side note.... Can I just tell you I even got cards from some of them while I was recuperating from my recent surgery? Yep. Now, I'm not talking, e-cards. Nope! I'm talking, honest to goodness handmade-with-love cards, you know the ones we make, and put on our blogs but usually end up siting in our craft rooms and not in the hands of others for some weird reason. And even the ones that didn't send cards sent get well messages. So sweet! Thanks so much to the Nacho's and to all you Fabulous people who have managed to stumble upon my little corner of bloglandia. You are the reason I want to keep coming back to this key-board and "carry-on". And with that, here's this week's card,

I really surprised myself with how this came out. I didn't sponge any edges, nothing. And after I decided which set I wanted to use it came together just like I wanted. Yea! I used the Carry On, Hostess set from the Big Catalog and the DSP is from the Sycamore Street Set in the Sale A Bration Catalog. I used some of my favorite colors, Calypso Coral, Pool Party, Lucky Limeade and Island Indigo (my all-time fav) because they are all retiring soon. The solid color squares are all adhered with Dimensionals as are the smallest squares with the stamped images. For the square with the sentiment I double stacked the  Dimensionals on the outside for added height and used Mini-Glue Dots on the inner edges. Oh, and all of this was layered on a piece of Very Vanilla c/s 4 1/4 x 11 scored at 5 1/2.

Here's a little closer look-

I love playing along with The Ladies at Nacho Average Challenge. They always have great challenges and lots of great DT inspiration too. This week is certainly no different. Here's this weeks great sketch-

I simply flipped the sketch on it's side. Other than that, I stayed absolutely true to it. :)

Here's a look at the inside-

I have two words for anyone who thinks I might have stamped those words without my SAMJ.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! &

NOT

SO, I misjudged and started the words a little high because lets face it, when you lay the stamps out there's all that extra space around the words and I didn't want to run out of room at the bottom. This is one reason I don't like to do one layer cards on the onside, no room for oops! The good news is no one will likely ever see the inside of the card as it will most likely end up in my office to remind me to just "carry on".

Did you get the title? If you're talented enough, especially at home with a good enough internet connection you can Create, have your cake (cupcake) and shop all at the same time, and sometimes you even get to shop for your stamps and get extra stuff for free. Thats the best, :)

Well, that's al I have for you today. I hope you liked today's card, and I hope it inspires you to try something just a little different than your normal style. If you liked today's card or have questions about it I hope you'll leave me a comment at the bottom of this post. I read all of your comments and they really do make my day. If you'd like to +1 or Pin this card, I've put those buttons on my page for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome. :)

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of bloglandia. You are very appreciated. Till Next Time.

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to Pass, it's about Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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WIndow Shopping for NAC #32 / My Challenge #59

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Hey y'all. Happy Saturday. Just a quick post for you tonight. It's my first day post-op with no nap and I think it's gonna be an early evening for me. Have you joined the fabulous team over at Nacho Average Challenge yet? They are my absolute favorite challenge and I am so happy to be able to say I have played with them every week. There's still a little time to play, and if not today hopefully you'll play along with us soon. :)

Here's my card for this week-

Here's this week's challenge colors-

I can't remember ever using Rose Red, however I must have since there was ink in the lid. What a shame, since it's a really pretty color. I just got the new Dress Up Framelets two days ago, and I thought this would be a great chance to use such pretty colors. I used the floral vine from Elements of Style (the first time this has been inked up) and stamped it in Rose Red all over a scrap of Very Vanilla c/s. Then I was able to move my "sleeve-less" dress framelet all over it until I found an area that I liked for the dress. 

Here's a laugh at Shan moment for you- actually two of them 1- I decided to be a little different from everyone else. I know you're having a hard time believing that one, huh? LOL! 2- I didn't let my OCD rule me on this project.

I decided to be a dress designer for this card. Many of you don't know this, but when my daughter was younger and skated competitively, I made some of her competition dresses. I didn't have a dress form which may account for my problem today. (explanation to come) Here's a close-up of my focal-point-

This actually started out as a sleeve-less dress. I changed it to a sweet-heart neck-line and I did it free-hand, no measurements, nothing. *happy-dance* Then, I changed it up even more and although it's hard to see in the picture I made it a one-shoulder dress and printed a small 1/4 inch strip of c/s and wrapped it from one side to the other. 

*TIP* Dress Forms  are meant to design on. If you decide to design your own little dresses with these forms make sure to use the form as part of your design. My dress didn't fit on it at first, so I had to undo the strap, attach the dress to the form and then re-attach the strap. Live, Learn and Share, Right? 

I punched the little flowers from a scrap of Raspberry Ripple with my Bitty Punch Pack and rolled them with the end of my punch (my pokey one). They are adhered with Mini-Glue Dots. The dress form is cut from Basic Grey c/s and I then sponged it randomly with Basic Grey to give it dimension and age it a little. 

To be honest, after I had this part of the design done I didn't know where I wanted to go with the card. Because there was so much going on with the dress, I wanted the rest to be fairly simple, I just didn't know "what to do". Then I remembered a card by Connie Stewart and another by my dear friend Michelle Suit where they created an awning. So, I decided to try and make the card look like a store window. I tried to create it from memory and unfortunately I don't think I got the measurements quite right. :( I'm gonna have to try it again.

You know, I keep it real with you here. Some of the cards I have created here for NAC have been some of my All-Time favorites, others not so much. Unfortunately, this is one of the latter. It's not that I dislike it, I think it's more that I was just getting frustrated because it wasn't coming together for me like I wanted it to. I think if I can get the awning right I can make another card with this combination and make it happen. Will try again. :)

Well, that's all I have for you today. Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It

MDS to the Rescue! / NAC #30 / My Challenge #57

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a great week so far and are staying warm! Do you ever start something and then have things beyond your control change those plans? Well, that's what happened to me this week.

I knew I wanted to do snowflakes for this week's color challenge (it's a bit of an inside story, Hi Tammy!) and so I got out my supplies and got started making my card Tuesday evening when it all went you know where in a hand-basket! I got very sick and wasn't able to get more than halfway through. I had card stock cut, stamps and pads out and even with pain meds I wasn't able to make my card. I even had it all planned out and knew just what I wanted. AUGH! Many of you don't know this about me but not only am I a nurse, but I ran with our local Fire and Rescue department for many years driving our Medic Units. I've only called for an ambulance once before and I was sooo sick Tuesday night that I actually called 911. Of course, as I was talking to the dispatcher I was crying because I was almost more distressed about the fact that I was calling 911than the fact that I was sick enough to need to call them. Well, needless to say, it was definitely a good thing that I called because less than 4 hours after I called I was being admitted to the hospital for emergency surgery. :( Since they had to work me into the O.R. schedule I had a few hours with nothing to do but distract myself from the pain. When my sweet son-in-law went to my house to get my overnight bag I had him get my mac-book and I decided to finish making my card. Here's how my card would have looked, if I had been able to finish it on Tuesday evening-

This is for this week's color challenge with the Nacho Average Challenge. Here's this weeks Color challenge-

I started with a base of Primrose Petals and then layered on images from the Snowflake Soiree, and embellishments from the More Amore set. A few rhinestones and a Pool Party ribbon and my card was finished. I actually like it so much, I will likely finish the original paper card with this same design. There's still plenty of time to play along with this week's challenge. The fabulous team of ladies over at NAC do great challenges each week and the DT is always full of wonderful inspiration. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

I hope you liked today's card and I hope the fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too! I love hearing from you and read every one of your comments. They really do make my day! If you liked today's card and would like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons here on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

P.S. I'm back home post-op and other than being sore and moving slow I'm doing ok. :)

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Cracked Glass - End of the week Technique # 61 / NAC #28 / My Challenge #55

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Hey y'all! Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a great weekend so far. I've got a new technique for you tonight. Ok, so not a "new" technique but new for me and this blog. Many of you know I haven't been able to post 5+ times a week since I started my new job. This has impacted my ability to do a lot of my specialty posts. I will still be doing my "End of the Week Techniques", I just will likely not be doing one each week. To be honest I had planned on decreasing the weekly techniques anyways, not because there are not enough techniques but because I was finding it stressful to try and find one to do each week that fit in with the kind of cards I was doing for the week. One of my goals for last year was to do one technique a week and I surpassed that so I feel very good about that. I hope you have enjoyed them and hopefully found some inspiration with them. I hope you will continue to find inspiration with the ones that I post this year. I will continue to do tutorials whenever I do a new one here and will try and remember to link back to old ones when I repeat a technique. That being said, I've been wanting to try this one for almost a year and finally I've managed to get it done. Here's this week's technique card-

What do you think? If you know me or have followed me for any time you are probably checking to make sure you're really looking at my blog, or rubbing your eyes to see if you're seeing correctly. This is so not my style. Not only is it Vintage-y but there's torn and crumpled c/s. Will miracles never cease? I kinda took my inspiration from the technique & the rest kinda followed. I still can't believe I did this card. I'm not sure it's gonna make the All-Time favorite list but it definitely makes the list for making me step out of my comfort zone.

This card is for this week's Nacho Average Challenge. Love those ladies! I try not to look at the DT creations before I make my card, because I don't want to be influenced by them but this week I was going through my regular reader feed and came across Tammy's card and was really glad I accidentally saw it. When I first saw the challenge, Elements of Style came to mind and that's what she used. So I had a double challenge, one for the color challenge (you know those are soooo hard for me) and one to use something besides Elements of style. I really don't know why Tammy couldn't have just made some Lucky Limeade Snowflakes. If anyone could get away with it she could. (If you know her, you'll understand that comment. Hi Tammy!) Here's what I was working with this week-

I started with a base of Island Indigo c/s. To this I added a piece of Whisper White c/s that I stamped my En-Francais Background stamp in Marina Mist. You know I wouldn't normally age c/s like I did but a crisp clean image just didn't seem to go with my focal point. Also even though my focal point was done on a piece of W.W. c/s it no longer looked white after my technique, but it didn't quite look Very Vanilla either. I originally stamped the background stamp full strength but it was too dark so I tried again, stamping off once and liked that much better. I crumpled my c/s (ooooooooohhhhhh you know I hated that right?) then I sponged Crumb Cake over it to make the crinkles show up more. It still seemed like it needed something else so I did the almost un-think-able and tore my c/s. *Shudder* Yes, I said I tore it. But only because there wasn't any of my stamping friends nearby to do it for me. My stamping buddies will totally get that. (shout out to the Fabulous Michelle Suit and April Sinclair) Once those two things were done I sponged the edges with Soft Suede and  Tombowed this layer down. I finally felt like I had a nice background for my focal point. Here's a closer look at this weeks technique and today's focal point-

I used the floral Image from the You are Loved set. I used the three challenge colors to color my stamp and then rotating the image kept stamping it until I had my c/s filled. I roughed up the edges before doing my technique and then mounted it on a strip of Island Indigo that I embossed one edge with my Fancy Fan E.F.-

I thought the scalloped image mimicked the scalloped edges of the petals. The floral strip was adhered to the I.I. piece with multiple Dimensionals since it was so heavy. This entire panel was adhered to the card base with Tombow. The sentiment was stamped in I.I. on W.W., punched with my Oval Punch and then adhered to a scrap of I.I. that I punched with my Scalloped Oval Punch. I stacked two Dimensionals under the Right edge to raise it up and make it level and my card front was done. Whew! It was a lot but in the end I think it was worth it.

Here's the inside-

The sentiment is from the same set and is stamped in I.I. Since the front was so involved, I tried to keep the inside a little less..., I don't know, just less. Of course you know that doesn't mean it shouldn't be pretty so here's a closer look at my little bit of pretty-

I wish you could see how pretty and sparkly this is in person. It just sparkles and shines. Sooooo pretty! So what do you think? I hope you like it and I really hope those fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too.

Now for this week's technique-

Here's what you need for the Cracked Glass Technique-
Cardstock, (I think Whisper White or Very Vanilla would probably work the best but who knows maybe a light color would work too), Stamped Image of your choice, VersaMark Pad, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, and a brown color to "Antique" your image and enhance the cracked areas (I used Soft Suede).

Here's how you do it-
1- Stamp your image onto your c/s.
2- Take your VersaMark Pad and "stamp" it all over your stamped piece of c/s until it is completely covered.
3- Apply your Clear Embossing Powder over entire surface and using your Heat Tool, heat the entire c/s until all of your embossing powder is heated and glossy. Allow this to cool.
4- Reapply VersaMark to the entire embossed surface and cover once more in Clear Embossing Powder. Heat again and allow to cool completely.
5- Repeat step 4 at least once more. You could even repeat it 2 times more if you wanted. Make sure to allow it to cool completely in between applications. This is a good time to work on the rest of your card.
6- Allow your piece to cool completely. If you're impatient you could put it in the freezer for just a few minutes.
7- Bend your embossed c/s in multiple places and going in multiple directions. This bending action will cause the glass like coating to crack. Continue doing this until you get the desired look.
8- Take a brown color of your choice, I used Soft Suede but a darker color like Early Espresso or Chocolate Chip would probably work well too, and sponge it over the entire surface using a circular motion. This will help to get the color into the cracked areas. You can even bend the c/s slightly and sponge to really get in the cracked areas.
9- Take a paper towel or old cloth and wipe over the surface. This will remove the color from the surface and will just leave it in the cracked areas. Such a cool effect! Here's another look-

 10- Smile when you see what you have created and smile even more when you think about the smile that it will bring to it's recipient. I really do love that part!

Well, that's all I have for you tonight. I hope you liked the techniques and the card. I really hope it inspires you to try something new! If you liked today's card/technique or have questions about it, I hope you'll leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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Oh Hello - NAC #27 / My Challenge #54

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Hey y'all. Hope you're having a fabulous weekend. I don't know about you but these short weeks really throw me for a loop. It just doesn't seem like Saturday although I did really enjoy sleeping in today! I was cleaning up around the house when I realized I still needed to make my card and post it for this week's Nacho Average Challenge. ACK!!!! Good news is I knew exactly what I wanted to make so I got right to it. Even better news is that it turned out just like I had envisioned it. It seems like lately that hasn't been happening a lot so I was pretty excited about this. I couldn't miss posting because I haven't missed one of their challenges yet. Hard to believe they're on #27 already! If you haven't joined in on one of their challenges, hop on over and check them out and then make sure to follow them so you get their challenges each week. They have some Amazingly talented ladies on their DT. I love seeing what they've created each week and they always leave the nicest comments. Don't forget to check them out, just finish here first ok. :)

Here's my card for this week's challenge-

What do you think? C&S is definitely not my norm, but that's one reason I love doing challenges so much. They can really force you to step out of your comfort zone. If you noticed the title of today's challenge I have decided to keep doing at least one challenge each week. That was something I challenged myself to last year and I'm going to continue with it this year as well.

Here's the sketch I was working with-

My only alteration to the layout was to add an additional layer. This card is still really flat and, believe it or not, no Dimensionals were used in the making of this card. If you know me, you know that's very unusual. This would mail really easily and probably without any additional charges.

I started with a base of So Saffron. My color palate was inspired from the DSP I was working with. It's from our new Tea Time Collection and it's Fabulous! I can't wait to make more cards with this collection. I added a layer of Whisper White c/s that I ran through the Big Shot with my Perfect Polka Dot E.F. and Tombowed a 2 x 4 piece of the DSP onto this. I added some Baja Breeze Seam Binding to cover the seam and then added a bow which I secured with a Mini-Glue Dot. I actually adhered the back of my tag, which I hand cut, to my DSP so it won't go anywhere. Here's a closer look at my tag. Are you wondering why it just says "Oh"-

Because the rest of the sentiment is on the inside. I thought that added a little extra interest to the card front. This is from the Oh Hello stamp set that's new in our Spring Catalog. Love that set. I always think they can't make me want it all and then I almost always do! The words were masked and then inked with a Marina Mist Stampin Write Marker.

Here's the inside-

I almost never leave the inside without a sentiment, but I was kind of in a "Note-card" kind of mood and thought I would leave the inside blank so there would be plenty of room to write. Of course just because there's no sentiment doesn't mean it has to be plain. You know I like to have pretty insides so I stamped the flower from the same set. I colored the stamp in with Marina Mist and Wild Wasabi markers and then used my Blender Pens and Baja Breeze and Certainly Celery ink pads to finish the coloring. A little love from Tink and my card was finished. Here's a closer look-

It's so pretty and shimmery in person.

Well, that's all I have for you today. I hope you liked it and I hope it inspires you to create something new and fun and maybe a little out of your comfort zone. If you liked today's card or have questions about it I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and your comments really make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Just Believe / NAC #25 / My Challenge # 52

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Hey y'all. I hope you've had a great week and are having a wonderful start to a long holiday weekend. Just a quick post for you now, because I've got another post coming up right after this one. :)

This is the season to believe. Believe in the seen and the unseen... Believe that there is not only a reason for the season, but even as hard as it may seem a reason for those things that we can simply not comprehend. Sometimes we just have to Believe. Believe in ourselves and those around us, that we are not alone, and that someone or something more powerful than us is watching out for us and over us. For me that's a belief in God. For you it may be something or someone else. At the end of the day, I hope you remember to also Believe in yourself.

When I started to make this card, I wanted to make one that was gender neutral and could be given for any reason. I used the Candlelight Christmas DSP and the Snowflake Soiree stamp set, so I may not be able to really give it at any time of the year, I've still got a few months till Spring that I can give it to someone to let them know that I'm with them. Here's today's card-

Snowflake Soiree and Candlelight Christmas Card

I think Masculine cards are hard to make and even though I didn't intend to make a "masculine" card, I think this could easily be given to a guy as well as a girl.

Here's the sketch I used-

It's from the Nacho Average Challenge's weekly challenge. There's even still time for you to join along in the fun and whip up a card to enter. If you haven't checked them out yet, I really hope you will. They alternate between sketch challenges and color challenges and even though I find color challenges to be really challenging (no pun intended) they really make me step out of my comfort zone and get creative. Know what else, the ladies on the DT are so stinking creative and leave the nicest comments. I really do hope you'll check them out!

I altered my card only slightly from the sketch in that I offset my scallops so they alternated instead of layering right on top of each other. And just in case you're wondering, I cut them at 6 x 2 and this gave me enough paper to overlap and still fit on the card. I simply layered the all, adhered them (with Tombow of course) and then flipped my card over and trimmed the excess off using my paper snips. I used my Scalloped Edgelet to cut the layers.

Here's a close-up of the center piece-

I used Early Espresso and Crumb Cake inks to stamp the snowflakes on a scrap of Very Vanilla c/s.and then sponged around the edge with more E.E. I couldn't help myself and let Tink have her way with the snowflakes even though it's hard to see here. This is adhered with Dimensionals to make it stand out just a little. Oh and I forgot to tell you that I used a piece of Very Vanilla Seam Binding that I wrapped around the card front and adhered with SNAIL. The ends are hidden beneath this piece.

Here's the inside-

I just love the font they used with the Snowflake Soiree set. Just a little sponging and a few more snowflakes here and my card was finished.

So what do you think? I hope you liked it and I hope the ladies over at NAC do too. I love hearing from you so if you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll leave me a comment below. I read all off them and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons here on my page for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world.  You are very appreciated! Till Next Time (which in this case is just a few minutes)-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan 

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Glitter Window Ornament - End of the Week Technique #58 / NAC #24 / My Challenge #51

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a great weekend. I've got a pretty new card and a new EWT for you today. (And an "Ask me how I know") I don't know about you, but I still find one of my biggest problems with making cards is that I over-think things. Sometimes the simplest concepts seem to take me the longest to actually make happen. That's what happened with tonight's card. I had the concept and thought it would just "happen"....yeah, that happened. NOT! But at any rate, here's my card-

 I did today's card for the weekly challenge over at Nacho Average Challenge. Please make sure you go by and check them out. They have great challenges each week. This week is a color challenge. Normally, color challenges really give me grief, but this concept actually came to me pretty quick. :) Here's the color challenge for this week-

I used Silver instead of gray and combined it with a new technique. I'll tell you about that further down in the post. Here's the inside of my card-

I couldn't find my stand..sorry about the attractive bone folder in the picture

I used my Keepsake Ornaments stamp set and Holiday Ornaments Framelets to make this card along with Greeting of the Season for the sentiment. I also used the Lacey Brocade E.F. to add a little interest to the front of my card.

What do you think? I hope you like it and I hope the fabulous ladies over at NAC do too! Now for this week's End of the Week Technique, The Glitter Window. I haven't done any of these before and of course I had to make it a little more complicated than it needed to be, But I'll give you the down dirty and easier version of it. Lol.

Here's what you need- Stamp Set of your choice (I used Keepsake Ornaments), I also used the Ornaments framelets however depending on your choice of stamps and designs you could also use a favorite punch, and some Glitter Paper ( I used SU Silver), and Mini-Glue Dots.

Here's what you do-

1- Stamp your image and then cut it out with either your punch or framelet.

2- Cut out the image on the front of your card using your coordinating framelet or punch. The framelets make this really easy because you're not limited in where you want to place your image.

***TIP*** If you want to have the front of your card embossed, like mine is, don't emboss it before cutting out your shape. If you use framelets you will flattened out (un-evenly too) your embossing. Ask me how I know. Yep, I did it and since I keep it honest with you guys, here's what it looked like-

3- Now for the glitter part- Cut out some glitter paper to accent your cut out image. I used my Scalloped Ribbon Punch to cut out mine. You're actually getting 2 Tutorials because I'm going to show you how I did this. I wanted to make sure the glitter paper followed the curved outline of the stamp so here's what I did. 

3a- I stamped the image on the back of my glitter paper-

This way I could see the curve to trim it instead of just having a straight edge (You know I couldn't just keep it simple, right?)

3-b I attached this to a piece of a Post-It note so I could slide it into my punch-

3-c  I just punched it out like normal-

4- Attach your Glittered Cut out image to your stamped image with Some Mini-Glue Dots. Glue Dots are really important to make sure the Glitter Paper sticks to your stamped image.

I also cut a piece of Glitter Paper with my framelet for the "cap" for my ornament. :)

5- Take your stamped image and attach it to the inside of your card by placing it through the cut image you made in step #2 above. Here's another look at the finished product-

That's all you need to do for this week's technique. I hope you liked my card and I hope it inspires you to try something new. I love hearing from you, so if you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll take just a moment to leave me a comment in the space below. I read all of your comments and they really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience as well. Friends and Followers are always welcome too!

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, But Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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Artistic Etchings/ NAC #23 and My Challenge #50

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a great week so far! I sure am missing you and hope the feeling's mutual. :) It's late so I'm gonna do a quick post and head to bed.

You know I love those fine ladies over at Nacho Average Challenge (NAC). If you haven't visited their site yet, I hope you will. Better yet, I hope you'll take a moment and join in on the fun. This week's challenge is a sketch challenge and I knew pretty quick exactly what I wanted to do with it. Dontcha just love when that happens? Here's what I came up with-

Card featuring Artistic Etchings Stamp Set

Here's the sketch from NAC-

I stuck pretty close to the sketch. I flipped it and left just a small border on the inside of my Silver strip that's not in the sketch. Hope they don't mind too much. :) I've wanted this set for a long time and just recently got it. This is the first time it's been inked up. When I saw this weeks sketch, I knew it would be perfect. :) Here's a closer look-

I used my Scalloped Square Bigz Die to create the Scalloped Rectangle. This was one of my recent End of the Week Techniques and I think it worked great here. For the scalloped border down the side, I used one of my new framelets. The black strip is about 1 1/2 inches wide before being trimmed with the edgelet. I used Mini Glue Dots to adhere the Silver Glimmer Paper to the Basic Black strip. My center panel is adhered with Dimensionals. The image is stamped in Black Staz-On. I really like how crisp it looks against the Whisper White c/s.

The sentiment and images are all from the Artistic Etchings  stamp set. The sentiment is stamped in Black Staz-On and is punched out with the Large Oval Punch and then adhered with Tombow to a scrap of Basic Black that was punched with the Scalloped Oval Punch. Normally I wouldn't layer on the inside, but I had originally intended this to be on the front of the card where you see NAC (with the sketch flipped). Instead I decided to stick more closely to the sketch, but by that time I had already punched and mounted it so that's how that happened. However, I think it brings the scalloped theme from the front to the inside, so it all worked out in the end. Here's a close-up of the stamped mages-

I stamped the images in Real Red and Black Staz-On. Once I had stamped it, I decided it needed a little something else. I quickly added Black Embossing Powder to the card and Heat Embossed it. It really stands out in person and is an unexpected surprise.

Well, that's all I have for you tonight. I hope you liked my card and I hope the fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too. If you liked it or have questions about it, I hope you'll leave me a message below. I love hearing from you and read all my messages. They really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- LIfe is often more about the storms than the pear they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan

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End of the Week #57 - Scribbled-Spritzed Markers / NAC # 23 / My Challenge #49

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Hey y'all. I hope you're having a great week so far. It's been so cold here lately. I can't stand it! I miss the warmth, like crazy. I really miss the beach and all the beautiful sunsets.  This week over at Nacho Average Challenge they have a color challenge. Now normally color challenges are so not my favorites, but this one inspired me and I couldn't wait to get too it.

Here's today's card-

Card featuring Scribbled-Spritzed Marker Technique

Here's the challenge-

I love this color combo! Yea! When I saw it, I was reminded of a recent sunset. It was so pretty I had to  take a picture-

You know I probably should have used "Like A Tree"
 but I didn't. I just went with another silhouette.

Here's a close-up-

I started with a base of Midnight Muse and added a layer of Raspberry Ripple. My focal point uses a base of Glossy White c/s. The image is stamped in Midnight Muse. It took me a few tries but I'm so happy with how it turned out.

Here's a look at the inside-

Both the image and sentiment are from the same set and are stamped in Midnight Muse.

What do you think? Didn't it turn out pretty? This was the first time I tried this technique, and I'm pretty sure I will try it again. I will say though it is not one for those of us with more than a little Stamping OCD. If you're not as OCD as I am, you may be able to let loose and just go with it. :) Oh and you have to wait for it to dry to get the full effect.

Here's what you'll need for this technique- Stampin Write Markers, an old plastic stamp case,  Glossy cardstock, coordinating colored c/s, the stamp set of your choice and a spray bottle filled with water. Although you could probably use just about any type of stamp, line or solid image I chose to use a solid silhouette.

Here's what you do- this is another easy technique, you won't believe how easy it is. I just tend to make things harder than they really are....darn OCD!!!
1- Choose your colors- take your colors and scribble them onto your plastic case. You want to make sure that you scribble enough to equal your card stock both height and width, then add a little extra.


***Tip*** - start with your lightest color and then add the darker ones. This way you won't get any dark colors in your light marker's tip.
2- Lightly spritz the case with water. This is what it will look like. You can see the water droplets in my pic. :)

3- Take your Glossy c/s and lay it glossy side down onto the case, carefully. Take your Grid Paper and use it to rub the c/s onto the stamp so every surface is covered.
4- Lift it off the case carefully being sure to only touch the edge....unless of course you want a multicolored finger-print on your card.
5- Let this dry. You may have a line down one of your edges where the color poled as you lifted it off. If you just can't bear it, you can cut your paper down to avoid that. (That's what I did)
6- Once your paper is dry, stamp as you normally would. I used the floral image from "Just Believe" and stamped it twice.
7- Layer on your card or scrapbook page as desired.
8- Smile when you see your finished product. Smile even more when you think about the smile it will  bring to its recipients face. Boy, I love that part!

Here's another look-

See! I told you it was easy. Do you like it? I hope so and I hope the ladies over at NAC like it too. If you haven't joined them yet, why not hop on over as soon as you're done here. They are pretty darn fabulous...and their challenges are too! I hope this inspires you to try something new today, or whenever it is you're reading this. :D If you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a message in the space below. I read all of my comments and they really do make my day!!!If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons here on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too!

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to dance in the resin.

Be Safe,
Shan

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Amazing Birthday/ NAC #21 My Challenge #48

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Hey y'all. Happy Saturday. I hope you are having a great weekend and that your week was Amazing!

First let me say, I'm a BAD Blogger! For 2 reasons. 1- I got this Amazing set from my friend Terry over at Going Over the Edge. (I won it during her "The Great Pumpkin" blog hop) and haven't sent her a Thank-You card with it yet. Hey Terry, I have a special card for you! Check her site out, it's Fabulous!!!! 2- I've been busy all week and went to 4 different houses on Thanksgiving and didn't get a chance to tell you all Happy Thanksgiving. I'm very Thankful for all of you. Thanks so much for all of your support and friendship.

One of my dear friends, Adrienne, had a birthday on Thanksgiving. It was another reason to be thankful. So, of course I had to make her a card. We were headed to her house for our 1st stop so I was able to take it with me, along with my Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake, Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie and Homemade Fudge. :) (I stirred them all backwards to take out the Fat and Calories. You do use that technique right?) I used this week's sketch over at Nacho Average Challenge as my inspiration. Here's what I came up with-

Birthday Card featuring
World Spectacular DSP and You're Amazing Stamp Set

Here's the sketch from NAC-

It's another great one. Have you checked out their site yet. Great sketches and color challenges. I never miss their challenges. Make sure you stop by for a little weekly inspiration. I viewed the challenge on my phone so I didn't remember it was in landscape orientation when I made my card, but other than that I stuck to the layout. I even remembered to stamp a coordinating envelope. :)

This card came together really quickly. Love when that happens. I actually started with the World Spectacular DSP and got my color inspiration from that. The base is Island Indigo and the banner is Daffodil Delight. I ran the banner through my Big Shot with my Chevron Embossing Folder for a little added dimension. I curled the end of my banner to give it some motion and adhered the top of the banner to my DSP with Tombow. This allowed the end to curve outward. My sentiment was stamped in I.I. and then cut out with one of my Apothecary Accents Framelets. This was adhered with Dimensionals. I added a few Rhinestones for a little extra bling and he front of my card was done.

Here's the inside-

I used the Fabulous Phrases set for the sentiment and the image is from the You're Amazing set. I colored it with my Stampin' Write Markers in Basic Gray and Island Indigo and let Tink have a little fun and my card was done.

I hope you like today's card and the fabulous ladies over at NAC like it too. I'm happy to say my friend Adrienne really liked it and the thing she liked the most was that I took the time to make it just for her. If you liked today's card or have questions about it, I hope you'll take a moment to leave me a comment below. I love hearing from you and I read them all. They really do make my day! If you'd like to +1 or Pin it, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to sot by my little corner of the world. You are so very appreciated! Till Next Time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,
Shan Pin It